Zomato Goes Global - International Indian

Transcription

2015• ISSUE 1 | VOL. 22.1
Winning in Diaspora!
Jan 16, 2015 - Mar 15, 2015
www.tii.ae
Deepinder Goyal, Founder &
Chief Executive of Zomato
Zomato Goes Global
Are Indians Abroad Any
Different?
Why Do We Pine For India?
What Do Young Indians Want
Pankaj Chaddah (Left) Zomato Co-Founder
with Rohin Thampi, UAE Country Manager, Zomato
Kiran Shah:
Chota Star of Hollywood
Singles:
Tough Mating Game
Is Romance Overrated?
BAHRAIN BD 1.25 • KUWAIT KD 1.25 • OMAN RO 1.25 • KSA SR 12.00 • UAE AED 12.00 • CANADA C$ 5.00 • UK £2.50 • USA $ 4.00
Indian
THE INTERNATIONAL
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
DON’T USE ‘MAKE MY TRIP’ FOR AIRTICKETS!
This is the last time I will use ‘Make My Trip’ the online travel
agency.I bought a ticket to travel within India and had to change my
date of travel to the next day, due to unforseen circumstances. It
took me about one hour on the phone before an operator came on
the line. Then he cut me off and it took another half an hour. After
that the customer service agent told me I have to contact the airline
directly to make any cancellation or changes. He gave me a phone
number that was incorrect and I had to call them again for the right
information - another half an hour wait on the phone.
I finally cancelled my ticket and bought a new one. The airline
charged me Rs 1,500 for cancellation and told me that ‘Make My
Trip’ will also charge me some additional amount before they give
my refund in about a week.
After a commission and service charge, this is highway robbery.
Rajesh Mittal
Dubai, UAE
RECLAIMING HER LOST INDIAN HERITAGE
Your story on Reena Tory in the last issue (TII 21.6) on her reclaiming
her lost Indian heritage made me realise how spot on your magazine
is when it comes to content pertaining to the Indian diaspora.
There are so many Indians who have lost their heritage because
they surrendered it for a foreign culture not realising the impact it
would have on future generations. Only a few like Reena reclaim it
and mine the wealth that it can bring.
I hope your article will make people realise that wherever we live
we must always cherish and pass on who we are.
Satish Agarwal
Dubai, UAE
ARE MUSLIMS SAFE IN INDIA?
The story on ‘Are Muslims Safe in India’ by Zenifer Khaleel in TII
21.6 was too tame - all your interviewees played it pretty safe by
mostly trying to be positive. The stereotyping of terror by the Surat
cops indicates a dangerous mindset against Muslims and the fact
is there are still places in our country where Muslims cannot rent
or buy property with areas considered unsafe for them in case of
trouble.
The Khans rule the roost in Bollywood but don’t forget Dilip
Kumar of yesteryear could not use his real name Muhammed Yusuf
Khan.
With Mr Modi in the kursi, everyday we read about Sangh
Parivar outfits openly flouting the law and enforcing their own
policing. I wonder what we can expect on Valentine’s Day 2015.
Sikander Ali Majeed
Bahrain
THE BEST LETTERS TO THE EDITOR WILL WIN
EXQUISITE GIFTS FROM LIALI JEWELLERY.
Email your letters to: [email protected]
4
THE INTERNATIONAL INDIAN
EST: 1992 The Region’s Oldest,
Authoritative Magazine of Gulf Indian Society & History
ISSN 0964 8437
Publishers
Prof. Prabhu Guptara
Santosh Shetty
Founder Editor & Publisher
Frank Raj
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Prem Souri Kishore
Benjamin H. Parker
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UK
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USA
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Bandana Jain
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South Africa
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India
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EDITORIAL
Frank Raj
A RELIGIOUS RASHTRA OR A GLOBALISED INDIA: WHAT
DO SRINIVAS, SALMAN, STEVEN AND SUKHBIR WANT?
C
hange is intriguing and radical
transformation is especially
fascinating. The way I see it,
individuals, institutions and ideologies,
all should have a go at regenerating
India. After all who wouldn’t like to
see the country transformed? If Shri
Narendra Modi and his religious
sidekicks can do the job - why not? But
why do we see mostly goondagiri in the
name of Dharma?
Has any country been radically
remade with concrete evidence of spiritual, political, social, economic and
cultural transformation? Can a society
be changed, or must people change
before any change happens in society?
After the recent Taliban massacre
of 132 schoolchildren in Peshawar,
Pak-istan (land of the pure) may be
doing a rethink. I’m not holding my
breath; they still haven’t figured out that
religious ideology running amok is the
main stumbling block to their progress.
India is in the same boat if the so
called ‘fringe elements’ (no different
from Pakistan’s ‘non-state’ actors) are
allowed to have their way by our strategically taciturn Prime Minister. I just
hope he heeds U.S. President Barack
Obama’s proactive advice on his recent
visit, “India will succeed so long as it is
not splintered along the lines of faith.”
American troops will exit from Afghanistan at the end of 2016. Foolishly
ignoring Afghan history over the past
2,300 years since the time of Alexander
the Great, America disregarded the
disastrous experiences of the British
and Soviet empires. American generals
thought they could turn Afghanistan
into a stable, modern, pro-western
democratic state.
Historically, India too has known
many attempts at remaking – each one
added a unique aspect to our national
character. The Mughals imposed Islam,
the Portuguese enforced Roman
Catholicism, the British (debatably)
furthered Christianity and now (roll the
drums) the most recent game changers to “Modi-fy” our country have
arrived – the Sangh Parivar led by Shri
Narendra Modi of the Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP).
Is their new ‘National Institution
for Transforming India’, (NITI) a brilliant manoeuvre masking their ‘noble’
goal of a Hindu Rashtra?
Siddharth Varadarajan a Senior Fellow at the Centre for Public Affairs and
Critical Theory, Shiv Nadar University
writes in Outlook (Jan 12, 2015) that
Modiji’s biggest weakness is the mischief of his saffron outfits.
Varadarajan points out, “…the advent of the Modi era means the chance
to play social and cultural engineer
with the soul of the nation, something
their ideological ancestors never got to
do given their virtual absence from the
freedom struggle. 2014 for Hindutva
zealots, then, is Year Zero, the date
India began to reverse its tryst with a
destiny they detest. They are waiting
for the country to turn its back on
the precepts, principles; politics and
philosophy that had helped define its
nationhood for decades if not centuries. For this section, governance is
primarily about settling scores with
the past – and with the phalanx of real
and imagined enemies who have stood
in the way of the greater glory of the
‘Hindu Rashtra’: Marxists, Muslims,
and Macaulayputras.”
Contrary to what the Sangh Parivar
media manipulators may believe,
the ultimate enemies of their saffron
agenda are not the other religious
groups that they routinely target – it is
the Trojan horse of the media itself that
has the most pervasive influence on
society and the Goebbels’ inspired saffronwallahs understand this. Reactions
to the Aamir Khan movie PK, Perumal
Murugan’s novel etc., indicates the
value they attach to media freedoms. Is
banning of Internet free speech using
the ISIS threat a taste of what’s in store?
Varadarajan notes: “Many of the
young women and men who voted
for the BJP in 2014 may be ‘Ramzadeh’ – descendants of Ram, to use the
infelicitous phrase popularized by the
BJP MP Sadhvi Jyoti Niranjan – but
they will not accept Ram as a substitute
for Rozgari. They do not want to be told
what to wear and eat and drink; what to
read and watch; whom to love.
“Modi spent the whole of 2014
cultivating a studied ambiguity
towards Hindutva’s pet projects, first
as a contender for power and then as
Prime Minister. But if he continues in
this mode, failing to clearly demarcate
himself and his government from the
divisive agenda of the Sangh, his Sarkar
will run aground.”
250 million Indians are now connected to the Internet, with 100 million
on Facebook and the 30 million smartphone owners in India are projected
to zoom to about 600 million in three
or four years. The Modi government’s
Digital India mission is touted as one
of the PM’s biggest achievements that
integrates government departments and
the people of India for effective governance. So far the initiative has linked
bank accounts of 10 crore people with
their Aadhaar card numbers.
But if all Shri Narendra Modi
delivers is a Religious Rashtra that aims
to co-exist with Boardroom Baimani,
Bollywood Badmashi and the Bajrang
Dal barbarians, a saffron India won’t
change society.
Will citizens Srinivas, Salman, Steven,
and Sukhbir agree that Hindutva
should take priority over a globalised
success motivated lifestyle that the
Internet, Bollywood, satellite TV and
the smartphone is increasingly getting
them addicted to?
Can the Sangh Parivar stop the
media juggernaut that is remaking Hindusthan into the digitised, globalised
and westernised United States of India?
Frank Raj
Founder-Editor & Publisher
[email protected]
The International Indian
@frankraj08
@deshaurdiaspora
Frank Raj
blog.tii.ae
5
WHATS INSIDE
TII 22.1
17
29
10
56
contents
04 Letters to the Editor
05 Editorial
COVER STORY
10 Zomato Goes Global
by Armenia Fernandes
EDITOR’S PICK
07 Mandarin Oriental, Bodrum
Relive the Ottoman Empire in Turkey
by Frank Raj
TRAVEL
15 Major Shift in GCC Travel Habits
Younger, Wealthier, Family Oriented
by Frank Raj
17 Why Do We Pine For India?
by Dev Gupta
SMALL BUSINESS
22 Right Selection
Innovation At the Heart of the Company
DIASPORA
24 Six Years in Fort McMurray
Canada Takes Getting Used To
by Mary Thomas
29 Are Indians Abroad Different?
How Indians Change Overseas
by Yashpal Rama
6
67
32 Moved to a New Country?
Get Your Groove Back
by Namrata Bhawnani
52
60 Aquaponics
by Shyamola Khanna
52 Single Women
Mating is a Big Challenge
by Bandana Jain
GUPTARA GARMAGARAM
63 Modification: Long, Short or Indifferent?
by Prabhu Guptara
77 A Queen Bee in Media
Uma Ghosh Deshpande
by Zenifer Khaleel
EDUCATION
65 The Greatest Missed Opportunity
by Brandon Busteed
36 Making A Difference
by Bandana jain
BOLLYWOOD
70 Kickstarting Iconic Fashion Trends
by Sumit Panwar
INDIA
HERITAGE
42 Five Fun Ways to Learn About
India’s Heritage
by Khursheed Dinshaw
45 Going Back to India
India’s Reverse Brain Drain
by Anusha Harish
HOLLYWOOD
67 Kiran Shah
Being Short is no problem in Hollywood
72 CA’s Advice
Income & Wealth Tax Implications
by Prem Karra
48 TII Hall of Fame
49 Watching India: Desi Media
Bolder, Bad, Bakwaas
by Nithin Belle
73 TII Photo Competition
74 An Englishman in Vasai
Life in a Mumbai Suburb
by Sam Northcote
82 WINNING
Frank Raj
56 What Do Young Indians Want?
by Feby Imthias
79 BUZZWORD
Editor’s Pick
Frank Raj
Relive The Ottoman Empire With Muhteṣem
Yüzyil (The Magnificent Century) Package At
Mandarin Oriental, Bodrum, Turkey
Mandarin Oriental
M
andarin Oriental, Bodrum brings Middle
Eastern guests a historical journey of the
Ottoman Empire to reimagine the powerful
reign of Sultan Süleiman inspired by the popular Turkish
TV Series Muhteṣem Yüzyil (The Magnificent Century).
‘The Magnificent Century Package’ will commence
on Sunday 1st March 2015 and guests can indulge
with Ottoman palace lifestyle through a luxurious
accommodation, a gourmet cuisine tasting menu
from Suleiman’s era served with Turkish grape on the
side, authentic in-room amenities including nuts, dried
fruits and Turkish sweets with Ottoman touches and
experience a limited edition Tamarind sherbet after a
revitalizing Hammam treatment.
The Magnificent Century Package starts at 492 Euro
and includes:
• One night’s accommodation for two in a Sea View
Room with panoramic view of Aegean seascape
• In-room or a la carte breakfast for two at Sofra
restaurant overlooking the sea
• Exclusive Ottoman palace cuisine tasting menu for
two including one bottle of Turkish grape
• Authentic Ottoman in-room treats such as dried
fruits, nuts and Turkish sweets
• Sultan Suleiman-inspired 45-minute Hammam
treatment for two followed by serving of limited
edition Tamarind sherbet and fresh fruits
*Only available for minimum of three night’s stay
Mandarin Oriental
Commenting on the special package, Mandarin Oriental,
Bodrum General Manager, Nejat Sarp said, “We are
delighted to launch a new package to treat our Middle
Eastern guests with a once in a lifetime experience of
the Ottoman Empire lifestyle to relive the extravagant life
of Sultan Suleiman at Mandarin Oriental, Bodrum.”
Ideally located on a 60 hectare waterfront site on
the northern side of the peninsula, at Cennet Koyu
(Paradise Bay), with panoramic views over the Aegean
Sea, Mandarin Oriental, Bodrum offers the perfect
retreat. The Sea View Rooms and Mediterranean
Suites provide the most spacious accommodation in
the Bodrum Peninsula, ranging from 72 to 145 square
metres, and are flooded with natural light. Most rooms
have terraces with private dining areas and sundecks. In
addition, each suite features a plunge pool and outdoor
shower set in private gardens with spectacular views
over the Aegean Sea.
CONTACT
The package is valid from Sunday March 1st 2015 to
Thursday 21st May 2015. Reservations are subject to
availability, inclusive of VAT at 8%, subject to availability.
Rates may change with further notice: For double
occupancy during March 2015: 492 Euro per night, For
double occupancy from 1st April to 21st May: 592 Euro
per night. Reservations can be made by contacting the
hotel directly on + 90 252 311 18 88, or through e-mail
at [email protected].
7
www.expat-group.com
9000+
CUSTOMERS
12000+
ACRES OF LAND
TRANSACTED
8
COUNTRIES
13
OFFICES
550
CHANNEL
PARTNERS
COVER STORY
Armenia Fernandes
COVER STORY
Zomato Goes Global
Rohin Thampi, UAE Country Manager, Zomato, (second from left, back row) with the Zomato team in Dubai
Zomato is an Indian success story exported to Dubai and far beyond. Buoyed by
spectacular growth in the Indian market, Zomato set its sights on Dubai. It started
the UAE office in Dubai in September 2012 and a month later, launched Abu Dhabi
and Sharjah. In a two year period, the company has achieved a 2.5 million user traffic
per month, on its website and the App, with a large chunk of this, close to 1.9 million,
coming from Dubai alone.
L
ittle did IITians Deepinder Goyal and Pankaj
Chaddah know that the scanned menus they
put up on the office intranet to help out hungry
colleagues queuing up in the pantry during lunch time,
would grow into the hugely popular online and mobile
restaurant and nightlife search and discovery guide
Zomato, which has emerged a formidable player on the
international food and beverage arena within a short
span of barely six years.
Today, Zomato (which rhymes with tomato) is
credited with being the first Indian internet product to
have truly gone global, boasting a presence across
22 countries gained through an aggressive strategy of
mergers and acquisitions. This has made the Gurgaonheadquartered internet start-up one of the world’s
10
leading online F&B search services with listings of nearly
330,000 restaurants in 130 cities, that is accessed
monthly by an almost 35 million strong base of largely
young users, across its web and mobile platforms.
Zomato traces its origins to foodiebay.com. This
was the first site that Goyal and Chaddah launched
in New Delhi in July 2008, after seeing the popularity
of their scanned menus on the intranet at Bain & Co’s
office in India’s capital city, where the duo worked as
consultants. Initially, what they did was to employ a
full time person to just go out and collect menus from
many Delhi restaurants which they put up on foodiebay.
com. The service quickly caught on and spread to other
Indian cities and beyond.
Promising foray in Dubai
Rechristened subsequently as Zomato.com, the
website and mobile app not only display scanned
menus today but has evolved into a sophisticated
service that also features relevant information such as
the venue’s location with GPS co-ordinates, timings,
availability of wi-fi or alcohol, mode of payment, the type
of cuisine and dining experience, price range as well as
user-generated reviews and photos. Restaurants get to
list for free.
Buoyed by spectacular growth in the Indian market,
Zomato then set its sights on Dubai. “We started the
UAE office in Dubai in September 2012. A month later,
we launched Abu Dhabi and Sharjah. We’ve completed
two years in Dubai. In this period, we have grown
to having a 2.5 million user traffic per month, on our
website and the app, with a large chunk of this, of close
to 1.9 million, coming from Dubai alone,” Rohin Thampi,
Zomato’s UAE Country Manager based in Dubai, told
TII.
Dubai and the UAE marked Zomato’s maiden,
and hugely promising, international foray. Rohin, who
joined the Dubai office in February 2013, today presides
over what is Zomato’s best-performing international
operation with galloping revenues and a monthly traffic
of over 2.5 million users to its popular portal. “We have
60 staff in Dubai and five in Abu Dhabi where we will
be scaling up operations. The Dubai team takes care
of Sharjah. We have an office at Dubai Internet City
and will be shifting out of the World Trade Centre office
to new spacious premises in Burj Al Salam tower on
Sheikh Zayed Road in January,” he said, highlighting
Zomato’s successful run in the UAE.
Rohin, who grew up in Dubai’s bustling Karama
locality, came to the UAE from Zomato’s Bangalore
office where he was Business Head since joining the
start up in January 2012. “I knew how the company
worked in India, and having grown up in Dubai, it was
easy for me to move to the UAE and adapt quickly. It
Zomato Co-Founder Pankaj Chaddah (left) with Rohin Thampi,
UAE Country Manager, Zomato
Deepinder Goyal: first Indian Internet global success
was a mix of knowing the city and the company very well
that probably landed me the assignment,” explained the
29-year old, who was a regular Zomato user even prior
to joining the company.
Best performing market
“Athulya (his wife) and I love trying out different
restaurants and cuisines and would refer to Zomato
often for information and reviews. So when I heard
Zomato was looking for a head for Bangalore I jumped
at the option. It was a product I believed in and used
a lot. Also it was a bunch of young people trying to do
something big. I‘d heard a lot about the work culture
and environment and knew Zomato was poised for
growth. It was a good time to get on board. As our
founder says, ‘It’s like when you get a chance to ride on
a rocket ship you don’t ask what seat you’re allotted.’ I
got a chance to get in, so I jumped on.”
Zomato makes money from advertising on its
website and the recently-launched mobile apps for
iOS, Android, Windows Phone and Blackberry phones
that now account for nearly half of its traffic. “The UAE,
with 25 per cent month-on-month growth in revenue,
is one of our best performing markets, one that has
embraced Zomato really well,” pointed out Rohin who
studied at Indian High School, Dubai. He left in 2002
for higher studies in India, where he completed his B.
Tech. in Mechanical Engineering from Kerala University
and then a post graduate diploma in Management
from the prestigious Indian Institute of Management at
Ahmedabad. After short stints at Elite Foods and Mantri
Developers in Bangalore, he moved to Zomato.
Because of this phenomenal growth and Dubai’s
11
COVER STORY
Rohin Thampi with the UAE Zomato team
reputation as a gastronomic hub, the city will have
the honour of hosting the trial launch of Zomato’s new
cashless mobile payment facility in February. “Settling
your bill is a 10 to 15 minute process today. We want
to cut that down to just one interaction. This mobile
payment facility is another layer in the eating out value
chain, right now we play in the discovery part of the
restaurant and dining experience but we are ready to
enter this new space. There’s lots of scope to build
reward and loyalty programs around payments,” CoFounder Chaddah said recently.
Mobile payments launch
“Going cashless is where the future is. We want to be
the solution for the F&B space which sees the highest
spend. This is an important vertical for us,” added Rohin.
Starting with selected customers and restaurants, the
payments system will store users’ credit card details on
their devices, allowing them to request the restaurant
to charge them for their meal via the app, rather than
going through the usual process of paying. A larger
payments rollout, including trials in other international
markets, is expected to follow in April or May.
“We broke even within three months of launching
Zomato in Dubai. We have 6,200 restaurant listings for
Dubai alone, another 2,250 for Abu Dhabi and 1,600
for Sharjah. We try to list every F&B outlet in the city
irrespective of whether it serves coffee or a full meal, is a
cafeteria or a juice shop or a fine dining restaurant. The
aim is to have every single bit of information one needs
while deciding where to eat or get a takeaway from or
order food delivery or nightlife venue,” he said. Menu
12
data is refreshed every three months by its teams, in a
‘feet on the street’ approach which helps Zomato score
over rivals.
Rohin attributes Zomato’s overwhelming success
to a first-mover advantage in the UAE market coupled
with Dubai’s vibrant F&B industry characterised by
a high spending resident population, a strong dining
out culture, big demand for home delivery, the ever
increasing number of restaurants, new hotels and
malls, diverse cuisines catering to a multicultural milieu
and high internet penetration with widespread use of
smartphones. He is optimistic that Expo2020 and
ambitious new developments such as the Dubai Canal
Project will only add to the city’s dining attractions.
However, drawing users to the site and convincing
restaurants to migrate to a new online format were initial
hiccups Zomato faced in the Dubai market but word of
mouth and advertising helped to create awareness and
build credibility. Zomato too evolved for the local market,
featuring filters for sheesha and alcohol and listings for
iftars and suhours during Ramadan. It also helped that
in the local market, Zomato “has no direct competition.
We are solely about information and content. And there
is no one who offers the cashless facility that we will
soon introduce. There is no one who goes out and
collects information directly from restaurants and puts
it online. That is our core competency,” pointed out
Rohin.
In expansion overdrive
Since its Dubai take-off, Zomato, has expanded across
the Middle East launching its service in Qatar, Lebanon
COVER STORY
and Turkey. “The Middle East has been good for our
growth and Zomato is investing in a full-fledged team
for Qatar. We are also looking to launch in Saudi Arabia
and Kuwait in the next year,” Rohin disclosed. This
expansion is in line with Zomato’s ambitious growth
plans for the overseas market, buoyed by the tripling of
its global revenue to US$4.8 million in 2013-14 and the
US$60 million it raised in November by way of investor
funding from shareholders Info Edge, Sequoia Capital
and the Silicon Valley based Vy Capital.
With fresh funds in the kitty, Zomato has embarked
on a spree of mergers and acquisitions, adding five
restaurant search players in New Zealand, Poland,
Czech Republic, Slovakia and Italy, last year alone. In
January, it spent US$50 million on its sixth and biggest
acquisition, the US site Urbanspoon. This facilitates
Zomato’s entry into the North American and Australian
markets and pits it against Yelp, one of the world’s
largest online food listings companies with a dominant
share of the North American market and a presence
across 28 countries.
With the Urbanspoon deal, traffic to Zomato is
expected to more than double to 80 million visits per
month and the number of restaurants listed to triple
to more than a million. “Zomato is well on its way to
becoming the world’s local expert in dining out. From
just restaurant discovery and menus, Zomato has
now become a vast global community driven by social
interactions.
“Urbanspoon’s excellent reputation and foothold
in North America, Australia and the UK provide the
perfect opportunity for our global growth. We will
soon be integrating the two platforms to bring the
best of both products to all of our users,” said Goyal,
Zomato’s Founder and Chief Executive, after finalising
the acquisition with the portal’s owner, digital media
company InterActive Corp.
In December, Zomato acquired Cibando, one of
Italy’s largest restaurant search services with 82,000
restaurant listings, with plans to scale up its teams in
Rohin with wife Athulya and son Neil
Rome and Milan and eventually in six other top cities
in the country. Over the past year, it has boosted
its international presence with the acquisitions of
MenuMania in New Zealand, Lunchtime in the Czech
Republic, Obedovat in Slovakia and Gastronauci in
Poland, making waves on the Indian online foodscape.
