Pravasi Bharatiya

vol 3 Issue 6 June 2010

MInIstrY of overseas IndIan affaIrs

PRAVASI BHARATIYA

redrawIng a revolutIon

ConneCtIng IndIa wIth Its dIaspora

Young and driven by a vision, they are empowering the villages of India by nurturing ideas, setting up enterprises and co-creating wealth

GlOBAl-INDIAN NETwORk OF kNOwlEDGE

AN INITIATIVE OF THE MINISTRY OF OVERSEAS INDIAN AFFAIRS

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Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs

The Overseas Indian Facilitation Centre (OIFC) has partnered with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to develop the Global-INK framework.

An online web portal, it is powered by SupportCentral, a next generation knowledge management, collaboration and business solutions platform.

The communities will also provide an array of collaboration tools:� Blogs � Forums � Ask an Expert � Document management and sharing � Online resource databases

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www.overseasindian.in

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Vol 3 Issue 6 June 2010

PRAVASI BHARATIYA

CONNECTING INDIA wITH ITS DIASpORA

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Consulting EditorK.G. Sreenivas

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Collaboration is all. This is the story of a bunch of young men andwomen, driven by a vision. A vision of bringing about a quiet revolution on the margins as it were. “There is no better way of industrialising the villages of India than the spinning wheel...”, said

Gandhi. As a development metaphor, there couldn’t have been a more powerful messaging. The spinning wheel may not represent the formidablewheels of large-scale industrialisation. Yet, it ably represents the power ofscalability, sustainability and self-reliance. The three today stand at a criticalcrossroads globally, in particular, for the developing world. The debate hasdeepened in philosophical force and intensity given the increasing fragilityof the world’s economic and eco-systems which directly impacts millions oflives and livelihoods across the world.

First principles can neither be cast in stone nor can they be sacrosanct.Hence the necessity of revisiting received wisdom as regards the foundingprinciples of development and equity. However, the spinning wheel doesn’tcall for a reinvention, it calls for adaptation and scalability. Gandhi says further: “The charkha is intended to realise the essential and living onenessof interest among India’s myriads...” To accommodate “India’s myriads”would mean revisiting the constituencies of development and national priority. Hence the deepening dialogue on inclusive development and equity. Which is where we go back to our original proposition of theessence of collaboration. In dozens of villages in Tamil Nadu, a handful ofyoung men and women are recasting the rules of development. Rather, theyare rewriting the first principles of development in an idiom bearing close

affinity to the soil of native genius. Sreejith who heads ROPE, or

Rural Opportunities Production Enterprise, aims to “bring manufac-turing opportunities to rural Indiaand create employment opportuni-ties for the rural unorganised sectorworkers through a replicable, scalable and commercially viableICT-enabled rural distributed manu-facturing model”. Saloni Malhotra,who founded DesiCrew, a rural BPO,believes, “In a rural context, themoney would be distributed locally,supporting the local economy andgenerating incomes.”

Only a block away is Paul Basil whose Villgro is nurturing an ecosystemto incubate ideas and innovations in rural India. “I was convinced that inno-vation and enterprise could address the rural poor, specifically, the smalland marginal farming communities,” says Paul.

There is a link running through the stories of the three “rural visionaries”.Dr. Ashok Jhunjhunwala who at IIT Madras leads an iconic institution, theRural Technology and Business Incubator. Ashok helps incubate ideas anddevelop full-fledged, self-sustaining rural enterprises. “Until then (1990s)the whole idea of incubation was urban-centric. At the end of the 20th century, there was refocusing... away from urban India to rural India. It wasalso around the time that India began to make rapid strides in technology-driven development. But again it was rather urban-focused. In a democraticenvironment it was bound to create tensions. We decided that technologypeople should focus on rural India.”

This issue of Pravasi Bharatiya brings to you this story being written onthe margins. You will also read about another collaboration, this time between academia and industry. Industry often needs to go back to thedrawing board for better results while researchers need to closely interactwith industry to get to know as to what is it that the community as consumer wants in terms of better drugs, machines or technology.

Read about it all and more in the subsequent pages.—K.G. Sreenivas

from the editor’s desk

contentscontents

6

revolUtion on the PeriPheryThey are young and driven by a vision toempower rural India by setting up enterprises in the villages of the country

newsUS President Barack Obama emphasises how important India is to the US at the Indo-US strategicsummit that concluded recently

18eConomyThe Indian bureaucracy is in introspection mode. A mindset change is needed to attract private investment, government officials said at a recent meet

diasPoraKamla Persad-Bissessar creates history as she becomes the first woman Prime Minister of Indianorigin of Trinidad and Tobago

the Power of twoCollaboration between academia and industry iskey to applied research and development thatmakes a difference to society 28

36CUisineMango lends its delectableflavour to anything it meldswith. Take stock of someyummy mango recipes toplease any palate

38travelDebabrata Bhattacharjee travels through Dhaka andBikramhati, exploring his childhood jaunts and memories...

42CinemaThe 11th International IndianFilm Academy weekend saw afashion show, celebrity cricketmatch and a ritzy awards ceremony...

44booksSudhir Sharma jots down his thoughts and emotions about his life in prison in Toote Armano Ki Aawaz

24

Cover story

10

6 Pravasi Bharatiya � June 2010

news

US President Barack Obama once againemphasised how important India is to the US atthe Indo-US strategic summit that concludedrecently, reports Arun Kumar

Proud to be inIndia: Obama

US President Barack Obama has said he plans to visit India in Novem-ber to together make “history and progress that will be treasured bygenerations to come”, as he described Indo-US ties as “one of thedefining partnerships of the 21st century”. “Our relations with India

are at the highest of priorities for my administration and for me personally aspresident of the United States,” Obama said at a reception on June 4 at theState Department hosted by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for her Indiancounterpart S.M. Krishna after the inaugural US-India Strategic Dialogue.