Zomato’s workforce of 950 employees drawn from
25 odd nationalities now mans its operations across
the globe stretching from Brazil and Chile to Canada
and the US in the Americas; the UK; Ireland, Portugal,
Poland, Italy, the Czech Republic and Slovakia in
Europe; South Africa; the Middle East; New Zealand;
and Indonesia, Sri Lanka and the Philippines in Asia.
And the company, which traditionally drew its talent
from IITs and B-schools in India, continues to build on
its largely youthful workforce, where the average age of
an employee is 24. It plans to recruit staff in the UAE
too as its activities spread beyond Dubai into the other
emirates.
“Dubai is a modern metropolis now,” says Rohin
of the past decade’s transformation of the city that he
grew up in. “Back then Emirates Towers was the end
point of the city, today that’s where Dubai begins. Only
Karama (where he now lives) is still recognisable. The
number of people residing in the city has grown. Dubai
has expanded and new retail and F&B promenades
have come up such as The Walk at JBR and City Walk
at Al Safa. These are great opportunities for us as a
company.” TII
Armenia Fernandes is a freelance writer based in Dubai.
Rohin speaking at the Zomato UAE Restaurant Summit in 2013
14
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TRAVEL
Staff Reporter
Rapidly Changing Demographics To Fuel
Major Shift In GCC Travel Over Next 15 Years
The population in GCC countries is younger, wealthier and more
family-oriented than other regions worldwide.
T
decision makers, traditional travel behaviours will
ravel behaviour of the youth segment will force
a shift to new technologies, according to the
witness a transformation and become increasingly selfdirected.
Amadeus-commissioned new report ‘Shaping
the Future of Travel in the Gulf Cooperation Council
As outlined in the Amadeus-commissioned
(GCC): Big Travel Effects’
new report, Shaping the Future of Travel in the
Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC): Big Travel
The coming-of-age of the Gulf
Cooperation Council (GCC)’s young
Effects, additional unfolding demographic
factors such as steady inflow of expatriate
population will reshape the travel industry in
the region over the next 15 years, with the
workers, robust natural population growth
tech-savvy generation turning instinctively
and a growing middle class will combine
to drive a new and divergent set of travel
to mobile technologies and social media to
plan, book and manage travel.
behaviours and needs in the region.
Today, nearly 25 per cent of the GCC
The report, researched and collated by Frost
& Sullivan and Insights and commissioned by
population is under 15 years of age, and
Antoine Medawar
as this demographic becomes tomorrow’s VP, MENA, Amadeus. Amadeus, examines and contextualises the
15
TRAVEL
various ways a new travel landscape will develop in the
Gulf region over the next 15 years.
“The Gulf region is poised for a new era of travel as
investment in infrastructure, new tourism sectors, and
governmental initiatives to ease intra- and extra-regional
movement and make the GCC more attractive to leisure
and business travellers,” said Antoine Medawar, Vice
President, MENA, Amadeus.
He added, “Travel providers who address the
nuanced needs of the region’s population are likely to
thrive in the coming decades. At Amadeus our people,
our technology and our innovation are dedicated to
helping our customers and partners shape the future of
travel in this region.”
Further key findings include:
Economies in the GCC are diversifying beyond oil,
and specialist tourism sectors such as cruises, meetings
and conferences and medical tourism play a prominent
role in this diversification. As a result, the GCC countries
have maintained an average GDP growth of over 5% in
the past decade, with a greater increase expected in
the future.
Tourism will have a trickle-down effect into other
sectors, furthering economic growth and diversification.
Hospitality and construction in particular will benefit as
the number of travellers entering or passing through the
region increases – Qatar expects 3.7 million tourists
in 2022 around the FIFA World Cup and is investing
US$20 billion on tourism infrastructure and US$140
billion on transport.
The GCC is working to make travel easier, both
within the region and outbound. This is particularly
relevant with 33 per cent of the respondents surveyed
citing visa issues as a key reason for their inability to
travel more often. Improved accessibility within the
region and abroad is expected to increase the number
of intra-regional travellers to four-fold by 2030.
“Travel in the Gulf region is changing. Economic
diversification and a move from oil is an important driver,
but there are several subtle factors at play too. Changes
in population and geopolitical pressure to open borders
16
and make movement easier are also impacting the
future of travel here,” observed Mona Faraj, Managing
Partner, Insights.
The report was collated by surveying over 1,000
travellers from the region as well as through interviews
with thought leaders in the travel industry. The study
highlights the technologically savvy and growing
population of the GCC and predicts the emergence of a
travel landscape in the region that is highly connected,
personalised, and sustainable.
To download a free copy of the report ‘Shaping the
future of Travel in the GCC: Big Travel Effects’ please
visit:
http://www.amadeus.com/blog/05/06/middle-eastreport/ TII
In addition to a survey of some 1,000 travellers
from the GCC, executives from the following companies contributed to the report:
• Arab Air Carrier Organisation
• Cleartrip
• Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce
Marketing (DTCM)
• Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority
• Expedia
• Facebook
• flydubai
• Fursan Travel
• Google
• Jumeirah Group
• Kanoo Travel
• Mariott International
• National Corporation for Tourism and Hotels
• PATA
• Qatar Airways
• Qatar Tourism Authority
• Rotana
• Teal Hospitality
NOSTALGIA
Dev Gupta
Why do We Pine for India?
“Home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts”
- Oliver Wendell Holmes
Sandip Paul: Every visit home refreshes the guilt and regrets for all he has missed while away
B
eing away from home is sometimes as searing as
homelessness. Who would identify with this better
than the random Indian expat who happens by
chance on the “Swades” title track by A.R. Rahman, or
one of the many other home-calling songs, messages,
events, places and persons that beckon? The void that
oceans leave between lands is indeed lwide and none
would know more than the myriad non-resident Indians
who strive, yearn and (at times) pay heavily to catch
a glimpse of their motherland. India, like a generous
mother, gives plenty of gifts to all her residents. This is
perhaps what makes every Indian-out-of-India nostalgic
about the nation, despite the many lacunae that the
country has yet to fill.
For NRIs, pining for the nation is comparable to that
of a person who has all his teeth replaced with gold
crowns. The following accounts of four natives living
in four different continents across the measureless
expanse of the globe communicate the sense of
alienation and void of belongingness they experience
amidst their life in the swanky places they call home.
Pankaj Kishorbharti, Senthil Prabhu, Anirban Kundu
and Sandip Paul might not be familiar with one another.
But they all certainly miss the familiarity of home and
share common sentiments, the warmest of which is a
deep longing for India.
Sandip Paul
Doha, Qatar
Working with Qatar Airways for about a year now,
Sandip Paul has found Qatar quite representative
of the Middle East as he expected. The magic and
enchantment of the Orient is evident in Doha, but the
grandeur is bleak in contrast to his home in the blissful
suburbs of Kolkata, where his mother resides alone.
Every visit home refreshes the guilt and regrets for
all he has missed while away - the Raksha Bandhan
that his sister has so eagerly waited for, the numberless
mother-son moments of emotional exchange, back-tochildhood memories with his niece and nephew who
grew up all so suddenly, friends’ hangouts, random
road trips, street food experiences, kite-flying in
summer, boat-rides on quiet evenings, and countless
other things.
The buzz of the city might have been deafening
enough to keep the concentration adjusted to the
speed of life, but the sudden unlatching of floodgates
17
NOSTALGIA
NOSTALGIA
brings back memories with a realization of so many
things irreplaceable and irrevocable that he misses.
Today, Indians in an inordinate count are scattered
around the world in pursuit of academic, professional
and personal fulfillment, caught between the foreignness
of their locales and fraying ties with their motherland.
Standing in a “no man’s land”, they strive to wear the
‘international personality’ armed with a global outlook,
as they constantly struggle to forsake their own culture
and adapt to a new one. Having spent the coming-ofage years in India, exploring the outer world is desirable,
but in the close, home is where memories, happiness
and belongingness find common ground
Pankaj Kishorbharti
Edmonton, Canada
Currently the head chef with an Italian chain of
restaurants named Sorrentions in the frosty town of
Edmonton, Pankaj Kishorbharti sees himself exactly
where he anticipated his life would be five years back in
time. Doing well for himself beside lending a stable hand
of support to his family back in India, Kishor is, doing
well as the eldest of the children to Mr. and Mrs. Prasad
of West Bengal, India.
Living away from home since 2006, time has sailed
in fast, rough and high tides for Kishor during the first
few years of his flowering hotel career. Having graduated
with Hospitality Management like many other aspiring
dreamers of his time, he first signed up for a European
cruise liner following a short service period at an Indian
restaurant.
Life took off after that, with him never having to look
back. His job took him around continents, the whole of
Europe and Australia, though with limited ports of call.
Having lived offshore for the most of six years, Kishor
finally landed in Alberta Canada, in 2013 after bagging
a job with his current employer.
Living a settled life for the first time since his departure
from home, Kishor is beginning to feel distinctly the blank
in his heart that has opened up between the person he
is today and the youngster he was. Back in the suburbs
of Bengal, he’d gaze at airplanes cutting through the
sky, fantasizing in innocent wide-eyed wonder what it
was to peer through the windows of an enclosed metal
container flying high above the ground.
Today, as he stands by his apartment window
staring at the clear cloudless Canadian sky, one or
two planes catch his eyes, but the ecstasy and awe
that held his breath as a little boy has gone. A walk
down less-treaded memory lane brings back flashes
from his childhood, solitary escapades, sibling bonding,
mischievous moments with friends, nonstop kibitzing
with school friends over weekend sleepovers, mummy
love, the rare fishing sashays with his father and above
all, the picturesque landscape of his native place that
18
Pankaj Kishorbharti: a distinct blank in his heart for all things
Indian
Senthil Prabhu: electric with pain for home
still remains vivid in his recollections.
He misses home, and above that he misses his
country. The nerve-wrecking journey in India’s trains
had something incomprehensibly attractive about them
that the Canadian Pacific railway and its sophisticated
crowd cannot offer.
His hands are now accustomed to the stylish Italian
dishes for which he handles an unrelenting rush of
orders every day at lunch and dinner hours, his olfactory
senses now having learned to appreciate and evaluate
the foreign tastes. But, back in his Canadian home, his
little kitchen is a microcosm of the greater Indian rasois,
the air reeking with the delicious and tantalizing smell
of spices, with his taste buds never devoid of Indian
preferences. He makes up for the difference in his
eating habits by conjuring the little Indian cooking stage
in his apartment to make up for his mother’s fingerlicking treats.
Kishor misses the lavish Indian weddings that have
so much food and fervor. Even though he has made
friends with a few other natives like him living in and
around his place and with some locals, it is hardly the
same as hanging out with his friends in the crowdpacked streets of Esplanade in Kolkata or enjoying
a group-movie at home or crashing at a friend’s over
weekends.
quick to articulate his love for highway rides back in
India. He totally misses the wild freedom of Indian roads
where he could stop to take a snap or two and resume
his journey without violating traffic laws unlike the road
trips he makes within the continental US.
If it is anything that Prabhu yearns for the most, it
is the childhood that he spent back in India. Scattered
instances from childhood are still vivid in his memoryhis mother reading stories to him and his elder sister, the
ecstatic welcome of his father on his much anticipated
yearly homecomings, the painful departures, stories of
valor of his grandpa as told by his mother, early morning
temple visits after a freezing shower, home-made
South-Indian yummies and the list goes on.
Notwithstanding the feast of nostalgic memories,
the regrets of missing his sister’s wedding and not being
present with his family as he had promised, missing
his grandmother’s funeral and other countless lessimportant occasions he would have sold gold to be at,
has left him distraught and electric with pain.
Senthil Prabhu
Philadelphia, USA
Born and brought up in Chennai, Senthil Prabhu has
lived most of his childhood and teenage years away
from home. He schooled as a boarder and moved
out altogether from home when he got into college
for an engineering degree. He presently works with a
software firm in the US. Living in Philadelphia, USA, for
the last five years, Prabhu is deeply in love with the rich
greenery of Pennsylvania, something that has inspired
the photographer in him to seriously pursue his hobby.
Asked about why he yearns for home, Senthil is
Anirban Kundu
Upton Park, London
London Heathrow, his first international trip over the
brief English summer.
Quite expectedly, his excitement and eagerness
knew no bounds even as he endured the pain in his
eardrums as the plane descended on one of the busiest
airstrips of the world.
Statistically almost every one out of five people
in London is an Asian and many among them, like
Anirban Kundu, are Software Engineers. Thanks
to the wonderfully illustrated city map and the userfriendly London Tube, reaching his apartment and daily
locomotion isn’t as unnerving as he had imagined.
There is no dearth of Indians/Asians in the Upton
Park side of London, a genetically modified version of
an Indian metropolis. Stores selling Indian groceries,
Indian products and Indian restaurants are ubiquitous
throughout.
However, the longing for home like for any other
displaced individual started to manifest in him as soon
as he settled down. Flashbacks of travel experiences
back home while journeying in Indian trains was one of
the first little nostalgic throw-backs.
Anirban dived into all the facets of London
cosmopolitanism with gusto, ambling through the
streets, mingling with people of varied ethnicities,
cultures and backgrounds. International brands, movie
theaters, exuberance at the iconic Picadilly Circus, and
the sinfully indulging nightlife of London was absorbing
for some time. But soon he was missing the zing of
real Indian cuisine, with tongue-stabs attacking his taste
buds. The ambient streets of London couldn’t match
the plethora of mouthwatering Indian street delicaciesrolls, kebabs, pani-puri, aloo-tikki, pao bhajis that India,
so amply and proudly serves.
Exploring the enormity of the city was not the same
as the ‘lost in crowd’ feeling in India. There is a certain
lack of ease that perhaps India alone can fulfill for her
people. “The English Premier League is electrifying no
doubt, but you frankly miss the sensation and tension of
Anirban Kundu: Tongue stabs for real Indian cuisine
India-Pak cricket matches,” Anirban reminisces.
It wasn’t long before he started to sense that the
typical Indian hustle and bustle is lacking in the business
of even the biggest British festivities. The fervent Indianness in group celebration is another thing he pines for,
not to mention the physical presence of family the only
thing that can truly make home what it is. TII
Dev Gupta takes interest in almost everything that’s essentially
Indian and quintessentially ‘Desi’. A frequent traveller who has
covered the length and breadth of the country, Dev loves meeting
new people and understanding their perceptions about India, a
country which has long been identified by westerners as the land
of snakes and saints.
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Ruqya Khan
Right Selection
“Technology wasn’t nearly as advanced
then, as it is now; people still craved
the interpersonal connection, the
human interaction. So, instead of just
retailing books we began to fly in
the authors of those same books to
the region. And so was born Right
Selection Seminar Organisers in
1999,” recalls Gautam, Managing
Director of Right Selection.
Ram and Gautam Ganglani: a better idea
R
ight Selection stands 21 years strong and
that is because they believe in change and
growth. Over the years, the organisation has
transformed from your corner bookstore to a leading
seminar organiser, and from a seminar organiser to the
region’s prominent Speakers Bureau. A lot has gone
into its making and rise. Ram Ganglani, Chairman and
founder looks back, “After spending nearly 30 years in
the family business between Europe and West Africa, I
was looking for a change. Relatives based here invited
me to explore the opportunities in U.A.E. and I took it
up. Dubai was evolving at the time. It struck me that
there was a great potential to serve the professionals
in the community while assisting them in their efforts at
personal development. This service was totally aligned
with my passion for self-development through a wide
variety of learning tools - books/audios/videos. I was
keen to make “learning and development” convenient
for others also. I conceptualised the business as a
family-owned bookstore (in Dubai) in 1993.”
Fortunately, a couple of years later, Ram’s son,
Gautam graduated from London in “Business &
Finance” and decided to join the business. This proved
to be a great boon. His energy and marketing skills put
the business of selling books (somewhat) on autopilot.
“Technology wasn’t nearly as advanced then, as it is
now; people still craved the interpersonal connection,
the human interaction. So, instead of just retailing books
we thought of bettering the game. We began to fly in
the authors of those same books to the region. And so
was born Right Selection Seminar Organisers in 1999,”
recalls Gautam, Managing Director of Right Selection.
In its drive to sustain growth, what started off as a
corner bookshop has now morphed into a customercentric, community-focused business and advocate
22
SMALL BIZ
in enhanced learning culture within the region. Right
Selection is now successfully serving the community
by helping individuals and corporates dramatically and
positively transform their results.
“The challenges have been for us to grab the
attention of busy decision makers in the space of
“Human Capital Development,” to establish credibility
for the services we are offering and also to drive home
the importance of continuous learning. Most often
the corporates are too pre-occupied with the pace of
development in the country. For them “training” and
“upgrading skills” of their people means moving busy
executives away from their desks and the shop floor
to attend programs on self development. Reaching
out has therefore been a slow process, requiring a lot
of patience, determination and persistence from our
side. To our advantage, the regional and the global
competition in the market place has given the thrust
to local enterprises to start looking at our initiatives
Team Right Selection celebrates their 20th anniversary
Ram Ganglani, Ron Kaufman, Tony Buzan, Marshall Goldsmith, Jack Canfield, Gautam Ganglani:strategic partnerships
more seriously and with greater readiness to commit to
involving their teams in the education space,” explain
the father-son duo.
For any organisation to make a place for itself in
the market, it has to be really innovative and always
approach the challenge through thinking creatively and
outside the box. Right Selection’s entire business model
is proof that innovation is at the heart of this company.
“While most companies would look for creative ways
within their financial means, Right Selection looks for
creative ways to expand their means in non-financial
ways, which improve the bottom-line of the enterprise.”
Stemming from the collaborative mind-set of the
two Managing Partners, Right Selection has entered
into strategic partnerships with suppliers/vendors with
the arrangement of an exchange of services.
“With Learning & Development as our core business
we attract and work with like-minded, forward-thinking,
customer-centric organisations who value the learning
proponent of the seminars organised. Last year was
an exceptionally innovative year for the company. We
created a unique platform for other SME’s to showcase
their brands with the use of exhibition space during our
seminars. We wanted to encourage the notion of ‘our,’
rather than ‘my’,” pointed out Ram. It is no surprise
then that organisations such as Executive Secretary
LIVE, Business Marketing Association (BMA), Middle
East Council of Shopping Centers (MECSC) and the
International Coaches Federation (ICF), in turn look to
them for marketing and event management support.
“A highly efficient and effective team of eight people
single-handedly ensures that we maintain a close
relationship with our clients by constantly listening to their
needs and responding with suitable recommendations.
At our seminars, we provide enriching learning
experiences for every delegate attending our seminars
and workshops. From registration to networking
introductions, from artwork creation to invoicing,
this dream-team of eight epitomises the concept of
teamwork with individual accountability,” says Gautam.
“Our capacity to localise research, information and
best-practices brought to the region by international
Thought Leaders and local trainers distinctively creates
the opportunity for Right Selection to enhance the
quality of business done within the nation, creating more
loyal consumers, more ethical selling, more creative
marketing plans, more robust HR practices, a superior
level of service quality and in turn, a higher standard
of living within the region. As we look ahead we see
our company as the most preferred training provider for
regional companies providing top quality international
thought leaders and training programs that transform
individuals and hugely impact businesses.”
Gautam and I have an excellent relationship as a
father and son team. We complement each other in
skill sets and experience. We act as friends, respect
and appreciate each others’ strengths keeping in mind
that we have a generation gap! It has been a rewarding
journey. It is indeed a blessing to be at the right place
at the right time and doing what we both love to do,”
concludes Ram. TII
Ruqya Khan is a freelance writer based in Dubai.
i
THE START UP:
•Date of launch of the business: December 1993
•Total Investment at the onset of the firm: AED200,000
•Number of staff on the team: Total 8 (including Ram and
Gautam)
•License required for this business: started with a
Commercial License and added a Professional License
to conduct seminars
•Location of office: Office#1603, The Citadel, Business
Bay, Dubai – 04 420 5599
•Business projections for 2015: Expand business to the
MENA region with new International thought leaders
23
IMMIGRANT
Mary Thomas
GOLDEN SANDS
Hotel Apartments
Six years in Fort McMurray:
Canada Takes Getting Used To
Chic, Comfortable, Affordable
Feel relaxed at your home
C
GOLDEN SANDS 10
HOTEL APARTMENTS
M
Y
CM
MY
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Mary Thomas with her husband Sunny John, daughter Olivia and son Johaan: Life has lessons for those who are willing to learn.
CMY
K
It took some time to sink in; the long arduous path to a great life I had imagined turned
out to be illusionary wild rose bushes that had created a rosy picture. I found myself in
a 10 year career regression phase. The cold did its bit to dampen the spirits, as we did
our best to ignore the pain and isolation and kept moving.
C
anada has been an experience of a lifetime. I
landed six years ago in Calgary feeling euphoric
in anticipation of the great life the country
promised. Our jet lag from 20 hours of flying between
Mumbai- Franfurt- Calgary wore off overnight and
next morning, we jumped onto a Westjet to fly to Fort
McMurray. I was awe-struck by the immaculate picture
post card look of the town with such a low population.
Summer streets lined with flowers seemed to beckon
us as did the cheerful people all around. we were finally
in a first world country.
Our mentors who welcomed us were so warm,
putting us at ease immediately. The next week was
spent getting accustomed to the place, the malls, the
banks and the registry. The townhouse we were housed
in was beautiful and we promptly invited other Indians
we bumped into to our place.
24
Since we had no credit history to start with, we
couldn’t get a mortgage. So we acquired a visa card,
cell phone and a new habit: spend more to build credit.
We then moved to a neat affordable basement suite in
Timberlea. We set up a makeshift garage to prevent an
avalanche of the northern snow covering the vehicle.
The warm days grew progressively chillier, and we
purchased snow gear to be armored for the impending
winter. Life turned cold, not only the season but those
we thought were friends seemed too busy. I had moved
from one job to another and was getting accustomed to
the Canadian work place when a rude shock awakened
me.
It took some time to sink in; the long arduous path
to a great life I had imagined turned out to be illusionary
wild rose bushes that had created a rosy picture. I found
myself in a 10 year career regression phase. The cold
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www.goldensandsdubai.com
IMMIGRANT
Mary is involved in multicultural activities as Executive Director
of Multicultural Association of Wood Buffalo
did its bit to dampen the spirits, as we did our best
to ignore the pain and isolation and kept moving. Life
always has its lessons for those who are willing to learn.
Aerobics, a few friends, home making and
kids’ activities took up most of my time while hubby
immersed himself in his job. And soon we realised
that six years vanished like sand through our hands. I
needed to put things in perspective. So I went on to
list a few of my favourite things: 1. Garage sales to
which a Venezulean friend used to take me 2. The vast
blue sky, bright summer days that seem to stretch to
infinity, 3. Luscious cherries, blueberries, strawberries
and Alberta beef 4. The Canadian Rockies 5. The cool
relaxed life with so much family time 6. The ubiquitous
pets: doggie, kitten, ferret, snake, parrots.
If you happen to walk the innumerable trails that
envelop our city, one can access the Boreal forests and
five rivers very easily to be immersed in nature. People
who passed seemed friendly and interested as they
asked, “How are you?” Only they didn’t wait for your
answer. If you asked someone whether he had kids,
the most common answer would be, I have a dog, if
that counts!
Our kids had long forgotten their study ridden
schedules and completely given themselves to the gay
abandon of the extracurricular life. I saw them acquire
some habits like reading and eating pizza and hot dogs
which started showing on their waistlines especially in
the winters. They made friends and loved school with
the relaxed approach to study. No real disciplining, no
uniforms, little homework and lots of fun...... wow... this
is the way to live.
Our family arguments centered on whether letting
our children off the leash to let them find their destined
professions was good or bad. They gained confidence
and were able to make their presence felt. But I found
the complete lack of competitiveness unreal. Don’t kids
26
IMMIGRANT
need to be prepared for a tough world out there? They
need to debate on topics and fight it out. They need not
always be politically correct. They need to have their
values in place and to be able to speak their minds.
At home we speak the different Indian dialects we
are used to, mixed with English as always. That we
are Indians doesn’t change with the demographics.
India can never be taken out of an Indian. I miss the
colour, the vibrance of my crowded city, Mumbai, the
flavours, the scents, the scenes, the constant chatter
and high decibel voices heard over the crowds, the
Kancheepuram sarees and the festival dances. But
what I miss more than anything is the love I used to
share with friends, fiends and family.
Our bonds in India are beyond words. They are in
the amused look across a table at a joke that some
total stranger cracks, the nod of appreciation when
someone sings a beautiful song, the antaksharis and
the camaraderie. They are in the efforts of women who
will slog all day at work and then return to cook and keep
home and hearth with little support from their spouses
with not so much as a sigh. They are in the grandmoms who take care of their little grand children with
complete selflessness. They are in the unconditional
love of friends across the classes, religions, languages
and social strata. They are in the common celebrations
of different religious functions, in the chaat, the pavbhaji, vada-pav, the goan fish-curry and the vindaloo.
The bandstand where college students spend a sunset
eating roasted corn, the campuses where knowledge
and values are eulogised to the extreme, the thought
of what the neighbours will think if we did something
wrong. There is a collectivisim that pervades everything
that seems a rare commodity in Canada. That vacuum
is palpable and now I know.
Having lived in Iran and the UAE, I missed my family,
intimate spontaneous relationships, the walks to buy
veggies from the open market, the friendly chit chat with
Mary Thomas at her home in Canada
Mary Thomas with her mother Ponnama, husband Sunny and son Johaan
neighbours, the newspaper man, the milk man and the
dhobi and more than anything the maid!
There are so many differences between my native
country and my adopted one. One of the starkest is in
the service levels. Having been used to having maids
to take care of all your household chores and having
petrol filled while you keep sitting in your car, having
your groceries delivered when you are too tired to go
to the store. The list is endless; the things you can get
done just by paying a few bucks!
When I took flight from a perceived third to a first
world country, I assumed there would be more facilities
and conveniences and life would be easier. In retrospect,
I see some convenience but much inconvenience and
I am not isolated in my experience. Hoardes of Indians
who actually applied and were granted permanent
residency, sold all they had to settle here. They worked
in various menial positions and lived under trying
circumstances before they found their foothold and this
often took years.
We fell into a small bracket of people who arrived
on a work permit with even the airfare paid for by the
company that recruited my husband, a mechanical
engineer for his experience in oil and gas. I was also
given a work permit and when we landed, we got a red
carpet welcome by the HR Manager and his assistant.
I was beaming all through the drive to our temporary
townhouse well furnished and stocked with all that we
would need for some time. The next day we were taken
to the superstore to buy fruits and veggies and to the
bank to create an account and other registries to get the
formalities completed. To top it, we were given a rental
car for three weeks — I couldn’t believe the opportunity.
It was later that slowly but surely the monotony of
living in a small town after life in big cities set in. The
summer was whisked away by the bracing fall season
and a long aching winter. Our second hand SUV, Suzuki
Vitara served us well through hail and snowstorm over
our many trips to Edmonton, Jasper, Kelowna and
Victoria totalling 45,000 kms a year. Summer in BC is
grand and lush as it is in Alberta. Three cars later, I own
a Volvo XC60 2015 with all the bells and whistles and
luxurious in any weather.
I moved in and out of a few jobs slowly finding my
niche. Working at the church as a secretary to the News
Editor of the local newspaper, then as a workshop
facilitator with the CMHA and the Y and then with
Keyano Corporate Training, Leadership Wood Buffalo
and the Family Crisis Society. As a Snapd Photographer,
I had the opportunity to interact with people from all
countries, sharing culinary secrets with them, learning
about their culture and character as they did mine. While
I was mulling at the lack of an Asian feel to the place, I
was invited to partcipate in the development of a spring
musical event for South East Asians. The radio station
I used to love listening to invited me to be a member of
the panel of directors to launch a prime time talk show
on the multicultural landscape of Fort McMurray.
A lot of volunteering and community work surely
is not lost on the community. Now as the Executive
Director of the Multicultural Association of Wood Buffalo
I get to make the motto Unity in Diversity happen. I
get to manage an amazing team of young ladies and
a much invested board. I love my job and residing in
a small city makes connecting easy and I should say I
am blessed! We have programs, events and initiatives
that the community is excited to be a part of. And we
do research projects as well to build intelligence for the
community to tap into. The 2000 family strong Indian
community suddenly sees in me a leader they can look
up to and I love the opportunity.
It was our daughter Olivia’s birthday October 4, 2011
when we purchased our house overlooking her school
on Comfree. Now we had friends, our Edmonton bible
27
IMMIGRANT
study group, and Canadian and multinational friends.
Work doesn’t go on forever like in India. Hubby leaves
Life has moved out of the mundane and there are just
home at 6.40am and returns at 5 pm everyday like
too many things to do. There is no time to exercise or
clockwork. Kids take the school bus at 7.45 and then I
to keep a clean home. All the washing and cleaning
go about my household jobs and leave food cooked for
sometimes gets to me.
them on the counter before I go to work.
I realised one thing. Elaborate Indian cooking is not
Corruption is unseen though heard of sometimes;
possible here, but since nobody cooks much food is a
drugs, scandals and growing marijuana in basements.
great connector. If you have to go to work in the morning,
At least the common man doesn’t have to contend with
you can’t cook. You must complete the cooking the
corruption like in India. The police never take a bribe
night before, so your dress doesn’t smell like palak
but they will ticket you for speeding or making a U turn
paneer. Most people eat precooked or post cooked
in the wrong place while they are exempted. There is
food in a microwave. The apples look great when you
so much paperwork for any transaction, it drains you.
pick them from the store but when you come home
But in the final count, life is pretty stress-free even with
and soak them in warm suds, you find a white layer
jammed roads, that can never compete with the traffic
of wax peeling. People seem
on the Bombay Pune
less concerned about what
highway. It is rare to see
others think about them,
someone lose his temper
even the Indians who have
and the way kids talk has
lived here for some time.
surely changed; they have
Everyone is more connected
acquired a less direct and
to each other online, people
better mannered lacquer
stare into their handheld
to their speech.
devices as they queue up at
But you better be a
Tim Horton’s.
handy man if you come to
People don’t drop in on
Canada since labour costs
you, not even your friends
are very steep and you
will surprise you. They
really have to weigh the
are supposed to match
repair guy in gold to pay
calendars and find a free slot
him. Cars, things around
that works for both parties.
the house, some plumbing
More than anything I miss
and drywalling, tackling
my mother, nephews and
small leaks and unseemly
inlaws in Kerala. I miss the
cracks,
keeping
the
Mary Thomas and friends: residing in a small city makes
warmth that we used to so connecting easy
carpets clean.... everybody
take for granted. I miss the
learns the Canadian way
aroma and the food, I miss
of life and plants roots into
sharing my lunch with my colleagues. I have begun to
its soil. It grabs you and like Hotel California you can
hate eating out like never before!
never leave!
Our kids miss their playmates from our familiar
Again it is the service that’s really different. You are
Indian apartment housing complex. Here they occupy
just one of them..... no one is different and don’t expect
themselves with innumerable extra curricular activities
to be treated like a king.... I often question myself; why
and interestingly I am not able to figure out which is
do people move out of their comfort zones?
better. I see in my son an undeniable surge of confidence
A few reasons I can think of: to save face after taking
I had never noticed before.
such a big leap of faith returning will be to much of a
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) speak
spectacle; children love this place and the democratic
so sweetly like a meetti churi.... it slices fine even when
school environment; it becomes difficult to drag them
you are handed a ticket and have to pay a fat fine.
back to India; some people invest their all, so there is
Sometimes I wonder whether they actually target us
hardly anything they can go back to, no one knows you
dark skinned ones. Then the expiry of my year of driving
here so you can do any job to survive; a hope of a better
on an international license in Fort McMurray brings me
life than what is available back home.
to the Alberta driving test chapter which took well over
Life unfolds....chill.... freeze! Surviving through seven
a month to complete. It is October, the leaves are falling
months of chilly winter is not bad; it’s just different! TII
or have fallen and all around it is flaming yellow and
Mary Thomas is a freelance writer based in Canada.
orange and red.... picturesque.
All said and done, the stress levels are quite low;
everything seems to follow a schedule and discipline.
28
INDIANS
Yashpal Rama
Are Indians Abroad Any Different?
There’s an Indian saying “The guest is like God”. Sure - maybe when you’re visiting
family or friends. But when you stay in a hotel or any other paid accommodation you
are not (author’s italics) God – like. You are entering into a contract that guarantees you
a certain service of an appropriate standard in exchange for money.
Indians Behaving Badly
During the Queen’s Birthday long weekend my wife
and I drove down to the Southern Highlands which are
about one hour’s drive south of Sydney. One of the big
attractions of this area are the wine farms. If you’re a
Merlot or Cab Sav fan you’ll love this place there are
great boutique wineries and hotels here that I would
happily recommend to anyone. But I digress…
We were at one such winery indulging in one of
our favourite weekend pastimes: wine tasting. The
sommelier who was looking after us was also serving
a group of well-dressed Indians. This bunch tried
everything there was to drink on the wine list and when
it came to picking up some bottles to buy they moved
to the door faster than Inzamam Al Haq at a free buffet.
That was downright embarrassing. How do people who
are obviously well off behave like a bunch of misers?
I thought long and hard about broaching this
subject, so before I go any further I am going to put
down a disclaimer – this is not a piece attacking Indians.
This piece attacks inappropriate behaviour wherever
and by whomever. That said, I did write this to take an
axe to some very allegedly “Indian” behaviours.
The Guest is like God
There’s an Indian saying “The guest is like God”. Sure maybe when you’re visiting family or friends. But when
you stay a hotel or any other paid accommodation
you are not (author’s italics) God–like. You are entering
into a contract that guarantees you a certain service
of an appropriate standard in exchange for money.
If this service is not provided then there’s a potential
breach of contract and you have a legitimate grievance.
Otherwise do not expect a 21 gun salute and the staff
prostrating themselves when you arrive to check in
(unless you paid for the privilege). I recall a particular
incident when in Mauritius a while back – we were at
the omelette station at our hotel when an Indian gent
29
INDIANS
cut the queue to demand an omelette. The chef smiled,
started the omelette and when the guy’s back was
turned dumped a stack of extra chilli into the mixture. I
feel sorry for anybody who shared a room with that guy.
But here’s the point – treat people badly (especially in
the hospitality and services industries) and they will find
a way to make you pay.
Indians love Freebies
Wrong – everybody loves freebies. I look to my collection
of hotel soaps and shampoos as proof of that. But
here’s the point – there are no such things as freebies.
My soap collection has already been factored into the
hotel’s expenses. A freebie (such as free wine tasting)
is something you get as a form of goodwill to ensure
increased business; it is not given to anybody just for
the sake of it. To be honest if Indians consider freebies
the highlight of their trips then I truly despair for them.
I’ll happily pay a fair price (or even the tourist price) for
something if it helps me enjoy my hard earned holiday.
Indian’s love Bargaining
Everyone wants a bargain there’s no doubt about that.
We were in a perfume shop in Berrima which had a sign
in Mandarin and English saying “Fixed Price Shop” so
looking for a bargain isn’t an Indian thing. But here’s
the point – what is acceptable in China (or India for
that matter) isn’t necessarily acceptable elsewhere. Let
me ask you this – if you’re running a business would
you be willing to bargain if your operating costs are
already high? Would the promise of future business
compensate for reduced profit margins? Worse, how
would bargaining impact your ability to support your
family?
There’s a fine line between respecting Lakshmi and
avarice. Let me give you an example – Europe has a big
tipping culture, in fact, tips are an essential supplement
to your average waiter’s salary. At Pompeii, my wife
and I had a drink at this beautiful cliff-side restaurant
and I ended up leaving a largish tip. As we walked
out I overheard the waiter saying to this friend “I never
expected an Indian to do that”. My ears were burning
with embarrassment.
You make the effort
Take the time to learn about your destination’s culture
and customs. When I go overseas I take the time to
learn some basic phrases e.g. greetings so I can speak
to the locals. This is basic courtesy and gets you a
much better reaction and creates goodwill. Let me
give you an example – talking loudly in public spaces
in Australia is not considered inclusive behaviour – it’s
absolutely annoying. If an Australian walks around the
Jama Masjid or a temple in Varanasi in shorts would you
find that acceptable? If a foreigner visits India would you
30
not expect them to respect and understand the local
customs? Then there’s the concept of queuing, but
let’s not go there otherwise we’ll be here all day….
As I said above, small things like saying “Hello” in
the local dialect makes people willing to help you. In
fact you don’t have to learn that even – there’s this
great invention called Google translate which allows
you to communicate in virtually in any known language
(and a few I’ve never heard of). With the creation of the
internet and other knowledge sharing systems there’s
no excuse to plead ignorance.
Before I wrap it up, my wife insisted on me putting
this last one in – the Indian male habit of staring,
especially at females. Now this one especially gets on
her nerves and I agree with her. If she (or any other
female for that matter) walks down the road she doesn’t
expect people to stare or whistle at her (construction
workers excepted). As she puts it ‘It’s like being raped
with the eyes’ – seriously it’s not cool and it makes
non-Indians think about Indian males as sleazy and
disrespectful to women.
We were on a flight from Brunei to Kuala Lampur which
had a majority of sub-continental male passengers. One
of them spent most of the flight checking out my wife.
When we landed in KL my wife was walking ahead of me
and sleazy tried to cut in between us. I just rammed him
out of the way and kept going in full view of the cabin
crew. If you want to stare at somebody do it on your
own time, at your own risk. On a side note – that flight
showed how differently brown people (and I don’t mean
just Indians) from different parts of the world are treated.
The sub-continentals got yelled at, pulled out of line and
told to wait with no explanations given, had their food
flung at them and forced to move seats without reason.
We (i.e. us and several other brown couples) got the
standard service: professional and courteous. Why?
Was it racism? I don’t think so otherwise all of us would
have been treated badly. Was it perception? Possibly –
if Indians are seen as being difficult customers how do
you expect your service providers to react? It’s unfair I
know, but consider it.
Conclusion
The majority of tourists (Indians or otherwise) are
generally law abiding, culturally sensitive people who
really want to enjoy their hard-earned holidays without
intentionally causing offence. It’s a minority of idiots who
come in all colours who cause trouble for everyone.
Let’s all remember to take a moment and remember
that we’re part of a global village and what might be
acceptable in say Mumbai is not necessarily acceptable
in London, New York or Sydney. Bon voyage……. TII
Yashpal Rama is a freelance writer based in Australia.
C
M
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CM
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CMY
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LONELINESS
Namrata Bhawnani
RELOCATION
Negative emotions can be very damaging and can
lead to the nobody-loves-me syndrome. You may feel
like you’re a ‘loser’ or an ‘outcast’ but these are mere
labels that you can shrug off and refuse to fall prey to.
You are only as helpless as you allow yourself to be.
Here are a few helpful ways that have proven to be
effective to keep your chin up:
Emotional promises-to-self:
Yoga and meditation are excellent for lifting up your spirits and calming your mind (Credit: David Fulmer/ Flickr)
MOVED TO A NEW COUNTRY?
Get your groove back after marriage or relocation for a new job. The initial
phase of starting over can be daunting but here’s how to deal with the
resultant loneliness until you get your social life back on its feet
T
he lead-up to the big wedding day is always
frantic and there is never a moment of peace until
it’s all finally over. But after the wedding and the
blissful honeymoon, if you’re migrating to a new country
be prepared to have plenty of free time on your hands.
Women, in particular, who get married to a partner who
lives outside their home town or country, are prone
to loneliness after moving. The feeling isn’t limited to
married migrants, but loneliness is also a possible
problem when you move countries for jobs.
After you’ve settled in, the first few months fly by as
you’re probably adjusting to a new partner or a new job
and a new city. There are new sights to see, a home
to create from scratch, a new lifestyle and culture to
adjust to. It takes time to get to know your way around
a city and become familiar with its landmarks and the
customs of the people.
But once that is done and if your spouse is working,
time suddenly hangs heavy on your hands. If you have
a visa that doesn’t allow you to work, you’re most
susceptible to a feeling of increasing frustration. It’s
worse when you see your friends back home putting
32
up happy pictures on social media and everyone seems
to be having more fun than you. How do you deal with
the sense of isolation and hollowness? How do you
occupy your time other than the repetitive everyday
tasks like cooking and cleaning? Where is the sense of
stimulation and belonging?
If you do have a visa that allows you to work, it
always takes time to find a job. Networking is a big part
of finding work and you’re on the back foot here as you
don’t know enough or the right people. Employers tend
to hire people they know or with a locally established
reputation. So until you can get a break, it’s going to
be slog work sending out cold applications. And it’s a
lonely process.
If you’re looking for a job in a new country, be
prepared for the fact that you may have to start out a
level or two below what you were accustomed to at
home. Be prepared for rejection letters and to wait
for interview calls that perhaps won’t come. This can
seriously dent your confidence and make you doubt
your abilities. Paired with being alone a lot of time, this
is a lethal combination.
Toughening up mentally is the first step to combating
loneliness. A good way to meet new people is take up
a hobby, join a class or attend a meet-up but all these
involve making the effort towards new people and that
can be exhausting after a point. But you cannot slack on
this process as you will need a support system sooner
or later. An easier way is to ask your friends and family
back home to introduce you to people they know. It’s a
small world and remember the theory about six degrees
of separation. Get to know your spouse’s colleagues
as well. Host a couple of drinks and dinner sessions
in the familiar comfort of your home. The investment is
worth it.
It might also be tempting to give in to self-pity. Don’t
allow yourself to wallow in that space. Take your mind
off it by trying out a new sport or attempting any physical
activity. The endorphins produced will lift your spirits
greatly. Get online and connect with people via sites like
Linkedin.com and Meetup.com to meet people in the
same sphere of work or with similar interests. With all
this wonderful technology on hand, it isn’t very difficult
to reach out and connect. All it takes is a bit of effort.
Do things alone
Most people would be horrified at the thought of going
to a movie or out to dinner alone. But try it out and don’t
give up until you’re used to it, even if it feels odd at first.
Experiment with new cuisines and dishes that you love in your
free time
Take a good book to keep you company at a coffee
shop, explore an art gallery, read in the park. Nobody
cares about why you are alone, it’s all in your head.
Take the initiative
It may not be the easiest thing to do, particularly after a
certain age when you’re more set in your ways, but you
have to muster up the courage to initiate conversations.
Social anxiety is more common than you think, but it
gets easier to interact with new people over time.
In a social situation, make the first move
towards people you don’t know and be prepared
with a good opening line that is neutral but can
encourage conversation. Say something pleasant and
complimentary and follow it up with a question. For
example, ‘Those are great shoes, where did you get
them?’ will make your listener feel good and start a
dialogue. Don’t feel timid to ask someone if they would
like to hang out sometime soon or chat over a coffee.
At the most, they will say yes but not mean it. Which is
absolutely fine, there are many new people you will meet
in a new country. But if you do strike up a friendship
that has potential, make sure you’re not too dependent
on the new people in your life as you might drive them
away if you’re clingy.
Meditation
Cultivate a new hobby like learning arts and crafts which can be
very rewarding
Yoga and meditation are excellent remedies for mood
swings and the feeling-low phases. It could be as
simple as ten minutes of deep breathing, but it will make
a world of difference. Yoga will keep you fit and supple,
and if you think you look good, you will feel good about
yourself. In particular, the Surya Namaskar is very
effective in achieving a sense of well-being.
You will also realise that there is a difference between
loneliness and solitude and you will learn to enjoy the
solitude better. You can even feel lonely in a crowd, so
33
RELOCATION
Value, Trust
& Convenience
Pamper yourself with a massage or a facial as looking good helps attain a sense of well-being
C
it’s all about your frame of mind.
Don’t neglect yourself
Often, it’s easy to think that you’re sitting at home,
so how does it matter how you look. This is a critical
mistake as this can lead to a downward spiral in selfesteem. Take care of your appearance and focus on
making yourself happy. Do your nails, get a massage or
a facial, exercise to stay fit and buy yourself something
nice. A word of caution here though - too much retail
therapy can lead to feeling broke! Not a good thing to
replace the feeling of loneliness with.
Create a happy surrounding in terms of ambience
and feel proud of it. Just because you’re going through
a difficult phase, it doesn’t mean that it won’t pass.
Pamper yourself without feeling guilty, know that you
deserve it.
Make a list
When you had a job or were busy, you probably had
thousands of things that you wanted to do but never
found the time for. Make a list of these things, no matter
how outlandish they sound. Learn a new instrument,
experiment with a new dish, take up charity work or
write a book. Think of a business idea. Perhaps even
go back to university to study for an exciting new
career. The possibilities are endless and you may even
find something far more rewarding than what you were
doing in the past.
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Don’t be afraid to seek help
If over time, you haven’t been dealing well with the
sense of loneliness and feel that it may be a more deep
rooted problem like depression, don’t be afraid to see
a counsellor or a therapist. There is no stigma attached
to seeking professional help and it can do wonders for
your self-confidence. A mental health problem that is
persistent can destroy relationships and your marriage
and instead of wasting years struggling with your
emotions, it’s much better to reach out and get help
on time.
Life’s too short to be wasted on negativity, so get
out there and get your groove back. TII
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Namrata Bhawnani is a freelance writer based in London.
Abu Dhabi & Al Ain
Bonding over sports is a great way to start a conversation and
break the ice while trying to meet new people
34
www.thriftyuae.com
IMPACT
Bandana Jain
IMPACT
Life is About Making a Difference
Gulshan Kavarana(center) with her students at Mawaheb
Certain individuals strongly believe in giving back to the society they live
in. Sometimes, they will even step out of their comfort zone for this. TII
talks to a few Indian women, who apart from looking after their families are
bringing about small, important changes where they live.
Gulshan Kavarana
Founder, Special Families Support group & Art Teacher
at Mawaheb, an art studio for Adults with Special
Needs.
Gulshan’s younger daughter Zara played an integral part
in conceiving the Special Families Support Group (SFS),
which happens to be the region’s first support group for
families who have children with special needs. When it
was diagnosed that Zara was suffering from Dravet’s
Syndrome, Gulshan went desperately seeking help and
advice from other parents in similar situations, as she
was a new resident of Dubai. She felt as though she
was drowning in self- pity and felt she was the only one
going through the stages of acceptance: guilt, denial,
anger, hopelessness and finally, came the best stage of
all - acceptance… Thus SFS was born.
36
Started in 1999 with the motive of uplifting children
with Special Needs and most importantly their families,
the endeavor started with just six families in Gulshan’s
living room. “We came together as we were all sailing in
the same boat, looking for support and we found it in
each other. Today, SFS continues to grow, because we
know together we are stronger and because we need
someone to stand with us,” says Gulshan. She has been
a vital part of so many people’s lives and has helped
make them feel accepted, loved and comfortable. SFS
has now grown to over 500 families and has chapters in
Abu Dhabi and other GCC countries like Bahrain, Saudi
Arabia and in Indian cities like Chennai and Mumbai.