“I am delighted to announce tonight that I plan to visit India in early Novem-ber,” he said. “When it comes to building a future of greater prosperity, oppor-tunity and security for people, there is no doubt I have to go to India, but evenmore I am proud to go to India.” The rare gesture of attending a reception atthe State department was seen as a way to ease India’s concerns that the USviews ties with New Delhi through the prism of Pakistan and Afghanistan or arising China. Obama called India “a responsible global power” and said the “un-precedented” US-India relationship “will bea defining partnership of the 21st century”.

“We value our partnership... because ofwhat we share and where we can go to-gether,” he said, adding that the two coun-tries share a vision of the future built on“security and prosperity”. Obama said hehas to go to India to experience “all thatIndia and its people and its incredible an-cient culture have to offer”. “Whatever sphere of the human mind you may se-lect for your special study, whether it be language or religion or mythology orphilosophy, whether it be law or customs, primitive art, or science, you have togo to India, because some of the most valuable and instructive material of thehistory of man are treasured up in India, and India only,” he said while citing aquote from an European scholar who travelled to India over 100 years back.

“So I look forward to advancing our partnership, to experiencing all thatIndia and its people and its incredible ancient culture have to offer. So when itcomes to building a future of greater prosperity, opportunity and security forour people, there is no doubt, I have to go India. “But even more, I am proud togo to India, and I look forward to the history that we will make together,progress that will be treasured not just by this generation but by generationsto come.” Krishna, too, stressed the importance of the US-India relationship,saying New Delhi can be a “dependable anchor of the region’s growth.”

I am proud to go to India, and I look forward to the history that we will make together, progressthat will be treasured not just by this generation

but by generations to come

June 2010 � Pravasi Bharatiya 7

nO cHarges fOr OldPassPOrt sUbmIssIOnThe government has acceded to the de-mands of Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs)and has issued a clarification saying thatPIOs will not have to pay “renunciationcharges” while submitting old passports.Similarly, the government has also waivedthe penalty charges for retaining a passportdespite acquiring foreign citizenship forover three years. PIOs had begun an onlinepetition to protest against a notification bythe Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) issuedon May 13 that mandated that PIOs whohad acquired citizenship of other countrieswould have to surrender their old passportsand there would be a penalty of Rs 10,000for retaining the passport for above threeyears. The government has now issued aclarification that PIOs will not be asked topay any renunciation charges.

fUnd fOr dIstressedwOrKers abrOad set UP Setting up a fund for distressed Indian

workers abroad and a global network of In-dian origin people were among the impor-tant achievements of the UnitedProgressive Alliance (UPA) government inextending its hand of help to the diasporaduring the first year of its second term.In his report card to the people, Prime Min-ister Dr. Manmohan Singh noted that hisgovernment in March last year approvedthe setting up of the Indian CommunityWelfare Fund in 17 Indian missions, mainlyin the Gulf and the Maldives. Besides, abody of prominent members of the Indiandiaspora — the PM’s Global Advisory Coun-cil of Overseas Indians — was set up andheld its first meeting on January 7 this year.

UK HealtH OffIce nO tOHIrIng IndIan dOctOrsBritain wants to recruit junior doctors from

India after their exodus from the countrydue to tightened immigration rules causeda shortage, but the Home Office is not inagreement. The National Health Service(NHS) is reported to have interviewed doc-tors from India and even sought the help ofthe British Association of Physicians of In-dian Origin (BAPIO) in its recruitment drive.The BAPIO stipulated that the doctorsshould be allowed to stay and get trainingfor between three and four years, ratherthan the two-year limit currently in place.But the British Home Office said no, pour-ing cold water on the NHS drive. The HomeOffice is the lead government departmentfor immigration and passports, drugs policy,crime, counter-terrorism and police.


news

India, south africaink three accords

India and South Africa inked three ac-cords during the visit of the SouthAfrican President Jacob Zuma to Indiarecently and agreed to work jointly to

promote Africa as a global investment desti-nation, and decided to call for reforms of theUnited Nations. Prime Minister Dr. Manmo-han Singh and South African President JacobZuma, who was on his first visit to an Asiancountry, held talks covering a wide swathe ofbilateral and global issues, including intensi-fication of economic ties and closer coordi-nation over global issues. Setting a target of$10 billion bilateral trade by 2012, they alsofocused on jointly working to promote anddevelop Africa as the next global investmentdestination.

“Today, President Zuma and I have de-cided to impart a forward-looking characterto these ties, and to further broadbase ourcooperation,” said Dr. Singh. “We haveagreed to focus on the expansion of our eco-nomic, trade and investment relationship,” hesaid, while underlining South Africa’s “influ-ential role in world affairs.”

“The discussions were held in an atmos-phere reflective of the fraternal warmth, af-fection and strategic partnership thatcharacterise the bilateral relations,” the ex-ternal affairs ministry said in a statement.Acknowledging the rising global clout of thetwo countries, Dr. Singh and Zuma called forspeeding up reform of the UN and interna-tional decision-making institutions to reflectcontemporary realities.

The two countries support each other's bidfor a non-permanent seat in the UN SecurityCouncil. “We agreed to support each other'scandidature for the non-permanent seat forthe 2011-12 term,” the prime minister said.while describing Zuma’s maiden visit to Indiaas “a milestone in India’s relations withSouth Africa.”

ceOs’ fOrUm laUncHedIndia and South Africa have launched an India-South Africa CEOs’ Forum.

India’s Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma and the visitingSouth African President Jacob Zuma formally inaugurated the forum onJune 3. Addressing top businessmen from the two countries, Sharma saidthe forum would provide a platform for sustained business interaction andguide policy issues. Sharma listed several potential areas of bilateral coop-eration. These include infrastructure, manufacturing, energy, mines andminerals, oil and natural gas, banking and financial services, tourism, infor-mation technology, pharmaceuticals, automobiles and auto components.“The much anticipated India-SACU (Southern African Customs Union) pref-erential trade agreement will eventually lead to a free trade agreement be-tween India, SACU and MERCOSUR (South American Trading Bloc). AnAgreement for Reciprocal Promotion and Protection of Investments is alsowaiting to be concluded.

India and South Africa signed three pacts and agreed to jointly promote investmentsin Africa during President Zuma’s visit to India recently, reports Manish Chand


IndIa sUPPOrts canada, Oz On banK taxComing out in support of developing countries and Australia and Canada, India’s Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee told his counterparts during the G-20 meeting in Busan, South Korea that India does not favour taxing banks to create a corpus for futurebailouts and that more importance should be given to regulations to detect and contain any deviation in the functioning of financial institutions. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee made this clear during talks with Sakong Il, chairman of the presidentialcommittee for G-20 finance ministers meeting, in the South Korean city of Busan. The levy idea is backed by the United States andEurope. Developing nations plus Australia and Canada oppose it, saying their banks did not trigger the 2008-9 financial crisis andshould not have to pay for cleaning up the mess. Mukherjee said India’s banking system could withstand the trouble, mainly because of well-placed regulations. Indian banks had largely remained unaffected during the global financial crisis, which sawmany large banks based in the US and Europe go under or seek state help to stay afloat.

IndIa, seycHelles sIgntwO agreementsIndia and the Seychelles signed twoeconomic agreements in New Delhiduring the visit of the Indian Ocean na-tion’s President James Michel in the firstweek of June 2010. The Seychelles presi-dent held formal talks with Indian PrimeMinister Dr. Manmohan Singh afterwhich they signed two deals. Michel ar-rived on June 2 on a three-day state visit.“We have signed the Non Double Taxa-tion Agreements with several countries.We have also today signed a Bilateral In-vestment Promotion and ProtectionAgreement with India,” Michel said at aninteraction with captains of Indian in-dustry. Delineating the areas of possibleeconomic cooperation, Michel listed in-dustrial fishing, renewable energy, eco-tourism projects in outer islands, retailsector and Information Technology. Buthe urged that more linkages be estab-lished between Seychelles’ capital Victo-ria and Indian cities. He said thatnegotiations will take place for a BilateralAir Services Agreement later this month,which will “surely open the window toincrease in exchanges.”

Us-IndIa trade bOdystarts edUcatIOn PlanLooking ahead to global economy of

the future, the US-India Business Council(USIBC) has launched a new educationinitiative aimed at strengthening institu-tional linkages between academia, in-dustry and NGOs focusing on theelementary, vocational and higher edu-cation. “The US and India must be com-mitted partners in building theworkforce of tomorrow, a partnershipthat will unleash opportunity, spurgrowth and sustain prosperity not just inour countries but across the global com-munity,” said Harold McGraw III, newpresident of the trade promotion bodyrepresenting 300 US companies in India.“To do this, we must focus on strength-ening our educational ties at every level.By working together, our two countriescan equip the next generation with theeducation and skills necessary to com-pete and win in the global economy,”the chairman, president and CEO of TheMcGraw-Hill Companies said while ad-dressing the USIBC 35th anniversarymeeting on June3, coinciding with theIndo-US summit.

IndIan-amerIcan smesPlan $320-m It facIlItySmall and medium enterprises ownedby Indian-Americans plan to set up anIT incubation facility in Hyderabad withan investment of Rs.1,500 crore ($320million). Small and Medium EnterprisesConsortium (SMEC) made the an-nouncement when Andhra PradeshMinister for IT, K. Venkat Reddy, currentlyon a visit to the US, met CEOs of SMEs.According to an official statement is-sued on June 1, SMEC chairman Ma-hender Musuku told the minister thatSMEs would invest Rs.1,500 crore inthree phases. The CEOs expressed keeninterest in making Hyderabad the firstchoice for their operations providedthey get equal playing field, incentivesin taxation and infrastructure. An incu-bation centre, to be set up in two yearsfor administrative and front offices, isexpected to provide employment to2,000 people. While the centre will beset up in a leased facility in Hitec City, apermanent campus would be set uplater with an investment of Rs.1,500crore. This will create 10,000 direct and40,000 indirect jobs.


revisioning india

sreejith, Saloni and Paul are driven by a shared vision.Sreejith N.N. heads ROPE International, Saloni Malhotraleads DesiCrew while Paul Basil steers Villgro. ROPE, orRural Opportunities Production Enterprise, co-founded

by Sreejith and Patrick Fischer, aims to “bring manufacturing opportunities to rural India and create employment opportunitiesfor the rural unorganised sector workers through a replicable,scalable and commercially viable ICT-enabled rural distributedmanufacturing model,” says Sreejith.

In the mid-2000s, the BPO rush began in India. Saloni ob-served that though it offered an amazing rush of jobs and seemedto be an attractive financial proposition for freshers, salarieswere still small and attrition was high. “It would be more usefuland productive to take jobs where it would be closer to people’shomes. Also, in a rural context, the money would be distributedlocally, supporting the local economy and generating incomes,”said Saloni whose DesiCrew today is quietly ushering in a back-end services-driven BPO market in the rural environs of Tamil Nadu.

On the other hand is Paul who through Villgro is forging anecosystem to incubate ideas and innovations, like ROPE and Desi-Crew, to fuel development in rural India. “Villgro stands forgrowth of villages. The dream of a prosperous rural India is whatset me on this journey a decade ago. I was convinced that inno-vation and enterprise could address the rural poor, specifically,the small and marginal farming communities,” says Paul.