With her efforts, Gulshan is truly spreading the motto
of SFS: respect, love and acceptance for special needs
individuals far and wide.
Over the years SFS has continued to change
lives and make life a little easier for so many families.
Gulshan realized early on, that by empowering mothers
the whole family seems to benefit. “Once the mother
accepts her child, everything just falls into place,” says
the dedicated social worker.
A recipient of several prestigious awards, like GR8
Woman Award, ‘Most Inspiring Woman’ Award from
Arabian Business and nominated among the ‘Top 100
Most Powerful Indians in the GCC’ for four consecutive
years (amongst many others) Gulshan is not the one
to rest on her laurels. Continuing with her endeavour,
Gulshan joined Mawaheb, an art studio for adults with
special needs as an art teacher. “While I teach my
students artists life skills through their art, I seem to be
the one who ends up learning remarkable life lessons
from them. My students have the best point of view and
I am so grateful that I have been given this opportunity.”
Gulshan, a true inspirer for people to serve the
community firmly believes that one does not need
incredible resources to impact another human being
– one can and should make a difference by being
conscious, by thinking of creative ways to make others
feel good about themselves and to be a blessing in
someone’s life, every day.
“I try to ensure that my work impacts multiple lives,
I try to live in the now and don’t worry about perfection,
as it is an impossible feat,“ she admits. As she gets
older and lets her mind unravel, she has discovered that
compassion is her only passion and she would love to
take advantage of every learning opportunity presented
to her.
Roshni Raimalwala
Project Manager - Corporate Social Responsibility
[Honorary], Medulla Events and Marketing DMCC
In 2008, Roshni registered with Volunteer in Dubai [now
Volunteer in UAE], an organization which supports local
charities. It was then that Karama Kanteen, a nonprofitable charity project was formed with Roshni as its
Project Manager. Its aim was to provide basic necessities
like food and hygiene products to low income group
workers. “Initially I supported a lady who provided food
to the homeless, but a year later I decided to visit the
camps personally and distribute the supplies to the blue
collared men directly.”
During her course of interaction with these workers
Roshni realized that it wasn’t just the food that the
men looked forward to. She found that they needed
someone to speak with about their problems, some
men would have tears in their eyes as they would talk
about how lonely their life was.
Roshni understood that just a few moments of
being in their midst, wishing them during festivals and
talking to them, listening to their woes, gives them a
feeling that someone cares for them was enough to
bring a smile on their faces and a little boost to look
forward to another day with some fresh hope. “In 2013,
I decide to move on from Karama Kanteen and start
my own initiative. This is when I tied up with Medulla
Events and Marketing DMCC in April 2014, as Project
Manager for their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
projects. Medulla focuses on CSR, as a part of their
primary service offerings and hence this collaboration
with them. This gives me the opportunity to officially
continue with our philanthropic work under the umbrella
of Medulla.”
Currently, Roshni spearheads two of their CSR
initiatives – Care2Share and Care4Health. Care2Share
supports and organizes food and relief related
distribution events for the low income workers in
various labour camps across Dubai and Sharjah while
Care4Health targets at delivering health and fitness
related support for the blue collared as well as needy
individuals. “With my team of volunteers I scout various
areas from time to time to identify new camp locations.
Every Friday morning around 7 am, we proceed to the
distribution site and cater to anywhere between 100
-500 workers.”
Describing her area of operation, she explains,
“Unless a specific camp is identified as being in dire
need of relief, we generally stop by outside the camps
and request the men to queue up and then distribute the
packets to them. We distribute groceries, vegetables,
fruits, toiletries, hygiene and care packages, clothes,
linen, shoes, purses, watches, blankets, sweaters,
caps, household items, travel bags, etc. On festive
occasions like Eid, Diwali, Christmas, New Year, etc.
we strive to get together special gift hampers for them.
During the holy month of Ramadan, Iftaar meals are
organised.”
Roshni is supported by a dedicated team of twenty
regular volunteers and many others who periodically join
her. She is happy to see that many schools have also
started supporting her charity initiatives. “The students,
Roshni Raimalwala distributes food in labour camps
37
IMPACT
under my guidance, get involved in the entire project,
right from making fliers, to collection of groceries and
hygiene items, to sorting, packing and finally distributing
the hampers to the workers.”
The initiative also tries to find sponsors for
repatriating the workers who are either sick or not able
to pay for their tickets, for education for special needs
children and for medical expenses for low income group
families.
Immensely happy and grateful that she is able to
give back to society in her small, special ways, Roshni
is looking at another project. She is extensively involved
in handling the operations and coordination of a charity
book sale under a separate project of Medulla, called
Books2Benefit, which is slated to take place in early
2015. She, along with the team of Books2Benefit, is
hoping to make this too, a successful endeavor.
Premi Mathew
Founder and CEO, Protect Your Mom campaign and
Hair for Hope.
Premi Mathew (centre) is deeply involved in raising awareness
about breast cancer
Protect Your Mom (PYM) campaign creates awareness
about early detection of breast cancer. The fact that
awareness about self-examination is low inspired Premi
to start he PYM campaign. Premi observes, “Mothers
are usually too busy to check for lumps and early signs
even if they are aware of the symptoms. Most of them
ignore it till the cancer spreads and becomes fatal. The
good news is that early detection can increase survival
rates upto 98%.So we took an unusual route- through
children. That is how ‘Protect Your Mom (PYM)’ came
into being.”
The idea behind PYM is to make kids as young as
eight pester their moms to check for lumps and early
signs of breast cancer. The aim is to raise awareness
through music, dance and art -the languages of today’s
38
IMPACT
youth. Premi is happy that these campaigns have
helped instill leadership and organizational skills among
students apart from raising them to be informed adults.
Of course, the prime idea is that mothers are unlikely to
screen out kids unlike doctors and official sources.
Premi has been passionately working for this zerocost, zero staff cause which is run solely by volunteers
(mostly students) connected through the social media
of Facebook. These students, as young as seven year
olds have held events in Indian Schools to promote
PYM. Students have also held events in Trivandrum
(Kerala), Bihar and Karnataka without any funds. Premi
is proud to share that PYM has a strong presence in
India and held two pink walkathons in 2011 and 2012
with over thousand students hitting the headlines in
Kerala.
“Something that started off as a dream, has spread
its wings over various emirates in UAE and across
cities in India like Kashmir, Bihar, Udupi, Bangalore,
Kanyakumari, Thiruvananthapuram, Quilon, Kochi, etc.
An endeavour that took off without funds and sponsors,
now has 35 brand ambassadors in five countries,” says
Premi, whose PYM campaign was nominated for the
Emirates Woman Award in 2011. She has also been
the proud recipient of Dhwani Women’s Excellence
Award in UAE and has been the Runner- up in Western
Union Women Icons 2014, UAE. Another noteworthy
achievement of the PYM campaign is that it has been
a part of the “67 inspiring stories”, a book presented
to Nelson Mandela, (ex-President, South Africa) and
that the campaign was converted into a case study
in association with University of Wollongong and will
shortly find a place in an international journal.
Premi is in no mood to slow down, she has her eyes
on a future project which would be a way to connect
old people (on the verge of depression) with youngsters
who struggle with families. She hopes to bring together
grandpas and youngsters, “Old people could babysit
from across the globe, tell stories... basically it is the
idea of adopting a grandpa via skype,” explains the
awe-inspiring social activist.
Pooja Chhabria Mulani
Founder, ‘Gift of Love’ campaign
By profession, Pooja is a costume designer and stylist,
but her passion lies in gathering resources for the benefit
of the disadvantaged and underprivileged sections of
the society and she has been pursuing this passion for
almost three years now.
One of her recent endeavours, which she proudly
refers to as ‘Gift of Love’ pertains to the idea of arranging
gifts for underprivileged children during the Christmas
season. For this purpose, Pooja has teamed up with a
friend, Dr Soroya Janmohamed in Nairobi, Kenya who
co-ordinates and facilitates the distribution of the gifts
someone might need or aspire to have in their lives,”
urges Pooja.
Amrita Singh
Pooja Chhabria Mulani
to poor children there. Pooja receives whole-hearted
support from her husband Amit Mulani and her team of
ten volunteers who help her in collecting and assorting
the stuff to bring a smile on the faces of poor kids in
Kenya.
According to Pooja, “Gift wrapping just makes them
feel special. It’s not just passing things that one does not
need. Wrapping a gift makes the receiver feel special
and happy, too.” Happy to see her project moving
ahead successfully, she is thankful to the stupendous
response from donors. “I’m always happy with this kind
of work. Small or big, charity is always worth it. At the
same time, I also know that the sky is the limit and we
can always do more and enroll more people in the idea
of making it special for the disadvantaged with what we
already have.”
Pooja firmly believes that UAE residents are blessed
with plenty of luxuries, in most cases, much more than
what they need and the surplus lies unused or ends
in the trash bin. Simultaneously, there are millions who
suffer from want of those resources. This fact inspired
Pooja to channelise non-perishable items for the benefit
of people who hardly get to see them. She further
advocates that each individual should realize his social
responsibility to care for their fellow human beings, just
the way one is responsible for ones family, health and
home.
To take this idea to different parts of India and
Pakistan where millions of children need help desperately
Pooja knows her efforts are like a drop in the ocean,
but she continues with her work. She also wishes
to start a styling company wherein she can provide
young girls with image consulting and corporate attire
advice so that they present themselves confidently in a
competitive world.
“I really want readers to look at their life with
gratitude and share their good fortune and count their
blessings in life. At the same time, they should divert
their unwanted stuff which they won’t miss in their
wardrobes or homes, which could be things which
Rescuer of abandoned and homeless animals
Amrita is on a unique journey that of rescuing
abandoned pets from the streets of Dubai. “My journey
started in 2009, when I began rescuing pets back in
India. I started feeding the old dogs near my apartment
area in Shanti Nagar, Bangalore and before I knew it I
was feeding and taking care of as many as twenty dogs
in my locality.” As her attachment for these grew, Amrita
saw herself taking the sick dogs to the vet in her car
and paying for their bills without any community or local
support in Bangalore and did it for four years until she
moved to Dubai.
Here too, she found herself following her passion
and joined a group called the Bin Kitty Collective that
is dedicated to saving and adopting abandoned cats
and kittens.
Amrita has a soft corner for animals and her
main objective lies in fostering them and finding them
Amrita Singh is deeply involved in rescuing abandoned animals
permanent homes. She believes, “Animals have very
strong spirits and they teach us that no matter how
rough life is, it will pass by and happier days will come
to stay.”
”They exude positive and happy vibes all the time
and I so wish that human beings were the same. By
being close to and working for these species, I have
learnt to be more patient, happy and grateful for
everything that I have been gifted with on a daily basis.”
Amrita advocates that readers speak up against
cruelty to animals as they have just as much a right to
live as human beings on this planet. TII
Bandana Jain is a freelance writer based in Dubai
39
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HERITAGE
Khursheed Dinshaw
HERITAGE
Kalka Shimla railway passes through 102 tunnels, 988 bridges and 917 curves many of which are as sharp as 48 degrees.
gardens or visit the town of Nagaur by either camel,
on a horse or by car. The food at Ranvas is delicious
with its garnish of local traditional recipes. Lal Maas is
lamb cooked with onion and red chillies from the safaris
of Rajasthan. While Panch Kutta is a dish made with
five varieties of dry desert beans, Govind Gatta is gram
flour dumplings in spicy yoghurt gravy. Rabori Kanda is
home-made maize pasta sheets cooked in onion
The menu also offers international cuisine and if
you are missing your middle Eastern appetizers, then
simple call for their popular Hummus platter. Ranvas
also makes for a memorable venue for weddings,
anniversaries and other events. And if you enjoy soulful
music then Nagaur Fort plays host to the yearly World
Sufi Spirit Festival which is not just musically healing
but visually delightful with 1,000 lit candles. Combining
music and dance, the festival is spiritually uplifting. Not
to miss is the annual Nagaur cattle fair.
TakE A rural safari in Rajasthan
Five Fun Ways to Learn About
India’s Heritage
Heritage conjures up images of history, old stuff and situations of a bygone
era, outdated, boring and something you may not relate to. But who
says that our country’s heritage is boring? In this new series Khursheed
Dinshaw brings you five fun ways of learning about India’s heritage.
S
omehow whenever I mention the word heritage,
most people frown and seem disinterested. When I
ask them why they reply that heritage is drab, there
is nothing exciting about it. I beg to differ. It depends on
what sort and how you learn and experience heritage.
The following five have been my fun yet culturally rich
experiences.
Living at Ranvas in Nagaur
Imagine living king size in the residences of queens.
Ranvas, a beautifully maintained heritage property
offers you exactly that. Here is where in the 18th
century, the 16 queens of Maharaja Bakhat Singh of
Jodhpur resided. Bakhat Singh desired to have a haven
away from the constant pressures and troubles of war
and politics. And that is why he constructed a pleasure
palace which continues to remind visitors of splendour,
42
class and aristocracy even today. Get transported
back to the royal era with peacocks walking beside
you, gurgling fountains, fresco paintings and havelis.
No wonder Ranvas is considered one of the most
well preserved residences of queens in India and is an
excellent way of combining legacy, regal living, luxury
and exploration.
And its location is inside Ahhichatragarh Fort or
Nagaur Fort which got the UNESCO award of excellence
for cultural heritage conservation in 2002. The 10
havelis of Ranvas have been named after the ranis
and each haveli has 2-3 bedrooms, bathrooms and a
private courtyard. Suites open to a private terrace. One
can stroll in the property or enjoy a dip in the swimming
pool or relax by it or in the lounge. Ranvas organizes
guided tours of the fort which has temples, palaces
and a museum. One can also stroll on the ramparts or
Overlander India organizes a rural safari where you
interact with local communities like Bishnoi and Pittal,
get to see black bucks and migratory birds including
demoiselle cranes, eat a meal prepared by the locals,
see the cenotaphs of the Sar community and be a part
of an opium ceremony. Did I not tell you that heritage
can be fun? So as you drive in a gypsy crossing the
countryside in this off roading experiential safari, a
black buck looks at you and seems not to mind your
human presence in his territory. Camels feeding or the
Demoiselle Cranes who make the region their home in
winters lazily let you gape in amazement as you click
away. Uday Bhan Singh who conducts this safari
Beypore has a 1500 year tradition of building Arab Dhows
proudly showcases his rich heritage and answers your
questions.
The joy of eating a local berry from the tree or waving
at kids as you drive by are experiences that make you
smile. You get to learn that the Bishnoi community
which literally translates into 29 are the followers of 29
rules. A 500 year old sect of Hinduism, Bishnoi was
formed by a Rajput called Guru Jamboji. Bishnois live
in hutments and their main occupation is agriculture.
Self sufficient, they own land and protect nature in all its
forms. Black bucks are worshipped as a re incarnation
of Lord Krishna and live close to such settlements as
they know they are protected. The community will not
cut green trees and can be referred to as conservationist
in a true sense. Hygiene and cleanliness is important
to this vegetarian community. Their homes are made
of thick mud walls which work as insulation and are
plastered with cow dung and clay. The roof is made of
agricultural waste. The Pittals keep a lot of cattle, don’t
miss how their rural kitchen functions. Try your hand at
making fresh hot millet rotis or churning buttermilk.
ride in the Kalka-Shimla toy train
Interact with Rajasthani communities like Bishnoi and Pittal
This heritage train which is part of the UNESCO World
Heritage list awakens the child even in adults. The
Kalka Shimla Railway (KSR) represents an exceptional
technical achievement in the development of the
Himalayan mountains because of its length, altitude
and the difficulty of the terrain through which it runs in
difficult climatic conditions. The 96 kms long railway line
from Kalka to Shimla passes through 102 tunnels, 988
bridges and 917 curves many of which are as sharp
as 48 degrees. The four storey stone arch and gallery
bridge are engineering marvels. The train attains an
altitude of 2075 m in its run from Kalka to Shimla. This
enchanting journey rekindles the romance of mountain
toy trains.
The longest tunnel near Barog station is 1,143
metres and has an historic anecdote attached to it.
43
HERITAGE
The place is named after a British engineer named
Colonel Barog who was involved in building the tunnel.
He initiated burrowing the tunnel from both the sides
in order to save time. Unfortunately the ends of the
tunnel didn’t meet. Against this the British government
imposed a penalty of Rs1 upon him. Unable to endure
this, he committed suicide and was buried here itself
near the incomplete tunnel. The construction was
completed under the guidance of a local sage Bhalku
Ram and was supervised by engineer H. S. Harrington
in the year 1903 with an investment of Rs 8,40,000.
Catch fish using the Chinese
fishing nets at Fort Kochi.
Believed to have been introduced in the 14th century
by the Chinese, the Chinese fishing nets are a landmark
of Fort Kochi. Fixed to the shore with poles and having
a wooden platform on which one can walk right up till
them, fishing is done by lowering the net into the sea. A
few minutes later, the net is pulled up using large stones
which are tied at the other end and act as counter
weights. The net is lowered frequently and it takes 5
men to pull up the large stones. The quantity of fish
caught in this manner is quite little and at times none
at all. The catch is sold to eager tourists. What is left
is divided in the ratio of 30% to the owner and 70%
between the five men who labourously haul the catch.
Fort Kochi is a walker’s paradise with a number
of heritage structures. There is the St. Francis Church
which is one of the oldest European churches in Kerala.
It was built in the 16th century A.D. The Santa Cruz
Basilica is one of the eight basilicas in the country.
Other heritage structures include Koder House, Bastion
Bunglow, Cochin Club, David Hall, Delta Study, Dutch
Cemetery, Thakur House and Vasco Da Gama House.
See Arab dhows MADE AT Beypore.
This is a 1,500 year old tradition of building these
14th century Chinese fishing nets are a landmark of Fort Kochi
wooden dhows. In the olden days the Urus were tied
together with ropes. Later copper nails were used
which were replaced because of their rising costs. “The
present nails which are used are iron nails dipped in
zinc to galvanize them. They cannot be removed once
they are fixed as they have thread like cuttings on
them. Cotton is soaked in sardine oil and gum which is
prepared from the wooden part of specific trees found
in Kerala. The concoction is heated together and the
cotton is dipped in this. The cotton is then jammed in
between the planks to prevent water from seeping into
the ship,” adds guide K. Mohan who was awarded the
best tourist guide 2009-2010 by the Dept of Tourism,
Govt. of Kerala.
The wood used for the manufacture of Urus is teak
from Nilambur which is believed to be the second best in
the world. The first best is Mandalay teak from Myanmar.
The trees are cut at Nilambur and floated down the river
to Beypore. The three communities which are involved
in the manufacture are Hindus, Muslims and Christians.
The carpenters are generally Hindus, the iron nails
and brackets are supplied by the Christians while the
loading and unloading and the planks which are sent to
the top using pulleys are operated by Muslims. TII
Khursheed Dinshaw is a freelance lifestyle writer based in India.
Santa Cruz Basilica-one of eight basilicas in the country
44
BACK TO INDIA
Anusha Harish
INDIA’S Reverse “Brain
Drain” Phenomenon
The early nineties saw a high number of professional migrating to Western
shores in search of a fruitful career and a better lifestyle. However, the
trend is on a reversal now with many Indians returning. With the Indian
economy on a boom and the importance of familial ties on a high, more
and more people are coming back and starting their lives afresh. With the
country moving forward, it looks like this homecoming will continue.
Fredrick with Priya And kids Fritz Isaac and Faina Sharon in London
FREDRICK MANUEL, A very successful senior
software professional with Capgemini Inc., was globe
trotting from 2001 to 2011 living in Poland, South
Africa, Saudi Arabia and the USA before moving to
Nottingham, London in 2006. “I got married and shifted
to London with my family. My kids even had a brief stint
of schooling there before we moved back to India.”
His wife Priya took charge of the home front and they
lived there till 2011. “Everything is DIY there right from
cleaning to painting to assembling furniture, which in
India is just a paid help away.” After staying in India with
constant help for all household chores, this may be
tough for any immigrant. “It lacks the emotional security
quotient that Indians are used to. There is hardly any
scope for socialising and western society is so much
more reserved. Eventually, we got fed up of doing
everything on our own without any help in an alien land.
Plus, the lack of family ties bogged us down. Loneliness
45
BACK TO INDIA
crept in and we got back to India.” The move was simple
for him however his kids, Fritz Isaac and Faina Sharon
found the shift back to India pretty challenging. “Fritz
took some time to adjust to the strict and monotonous
system of education.” Relocation is initially tough on the
kid’s and combined with the guilt on part of the parents,
it seems more challenging. But, it definitely reaps fruits
in the long run. Living abroad is like staying at a five
star resort. It’s fabulous for the time that it lasts, but
ultimately one has to return home. “I strongly believe
that home is where the heart is, and mine is definitely
in India. Given my bright career prospects here, I can
never imagine leaving India to settle abroad,” he says
before signing off.
NISHA DUTTA is a media professional who migrated
to the United Kingdom to pursue her masters and
eventually worked there for six years. She says” I never
wanted to settle there. My visa was still valid and I could
have stayed on if I wanted to, but I missed my parents
very much. I wanted them to migrate but they refused
to do so.” She finally took a call and came back to India
in 2011 after staying in UK for about six years. “Staying
all alone in the United Kingdom is very expensive. After
living in the lap of luxury in India, the stay abroad turned
out to be pretty tough. I was totally dependent on public
transport which created an unnecessary dependency.
I had to manage everything single-handedly and
loneliness would get the better of me.” However she
met the love of her life Pratik Dutta here. With the
same ideals, they moved back to India and are happily
married now. The shift back to India may be a tough
call for professionals who have a complete change of
work culture scenario. There is a totally different work
Nisha And Pratik Dutta On The Eve Of Their Wedding
46
Janani And Sridhar Kirthivasan At Home In Fairfax Va
atmosphere in India as compared to other countries.
Right from the employer employee equation to the
timings to the attitude, everything undergoes a sea
change in India and one should be prepared for this
on relocation. Nisha is now settled in Mumbai and she
loves the fact that everything is available right at her
doorstep and life is definitely easier here with the best
part that she is closer to home and family. After the initial
hurdles, she is finally well settled and content.
JANANI SRIDHAR, A full time homemaker now and
erstwhile software professional, she migrated to the
United States in the year 1998 and stayed for about a
decade in Virginia. She did her Masters there and went
on to pursue a highly rewarding career before taking a
call to return to India and start afresh. “Life in the U.S.A
was amazing for me. I never had to suffer any hardship
as I lived with my cousin’s family there. So there was
no question of missing home or other such issues that
accompany migration. I was chauffeured to college, fed
good food and lived happily. After I started working I
moved out on my own too.” She however had a strong
will to return to India once her work visa expired. She
never had plans to settle down anywhere but in India.
She met her husband Sridhar Kirthivasan over there
who was working with her. The dotcom bubble was
bursting during that time and many Indians took full
advantage of the same. But, many of them like the
Sridhars had a strong will to come back to India and
start afresh. After living abroad for a few years that
definitely needs a lot of willpower. “After we came back,
we started a family since we wanted our kids Adhavan
and Sruthi to be bought up in India. India is home for
us and we are not planning to go back since we are
happily settled here.” About migration Janani says”
You have to be independent to pursue a life abroad.
BACK TO INDIA
If you are a momma’s boy who is used to being spoon
fed then life can be tough.” Her take on migration and
relocation is the mantra of possessing a strong will
power to come home, no matter what. The charm of
staying in India cannot be replaced with anything else.
Though she misses her friends and her idyllic life which
she left behind, she still moves on happily.