Sreejith has set up a network of rural production centres in ahost of villages in Erode, Madurai, Thanjavur, Theni and Thiru-valluvar in Tamil Nadu where artisans use locally available andenvironment-friendly materials, such as banana fibre, elephantgrass, korai and sisal (types of reed) to craft custom designedcomplimentary and lifestyle products. Sreejith’s ROPE, whichsub-supplies to global furniture maker IKEA, today services topclients like AIIMS, FabIndia, Industree Crafts and Mihika besidesa number of overseas customers.

How did Sreejith tap the social, economic and commercial con-text while setting up ROPE? “Inspired by the success of outsourc-ing from the West to the East in creating large-scale jobopportunities in Indian cities and inspired by attempts at settingup BPO centres in smaller Indian towns to bring further shift ofjobs from cities to semi-urban and rural areas, a small group atthe TeNeT (Telecommunications and Computer Networks) of IITMadras thought about a similar model to bring manufacturingopportunities to Indian villages. Thus ROPE was born initially asRural Outsourced Production Enterprise in January 2007.

ROPE found rural India needs more manufacturing opportu-nities (as it cannot any longer depend on agriculture alone) andrural India has the potential to do large-scale manufacturing.” Adistributed production system, however, would be key to the en-tire process. “ROPE decided to focus on a distributed productionsystem in the form of networked small-scale production units as

They are young and driven by a vision. Of empowering rural India by incubating ideas, setting up enterprises, generating employment and co-creating

wealth in the villages of the country, says K. G. Sreenivas

revolution on the

PeriPhery

cover story


the most scalable, environment-friendly, sustainable approach toa rural manufacturing model. Globally, too, the concept of dis-tributed production systems is gaining ground as opposed tolarge industrial set-ups,” Sreejith says.

“Distributed production systems are more flexible, more eco-nomically resilient, less environmentally polluting, can lead tomore efficient use and value addition of local resources, createsmore equitable growth, helps greater diversity in products andlead to greater team spirit and more product and process inno-vations within small units,” he adds.

A similar paradigm was also central to Saloni’s model. “Thequestion was how you could demonstrate a successful commer-cial model in smaller towns? Why or how cannot, for example,an insurance company set up back-up operations in a small village? Of course, BPOs are about economies of scale and dollarconvergence. But our attempt was to work a smaller but scalablemodel, say about a 25-30 seater BPO,” says Saloni.

The engineering and success of a vision is dependent on goal-setting. What were Sreejith’s immediate and long-term goals?“The immediate goal was to identify and focus on a suitable mar-ket or a dedicated buy-back partner in the form of an establishedindustry, set up the first few distributed rural production centresand develop the required IT-based systems and processes forproduction and supply chain management. The long-term goalwas to pioneer this manufacturing model and establish a large

number of such networked rural production centres catering tothe demands of a number of industries, both inside and outside India.”

As far as Paul was concerned, envisioning and goal-setting wasa drawn-out process and work in progress. “The vision evolvedover time. While the dream was to create a prosperous ruralIndia, the vision was to use innovation and enterprise for thatand the mission was to enable innovations to reach the markets.Over time, we realised that our vision should be much broader,that is, creating an eco-system that favoured innovation and en-terprise,” says Paul. (see interview)

ideation and turning Point

Dr. Ashok Jhunjhunwala, a much decorated and distinguishedgrassroots visionary, and who heads the Electrical EngineeringDepartment at IIT-Madras and is also Chairman of the Board ofDirectors of what is now an iconic institution, the Rural Technol-ogy and Business Incubator (RTBI), has been a common linkamong Sreejith, Saloni and Paul. The catchline of the institutionis emblematic: incubate... ideate... innovate.

Asked about what was perhaps RTBI’s most outstanding suc-cess thus far, Prof Jhunjhunwala said, “We would rather see it interms of having brought in a culture of entrepreneurship intorural India; of having helped in forging an academia-industry re-lationship; and, of positioning technology to play a key role inthe life of the deprived.” (see interview)



Referring to the process and time taken to incubate an idea,Prof Jhunjhunwala says, “Typically in a rural setting handholdingis longer while in urban centers it is shorter. It is self-explanatory.The environments are different, rural India has far more complexproblems. DesiCrew, for example, took two years. Other mentorscome in, funders come in and a lot of new ideas too come in.Ideas come in, especially from three sources: experienced indus-try persons; faculty with wide knowledge; and, youngsters, whohave just joined a company and come up with crazy ideas. Theyhave the ability to plunge into ideas.”

Sreejith corroborates: “Our evolution was a result of continu-ous discussions held by Patrick Fischer, another co-founder ofthe company, and I with Dr. Ashok Jhunjhunwala and Dr. AartiKawlra, another board member of ROPE, who is an expert in de-sign and crafts and was also a consultant to TeNeT at that time.The acceptance of our model by Dr. Jhunjhunwala and his RuralTechnology and Business Incubator (IIT Madras); support fromVillgro Innovations Foundation, Chennai; investment by NationalResearch Development Corporation (NRDC); my meeting Fischerwho joined us as my partner and co-founder of the company;and our chancing upon Industree Crafts’ bulk raw material re-quirement through the efforts of Dr. Aarti Kawlra were all criticalturning points for the company.”

Saloni says: “Prof Jhunjhunwala helped us in setting up Desi-Crew. We had three options — Rural Technologies, Rural Edu-

the roPe marketj The Global home decor and furnishings market is

worth $1.2 trillion, including kitchen, housewares,furniture, home textiles, appliances, outdoor living,art/wall decor and lighting. The US market alone isworth $270 billion

j The global home furnishings market size is $70 bil-lion, growing at an average of 5 percent per annum.High-value Indian exports in this is $1.2bn/annum,growing at 30 pc

j Though the specific market size for eco-friendly natural products in the above segments is not avail-able, a significant percentage is available for naturalproducts and that market is growing at a faster pace

j The current Indian exports of specifically non-cot-ton, non-silk, non-wool natural fibre based homedecorative accessories is estimated at just $25 mil-lion growing at 20pc per annum

j Dry flower exports from India is approximately $100million and is another target segment of ROPE

j New and unconventional demand for natural fibreuses are also emerging like paper manufacturing,use in veneers, packaging, wall panels, etc. Some ofROPE’s existing customers are in these segments

revisioning india cover story


cation and Rural BPO. He advised us to look at the rural BPO sec-tor. IIT Madras does a lot of work in rural areas of the country.They helped us understand the nuances of development, partic-ularly rural development. They also helped us network with awide variety of people and resource persons.” Paul acknowledgesthe importance of ‘ecosystem’ and symbiosis (between Villgroand IIT-Madras), ideas Prof Jhunjhunwala says are crucial to in-cubation. “We have now set ourselves in that direction [innova-tion and enterprise]. This explains why we are located at thefabulous IIT-Madras Research Park, an eco-system of technol-ogy-based institutions,” says Paul.

Putting vision into action

Social entrepreneurship needs to be commercially viable too, tobe of credible benefit for all stakeholders, particularly for thoseat the bottom of the pyramid who form the heart of the system.Sreejith elaborates: “The search for a commercially viable busi-ness model using distributed and networked production centresled ROPE to think that we should look into the sustainable andcompetitive advantages or strengths of our villages while lookingfor suitable sectors to enter.

“At the same time, a Bangalore-based organisation called In-dustree Crafts approached us to set up banana fibre rope pro-duction centres to meet the growing demand for this rawmaterial which is used to manufacture natural products. This

opened our eyes to the richness and diversity of eco-friendly, re-newable natural fibre resources of our villages. Each and everyvillage in India has certain natural fibre resource available andthere is great diversity and uniqueness in these renewable fibresavailable in each region. As the world moves towards ‘green’ nat-ural products, ROPE decided that the use of renewable, environ-ment-friendly natural fibres, together with locally available skillsto manufacture custom designed products for buyers, as the bestfit for a distributed manufacturing model. With this businessmodel, ROPE was incorporated as a private limited company inDecember 2007 and soon ROPE’s expansion was changed intoRural Opportunities Production Enterprise (ROPE) to represent

Relationships matter a great deal in growing, scaling and diversifying the business module that Sreejith’s ROPE International (far left) and Saloni’s DesiCrew (above) follow.

this opened our eyes to the richness and diversity of eco-friendly, renewable natural fibre resources of our villages. as the world moves towards ‘green’ natural products, roPedecided that the use of renewable, environment-friendly naturalfibres, together with locally available skills to manufacture custom designed products for buyers, as the best fit for a distributed manufacturing model. —sreejith n.n.

““

For an eco-system oFinnovation andenterPrise

IntERvIEw / Paul BaSIl


a broader approach to huge opportunities presented by theunique strengths of our villages.”

Leveraging the strengths of the rural local communities obvi-ously is of the essence. Saloni says, “As a business, the BPOs area proven model across the world. It is scalable too. We have atthe moment around 170 people, we now plan to scale up to1,000 to 2,000 in the next couple of years. Till last year, we hadoperations in Tamil Nadu alone but this year we are looking atAndhra Pradesh and Karnataka. Tamil Nadu is progressive, hasexcellent infrastructure, good literacy and internet penetrationup to the taluka level. Even in rural areas, people understandEnglish, they may not be proficient but they can communicate.”

In fact, Saloni makes a deeper sociological point, which is alsocritical to the success of the idea of rural entrepreneurship. “Peo-ple in small rural communities are committed. They may be lack-ing in communication skills and exposure that urban youngstershave in abundance. Traditionally, BPOs are well established,

mostly run like factory floors. We decided to do it differently. Wehelp establish a certain comfort level for our employees, espe-cially socially and culturally. Team leaders or managers go outand build relationships with the local community.”

Obviously, relationships matter a great deal in growing, scalingand diversifying a business model that Sreejith, Saloni and Paulhave embraced and are nurturing. Saloni elaborates: “In ruralcommunities, for example the micro-finance model has workedexceedingly well. Repayments are as much 99 percent as op-posed to urban credit card payments where default is very high.There are strong moral and social sanctions that bind the com-munities together. So, people take pride in their work and areconscious about how they are seen by the community.” Socialcommitment and commercial viability are no contradiction in terms.

Sreejith says: “Our philosophy for social impact is to maximiserural employment in our villages through our distributed pro-duction centres instead of the ‘maximising profit’ motive of nor-


Founding vision of villgro…

Villgro stands for growth of vil-lages. I was fairly convinced thatinnovation and enterprise couldaddress the rural poor, specifi-cally, the small and marginalfarming communities.

The vision evolved over time.It was to use innovation and en-terprise for that and the missionwas to enable innovations toreach the markets. Over timewe realised that our visionshould be much broader, thatis, creating an eco-system thatfavoured innovation and enter-prise. As we were incubating in-novations, we found a fewpressing challenges. The firstbeing last-mile access to theend customers of ours, the ruralpoor. All entrepreneurs that wewere incubating had to set up

their own marketing channels.Imagine the cost and time itwould take to build channelsamong the poor. Thus camethe vision of Villgro InnovationMarketing Private Limited, a for-profit chain of stores in villages,supported by a network of vil-lage level entrepreneurs.