PRABHA SRINIVASAN, is highly successful finance
professional who qualified as a Chartered Accountant
and went on to pursue her MBA and CFA in the U.S.
“My husband Satish and I lived in Los Angeles for
twelve years and relocated to India in 2008. Our
respective employers were branching out in India and
asked us if we could take care of the Indian operations.
We jumped at the opportunity.” She worked with her
employer and then ventured out to start her own
accounting firm “VENTURA PRANAS” catering to a
niche clientele of NRI’s. “My kids were born there, but
being young they adapted very easily and the shift did
not affect them as much as it affected us. We were
exposed to a totally different work culture and suffered
a culture shock right here in our own country. However,
with time we have gotten used to the culture here. We
have spent considerable time with our parents which
we missed when we were abroad.” Something that may
be appreciated and respected here is that they have
returned and started on their own and employ people
under them, thus helping generate employment, giving
back whatever they have received from the country.
That is definitely laudable. “When you are abroad, you
Prabha And Sathish
are torn between home and a place where you are trying
to create a home. India despite its challenges is home.
The kids have developed a resistance and are slowly
getting adjusted to life here. They are being exposed to
our culture where they respect everyone and know their
boundaries. We have a flourishing business here. We
are U.S citizens and we can return any time. But, we
are content here. Everything is comfortable and stable
and we won’t uproot what we have over here and move
back” She says before bidding adieu. TII
Anusha is a full time homemaker and a freelance journalist
based in India.
HALL OF FAME
The Superstition Of My Profession Demands I Raise A Laugh
I have drawn cartoons for two decades and it is true that while the work of other
cartoonists provoke laughter or a smile, mine doesn’t. Although the dominant
superstition of my profession demands I raise a laugh, I cannot do that because
I am a third-world cartoonist. The stark reality that I confront on a daily basis
is nothing like what a first-world cartoonist has to deal with. The reality is so
devastating that you cannot afford to laugh about anything.
What has instigated my creativity over the years is the political situation, which
is getting worse and yet there is no strong dissent in our country. When not
caught in an illusory sense of well-being, we are occupied only with the surface
O.V. VIJAYAN
of things, whether it is women’s issues, equality, ecology, or anything else.
writer and political cartoonist
Cartoons are a very strong form of dissent and protest. The fact that the situation
born Vilayanchathannoor village,
remains unchanged after all these years has inspired me to put out my cartoons
Kerala, 1930
in the form of a book and a travelling exhibition. Although many of the people
and events depicted in this work are long gone, the larger issues raised in them
remain unchanged.These are perennial issues and if you look at the events and not the issues, then its wider relevance
is lost.
To your question “Why do I see things this way?” my answer is that I am made this way.
TII’s Hall of Fame features India’s elderly, great, interesting and unusual men and women. Excerpted from the book:
‘Ageless Mind and Spirit,’ by Samar and Vijay Jodha. www. agelessmindandspirit. com
48
WATCHING INDIA
Anand Kumar
DESI MEDIA : BOLDER, BAD & BAKWAAS
TV is the big daddy in the media and entertainment sector: Scenes from Bigg Boss, a popular reality show.
Though giants straddled Indian media in the post-Independence years, the
print media by and large was pro-establishment and timid in dealing with
politicians. There was hardly any independent coverage of business news.
And during the shameful, 21-month Emergency between 1975 and 1977,
most newspapers – with the exception of The Indian Express and The
Statesman – succumbed to government pressures.
M
any editors in Indian newspapers between
the 1950s and 1990s were larger-thanlife individuals, men (there were hardly any
women editors in the mainstream newspapers) who
even as they were respected for their knowledge, were
feared by their juniors. And considering the gravitas that
was usually associated with the editor’s post (especially
of English language newspapers), they were often
clubbed together with other privileged members of the
higher echelons of the government, the judiciary and
the bureaucracy.
One notable gentleman in the 1980s considered
himself to be the second-most powerful individual in
India after then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. An ownereditor in Calcutta (now Kolkata) considered himself to
be the second-most important person in West Bengal
after the then chief minister Jyoti Basu.
In that respect, Indian media has not changed much
over the past two to three decades. Many of the editoranchors of popular news channels – both English and
Hindi – consider themselves to be at par with heads of
governments, or perhaps chief justices of courts. They
do not communicate with viewers, rather they “address
the nation” (a standard phrase used by them while
hectoring a hapless minister or bureaucrat is – “the
nation wants to know,”), which they believe awaits their
programmes with bated breath every night.
In most other respects, however, the Indian media
(mainly print and electronic, as digital and social are
new phenomena) has undergone a sea-change over
the past quarter century, in terms of not just editorial
content and technology, but even with regard to ethics
and professionalism (which I will address towards the
end of this piece). It has indeed been a mixed bag, with
49
WATCHING INDIA
dramatic progress in some areas, but sadly regression
in other spheres.
Though giants straddled the Indian media in the
post-Independence years, newspapers were by and
large pro-establishment and timid in dealing with
politicians. There was hardly any independent coverage
of business news. And during the shameful, 21-month
Emergency between 1975 and 1977, most newspapers
– with the exception of the Indian Express and the
Statesman – succumbed to government pressures.
The post-Emergency years saw the blossoming of
the Indian print media, with a new crop of newspapers
and magazines (The Telegraph, India Today, Sunday)
providing vibrant coverage of political, business and
increasingly lifestyle news. The new generation of
editors and journalists were bolder, innovative and
willing to take risks, and many of the publishers and
owners were also keen to back them.
There were technological changes with the
switchover from the hot-metal press to newer
techniques, even as newsrooms gradually dumped
typewriters and acquired PCs. Salaries of journalists
and photographers rose significantly and many of
the newspapers and magazines spent money on
their travels – both domestic and international – and
encouraged them to pursue investigative stories.
Radio and television of course was controlled by the
central government and there were hardly any changes
in their editorial coverage for almost 40 years after
Independence. But the arrival of satellite television in
the 1990s shook the staid world of Doordarshan, the
state-owned TV network.
As economic reforms unchained Indian businesses
from the clutches of bureaucrats and the licence Raj,
private television channels – both entertainment and
news – began to proliferate. Millions of Indian viewers,
fed on Doordarshan’s insipid programmes were wowed
by the vibrancy of satellite TV.
Sonam Kapoor Inside the Bigg Boss House
50
WATCHING INDIA
The making of young champs: Dance and music academies and
sports camps are mushrooming all over India as parents want
their children to become celebrities and champs, influenced
largely by television. Nita Ambani, founder and chairperson
of Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL), at the launch
of a grassroots football movement at the Dhirubhai Ambani
International School, Mumbai.
Of course, just as the onslaught by western
brands including Pepsi, Coke, McDonald’s and KFC
was opposed by conservative segments of society
and nationalists, the entry of MTV, Channel V, CNN,
BBC, Sony and Star TV also raised the hackles of
orthodox elements. They warned of Indian culture being
swamped, nay swept away by this western blitzkrieg.
The reality though is vastly different today. The
multinationals – both in the fast food and media
segments – have had to drastically alter their ‘products’
and ‘services’ to cater to Indian tastes and audiences.
Western-origin TV channels are as adept as Indianowned ones in churning out schmaltzy ‘saasbahu’ (mother-in-law/daughter-in-law) soap operas,
melodramatic mythological serials and tacky ‘reality’
shows.
But Indian audiences apparently love the
programming and hungrily lap up the meaningless
serials that emerge from the idiot boxes every night. An
average urban family has access to a mind-numbing 500
channels – covering general entertainment and news –
through their set-top boxes in multiple languages.
The television boom has also done wonders for the
entertainment economy, generating tens of thousands
of jobs to filmmakers, actors, writers, journalists,
technicians, musicians, artistes and dancers. One may
despise the inane comic shows or the glitzy dance or
music programmes on television, but one can scarcely
ignore the talent that has flowered in recent years.
There has been an unfortunate downside as well
to this kind of competition. Many parents across the
country want their children to be the next Sachin
Tendulkar or Sania Mirza, or even the dancer of the
year (or the week) and the joker (sorry, comedian) of the
month. There is undue pressure on kids to perform and
160 million households (which adds up to more than
achieve ‘greatness,’ at least on the small screen.
800 million viewers), and there were nearly 215 million
So you have dance and music academies, cricket
internet users (towards the end of 2013), with 130
and tennis schools and camps mushrooming in our
million accessing the net through mobiles.
cities and smaller towns, where sleepy-eyed teenagers
Television no doubt is the big daddy in the M&E
are dragged early in the morning by their over-zealous
sector, accounting for revenues of almost Rs. 500 billion.
parents or grand-parents and made to undergo highPrint comes next at nearly Rs. 265 billion, followed by
pressure training so that they can make it big in life. And
digital (over Rs. 40 billion) and radio (Rs. 16.5 billion).
if your kid can’t make it big on the small screen, they
But the most significant growth is happening in
can at least appear on television as cheer-leaders, for
social media including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram,
which a few enterprising people have set up schools to
WhatsApp, etc. Many celebrities on Twitter have more
train kids.
followers than the circulation of newspapers. Amitabh
No doubt, satellite television has also done wonders
Bachchan, for instance, has 12 million followers; Shah
for the knowledge domain and channels such as
Rukh Khan has 10.3 million and Aamir Khan almost 10
National Geography and Discovery are today widely
million.
patronised. The MNCs
Young Indians (mainly
operating these channels
urban, but increasingly,
have also gone in for Hindi
also rural) are more likely to
and other Indian language
get their day’s news from
versions to attract more
social media instead of
viewers.
newspapers or television.
Another major change
The trend is cause for
that has occurred is in radio.
much concern among the
All India Radio (Akashwani)
established
publications
dominated the airwaves
and television networks,
for most of the second-half
who are likely to see a
of the 20th century. When
sharp drop in advertising
a spunky Radio Ceylon
revenues over the coming
began beaming Hindi film
years.
songs to India on the shortBut
one
tragic
wave in the 1950s, AIR
development that is slowly
quickly came out with its TV is the big daddy in the media and entertainment sector:
eroding the credibility of
own Vividh Bharti to take Scenes from Bigg Boss, a popular reality show. Crowded
the media is the lack of
on the challenger. However, airwaves: An average Indian urban family has access to a mindethics and professionalism
numbing 500 channels today.
AIR could not compete with
in the fourth estate (which
BBC and Voice of America,
should include social media
both of which broadcast English, Hindi and other Indian
as well). Concepts like ‘paid news’ are taking root and
language programmes, to viewers across the country,
many cynical readers and viewers believe that what
who were desperate for independent news.
they get to read and view on mainstream media is not
The 1990s saw the government allow private
the true version of news as it happens.
operators to run FM channels in many cities. Today, there
Social media on the other hand is more believable
are hundreds of FM channels in multiple languages, and
and credible for many young Indians, though the fact is
though they are primarily focused on music, they have
that it can be far more prejudiced and sensational than
transformed the radio habits of ordinary Indians.
the mainstream. India is one of the few countries in the
So what is the state of the Indian media sector –
world – more so in the developing world – to have a
print, television, radio and digital – at present? According
free and fair media. Its fiercely independent press has
to global consultancy KPMG – which conducts a
resisted attempts by governments in the past to impose
comprehensive exercise every year, analysing the
curbs on its functioning.
media and entertainment business in India – the print
Will the new media (mainstream, digital, social,
sector continues to buck the global slowdown trend.
etc), which will continue to face attacks in the future,
The sector grew at a compound annual growth rate
be able to offer such resistance? Attacks not just from
(CAGR) of 8.5 per cent in 2013 to touch Rs. 243 billion.
governments, but even from vested interests, business
India has nearly 95,000 newspapers and magazines
lobbies and bigoted groups? A tough call to make. TII
(of which 12,500 are dailies), and many of them are
Anand Kumar is a freelance writer based in Mumbai.
doing well, despite the growing popularity of television
and the internet. Television today reaches more than
51
SINGLE WOMEN
Deepa Ballal
Mating Challenges of Singles
The importance of marriage
is something deeply ingrained
in the Indian psyche and
daughters are a major concern
to Indian parents. Living
abroad doesn’t seem to help.
Families with daughters go
through the mill in India and
overseas in equal proportions.
The challenges for NRIs can be
even more gruelling.
D
ilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (DDLJ) is the
popular love story of Raj Malhotra (Shah Rukh
Khan) and Simran Singh (Kajol) two NRIs
living in London. The movie portrays a clash between
conservative and liberal Indian families that control the
destinies of their children when it comes to marriage.
DDLJ begs the question: does every Simran living
abroad find a knight in shining armour like Raj?
Of the many worries that makes an average
middle class Indian parent spend sleepless nights, the
predominant one after property, cricket scores and
gold prices, is the soaring marriageable age of their
daughters. More so in the case of NRI parents, some
even take a U turn to India, lest their daughters prefer
to enjoy their independence rather than follow tradition
in holy matrimony. Sandwiched between their traditional
ethos and a modern outlook, NRIs nevertheless, remain
steadfast.
No doubt living abroad has its own merits especially
for girls, who loathe being constantly scrutinized for the
way they walk, what they wear and least for what they
are, back in India. Freedom and liberation abroad is a
far cry from the patriarchal and regressive society one
must endure during those ritual “yearly” visits to India.
Even for the families that raise their children abroad,
not all is hunky dory. At expat community meetings
52
Anceeta Martis: will not marry an Indian man
invariably the question pops up, “When are you getting
your daughter married?
When should a girl marry? Who decides? Society,
her parents and lastly the girl? When does her status
turn to “single” when all her life she has been staying
with those whom she calls her family. Strangely this
phenomenon never happens overnight. For some
families the single status is bestowed on the girl the
day she finishes her graduation, in some cases her
post graduation and for others until she finds a job and
becomes financially independent.
Educating their daughters, giving them equal
opportunities and then forcing them to conform in the
matrimonial race where the clock ticks fast and loud to
deprive them of all they strive for is unnerving for many.
The importance of marriage is something deeply
ingrained in the Indian psyche and daughters are a
major concern to Indian parents. Living abroad doesn’t
seem to help. Families with daughters go through the
mill in India and overseas in equal proportions. The
challenges for NRIs can be even more gruelling.
Being single, can raise quite a few eyebrows and
draw quite a few questions; The hows, whys and the
why nots. Some avoid it. Some face it.
For Dubai resident, Janet Rosario,* who believes
marriage is more about finding a companion for life, her
SINGLE WOMEN
hunt for Mr Right began six years ago.
she was given the opportunity to do so by her daughter,
“I’m 30 now and been looking since I was 24. Initially
the enthusiasm died down after a few months.
because of the typical society hard wiring that when you
“My daughter was keen that the horoscopes match
hit 23/24 you need to start looking for a partner so that
and she being a six footer post graduate, wanted
you find one and get married by 25/26, later because
an alliance that was on par with her height and her
I indeed wanted to get married and start a family,” she
educational qualifications,” she explains. She got her
admits.
registered in the various local matrimonial agencies
Back in India the “Aunty brigade,” the various
in Bangalore and enjoyed the first 5-6 months of
matchmaking agencies in every nook and corner
prospecting for alliances.”
of town ensure that the day the daughter comes of
But alas, when the proposals started trickling
age, she finds the “suitable boy.” From being called a
in, the checkbox never had tick marks on all the
daughter (ghar ki beti) till 20, to being called a “single”
criteria. Eventually when she decided “to give up on
by 23 and being branded a “woman” by 30, they all
something,” and a meeting was arranged, the boy was
compete against time to tie
a disappointment. Screenings
the knot before it gets totally
followed
by
meetings,
entangled.
and meetings followed by
Ask Janet about her
explanation for rejections, has
experience in running this
literally drained the energy
race. “Terrible” is the word she
levels of both mother and
utters. “I never knew finding a
daughter. “Now I am not going
spouse can be so challenging,”
to see anyone,” declares her
she bemoans. “I’ve crossed
daughter before leaving for
many challenges in life right
work. And every time Neeta
from examinations in school/
wants to bail out, there is this
college to various tests in life
phone call with a new voice
but I must admit personally the
at the other end. “Yet another
process of looking for a guy is
alliance,” she fears.
a crazy one. Especially when
It is estimated that half
you belong to an Indian family
of UAE’s expat population
and have certain criteria about
are single and focused
race, community, religion, etc.”
on careers, with the main
Indian arranged marriages
reasons being work, cultural
are more like a conditional
differences or a lack of trust
mathematical equation. X Bella De Paulo, social scientist, University of California,
about a partner’s past. And
Santa Barbara, author of ‘Singled Out.’ “Single women can
can marry Y, only if certain pick up the check (cheque) at work and sperm at the bank,” Indians constitute nearly
conditions are met. Wedding
42% of the UAE population.
bells are heard the day this
The Ministry of Interior, UAE,
equation is solved. But then, it’s a tedious process, and
published these results in the 999 Magazine, 2013
in the long run, one loses interest, for it may take not
edition.
just days, but years.
And for those who choose to tie the knot, they indeed
And Janet disdains this experience. “When you fall
get choosy. Shaadi.com, India’s leading matrimonial
in love naturally, none of it matters but when you try to
website, states that over 92% of NRI women prefer to
arrange one for yourself, all of these come into play. It’s
marry NRI men… However, in the case of NRI men, just
like a drama I go through every fortnight or a month.
above 65% prefer to marry NRI women…and roughly
Introducing myself to the many guys I meet (either
35% of NRI men prefer girls who are born and brought
through references or through wedding websites). It
up in India.
gets extremely monotonous to do the same thing over
Dodging these notions 25 year old Sharjah resident
and over again. After a point, you are so confused,
Seema Udupa,* somehow had a soft corner for alliances
that you really don’t know where it’s all heading. The
that had the NRI tag appended to it. “I always felt
pressure of ending this search process is so high, that
that having been brought up abroad an NRI spouse’s
you really can’t do justice to yourself.”
mentality would be different. They would know how to
Dubai resident Neeta Bhat,* a mother who has been
live by themselves, be more independent and would
looking for alliances for her daughter for the past year
encourage their wife to work,” she explains.
and a half has one thing to say, “Its better they find their
Though she was open to proposals coming from
own.” Though the thought of finding a right match for
Indian techies, one experience changed her perception.
her daughter was quite “exciting” and she felt privileged
“I really liked the boy, but then his family wanted me
54
SINGLEWOMEN
to quit working after marriage,” recalls this marketing
Post Graduate. A few days back she got hitched and is
heading to the US with the “one” she enjoys conversing
with, sharing her views on life and most importantly
feels that this marriage would not act as an impediment
but an impetus to her dreams and aspirations. “Yes, I
will have to start life from scratch, though,” she says
with a big smile.
While for Janet, it is something she cannot think
of and she says candidly, “I am living in Dubai, I want
a guy from Dubai. One of the main reasons is that I
don’t believe in starting a long distance relationship. It’s
imperative that we spend time with each other to know
where its heading. Any other country besides the one I
live in doesn’t serve the purpose.”
For 26-year-old Bhavita Rao, working for an MNC
in Dubai, the location of her would-be has never
been a concern and she considers this criteria to be
a little “silly.” “I was not very picky, all I was looking
for in a partner was a good education, good family
background, some level of smartness, a potential to do
well no matter where he goes and of course the feeling
of “being connected” when I converse with him.”
From experiencing awkward moments to overcoming
those initial butterflies, she learnt to relax and keep her
conversations casual. “My parents started looking out
for one when I was 23, much to my annoyance. But
when they convinced me that it is a long drawn process
and for anything substantial to happen would take a
couple of years, I agreed,” she says. Bhavita will start a
new chapter in her life, in another six months, when she
moves to Bangalore to be with the “one.” Her search
has come to an end, but for many it seems endless.
Janet suggests that being abroad is a disadvantage
in many ways. “You have a lot of people in India.
Abroad, the filters you keep reduces the amount of
guys you meet unless you can go easy with your filters,”
she feels. “For example, religion further broken to sub
religion, community, well educated, well settled, all of
this makes it tough to find a person in a smaller place.”
For Anceeta Martis, blogger and 21-year-old
Bahraini resident and business graduate, marriage
is “more for the convenience while travelling and for
the right to live together legally. But I will not marry for
the sake of depending on my husband or for merging
finances. It’s just something you do to make things easy
for yourself.”
And the filters for her are quite a few. “I would
not marry an Indian man,” she says emphatically. Her
blog anceeta.com, extensively documents the reasons
for the same. “In a nutshell, I find Indian men too
dominating, chauvinistic and very anti-feminist. They
always blame the woman for whatever problems they
have. They never give the woman in their life priority
and Indian men do not like it when their wives are
independent and free-thinking.”
Single women somehow are often treated as the
odd block that somehow doesn’t complete. Ironically,
the way society treats single women is one interesting
research topic.
Widows, divorcees are on one end of the spectrum
and unmarried single women on another. Theoretically
they are all single, yet differential treatment exists.
Strangely it is the same case in the so-called progressive
thinking, nations like the US. “Yes, in American society,
too, widows get more “credit” than people who have
always been single. I think the reasoning is that at least
they got married, and they are now unmarried through no
fault of their own,” says renowned social scientist, Bella
De Paulo, University of California, Santa Barbara. Her
book Singled Out is a myth-busting, consciousnessraising, totally unapologetic take on singles and their
place in contemporary American society.
Drawing inferences from her research, De Paulo
contends that many societies, including America, are
organized around marriage and traditional families.
“Marriage and family often have important places
in religion, in the law, and in politics. I think it is also
important that what people believe about marriage
is more like an ideology than a set of dispassionate
beliefs.”
She feels that in general people want to believe that,
“those who get married are better than people who stay
single. They are invested in seeing marriage as central
to their lives. When some people want to stay single –
when they say they like being single – that is a threat to
the way people want to understand their world.”
To marry or not to marry is a choice that many
women and to a certain extent even men don’t have
in many cultures. And in India, if at all they decide to
marry, there again are a set of screens, filters in the form
of caste, creed and social standing. Its high time we
let our daughters choose the lives they wish to lead.
Neither has marriage solved societal maladies nor has
being single threatened the delicate frame. Nevertheless
parents fear for their daughters safety, as they believe
a marriage provides the much-needed security and
garners the respect and privileges that being single
leaves them bereft of.
De Paulo feels that the media can play a big role
in changing mindsets, and says, “It would help to
have more positive stories in the media, including on
websites, and in magazines, books, and movies. We
need to see portrayals of single people living their single
lives fully, and not just trying to become unsingle.” After
all, being single is enjoyable too.
“Single women can pick up the check (cheque) at work
and sperm at the bank,” she concludes. TII
Deepa Ballal is a freelance writer based in Dubai.
55
YOUNG INDIANS
Feby Imthias
YOUNG INDIANS
What do young Indians Want?
India is changing… and its youth are the torch bearers of transformation.
The upcoming generation is successful, motivated and willing to go the
extra mile to realize their dreams. Feby Imthias looks at the aspirations of
young Indians.
“In today’s world, the obvious concern in an average
person’s life is to get his finances right. The priority is
to lead a peaceful debt free life. Credit cards and loans
have given many youngsters’ sleepless nights,” says Adil
Ibrahim, who is a Chemical engineer from BITS Pilani.
He runs a media company in Dubai called Crea Media
which offers branding and marketing solutions including
TV commercial production and event management.
Adil is not just any Chemical Engineer in an
entrepreneur’s garb, he is a Dubai based Radio Jockey,
model and actor. Media savvy, his popular shows include
‘You, Me and Dubai and Arabian Nights, ‘in Asianet
Middle East and ‘Ramadan Nights’ in Radio Me. This
dashing young man is all set to debut into mainstream
Malayalam cinema through ‘Persiakaran’ (Persian Man),
the story of three generations of expatriate Indians,
directed by national award-winning filmmaker Ashok R.
Nath. His character in the movie has similarities to his
real life as he will be assuming the role of the character
- Dubai-based RJ, Arvind.
Sudheer Mohan, who is the Global Practice Head
for Enterprise Mobility Testing Business for three world
class IT companies observes, “The main concern of
young Indians seems to be the right job and financial
security. The average income bracket cannot afford
to live a secure life, even in tier 2 cities with inflation
hitting the roof and expenses sky rocketing. Apart from
that, poor governance and corruption is worrying a
lot of young people.” Settled in Kochi, Kerala, Mohan
has worked extensively on wireless technologies
and has experience in various industries such as
Telecommunications, Banking, Manufacturing Hi-tech,
Retail, Energy for Utilities, Global Media Telecom and
Adil Ibrahim, chemical engineer from BITS Pilani runs a media company in Dubai
A
fifth of the world’s young people are in India.
Gone are the days when they were bound
by cultural stigmas and feelings of inferiority.
Today, they are just as tech savvy and focused as their
counterparts anywhere else in the world. Young India
wants a good life which roughly translates to a well
etched career, high disposable income and a quality
lifestyle. But for a young country still stuck in hereditary
dynastic politics and ruled mostly by geriatric politicians,
is the future really bright?
The demographic potential of youth, provides India
with an extraordinary edge in economic performance,
political understanding, lifestyle standards and
educational options. “In about seven years, the
median individual in India will be 29 years, very likely
a city-dweller, making it the youngest country in the
world,” according to the IRIS Knowledge Foundation in
collaboration with UN-Habitat in its ‘State of the Urban
Youth, India 2012: Employment, Livelihoods, Skills,’
report.
Good jobs and a debt free life
“Mere Naukri, Meri Chokri” is a phrase marketed by
Chetan Bhagat, India’s best loved youth author. “Young
India wants a good life, a good job and romance,”
states Bhagat.
Sudheer Mohan: Indian youth are in a dynamic transition
56
Adil Ibrahim with Mukesh from Malayalam Move Persiakkaran
Health Care.
Mohan thinks Indian youth is set to experience a
dynamic transformation as the brashness attributed
to them in the past turns into smart and fearless
investments in terms of business, jobs, partners or
finances and the benefits will be tempered by social and
cultural equations.
“I want to do something positive and beneficial for
Indian society. I returned from the US to settle down
in my home state to look for avenues wherein I can
contribute to something bigger. I am still figuring out
what is the best option for me in this regard. Helping
youth by increasing their competency and exposure to
opportunities is a major interest area for Mohan.
Challenging the ways of Life
Contemporary Indian youth are aware of the problems
they face and are getting adept at finding solutions or
being a part of the solution. They are willing to be the
change that they wish to see in others.
Ruchika Kalra is a 26 year old brand manager
in Unilever who was crowned pageant winner of
‘Masala Magazine’s most eligible bachelorette’ in 2010.
But what makes Ruchika truly beautiful is her initiative
‘Wings of Angelz’ which aims to make the world a
disabled-friendly place. She locates places that are not
wheel chair friendly and encourages the authorities to
build a ramp. Kalra has a strong emotional raison d’être
for being the harbinger of change for this cause.
“My younger sister Shobhika Kalra was diagnosed
with a terminal disease, Fredreichs Ataxia at the tender
age of 13 and she is wheelchair bound. While travelling
with her, we often face difficulties in public places which
are not designed for wheelchair access. I used to speak
to the managers of these places to request them to build
a ramp. I often had to face rude and callous attitudes
linked to their lack of awareness about the need and
the number of disabled people in the world. As per the
WHO website, close to 1 billion people are disabled. We
57
YOUNG INDIANS
decided that it was time to raise awareness about the
need to build ramps in public places. “I want to bring
about a change in society. This cause of making the
world a wheelchair friendly place, is close to my heart,”
says Ruchika.
Most developed countries have 100% wheelchair
access in all public places. Dubai has decided to be
100% disabled friendly by 2020.
There is a deliberate attempt to change the world
by young Indians.
“I spend a lot of time on social media platforms
such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. I believe in
their effectiveness to bring about change.” Ruchika
uses social media in her campaign for the disabled on
Facebook: www.facebook.com/WingsOfAngelz.
The fading lure of America
With opportunities in the Gulf, the American dream is
not that attractive and many Indian youth do not believe
there is a better life in America.
Mahak Mannan, a 22 year old journalist, and a
graduate in journalism and communication, working
with Sport 360 says, “I would certainly not come under
that category of people who would migrate to the US,
given the chance. I think most youngsters I know would
not as well. The UAE offers equally good facilities and
opportunities. Earlier people considered moving to the
US to boost their career options. But many of us know
the UAE inside out and have loved the country for the
longest time, I see no reason why a move to the States
would benefit us more than staying here. We are seeing
people migrating from all over the world to the Emirates;
it does not make sense to move out from here when so
many are confident of building a future here.”
INTRODUCING
Malak Mannan: not interested in going to the U.S.
“I work with a multi ethnic workforce and interact with
many global citizens. I have worked in four continents
and thereby developed a global understanding of
business. It isn’t obligatory to settle in the US to have
a global outlook!” quips Mohan. “I am fortunate to have
friends from varied backgrounds. We discuss global
developments, social issues, technology, politics,
development, governance, articles, movies, sports and
current affairs.”
“I do not think anybody who has grown up in this
day and age, especially in this region gets any less
exposure than those in the West. I have been born and
brought up in Abu Dhabi. This country has taught me
that there are no boundaries or restrictions on how far
you can go. The UAE has made amazing progress in
the last 20 years, setting benchmarks for something
new all the time. Living here and watching the growth
and expansion of the country definitely inculcates the
same thoughts in you,” says Manan.
By 2020, India is set to become the world’s youngest
country with 64 per cent of its population in the working
age group. This youth has set its priorities on taking
care of family and having loads of fun. Even if their
day to day pursuits are tangled in a multitude of social
causes, their heart is firmly grounded. Even while they
seek to fly and be independent, they are committed to
their jobs, families and roots. India is all set to reap the
rewards of this youthful sense of industry. TII
Feby Imthias is an independent newspaper correspondent.
Navin and Alka Kalra, Ruchika, Shobikha Kalra
58
AQUAPONICS
Shyamola Khanna
AQUAPONICS
Growing vegetables out of thin air
Aquaponics could be the ideal hobby for your retirement.
so that the resident insects in the ground do not infest
the seedlings. If any kind of airborne insects do happen
to infect the fruit or the vegetable, then the best thing to
do is to take some of the water from the fish tank and
spray it on the fruit/ vegetable”
Once the system is set up one realises the simplicity
of it all. In theory it sounds very logical and when you
see the healthy end-products — glossy lettuce, dark
green healthy looking spinach and lovely juicy tomatoes
it becomes truly real!
The downside is that you have to watch out for
extremes of temperatures. During the very hot summer
months a green netting helps protect the plants; and
since evaporation is higher, one has to replenish the
water in the fish tank more frequently. And then like
Mary in the nursery rhyme, you stand by and “watch
your garden grow”!
But then all those who love plants talk to their plants
at least once in the day—so while you are at it, you may
as well check for any anomalies.
Bobo’s Aeroponics and Skyfarm
Tomatoes from 7- liter setup
Y
A vegetable garden in your balcony
aquaponics he is setting up for Milan and Nidhi. In
essence he is a designer and calls himself a do-ityourself (DIY) specialist. While he works five days a week
at an advertising studio, his weekends are dedicated to
his ‘growing’ passion—yes growing healthy vegetables
at home which are as organic as they come.
He knows what he is talking about so I ask him
to spell it out in lay terms — what is Hydroponics?
Aquaponics? Aeroponics? What is the difference—after
all ‘hydra’ and ‘aqua’ do mean water to my lay mind.
“Aquaponics involves fish—any kind of small fish
will do. They are kept in a small tank with a measured
amount of a water. A small motorised pump is fitted in
the water.The fish poop and pee and they generate a lot
of ammonia. The water contains many bacteria—
one of them is the nitrosomanos which eats
the ammonia and converts it to nitrites. Then
there is another bacteria called nitro bacter
which converts these nitrites into nitrates.
This nitrate enriched water is pumped up
into the grow bed where the seedlings
are resting on enriched pellets ( no regular
heavy soil here). The enriched water starts
Vinil’s Aquaponics
working and the seedlings grow and begin
Vinil Ratnakaran is up on the terrace
Bobo Bhasin-Anyone can do it. to bear fruit.
working on cutting and sawing wood
“The grow bed is raised off the ground
to make a stand for the drum system of
ou no longer need clods of earth, pesticides,
tedious, regular watering and the ubiquitous
‘maali’ to work on a garden to get lovely fresh
vegetables at home! Bangalore is going organic and
green in more ways than one.
While Supriya Kini has been harvesting fresh greens
and gourds regularly from her balcony garden, Devinder
‘Bobo’ Bakshi is collecting tomatoes and cauliflower
by the dozens. At the same time, the creative maverick
that he is, he is already planning to market his particular
kind of aeroponic system within the next few months.
Milan and Nidhi Cariappa were very happy and excited
to set up their first aquaponic grow bed, but apparently
something went wrong and it is not really taking off the
way it should have.
In essence they want to avoid pesticides
and any chemicals of any kind along with
being able to control the excessive use of
water. I am told 70%of the water that we
put into our plants goes into the soil and
adds nothing to the plant or the produce.
60
Devinder ‘Bobo’ Bhasin is 72 and has lately discovered
the joys of growing vegetables on his terrace. Originally
from Lahore, Bobo grew up in Kolkata and worked
in the badlands of Bihar’s coal belt, before he fled to
Bangalore because the coal mafia were chasing him.
Never one to despair, this creative maverick has tried
his hand at various ventures including setting up India’s
first and largest electronic screen in Bangalore and
getting it smashed on police orders! He has a patent
for a reusable matchstick which could light up 20,000
times, but which did not work commercially. Finally he
set up a furniture manufacturing unit and worked hard
to make it a success.
His house in Sarjapur is really ‘far from the madding
crowd’ and he and his Kashmiri Pandit wife like it like
that. While she is working on getting the civic authorities
to level out the approach roads, he is happy pottering
around his ‘vertical’ vegetable garden or his ‘skyfarm’
Goldfish-Aquaponics involves any fish to generate ammonia
Cauliflower in the 500 Liter Setup
as he likes to call it. On a 150 sq ft terrace, he has
some 15 pillars where tomatoes, cauliflower and brinjals
are growing abundantly. Each pillar has some 40 odd
pockets in which the seedlings are planted and then
the growth begins. Under the green netting, there are
water pipes on the beams, which spray a fine mist of
nutrient enriched water at fixed hours.
How and why did he come to this? He had handed
over the reins of the furniture store to his son and
was pottering around the house. On one of his trips
to Thailand, he was fascinated with the vertical floral
pillars at the airport, which seemed to reach up six
floors high! On further close examination he discovered
that the whole idea was quite simple and he could do
it at home, all by himself. He did a lot of reading up
on the topic and then the final clincher came from the
NASA article which spoke of growing fresh vegetables
on the Discovery spacecraft with the help of fresh air
and nutrient enriched water.
Bobo is working on a trial and error system,
completely guided by instincts. “I do not have a green
thumb and know nothing of how much water was
required by each plant. So we have been taking one
day at a time. My first phase is closed down, this
particular one is the second phase where there are still
points that need to be tweaked. In a week’s time I will
be closing this one down too and starting the third and
final phase up on the roof, where I hope to grow at least
500 plants. I want to ease off all the glitches that are
there in my system so that I can start manufacturing it
– the end product should be so easy and effective that
people should look at me and say ‘if this senior citizen
can do it then anyone can’!”
Bobo, the maverick, at age 72, plans to become a
manufacturer all over again. He does not want to sell
his produce. What he does want to sell is his system of
aeroponics and he wants every rooftop in Bangalore to
have its own vegetable garden so that no family has to
depend on any vegetable vendor or bhajiwali.
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AQUAPONICS
The Miniponics
Supriya’s Terrace garden
When Supriya and Arvind Kini came back from California
to set up home in Bangalore, they had a few very clear
pictures in their minds. They wanted a row house in
a colony, a little far away from congested places. So
they got Whitefields which caters to mostly people
like them. The other thing that Supriya wanted was a
terrace garden so that she could get fresh vegetables
for the table. Once the first was done, then she set
about organizing the second.
Light wooden troughs were made, and rested
on raised metal stands and lined with plastic sheets.
Instead of regular soil with its lumps and what have
you, coconut peat was filled in and seedlings planted.
A sprinkler system was installed
so that minimum water is used.
Within six months she had her
healthy ‘organic’ vegetables
growing on her terrace garden.
After having experimented
with various combinations, she
realised that the best thing for her
to grow are the greens—spinach
(palak), fresh fenugreek (methi),
fresh coriander (dhania), mint, Vinil Ratnakaran- Miniponics
(pudina). She has harvested a
variety of gourds—bottle gourd
(lauki), ridge grourd (turai) and cucumbers (kheera) and
of course tomatoes by the kilos!
According to her, “Growing tomatoes is the easiest
and everyone should try it.”
She planted lime trees in barrels on her terrace and
got some fairly decent fruit.
Nidhi and Milan Cariappa are just restarting their
aquaponics herb garden on their terrace under
Vinil Ratnakaran’s guidance, after their first venture
failed. Meghna and her husband Mayur are starting
to experiment with drip irrigation at their shared farm,
outside the city limits.
This rising awareness about healthy food and
vegetables, water issues and others connected to it
is very heartening indeed. So if high rises are growing
higher and the rat race getting murkier by the day then
these people and others of their ilk are doing their small
bit to keep the balance. Way to go! TII
Shyamola Khanna is a freelance writer based in Hyderabad.
70 Liter Aquarium AP
62
GUPTARA GARMAGARAM
Prabhu Guptara
Modification: long, short or indifferent?
To assess Modi’s record, keep a key fact keep in mind: more criminals are
in Parliament now than at any time in the past – one out of every three
elected MPs. Of all the political parties, the highest proportion of people
with criminal cases against them is in the BJP.
F
or many in India, as well as in other countries,
Modi is still in his honeymoon period, even though
he had asked for 100 days – and now it is more
than 200.
For those of us who are in the post-honeymoon
mood and wish to assess the current government’s
record, there is a key fact which must be kept in mind:
one out of every three people who we have elected as
MPs has one or more pending criminal cases against
them. That means we have more criminals and alleged
criminals in Parliament now than at any time in the
past. Moreover, of all the political parties, the highest
proportion of people with criminal cases against them
is in the BJP.
So the first thing that needs to be said is that, so far
as can actually be seen, the Prime Minister has kept this
mass of alleged or real criminals somehow in control
– there has been no particular feeding frenzy on their
part. Die-hard critics will say that the feeding frenzy will
start as soon as there is any real action with business
consequences on the part of the government. Perhaps
the feeding frenzy will start if the government does
indeed auction 100 coal blocks by the end of the current
fiscal year, as it has in one of its many announcements
said it will. But if we want to be objective and fair, then
the proper retort to these die-hards is: we will have to
wait till there is any feeding frenzy for us to criticise it. At
present, there is nothing to criticise on this front.
By contrast, the biggest achievement of the Modi
government so far is hope for change and hope for
development. Hope is indeed essential for countries as
much as for individuals: without the rediscovery of the
message of the Bible and the consequent rise of hope
in Northern Europe, that part of the world would not
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GUPTARA GARMAGARAM
have arisen from being one of the poorest parts of the
world to becoming one of the richest.
However, if hope is to actually achieve anything,
hope has to be in something more than hope itself: in
other words, there is a distinction between real hope
and mere dreams or fantasies. We can always have
dreams or fantasies. But real hope has to have some
solid basis in character, abilities, plans, willingness
to commit energy and other resources to overcome
obstacles, and so on. Just as any God is only worth
worshipping if He or She deserves such adulation, so
also political leaders are only worth following if they
actually deserve to be followed. Gods are relatively easy
to evaluate (for example, morally) but political leaders
are more difficult to evaluate.
That is why most Indians are still happy to give
the current Prime Minister the benefit of
the doubt. Particularly as the Finance
Ministry’s Mid-Year Economic Analysis
(MYEA) reminds us that, in July 2013,
India had 9% inflation, a high and rising
current account deficit, and a falling
rupee. As a result of investor sentiment
turning sour, consequent on the Fed’s
decision to signal the apparent end of its
quantitative easing, India was included
in the Fragile Five alongside Brazil,
Indonesia, Turkey, and South Africa. By
contrast, some 18 months on, the Indian
stock market has increased in value by
33 percent since March (in dollar terms),
benefitting from huge foreign capital
inflows. India is now the only major country not to suffer
a growth downgrade by the IMF. “From Fragile Five to
Near-Solitary Spark of the global economy is the Indian
narrative of the last year”.
The question is: to what extent does this narrative
result from government actions, and to what extent
is it the result of unrelated factors? The external
environment has turned in India’s favour, as a result of
which prices for India’s major commodity imports have
fallen (petroleum, gold, coal, vegetable oils, fertilizers,
and silver - together constituting 51 percent of imports,
amounting to a saving of something like 1.5% of GDP –
which is huge!). So it is not surprising that inflation has
come down. In addition, the monsoons failed to extract
as much of a toll on growth as expected.
On the other hand, tax receipts were weaker than
expected – which will make it harder for the government
to meet the fiscal targets for this financial year. So how
is that gap to be closed?
Apparently, by slashing provisions to those who
are already poor. For example, India’s health budget,
already one of the world’s lowest, is being cut by nearly
20 percent in 2014/15, putting at risk key disease
control initiatives.
64
The full scale and shape of the cuts will not be clear
till the Expenditure Management Commission, headed
by former Reserve Bank of India government Bimal
Jalan, produces its plan for “rationalising” the subsidy
bill.
However, even the most-headlined of the
government’s initiatives, for example, the Pradhan
Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), is now to be severely
restricted in the benefits attached to these accounts.
There were, apparently, “over nine crore new bank
accounts opened till December 11, 2014”. That is of
course, not such a huge number in a country where at
least 70 crore bank accounts need to be opened, but
the real issue is that, even in the bank accounts which
have been opened, 75% don’t have any money at all in
them. Further, where there is money in the accounts,
it is not clear whether those actually
belong to poor people. In other words,
how many of these accounts have been
opened by people who are actually
above the poverty line of merely Rs 32
a day in rural areas and Rs 47 a day in
urban areas?
So we may conclude, for the present,
that this current government is not really
any more relevant to development than
the last. Moreover, all the promised
“easy wins” (black money, IT cases, ED
investigations) have failed to materialise,
and very little has been done against
the impact of corruption on the ground.
Despite assurances that the Modi
government would give us development, the national
debate has been about everything from the spread of
communalism to conversions to Hindutva.
Make no mistake. Lots has changed. We no
longer have new statues of Nehru and Gandhi going
up. No longer are the new statues even of Phule and
Ambedkar and Mayawati. Rather the statues are all
of the icons revered by RSS/ BJP, such as Mahatma
Gandhi’s assassin Nathuram Godse. Oh and the buzzwords have changed. Now we have “Ghar Wapsi” and
“Love Jihad”. And “secularism” has been replaced by
“development”.
But, actually, come to think of it, perhaps even the
vocabulary hasn’t changed that much. Was there not a
well-known lady, several political generations ago, who
became famous, not for any related activity, but for the
mere slogan, of “Garibi Hatao”? TII
Prof. Prabhu Guptara has written the above in an entirely
private capacity, and none of the above should be related in any
way to any of the companies or organisations with which he is
now, or has been associated in the past. His personal website
is www. prabhu.guptara.net He blogs at: www.prabhuguptara.
blogspot.com
EDUCATION
Brandon Busteed
The Biggest Blown Opportunity
in Higher Ed History
Colleges and universities must get serious about finding mentors for their
students.
H
igher education has never tapped one of its
greatest human capital assets -- its alumni -- to
provide a service that its students might value
most.
A few months after Gallup released findings from the
largest representative study of U.S. college graduates,
there is much to ponder. The Gallup-Purdue Index
surveyed more than 30,000 graduates to find out
whether they are engaged in their work and thriving in
their overall well-being. In simple terms, did they end up
with great jobs and great lives?
We learned some stunning things. But one of the
most important is that where you went to college matters
less to your work life and well-being after graduation
than how you went to college. Feeling supported and
having deep learning experiences during college means
everything when it comes to long-term outcomes after
college. Unfortunately, not many graduates receive a
key element of that support while in college: having
a mentor. And this is perhaps the biggest blown
opportunity in the history of higher ed.
Six critical elements during college jumped off the
pages of our research as being strongly linked to longterm success in work and life after graduation. Three of
these elements relate to experiential and deep learning:
having an internship or job where students were able
to apply what they were learning in the classroom,
being actively involved in extracurricular activities and
organizations, and working on projects that took a
semester or more to complete.
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EDUCATION
But the three most potent elements linked to longterm success for college grads relate to emotional
support: feeling that they had a professor who made
them excited about learning, that the professors at their
alma mater cared about them as a person, and that
they had a mentor who encouraged them to pursue
their goals and dreams. If graduates strongly agree with
these three things, it doubles the odds that they are
engaged in their work and thriving in their overall wellbeing.
When we looked at these three elements individually,
we found that about six in 10 college graduates strongly
agree they had a professor who made them excited
about learning (63%). Fewer than three in 10 strongly
agree the professors at their alma mater cared about
them as a person (27%). And only about two in 10
strongly agree they had a mentor who encouraged their
goals and dreams (22%) -- which means that about
eight in 10 college graduates lacked a mentor in college.
Given how profound the impact of emotional
support can be, it’s thoroughly depressing to learn how
few college graduates receive it. A mere 14% of all
college grads strongly agree that they experienced all
three elements of emotional support.
Is mentoring really too costly?
Gallup has talked with many higher ed leaders about
these findings, and it has been heartening to learn
how many leaders are energized by having fresh
insights about the importance and value of mentoring
relationships in college. But it has also been frustrating
to hear how many believe it’s too costly or unreasonable
to ensure that every college student receives mentoring.
How is it possible that some leaders feel that this
kind of experience is more expensive or less practical
than building and maintaining multimillion-dollar athletic
facilities or high-end residential complexes? Or that it’s
more difficult to provide mentors for students than it is
to commit significant amounts of human and financial
resources to eke out a few extra students in their
admissions yield or create a massive machine to raise
funds from alumni?
If your college or university wants to get serious
about finding mentors for its students, it could start
by looking at its own alumni base. Assuming your
institution has been around for 10 years or more, your
alumni are one of the greatest human capital assets it
has -- not just as donors, but also as potential mentors.
Do some quick math: How many undergraduate
students are currently enrolled in your college or
university? And how many living alumni does it have?
The number of alumni is most likely many times that of
the current undergrads.
Let’s use my alma mater, Duke, as an example. Duke
has 6,495 undergraduate students. There are more than
66
140,000 members of the alumni association. If just 10%
of Duke’s alumni agreed to serve as mentors, it would
have a pool of 14,000 alumni for its 6,500 undergrads.
That’s more than a two-to-one mentor-to-student ratio.
Imagine what would happen if your college
applied just a portion of the staffing and budget for its
development office toward recruiting alumni to mentor
current undergraduates. This relationship doesn’t have
to be complicated. All that’s required is two to three
calls, Skype meetings, or Google Hangouts between
an alumnus and an undergrad each year for one-toone coaching, plus some basic framework for how they
engage one another. How many of your alumni might
take you up on this offer if you made a concerted effort
to recruit them? As an alumnus, would you be willing
to mentor a current undergrad for a few hours a year?