Incubation is a very time-consuming, costly and risky ac-tivity. We realised that tonurture this model, we need topartner with other players. Andthus was born our co-incuba-tion approach to incubatemore and more enterprises. Co-incubation is nothing but twoincubators coming together tooffer services to the same incu-batee. This way we leverageeach other’s strengths andmake the best use of each

other’s geographical locationswhile serving incubatees.

Around 2004, after C.K. Praha-lad had written The Fortune atthe Bottom of the Pyramid andat a time when micro-financehad really matured, a number ofsocial venture funds were setup. However, few could fund inthe range of $50k-150k. Thisseed capital was necessary tokick-start these enterprises. Ourvision was to set up the VillgroFund for Innovation and RuralEnterprise.

Putting together the human and

financial resources…

The start is a point of challengefor any organisation — limitedresources and blurred vision.With regard to financial re-sources, Villgro was fortunate to

have a two-year funding sup-port of Impact Partners and lotsof personal support from itsfounder Deval Sanghavi. Subse-quently, we attracted grantsfrom foundations in India andthe US. The new entities in theform of Villgro Marketing PvtLtd and Villgro Fund will attractpatient commercial capital inthe years to come.

Our formative years werechaotic. Serving the rural poorthrough innovation and enter-prise is not something that hasbeen clearly structured in termsof formal training, though thereare rural marketing courses. Thisneed motivated us to inspireIIT-Madras to set up a creditcourse on Innovation and SocialEntrepreneurship for its under-graduate students. We also


villgro seeks to adapt technology-based innovations to offer new solutions to an existing problem or an existing solution to a new problem. left: various villgro rural enterprises.

mal private enterprises. At the same time to be commercially vi-able we focus on being competitive in servicing our customersin terms of our pricing and consistently achieving quality andquantity targets. Marrying these two objectives, we are targetinghigh volume-manufacturing opportunities for large key accountcustomers. These high volume-manufacturing opportunities willnot give us high margins as we are competing with manufactur-ers from China, Thailand, Vietnam and other South Asian coun-tries. So we target a commercially viable margin and maximiseour returns and rural impact by the scale or volume of the unitsmanufactured.”

Putting it all together

Resourcing is key — seed capital, human resources and training.At DesiCrew, Saloni says she made a modest start but went on toexpand. “As far as funding was concerned, I put in some of mypersonal funds while Prof Ashok’s Rural Technology and Busi-

ness Incubator (RTBI) at Madras IIT helped us with the rest. Thenin mid-2008, we had an angel investor in Rajiv Kochhar, an ex-Infoscion, who came on board. We now run on our own revenues.”

Eventually, running on one’s own steam would be critical toany self-sustaining venture. Serendipity could help occasionally,but there is little substitute for hard planning, envisioning andthe right mix of people and resources. Sreejith elaborates onROPE: “Patrick and I became co-founders and the senior man-agement team. Dr. Aarti Kawlra was another promoter-directorof the company. Patrick also invested in the company and apartfrom that we received an initial debt funding from LRAMP, whichwas an innovation nurturing and development programmefounded by IIT Madras and Villgro Innovations Foundation withsupport from Lemelson Foundation, US.”

Referring to the management side of it and oversight, Sreejithsays, “We set up a Board of Directors comprising Kunal RSachdev, Founder and Managing Director of Caravan Crafts Pvt.

helped IIT-Madras to set up anew Centre for Social Innova-tion and Entrepreneurship withthe objective of increasing re-search and education in thefield of innovation and socialentrepreneurship.

on the “innovations” route…

Technologies and technology-based innovations have alwayschanged lives, impacted mil-lions, such as mobile phones toATMs to credit cards. However,when it comes to those whocan’t afford them, we keep awayfrom even attempting to de-velop market-based solutions.Innovations like micro-financehave made millions bankableand have transformed theirlives. In the initial years we werefocused on product innova-

tions, we still continue to do so.But increasingly we have startedpilots with services, innovationsaround business models. Inno-vations challenge the statusquo, new solutions to an exist-ing problem or an existing solu-tion to a new problem — bothways, opportunities are plenty.

one defining characteristic of

incubatees…

Our incubatees are committedand visionary innovators andentrepreneurs whose ideas arecompelling and can impact therural poor in a commercially vi-able manner and have the po-tential to scale. The marketsthat they have chosen to serve,perseverance in doing so, theability to embrace uncertaintymakes them unique. Incuba-

tees are both urban and rural.Example of a rural entrepreneuris P.Vivekanandan of Vivega En-gineering Works who has de-veloped the Pin Pulveriser.

scouting for innovators…

Scouting is through multiplemeans. Wantrapreneur, our an-nual business plan competition,discovers innovative entrepre-neurs. We sponsor other busi-ness plan competitions such asSankalp and Genesis. Our teamreviews the patent applicationsand discovers compelling ideasfrom that pool. Our partnershipwith the Agri-Business Incubatorand ten other leading researchinstitutions under the IndianCouncil for Agricultural Researchgives us access to hundreds ofnew product ideas. We provide

seed funding, networking, men-toring, talent, go-to-market serv-ices etc. We exit when theincubatees have a good man-agement team, sales turnoverslook poised for growth and theyhave raised the first round of institutional investments.

a new idiom?

The poor have problems andthese problems bring with itopportunities for solutions. Thepoor do not need charity. Theyneed access to affordable andreliable products and services.By incubating such innovations,we bring to rural India a newwave of social capital, prod-ucts/services, talent and aneco-system that furthers inno-vation and enterprise leadingto rural prosperity.

shiFting services andmanuFacturingto rural indiaWould Be themost deFiningidea oF the Future


PB: When did the idea of “incu-

bation” strike you? What was the

founding vision of rural technol-

ogy & Business incubator?