It’s completely conceivable that, within just one year,
a college or university could strive for a 100% mentoring
experience rate for its undergraduates. It’s simply a
matter of valuing mentoring and making it happen.
For example, in a recent study Gallup conducted of
Western Governors University (WGU) alumni, 68%
strongly agreed they had a mentor. That’s more than
three times higher than the national average of college
graduates surveyed -- and at a fully online, adult-learner
institution.
The WGU model, it turns out, includes direct
mentoring for all students, from matriculation to
graduation. It’s possible for all institutions to do this in
many different ways, and it doesn’t have to be costly.
And as a side benefit, imagine how much donations
might rise among alumni who have a one-to-one
relationship with a current undergrad.
Higher education has never tapped one of its
greatest human capital assets -- its alumni -- to provide
a service that its students might value most. It could
be one of the most important changes a college or
university makes toward supporting the success of its
future graduates -- or the biggest blown opportunity in
its history.
A version of this article originally appeared in Inside
Higher Ed. TII
Brandon Busteed is Executive Director, Gallup Education.
HOLLYWOODWALLAH
Shamlal Puri
Dramatic moments….Kiran Shah’s favourite role as Ginarrbrik in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wadrobe.
Little Kiran is a Big Hit in Hollywood
Stuntman, actor, performer Kiran Shah is renowned in Hollywood for his roles in epic
films such as the Lord of Rings, The Hobbit and The Chronicles of Narnia. The fourfoot-one-inch star who holds Guinness World Record for being the smallest stuntman
in the world has proved that height is no bar to reach the top in Hollywood, writes
SHAMLAL PURI from London.
W
hen it comes to death-defying action on the
Hollywood screen, it is hard to hold back the
58-year-old pint-sized stuntman Kiran Shah
from reaching the top.
The four-foot one-inch Londoner has won the hearts
of millions of Hollywood film-buffs around the world with
his hair-raising action in some household name blockbusters and epic films.
“Little Kiran”, as he is fondly known, is also the
darling of millions of children around the world for his
roles in some great films and epics such as Superman
One and Two, Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark,
The Dark Crystal, Star Wars Episode VI – Return of the
Jedi, Braveheart and Titanic.
His long list of successes includes The Hobbit, An
Unexpected Journey, The Chronicles of Narnia, The
Lion and the Witch and the much-loved dwarf Ginarrbrik
in The Wardrobe.
His latest film The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five
Armies was released last December to rave reviews.
His biggest films so far have been The Lord Of The
Rings Trilogy where he was a scale and stunt double for
the Hobbits.
Kiran Shah was born in Nairobi, Kenya in 1956.
From a very young age he knew that he was different
from other children because he was smaller than
them and at the age of nine had stopped growing. His
parents took him to see a few doctors in Nairobi to find
out what was wrong but they could not find anything
leaving everyone baffled.
As a child, he started imitating his uncle’s
mannerisms much to the amusement of his siblings and
friends. Little did he know he was building his future
career! At the age of seven he knew that he wanted
to become an actor but in his days there was no film
industry as such in Kenya.
In 1967, when he was eleven, his family decided
to relocate to India due to his father’s ill health. The
weather of Kenya had become unsuitable for Kiran’s
father and the family reluctantly decided to move out
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HOLLYWOODWALLAH
Bound and gagged… Kiran Shah (right) in a tense scene from The
Chronicles of Narnia.
of East Africa.
There were teething problems settling down in India
because their life in India was different from Kenya. This
prompted Kiran to write poems about different cultures
and poverty.
In India Kiran tried to get into Bollywood and his
dream nearly came true, but his father’s health took a
turn for the worse. His brother who was in Britain invited
his father to join him in London and to see if the climate
would suit him.
Doing better in London after six months Kiran and
his mother decided to join his father in London and his
dream of working in Bollywood had to be left behind.
Kiran started his schooling in London but his heart
still lay in acting. He continued to dream of making
acting a career and waited for an opportunity to knock
on his door. The offer from Bollywood had instilled in
him the confidence of facing the cameras and aiming to
make it on the silver screen.
He once again turned to creativity and started
to write poems for pleasure. He was an avid reader
of newspapers and periodicals. While in school, he
bought Time Out magazine popular with the young
people. His eye caught an advertisement for The Red
Buddha Theatre Company looking for all sorts of people
to appear on stage and do backstage work. He threw
caution to the winds, applied and got an audition.
After getting through the auditions he was given the
part of a main character, a mime clown where he learnt
about mime and mask. He toured Italy with the theatre
company for three months. After the tour he went back
to school and started to take classes in mime.
Kiran completed his O’ levels and a few months later
he finished school and went into experimental theatre
learning more about mime, movement and masks.
After working for four years in experimental theatre
the itch to face cinematographers’ cameras returned.
Kiran decided to try his luck in films.
He auditioned for the part of the inside man R2D2
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HOLLYWOODWALLAH
for the film Star Wars and was chosen to replace the
three-feet eight inches dwarf British actor Kenny Baker
who had decided not to accept the offer but as luck had
it Baker decided to return and take over the character of
R2D2 that he had lost out to Kiran.
The lack of a big break, however, did not dishearten
Kiran. A couple of months later he was chosen to standin for a Chinese girl in a film called Candleshoe.
While working on this film, the well-known Hollywood
stunt coordinator Bob Anderson asked Kiran to do
stunts for his character. His stunt life took off from here
and he was trained by various stunt experts such as Vic
Armstrong, Paul Weston, Danny Powell, among others.
Since then Kiran has set himself on fire, skidded
with a motorcycle, jumped off a bridge, jumped off a
horse among many other stunts to his credit.
Kiran says that while doing stunts he has had his
share of misfortunes and injuries. “I have broken my
legs, toes, nose, hands, fingers, and dislocated my
shoulders.”
He will never forget the biggest injury he suffered
during filming. “I sustained a severe back injury during
the Lord of the Rings while rehearsing a scene where
I was fighting and fell off a horse! When I realised the
horse had folded, I was in the air. I fell on my front and
my back cracked.”
He underwent physiotherapy treatment and much
to the disbelief of doctors and nurses was back on his
feet in six weeks.
When asked if it was worth risking his life doing
stunts, Kiran replied, “Actually not many people know
that stuntmen are not dare-devils. We are trained to
carry out stunts as safely as possible. All the stunts we
perform – the high falls, motorbike stunts and setting
ourselves on fire – are done so with almost 99 percent
precaution and merely one percent risk. But yes, one
can get addicted to the adrenaline rush!”
Even stuntmen have their memorable moments.
Adoring fans mob Kiran Shah at the opening of The Hobbit: An
Unexpected Journey.
Kiran Shah, poet and actor
Kiran’s best moment was a stunt he did in Medaline
a movie about the story of an American living in Paris.
In that movie there was a mischievous character
that often got into trouble with the nuns.
“The stunt scene required the actor to take a stroll
on a bridge before falling off it. I was contacted by the
stunt co-ordinator, and after having a look at the scene
agreed to throw myself into the water from a height of
27 feet.
“On the day of the scene, I was asked to jump into
the water on my back but refused to do so. Funny,
enough that day the distance from the bridge to the
water looked much higher than it did a few days ago!
When I was mid-air, I opted to land on my back. I had
no back protection on! I felt the water painfully slap my
back – but thank God, I did not break anything!”
Kiran however, cautions youngsters or members of
the public who watch dare-devil stunts on the screen
not to try these at home or on streets unless they are
trained by professionals.
On one occasion while at the Pinewood Studios he
was spotted by producer John Dark. He asked Kiran
to come into his office and meet his director Kevin O’
Connor for their fantasy-adventure film The People That
Time Forgot which was a sequel to The Land That Time
Forgot. “After my meeting and two auditions, I was in –
that kick-started my acting career.”
In 2011 Kiran once again was in New Zealand
working on The Hobbit trilogy. He played the character
of a Goblin called Scribe. He was also the Scale double
for Bilbo (Martin Freeman) and did stunts for the various
children. Also he was in Narnia - The Lion, The Witch
And The Wardrobe, where he played the character
Ginarrbrik, and The White Witch’s sleigh driver.
After his presence and acclaim in Hollywood,
Bollywood came knocking on Kiran’s doors. This time it
was no less than the Bollywood icon himself – Amitabh
Bachchan - who was looking for someone to play the
role of his character Auro, the five to seven year old son
of Vidya Balan in the acclaimed blockbuster Paa.
Bachchan had heard of Kiran Shah and got in touch
with him to offer the part in Paa.
“They wanted an old man with a lot of makeup on
to play the role of Amitabh Bachchan as a young boy.
When Amitabh heard my name, he acknowledged it
and asked if I could play the role. In that movie, my
scenes did not require any dialogue.”
In spite of busy and punishing schedules, Kiran has
still found time to pen poetry. Since 1996 his poems
have been published in many anthologies in the UK and
USA.
Kiran has also published his own poetry book called
Small Voice Large Thoughts. He still continues to write
poems.
Since October 2003 Kiran is a Guinness World
Record holder as the shortest professional stuntman
currently working in films.
In 2010, Kiran also became the proud holder of yet
another Guinness World Record by being the shortest
wing walker. This involved Kiran being strapped to the
wing of a 1940s Boeing Spearman biplane travelling at
the speed of 120 miles per hour at 300 metres (1,000
feet) in the air.
In 2005 his photos appeared all over the World,
dressed as superman with the tallest man in the world.
The plight of small people is close to Kiran’s heart.
He takes special interest in the plight of people who
suffer from dwarfism. He returned to the country of his
birth after 40 years to support and help launch The
Association of People with Dwarfism in the Kenyan
capital, Nairobi.
In 2014 Kiran was asked to be a voice for The
Disability Network Television, (TDN) network based in
Canada to support, promote, educate, employ and an
information hub for disabled people.
Kiran Shah is an inspiration to people who know
and work with him. In spite of his height he has broken
the barriers for other aspiring Asian actors in Britain.
To follow Kiran on twitter: @littlekiranshah TII
Shamlal Puri, TII’s Contributing Editor in London, is a veteran
British journalist, broadcaster, author and press photographer.
He has worked with the media in Europe, Africa, Asia and the
Middle East. His novels ‘Dubai Dreams: The Rough Road to
Riches’ and ‘Triangle of Terror’ are acclaimed bestsellers. His
novel ‘The Illegals’ (Crownbird Publishers) has been published
this year. He has travelled to more than 100 countries in an
illustrious journalistic career spanning 40 years. His work has
been published in more than 250 magazines, newspapers and
journals around the world.
69
BOLLYWOOD
Sumit Panwar
BOLLYWOOD
Iconic Fashion Trends Bollywood
Kick-Started
Bollywood has always been a trend-setter when it comes
to fashion. Sumit Panwar recalls some of the trendiest,
most iconic fashion trends Bollywood kick-started.
O
ne day I was going through an old family photoalbum and I found some photographs of a
bunch of young looking men wearing colourful
shirts, bell bottom trousers, long hair and prominent
sideburns. It took me a good 2-3 minutes to recognize
that one of the people in the pictures was my Dad. I said
to myself, “Alright, Dad used to be quite fashionable!
But from where did he acquire such a suave-looking
style statement?” And then the thought struck me, “The
look is inspired by Amitabh Bachchan’s 60s and 70s
avatar.”
Our parents, uncles and aunts used to follow Bollywood’s
fashion trends and now we are stepping into their shoes
by following our favourite stars’ style statements. When
we see a hero romancing his ladylove, sporting a coollooking pair of shades or a very upmarket jacket, we
start looking for that stuff in the malls. Bollywood has
always been a trend-setter when it comes to fashion.
Let’s recall some of the trendiest, most iconic fashion
trends Bollywood kick-started.
create the style by some
of the current generation
actresses as well, but no
one could pull-off that
wispy short fringe better
than Sadhna herself.
THE Sadhna Cut
When Sadhna signed her first film, ‘Love in Shimla’,
the director (RK Nayyar) was not happy with her look.
He showed a picture of Audrey Hepburn to Sadhna’s
hairstylist and rest as they say is history! The hairstyle
became a rage in the country. There were attempts to re-
70
Aamir Khan is known for being a perfectionist. He likes
to experiment with his looks every time he dons a new
character. Aamir played a flamboyant, happy-go-lucky
Aakash in Dil Chahta Hai and more than his effortless
performance, people became fans of his spiked hair,
goatee beard look. College students in particular, loved
the look and donned it for several years to come. The
look is popular even today.
Rishi Kapoor‘s sweaters
When someone talks
about Mumtaz, a picture
of her in a bright orange
saree, dancing like a
butterfly to the tunes of Mumtaz style saree
‘Aaj Kal Tere Mere Pyar
ke Charche’ comes to my mind. It wasn’t the peppy
song or her child-like innocence while performing it, that
made the look popular, but the way she had draped that
orange saree. The style became so popular afterwards
that even today you can find ladies draped in Mumtaz
style sarees in retro parties all around the country. Even
Priyanka Chopra and Sonam Kapoor couldn’t resist
trying out the style!
If you think Ranbir Kapoor is great in the romance
genre, watch some of the best works of his father. The
talented, ever-so-effervescent Rishi Kapoor used to
play the aristocratic, good-at-the-heart, romantic hero
back in the early 80s. He started the trend of colourful
sweaters that made him look every bit of a gentleman.
The trend became a rage in the country, especially in
north India.
Amitabh Bachchan’s Hairstyle
During the 70s, every other guy on the street started
looking alike. What was happening? ‘Amitabhism’ was
on the rise! The trend of Amitabh’s hairstyle with longer
hair at the back and shorter on the front caught the
Tere Naam Hairstyle
attention of the common man like no other trend in the
history of this country. Guys used to instruct the barbers
to cut their hair exactly like Amitabh no matter what kind
of face structure, features or hair texture they had. They
just didn’t care about that. All they wanted was to look
like Amitabh.
Mumtaz Saree
Wrap
Rishi Kapoor’s Sweaters
Sadhna’s haircut
Aamir Khan’s Dil Chahta Hai Look
Tere Naam look
Sushmita in a Chiffon saree
Chiffon Sarees
Sridevi brought the trend of chiffon sarees to Bollywood
in films like Chandni and Mr India. She looked absolutely
stunning in those see-through blue, yellow, pink and
white coloured chiffon sarees. It’s a known fact that after
she appeared in Mr. India’s sensuous number ‘Kaate
Nahi Kat Te’ wearing a transparent blue chiffon saree,
husbands from all parts of the country bought similar
sarees for their wives. The trend was later reinvented
by Sushmita Sen when she wore a number of chiffon
sarees in the film ‘Main Hoon Na’.
Salman ‘Bhai’ Khan sported centre parted, straight hair
look in ‘Tere Naam’ and after that we saw brigades of his
replicas for the next 4-5 years, absolutely everywhere in
the country. This look wasn’t the one to win style awards,
but because it had a character of its own. It was loved
especially by the masses who were either die-hard fans
of Salman, aspiring models or had just started gyming.
Deepika Padukone’s cocktail
Deepika Padukone’s Cocktail Looks
Deepika looked every bit of a diva in the movie, ‘Cocktail’
and that too by wearing simple casuals most of the
time. But these ‘casuals’ redefined the meaning of ubercool and trendy forever. Her printed palazzos, crop tops,
jumpsuits and tribal print dresses are here to stay for at
least another 3-4 years. TII
Aamir Khan’s different goatee
Sumit Panwar is a freelance writer based in Mumbai
71
CA’s Advice
Premkumar Karra
CA’s ADVICE
Income Tax and Wealth Tax implication
on Properties owned by NRI’s in India
There has been significant appreciation in the values of commercial & residential
properties in India in the last decade. This article explains briefly the Income Tax and
Wealth Tax implications of owning properties in India.
of his choice will be considered as self-occupied and
will not be subject to any tax at all.
• However if the NRI has more than one property which
is not fetching him/her any rent the second property
is deemed to be let out.
• The computation of the deemed income is based on
the corporation/municipal valuation which is shown in
the tax receipts.
• This would be as per the computations prescribed
involving Gross Annual Value and from that arriving at
the Net Annual Value.
• For the computation of taxable income as per the Net
Annual Value method we can deduct the municipal
taxes and also interest which is restricted to a
maximum of Rs. 200,000 per year.
Wealth tax Implication:
Ownership
The OWNERSHIP of property is of fundamental
importance. The source for purchase of the property will
be a key factor in establishing ownership. More often
than not, NRI’s buy properties either in the name of their
spouses or jointly. It will be imperative to note here that
the source of funds for the purchase of the property
should be clearly established. NRI’s should ensure
to have copies of all the transfers made to the NRE
account from where payments are made to purchase
the property and also the payments made directly from
abroad to the seller of the property. This will help in
repatriation on sale, payment of Capital Gains Taxes
and Claiming exemptions on sale.
Taxation on Income from House
Property: Rented
• Rentals from both Commercial Properties &
Residential properties are to be considered under this
chapter.
• Municipal Taxes Paid will be deductible.
• Any interest paid on borrowings made to acquire the
properties beside the amounts invested by the NRI
will be deductible.
• Interest paid during the construction period upto the
time of renting can be aggregated and a deduction of
72
20% of this can be claimed every year for 5 years.
• A flat 30% on the rental income minus the Municipal
taxes paid is allowed as deduction towards repairs.
• If the NRI has multiple properties each one individually
whether residential or commercial will have to be
taken and the deductions computed.
• It would be better to have individual names for
ownership as otherwise the splitting of the rental
income will have to be made based on the amounts
paid for the acquisition.
• If bought in joint names the source for each payment
should be established and if one of the joint owners
does not have a source the issue of clubbing will
come into play.
• If the property is let out for part of the year only no
occupancy allowance can be claimed.
• If the Net Asset Valuation as per the prescribed
method of computation is higher than the actual
rent received the Net Annual Value rent has to be
considered for tax purposes.
Wealth tax is leviable in the hands of the owner
of the house whether held for residential purpose
or commercial purpose, including a guest house,
residential house and a commercial building. For this
purpose, house also includes a farm house situated
within 25 km from local limits of any municipality or a
cantonment board, but does not include:
• Assets held as Stock in trade.
• House held for business or profession.
• Any property in nature of commercial complex, which
is rented out.
• House let out for more than 300 days in a year.
Exemptions from wealth tax: In the case of an
individual:
i) One house or a part of house; or
ii)A plot of land not exceeding 500 sq. meters in area.
Deductions:
From the value arrived at in respect of building and land,
any loan borrowed for bringing the taxable asset into
existence may be reduced for arriving at the taxable
wealth tax.
Value of house for wealth tax purpose is calculated
every year by capitalizing the rental income or annual
municipal valuation of the house, as per the Wealth
Tax Act. Wealth tax is chargeable on the Net wealth in
excess of Rs. 30 Lakhs at 1%.
Disclaimer:
The information contained in this write up is to provide a
general guidance to the intended user. The information
should not be used as a substitute for specific
consultations. I recommend that professional advice is
sought before taking any action on specific issues. TII
Prem Karra is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants
of India with 35 years in practice. He was a financial advisor to
Ten Sports, and studied at Madras Christian College High School
and Vivekananda College, Chennai. Email: [email protected]
TII Amateur Photo Competition
Ongoing Theme:
Lavasa:
The
Pune
rope in
ce of Eu
ambien
magical
‘India Quaint’
Email your ONE Best India photo in high
resolution ‘jpg’with the theme indicated to
[email protected]
WIN EXCITING PRIZES!
Taxation on Income from House
Property: Self occupied
Properties owned by NRI’s not let out are termed as self
occupied and have a special treatment:
• If one owns more than one property, then one house
For contest rules please visit: www.tii.ae
The city by
the lake-a vie
w of Lavasa
’s apartmen
ts THE INTERNATIONAL INDIAN
73
VIEWPOINT
Sam Northcote
VIEWPOINT
Friendly locals make Vasai a good initiation into Mumbai
An Englishman In a Mumbai Suburb
“Check out that view,” Johnny prompted me. “Many Bombay locals have
never seen this place, even though it’s right on their doorstep.”
H
is instruction was superfluous – I was already
absorbed in the breathtaking scenery gliding
past my window on the southbound Western
Railway train. We were crossing the Ulhas River at the
point where it feeds in to the Arabian Sea. The turgid
murky waters of the estuary stretched out beneath us,
bordered by green marshlands and, beyond that, palm
fronds. The train passed over Panju Island, home to a
monsoon-lashed fishing community. And overhead was
the Wild Blue, strewn with lumbering rain clouds.
“Looks like ‘Nam,” Johnny suggested. And indeed
it seemed as if we were crossing an isolated section of
the Mekong rather than rolling in to one of the world’s
most populous cities.
I had recently moved to Mumbai from Seoul, South
Korea at the invitation of my high-school friend Johnny,
a former non-resident Indian who decided this year to
move back to his passport country. We had grown up
together in an international boarding school in Tamil
Nadu, but for both of us Mumbai was a completely
new environment. Johnny, whose family hails from
Bangalore, spent most of his formative years in Oman,
74
Dubai and the United States. I, meanwhile, had divided
up the ten years since leaving school mainly between
China and my home country, the United Kingdom.
Johnny’s decision to move back to his homeland
initially came as a shock to me. He’d grown up an
expat and had found his spiritual home in New York.
But latterly he’d been making a living as a design
entrepreneur in Dubai where he’d begun to suffer from
a sense of creative ennui. He’d been comfortable there
but bemoaned a lack of culture. Looking for inspiration
and a new set of challenges he decided to move to
Mumbai, the famed ‘Gateway to India,’ theorizing that
“if you can make it there you can make it anywhere.”
India is a country beginning to assert itself on the world
stage, he reflected, and Mumbai is one of the key
economic powerhouses behind its growth. “It feels like
a city that is gaining relevance in the modern world,”
he said.
At the time I was travelling around as a freelance
writer and decided to join Johnny in Mumbai more or
less on a whim. For me, the opportunity to get under
the skin of a city like Mumbai with an old high school
buddy was too good to miss.
Due to a lack of forethought and the difficulty of
securing a downtown apartment at short notice, the
two of us began ‘Mumbai life’ not in the city itself but
in the suburban town of Vasai, which lies to the north,
cut off from the sprawling financial capital by the Ulhas
River. A mosquito-ridden frontier town much disparaged
and ridiculed by our friends in the more upmarket parts
of South Mumbai. Eyebrows were raised; jaws were
dropped. Invariably the follow-up question would be
something like: “Why on earth would you live there?”
But in many ways there is no better vantage point
from which to observe a vast, manic, all-encompassing
city like Mumbai than its outskirts.
On a typical day we’d spend the afternoon hitting up
the trendy cafes of Bandra, Lower Parel and Churchgate,
and the evening would be taken up shooting the
breeze with Mumbai’s new generation of creatives and
entertainers – fledgling actors, film producers, models,
and TV anchors. But after midnight we’d head back to
our humble suburban dwelling, an hour’s train ride away,
winding through the less presentable parts of the city
– festering shanty-towns and dystopian chawls – and
skimming the edge of Sanjay Gandhi National Park, a
broad swathe of protected jungle inhabited by leopards.
While the majority of our friends scooted around the
city in cabs or private cars with hired drivers, Johnny
and I battled our way through the city’s notorious
railway system. Few of those friends knew what it was
like to spend an hour on those over-stuffed trains, which
during peak hours bulge at the open doors with an
overflow of commuters.