The idea of incubation beganforming around the mid-80s. Ihad joined IIT and had alsobegun consulting with industrywho would often come to uswith questions on machineryand technology. Could we fixthis part of a machinery or couldwe fine-tune this part of a tech-nology? Such were the queries. Ifound that generally innovationwas missing in Indian industry.

We then thought we could per-haps tap our alumni who coulddevise and design products assolutions to questions industryoften posed. They even set uptwo companies Benchmark Sys-tems and Comportex Electron-ics geared towards innovations.Towards the mid-1990s, we setup Midas Communications todevise wireless (local loop) sys-tems at a considerably lowercost. Subsequently, we helpedincubate as many as 12 compa-nies. Until then the whole ideaof incubation was urban-centric.

At the end of the 20th century,there was refocusing... awayfrom urban India to rural India.As of now, we have incubated30 companies, 15 urban and 15rural. It was also around the timethat India began to make rapidstrides in technology-driven development. But again it wasrather urban-focused. In a democratic environment it wasbound to create tensions. We decided, therefore, thattechnology people shouldfocus on rural India and its concerns in a serious manner.

PB: the single most defining

feature of the proposals you

have received and incubated?

The key focus was to signifi-cantly reduce cost price. Theprice point needs to be right forcustomers to be able to affordtechnology or innovation. Theorder of magnitude was key. Forexample, telephony cost Rs.40,000 in the 1990s, we inno-vated and made it available atRs. 10,000. An ATM typicallythen cost Rs. 500,000. We de-vised one called ‘Gramateller’for Vortex Engineering Pvt Ltd

Ltd., Bangalore, who came on board as a representative of NRDCand who was previously CEO of the famous leather accessoriesbrand Hidesign — apart from Dr. Aarti Kawlra, Patrick and me.Dr. Ashok Jhunjhunwala and Paul Basil, Founder and CEO of Villgro, comprise the advisory committee and they both are permanent invitees to the board. Using the investments we received from Patrick, NRDC and Villgro and under the guidanceof the Board and advisory committee the management teamhired the other required human resources.”

training

For success on the ground, training is critical. Saloni keeps it sim-ple, effective and customer/product oriented. “Our training isspread across three months. We have modules in English, Math-ematics and Analytical Skills. We also impart training in manage-

ment, essentially in acquiring a client perspective and knowledgeabout product management. Their competition is with BPO mar-kets like Vietnam and Philippines,” Saloni says.

At ROPE, Sreejith has outlined essentially two main types oftraining. It is interesting to note that again the training is customer oriented and order specific. Much if it is also gainedon the job itself. “One for existing artisans like handloom weaverswhere it is mainly product specific and order specific trainingduring which we educate them on the particular design and quality requirements of a product. A major portion of this training will be on the job itself,” Sreejith says.

A second area of training focuses on unskilled workers, mostlyfor hand-driven production skills like crochet or basket weaving.Classical assembly-line principles also come into play. “We have arranged professional trainers and conduct

IntERvIEw / aShOk JhunJhunwala



at below Rs. 100,000. In terms ofvision, DesiCrew and ROPE, forexample, wanted to create andsustain employment in ruralIndia. So we went from telecomto education to energy and soon. Today, as you see develop-ment has rapidly moved fromthe West to the East. Similarly,we should be able to shift serv-ices from urban to rural India.

PB: typically, how long is the

guiding, funding and hand-

holding stage of the incubatee?

Typically in a rural setting hand-

holding is longer while in urbancenters it is shorter. It is self-ex-planatory. The environmentsare different, rural India has farmore complex problems. Desi-Crew, for example, took twoyears. Other mentors come in,funders come in and a lot ofnew ideas too come in. Ideascome in, especially from threesources: experienced industrypersons; faculty with wideknowledge; and, youngsters,who come up with crazy ideas.They have the ability to plungeinto ideas.

PB: What have been some of

the most outstanding successes

you have helped forge?

We would rather see it in termsof having brought in a cultureof entrepreneurship into ruralIndia; of having helped in forg-ing an academia-industry relationship; and, of positioningtechnology to play a key role inthe life of the deprived.

PB: on auditing projects and

re-engineering project models…

We meet every month to evalu-ate these projects. The general

success rate has been 10 to 15percent. We plan to raise it to25 percent. However, newerbusiness models and newerbusiness leaders emerge. So,there are a slew of ideas.

PB: the defining ideas for the

future, with reference to rural

enterprise, innovation and

development…

Shifting services and manufac-turing to villages would be themost defining idea of the fu-ture. The direction of DesiCrewand ROPE is one such.

classroom/formal training sessions. Later, they will be engagedto work on simple designs, gradually increasing the complexityof the product and their skill levels. In most of the orders for handmade products we adopt an assembly-line systemthrough division of labour so that productivity is enhanced by specialisation while reducing the level of skill required by the worker/artisan.”

Have these rural entrepreneurs developed or evolved a new management idiom or a new management philosophy? Sreejith invokes C.K. Prahalad. “We believe we have not developed any new management idiom or philosophy. It was already identified by many that rural areas present unique opportunities for businesses. Prof. Prahalad visualised the potential of the bottom of the pyramid primarily as a big market. At the same time many others were considering

the bottom of the pyramid as possible supply sources for theurban market or for urban industrial companies. We were abunch of people interested in the idea of wealth generation inrural areas and developing supply bases in rural areas for urban markets. Then found that given the enormity and diversity of our rural areas a decentralised approach suits it best.”

Paul puts it rather evocatively: “The poor have problems andthese problems bring with it opportunities for solutions. Thepoor do not need charity. They need access to affordable and reliable products and services.