The crammed carriages presented a microcosm
of Mumbai life, encompassing the quirky and the
prosaic – white-collar workers watching TV dramas
on their smart-phones; dabbawalas carrying their
tiffins; carriage-hopping hijras bestowing blessings in
exchange for donations; university students clutching
dog-eared textbooks; cancer research fundraisers
rattling coin buckets; Muslim clerics and turbaned Sikhs
dozing shoulder to shoulder; an off-duty policeman
smugly cradling his walkie-talkie; a decrepit vagrant
swaying precariously on his walking stick by the open
door; and a businessman with a briefcase full of calling
cards cleaning his ears with a cotton bud which he kept
in his breast pocket.
There seemed to be little regard for human life on
the railway, which reportedly racked up an average of
17 fatalities every weekday during 2008. One night
when we disembarked from the train we encountered
a corpse on the platform, draped in a white cloth and
bleeding profusely from a head wound. The macabre
sight failed to elicit any kind of reaction from the other
passengers, who carried on without batting an eyelid.
We lived in a grim housing block beguilingly called
‘Evershine City,’ but which we affectionately referred
to as ‘The Heart of Darkness’. It was located on the
eastern edge of Vasai where a wide expanse of fetid
flyblown water had emerged in the monsoon. Crumbling
drab high-rises loomed apocalyptic on the brink of the
flood-water. Urinating rickshaw drivers lined up at the
water’s edge, backs to the road, like condemned men
before a firing squad.
The nearest train station was a fifteen minute autorickshaw ride away. We would normally take a shared
auto for Rs15 a head. Even at midnight the queue for
the auto stand snaked a good twenty meters down
the road, usually under streaming umbrellas. The autos
buzzed through the ceaseless monsoon downpours with
windscreen wipers flicking like deranged metronomes,
while passengers huddled four to a vehicle behind
musty canvas rain covers.
Our apartment consisted of a spartan living room, in
Crowded railway station in Mumbai
75
VIEWPOINT
which we slept on the floor, a kitchen, a squat toilet, and
a shower-less washroom with a hole in the wall through
which a jet of water inexplicably gushed at precisely six
o’clock every morning. We took bucket baths, relishing
the small luxury of hot water, until the socket powering
the water heater exploded, nearly electrocuting me in
the process.
Power cuts were a daily occurrence, making a
backup battery essential. Unfortunately our battery
gave up after a few weeks, going the way of almost
every other piece of electrical equipment in the place.
The rented air-conditioning unit would only work in short
bursts before overheating, and the impotent ceiling fan
served only to circulate the air in warm currents; repairs
were always short-lived.
We slept with the
windows and balcony door
wide open to encourage a
cool through-breeze. This
meant we had to smother
ourselves in mosquitorepellent before going to
sleep, to ward off dengue
fever. It also meant that the
insect-eating geckoes that
scurried over the walls were
valuable allies.
We lacked many of the
comforts and conveniences
which our pampered South
Mumbai friends took for
granted. But one thing we had, which most people
living in urban areas can only dream of, was a covered
balcony with a surface area nearly equal to all the rooms
put together. On lazy evenings we would sit out there
eating ordered-in biryani and chicken-65, while pigeons
foraged among the potted plants for nest material.
And the air would resound with the tinkling bells of
worshippers performing puja at a nearby shrine and the
ancient sonorous notes of a conch being blown by our
neighbour to greet the coming dusk.
Living in Vasai presented us with countless
challenges, not least because we lacked local
knowledge and Hindi proficiency. It was largely through
trial and error that we navigated the local bureaucracy.
But our stay was made easier by the kindness of a
family living on the floor below us. The father was a
teacher and the mother was a full-time housewife.
They had a daughter in high school and a son who was
preparing for a university entrance exam with the aim of
studying aeronautical engineering. They were a genuine
salt-of-the-earth family who had lived for several years
in a chawl before upgrading to the modest but wellfurnished apartment in which they now resided. Their
home was always open to us and they went out of their
way to offer help when we ran into difficulties.
76
Eventually our time in Vasai came to an end, but not
before we had managed to upset the local establishment.
In Evershine the Gestapo-like administrative body
overseeing our complex had decreed that apartments
should not be leased to bachelors. We tried to keep a
low profile in the neighbourhood (although we stood out
like sore thumbs, of course), and we’d sneak past the
sleeping guard at night, trying not to rattle the gate. One
night I was apprehended by the watchman, who was
unusually awake thanks to the persistent drumming of
a Ganpati Festival street parade. He interrogated me
in Hindi and I performed the traveller’s equivalent of
‘playing dead’ – shrugging my shoulders and idiotically
babbling in Pidgin English, hoping he’d leave me alone.
Unfortunately this time-worn strategy failed and the
guy insisted on following
me all the way back to the
apartment, waiting until I
had gone inside so that he
could take note of where I
was living, before returning
to his post. This could only
spell trouble, but fortunately
we had already made
arrangements to move to
Churchgate and we were
out of there in the next
couple of days.
Churchgate – another
world. Here we got used
to sleeping on proper
mattresses, having hot showers, and even having
domestic servants to cook, tidy up and do our laundry
for us. Having access to these luxuries after the
stripped-down existence in Vasai made us feel like
maharajas. Mumbai has often been described as a city
of contrasts, where the haves and have-nots exist in
startling proximity. By starting in the outer suburbs and
moving to the centre I was better able to appreciate
the scale of the socio-economic divide than if I had
spent the whole time in the central areas. In Vasai I felt
privileged to the point of embarrassment (although I
am by no means wealthy relative to the average per
capita income in my home country). Yet, in Churchgate,
surrounded by chic well-heeled urbanites, I sometimes
felt like a pauper.
Vasai had been a good initiation into Mumbai, a
city in which tremendous opportunities are available to
those who can afford to take them, but where, for the
majority, social mobility – and indeed mere survival –
requires an epic struggle. TII
Sam Northcote is a freelance writer based in Mumbai.
PROFILE
Zennifer Khalil
Uma Ghosh Deshpande: Inspired to live with poise, grace and dignity
A Queen Bee in Media
Uma Ghosh Deshpande is the owner of Queen Bee Productions which produces high quality shows
on exciting lifestyle aspects of Dubai. Her impressive list of accolades includes one for the top five most
powerful Indian Women in the Middle East by Arab Business Magazine; UAE’s 40 Most Influential
Asians 2011, and Young Asian Achiever. Uma has also been voted as the Best TV Presenter (two
years in a row) Gr8 Woman Award 2012, the Power Brand Award, and more recently in the Top UAE
Indian Leaders ranked by Forbes Middle East.
A
s an anchor, media personality, writer, social
worker and celebrity, Uma Ghosh Deshpande
is one busy bee. She has redefined the role
of women in the broadcasting industry by producing
High Life Dubai; the show which created ripples in the
airwaves for seven years.
Uma aims to be an entrepreneur of change in the
media industry by conceiving and creating programs
which reflect the rich culture and heritage of India and
the UAE.
stepping stones
“I grew up as an Air Force kid, moving to a new city
every two to three years came with the territory. Having
to prove myself repeatedly, making new friends, settling
in new places - defined and molded me into the person
I am today. I owe my disciplined lifestyle, strong survival
instinct and outlook in life to this exposure.” says this
style icon.
Winning the Mrs Gladrags runners up title in 2005
was the stepping stone to her career in the media. The
numerous offers she got for modeling after that set the
foundation for her foray into the media industry. She
started off by anchoring shows for the prestigious Dubai
Shopping Festival.
Uma launched her dream project called The Uma
Show in 2013 (a clever connotation of her name and
her ideals- Ultimate Modern Aspirational life). Her
77
PROFILE
production house has launched several other popular
shows broadcast across the Middle East including
Propertyscape, Top Gun, Zee Connect, TOTT Show
and Love 4 Food.
The impressive list of celebrities she has interviewed
includes big names from the film and fashion industry
like Amitabh Bachchan, George Clooney, Jimmy Choo,
Guiseppe Zanotti and many more.
“Meeting and understanding the lifestyles of eminent
personalities like the late Benazir Bhutto and Amitabh
Bachchan has inspired me to live with poise, grace and
dignity. The older I grow the more I understand and
believe that everyone is a teacher if you are willing to
learn. Every opportunity that has come my way and
every one that I meet inspires me to be a better person
than I was yesterday.”
Ruling the hive
Uma believes that every show she produces is a
testimony to the fact that if you can dream it you can live
it. All it takes is perseverance, dedication and hard work
to make that dream come alive.
“Every client and show is special and close to my
heart so my team puts in a lot of research before the
show is aired. This is a very sponsor driven market and
as a production company we specialise in integrating
brands seamlessly into the content of the show.”, She
says.
“I get a lot of emails about how people are inspired
and motivated by our show. Ideas are the currency
for success. At Queen Bee productions we know that
engaging content comes from well-crafted ideas made
into innovative media. We constantly strive to make fresh
and original programming and we have always received
compliments on the technical quality and content of
our productions. We all learn by making mistakes, and
learning how to deal with criticism positively is one way
that we can improve our interpersonal relationships with
others. I look at criticism as positive feedback and use it
to my advantage to constantly improve myself.”
The humanitarian
Many more TV shows are in the pipeline for this Queen
Bee. Eventually she would like to produce films and
have her own television network. Recently she was
appointed as a celebrity partner with the United Nations
World Food Program. Her role has two aspects: raising
awareness and raising funds to help WFP build a world
with zero hunger.
“More than 840 million people go hungry every
day, 16 million of which are children.’ She states “WFP
is fighting hunger worldwide through emergency
operations and an integrated panel of development
programmes. It reaches out to an average of 90 million
people with food assistance each year.”
“I chose to focus my advocacy efforts on one
particular WFP programme which is school feeding.
This benefits 25 million children around the globe. WFP’s
daily school meals are crucial as they help children grow
strong and healthy. WFP also provides take-home food
rations to their family, as an additional incentive for poor
parents to send their sons and daughters to school. My
objective is to create awareness and raise funds from
corporate entities, individuals and people in my network
towards such causes through my show, mainstream
media as well as social media. I recently visited the
Zataari Refugee camp in Jordan and spent time with the
refugees. I am right now working on an event to raise
funds for them.”
woman OF SUBSTANCE
Uma is a self confessed fitness freak. “I passionately
work towards keeping myself physically fit and strong.
Other than that music keeps me sane and meditation
and yoga keeps me grounded and centered.”
“My values and my ethos in business and personal
life are rock solid. As a responsible and successful
Indian woman, I would like to send out a message of
empowerment and strength in one’s own potential to
every woman out there. I think inherently being a woman,
gives me more patience and the humility to manage very
diverse relationships.” TII
Zennifer Khalil is a freelance writer based in Abu Dhabi.
Uma is passionate about staying fit
78
BUZZWORD
Tepper Treats and Red Roses At Pascal Tepper French Bakery
On Valentine’s Day
A rose for every lady on February 14
Everything is coming up roses at Pascal Tepper French bakery
this Valentines’ Day as the romance of his native France proves
all too much for Chef Pascal. Indeed, the word on the street is
that every lady is in for a treat from the PT team in Abu Dhabi and
Dubai - from a Rose through to French-inspired dining.
Open from 7am ‘til late, call in Dubai on 04 454 2408 or Abu
Dhabi on 02 444 4762 or get in touch with us online for more
information at www.pascaltepperfrenchbakery.com.
Travel Matrix, The New Entrant To Promote Cruises
Across Middle East
Travel Matrix appointed as the sole International Representative for Celebrity Cruises
in the Middle East effective 01 Jan 2015.
Lakshmi Durai, a cruise industry
professional with 20 years of
experience in the Middle East
announced the establishment of
her own company, Travel Matrix
in Dubai. The new entrant will be
engaged primarily in promoting
cruise holidays to the Middle
Eastern guests with the support of
the travel trade partners. Launched
by the industry specialist with an
impressive track record, Travel
Matrix is expected to make an
indelible mark in promoting cruise
holidays in the Middle East.
“We are extremely excited to
announce our newly established
company. Our focus is on
familiarizing cruising as the most
preferred vacation choice for our
guests. I would like to express
our thanks to Celebrity Cruises
for giving us the opportunity to
represent them in the Middle East.
With more ships in the pipeline, new
and exciting itineraries in 2015 and,
more importantly sailing out of Abu
79
CEL Eclipse
Dhabi in 2016/17, we are confident
of taking Celebrity Cruises to the
next level” said Lakshmi Durai, Chief
Executive Officer of Travel Matrix.
Since the first sailing of Celebrity
Cruises in 1990, it is recognized
as an industry leader, praised for
providing spacious, stylish and
sophisticated interiors; dining
experiences elevated to an art
form; personalized service, with a
guest-to-staff ratio of nearly 2:1 and
unexpected, trendsetting onboard
activities, all designed to provide
an unmatchable experience for
vacationers’ precious time. The
introduction of Celebrity Cruises’
stylish, widely heralded Solstice
Class of ships has reinforced
Celebrity’s position as an industry
leader.
Helen Beck, Regional Director,
Royal Caribbean International,
Celebrity Cruises, Azamara Club
Crises, EMEA said “In line with our
global strategy of identifying key
markets which really have a great
fit with our award-winning cruise
line, Celebrity Cruises, I’m pleased
to be starting this new chapter
for Celebrity in the region with
Lakshmi Durai and her newly-formed
company, Travel Matrix. Celebrity
Cruises’ combination of cool
sophistication, outstanding service
and excellent family
programs appeal
greatly to this
region and
we’re looking
forward to
welcoming
ever more
Middle Eastern
guests onboard.”
Lakshmi Durai
BUZZWORD
BUZZWORD
CITIZEN introduces unique models with Eco-Drive Technology
Citizen introduces unique models
with Eco-Drive technology.
Unperturbed by passing trends, the
fine collection is a modern fashion
statement for youthful, authenticseeking individuals who seek a
watch that may transcend their
generation.
Eco-Drive is a revolutionary
technology that powers watches
using any natural or artificial light,
relieving the necessity of replacing
batteries.
Although the usage of solar
power generation is common among
automobile, housing and other
industries today, Citizen had the
foresight to start development of
a light-driven watch more than 40
years ago, and launched the world’s
first light-powered analogue quartz
watch in 1976.
Citizen’s inquisitive mind and
determination toward the success of
Eco- Drive technology have brought
about numerous breakthroughs.
Some outstanding examples include
the recent renowned Concept
Models and their production
versions. Furthermore, cuttingedge discoveries which have been
acquired through the development
of these models are being adapted
to high-end models, and eventually
to lower-priced models targeting
a wider audience. It is a principled
theme for which Citizen emphasizes
new possibilities of Eco-Drive, in
order to bring joy and excitement to
the world.
Canadian University Dubai
Canadian University Dubai (CUD)
was established in 2006 to deliver
high-quality
tertiary education in the UAE and
provide a gateway for students to
pursue higher
education opportunities in
Canada.
CUD is located in the heart of
downtown Dubai and each of our
academic programs is based on
Canadian curriculum and education
principles. This gives students the
opportunity to obtain a Canadian
education while experiencing the
unique culture and values of the
United Arab Emirates. All of our
programs are accredited by the
UAE Ministry of Higher Education
and Scientific Research, and as a
portal to Canadian higher education,
we offer many unique options for
students to continue their studies or
research in Canada.
Students at our University are
taught by world class faculty who
are academic specialists and active
researchers in their respective
fields. Faculty members come from
diverse, multicultural backgrounds,
80
WATCH: ALCATEL ONETOUCH Unveils a Full Line
of Premium-Design Smartwatches — for All Uses
• Slim, premium smartwatches
that offer different styles to suit
everyone
• Packed with sensors and apps
that allow users to monitor daily
activity
• Connect to Android and iOS
smartphones to control music,
receive notifications and more
• Long battery life with built-in USB
connector for easy charging
It looks like a watch and feels like
a watch but it’s much smarter
than that. ALCATEL ONETOUCH
introduces the SMART WATCH
that puts a premium on elegant
design at a very accessible price.
In launching the SMART WATCH,
ALCATEL ONETOUCH is not
content just to make the latest
connected technology available to
the greatest number of consumers.
Offering the SMART WATCH at a
fraction of the cost of competitors,
the smartphone brand has
implemented its design expertise
to offer a series of fine finishes that
meet the demands of those looking
for the same look and feel as a
traditional watch.
“Our emphasis has been on
delivering incredibly wearable
design, with an aesthetic quality
that integrates perfectly with
everyday life, all at the right price
point. The SMART WATCH’s
design has won a number of
awards with premium quality that
doesn’t break the bank. We’ve kept
things fashion forward while also
delivering on innovative features.
The UI has been carefully honed
and retooled so users in the Middle
East can intuitively take the SMART
WATCH’s multifunctional ability to
work, gym, and even
to sleep,” said Head
of Middle East Zied
Merichko.
Available in a sporty
black and red along with allwhite and all-metallic options,
the SMART WATCH has been
feted with a slew of design
awards, including Reviewed.com’s
Editors’ Choice Best of CES, Stuff
Magazine’s Wearable Tech Award
and Top Pick of CES from Tom’s
Guide.
While offering choice and
style, the SMART WATCH also
offers multiple fitness functions
and connects to Android and iOS
smartphones via Bluetooth.
AVAILABILITY:
It will be available in the market by
March 2015.
ANANTA, AT THE OBEROI, DUBAI WINS ‘BEST INDIAN
RESTAURANT- FINE DINING’ AT THE BBC GOOD FOOD AWARDS
MIDDLE EAST 2014
Students at our University are taught by world class faculty who are academic specialists
and active researchers in their respective fields
but have all earned their higher
degrees from renowned universities
in Canada, the United States,
Australia or Europe, bringing their
innovative teaching styles and
philosophies to the classroom. We
offer flexible learning schedules,
with evening and weekend classes
available for both undergraduate and
graduate programs.
With over 90 different
nationalities that call our University
home, our diverse student
community is building bridges
across cultures and continents.
Our goal is to move each student
forward as a well-rounded lifelong
learner and good global citizen. To
achieve this, emphasis is placed not
just on academic achievement, but
also on extracurricular involvement,
and our vibrant student life provides
something for everybody.
Visit: www.cudubai.ac.ae
The BBC Good Food Awards
2014 has awarded Ananta, at The
Oberoi, Dubai the ‘Best Indian
Restaurant- Fine Dining’ at the
annual event held on 28th January
2015 in Dubai.
Ananta welcomes diners on a
gastronomic journey through the
twenty eight states and 4700 miles
of Indian coastline. Refreshed with
courtyard views and dramatic with
crimson furnishings and crisp white
linen tables, Ananta is dominated by
a magnificent show kitchen where
guests can watch our masterchefs
hand craft Indian delicacies in
traditional coal-fired clay ovens.
Ananta is open seven days a week
for dinner from 7:00pm to 11:30
pm and for lunch on Fridays from
12:30pm to 3:30pm.
The Oberoi, Dubai is part of the
internationally famed Oberoi Group
and represents its first property
in the UAE, having successfully
opened in June 2013. The title is
the latest addition to the hotel’s
increasingly expanding collection
of awards including; the Middle
East’s Leading Luxury City Hotel
at the World Travel Awards, Best
New Business Hotel by the readers
of Business Traveller Middle East,
number one ranked hotel worldwide
for service by ReviewPro, one of the
‘Top Hotels for Exceptional Service’
in the TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice
Awards 2014 and ‘Favorite New
Overseas Hotel’ by Conde Nast
Traveller India.
Mr. Karim Bizid, General
Manager at The Oberoi, Dubai
commented; “The Oberoi, Dubai
brings an
ethos of
service without
compromise to
the UAE. This
international
recognition
from the readers of BBC
Good Food shows that we have
consistently upheld the service
promise for which the Oberoi brand
is renowned worldwide. Such
awards are a testament to the hard
work of our team as we endeavor
to ensure every guest’s experience
is made truly memorable. We thank
all our guests who have trusted and
supported us since our opening;
contributing to all these accolades
and achievements.”
81
WINNING
Frank Raj
Do We Really Fall In Love?
Love is many a splendored thing – only if it is authentic.
P
sychologists will tell you how almost daily they
encounter people entangled in extramarital affairs
that people describe as “falling out of love...and
how they just love being in love again.”
The cheating spouse has met someone and finds
the “sparks” totally exciting. Invariably this is what they
tell their shattered spouse:
“I love you but I am not ‘in love’ with you anymore.”
“The romance in our marriage is gone. I have found
someone who really loves me.”
“I don’t want to settle down, I need space. I have a
lot of love to give.”
“He or she treats me like no one else. I feel so special
with this person I have met.”
The hapless spouse generally responds desperately
with increased or innovative romantic gestures. They
merely fall flat, resulting only in humiliation.
Our deeply ingrained belief is that “romance” is
the saviour and the benchmark of a great marriage or
wonderfully intimate relationship.
Consider these reflections on romance:
“Romance” has been exported from western
culture mainly as the ultimate experience in an intimate
relationship between man and woman – and lately even
between homosexuals and lesbians. Idealized in movies
and books, romance as communicated and idealised is
seen as the ecstasy of forever being “in love.” Thanks
to Hollywood tabloids the world can’t get enough news
about which “stars” are currently “in love” with whom.
And, in the West it often makes no difference if the
couples are married – sheer bliss it appears.
Romantic comedies aside, why do we have romantic
tragedies like Romeo and Juliet or Heer Ranjha, or
Saleem and Anarkali in Mughal – E- Azam? Why is it
that in most of these movies the lovers can rarely resolve
the emptiness in their lives? How do movies like ‘Dr
Zhivago, Bridges of Madison County, Love Story etc,
end? What would a “real” romantic movie be like?
Psychologists say that the search for romance
whether through an affair or within a marriage is a
consequence of denying powerful personal needs and
has little to do with love. People have strong needs: to
be acknowledged, respected, adored, cared for and
cherished. Another powerful need is to feel “special.”
This is often the Freudian explanation for a man
overindulged by his mother or a woman who though
being the “apple of her father’s eye,” yet was emotionally
82
deprived in that relationship for some reason.
Romance becomes the vehicle through which
people try to meet these needs without realising they
should specifically name their needs and discuss them.
Instead people in love fantasise, thinking wow! My lover
knows exactly what I want before I do – he/she is able to
read my mind unlike my cold, indifferent spouse!
Personal needs are so powerful that they can drive
what we go after. Psychologists warn that if we do not
consciously name them and get them met once and
for all (and they assure us this can be done) our needs
will continue to drive us and make us live perpetually
in frustration, always wanting more, believing we are
missing out on something.
Only when we move beyond the demands of our
personal needs can we discover our individual passion
and purpose to uncover the essence of real joy and
peace.
Romance is for mating and sex (sexual union) is
often the bottom line. The “chemistry” we think we
have discovered in “romantic love” is truly that - raw
chemistry. Studies indicate those “in love” have a high
concentration of specific endorphins (chemicals) in their
bodies – the same chemicals found in animals that are
in “heat.”
Psychologists believes that in the course of our
lifetime we meet 2-3 people with this hard to resist
“chemistry.” The attraction is based on several factors
that stir up people’s juices - literally. It maybe fascinating
but it doesn’t mean you should instinctively have sex
with such a person who attracts you - animals do that.
Romance seekers generally believe that something
that feels good shouldn’t be passed up – the pill, the
drug, the retreat, the experience etc., whatever will
take away pain, emptiness, loneliness. But this is only
temporary and the nagging pain emerges and their
never ending search for quelling their craving will seek a
new substance or attraction.
Understand the fleeting nature of romance. We
long and welcome (sometimes with apprehension) the
declarations of love but authentic love moves beyond
romance and knows what is true and long lasting.
Frank Raj is TII’s founder editor & publisher,
a motivational speaker, and author of ‘Desh Aur Diaspora.’
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Zomato Goes Global - International Indian

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