“By incubating such innovations, we bring to rural India a new wave of social capital, products, services, talent and an eco-system that furthers innovation and enterprise leading torural prosperity.”

We would rather see it (successes of incubation) in terms of having brought in a culture of entrepreneurship into rural india; of having helped in forging an academia-industry relationship; and, of positioning technology to play a key role in the life of the deprived—ashok Jhunjhunwala

““


econoMy / inFrasTrucTure

Mindset MattersThe Indian bureaucracy is in introspection mode. A mindset change is needed to attract privateinvestment and bridge the infrastructure gap, senior government officials concluded at a recentseminar, reports Arjun Sen

This is constructive self-criticismat its best. The biggest hurdlestanding in the way of rapid de-velopment of infrastructure is the

“incumbent mindset of government insti-tutions and officials” which tends to dis-courage private investment, seniorgovernment officials concurred at a re-cent conference in the national capital. Inthe conference Infra Vision 2020 jointlyorganised by the Union Ministry of RoadTransport and Highways and the IndianChamber of Commerce, the common re-frain of almost all the speakers was thatrapid infrastructure development is notpossible without massive private sectorinvestment and this in turn is not possibleunless the existing “statist”mindset ofgovernment institutions and officialschange. The speakers included the RoadTransport Minister Kamal Nath, Ministerof State for Planning and ParliamentaryAffairs V. Narayanasamy and several sen-ior serving or retired public servants.

“Just look at the documentation andred tape involved in exporting from India.Most exporters will simply give up giventhe time he has to spend running frompillar to post to get his work done,” saidthe Minister of State for Planning andParliamentary Affairs V. Narayanasamy.“We have to speed up government work,”he declared.

Road transport minister Kamal Nath ex-plained the numerous steps the govern-ment has taken during the one year thatit has been in power after being re-electedto a second term in office. He said as a re-sult of these steps, the private sector isnow showing increasingly greater interestin road and highway development projects.

“The average subsidy sought by privatedevelopers has come down to only 19percent of total project cost against thecurrently permissible 40 percent,” KamalNath said, adding that for projectsawarded to private bidders so far in2009-10 and 2010-11, “as much as 25percent of the bids needed no govern-ment funding at all which proves that thesector is now very attractive for privateinvestors.” This is also reflected in the factthat the average number of bidders forroad projects has again begun to pick upwhile more and more bidders are nowopting for revenue sharing arrangementswith government rather than seekinggovernment grants as viability gap funding.

Both these developments — a realisationnot only at the highest echelons of gov-ernment but also now trickling down torelatively lower level officials that attract-ing private sector investment, especiallyforeign direct investment, is the only wayto speed up infrastructure development,and the fact that effective steps have al-ready been taken to make at least theroad sector attractive to private invest-ment — auger well for the country.

The road transport minister and otherministry officials are at least very confi-dent. “We will meet our target of building

20 kms of roads a day,” said Kamal Nathwhile the Director General (Road Devel-opment) and Special Secretary Ministry ofRoad Transport and Highways, A.V. Sinhadeclared “We have now created a perfectlaunch pad for PPP projects to take off ina big way,” Most speakers at the confer-ence, whose objective was to deliberateon implementation bottlenecks in infra-structure development, however, admit-ted things were not so hunky dory inother areas such as the railways and portand airport development.

Referring to the telecom revolution in

For projects awarded to private bidders so far in 2009-10 and 2010-11, as much as

25 percent of the bids needed no government funding at all which proves that the sector is now

very attractive for private investors


India, Member, Planning Commission B.K.Chaturvedi, said: “In the telecom sector,85 percent of the investment has comefrom the private sector whereas privatesector contribution in the Railways is onlyabout 4 percent.” He felt that unless ef-forts were made to attract private sectorinvestment in the Railways, it would con-tinue to lag behind in development work.

Incidentally, the current policy frame-work for road and highway developmentis largely based on the recommendationsof the B K Chaturvedi-led Committeewhich was formed by the government in2009 to identify and resolve proceduraland regulatory issues that were holdingup the National Highway DevelopmentProgramme (NHDP).

“In the port sector too, the EleventhPlan target was to increase port capacityto 1500 million tonnes, but so far addi-tional capacity has been created only inthe minor ports that have come up on pri-

vate investment,” Chaturvedi said.He pointed out that under the Eleventh

Plan, major ports, which are all in thepublic sector, were supposed to increasecapacity from 730 million tonnes toabout 1200 million tonnes while minorports were supposed to add another 300million tonnes. But so far it is only the pri-vate sector funded minor ports that havebeen able to add about 330 milliontonnes during the Eleventh Plan while themajor ports are still working out publicprivate partnership projects for port de-velopment, he said.

Apparently, however, policies, proce-dures and rules and regulations havebeen tweaked to make port developmentthrough the PPP route attractive to pri-vate investors. “Investors are showing alot of interest for PPP projects,” said K.Mohandas, Secretary in the Ministry ofShipping. The Secretary, Ministry of RoadTransport and Highways, Brahm Dutt,

also seemed quite clear that attractingprivate sector investment was the onlyway out. “We plan to spend $75 billionin the seven phases of the NHDP. Of thiswe are expecting $30 billion to comefrom the private sector while the balance$45 billion will come from the govern-ment, market borrowings etc.,” he said.

“To achieve this level of private invest-ment we have to provide a more stableregime so that the risks and uncertaintiesassociated with road development aremitigated as much as possible,” Dutt said.

The government’s willingness tochange policy to suit private investors hasled to the current framework. Even nowthe government is mulling a few addi-tional changes to remove the remainingirritants. In fact, one road transport min-istry official said during the seminar thatthe road transport minister has famouslysaid: “Except for the Bible and the Gitaeverything else can be changed.”


econoMy / indusTry

nano revs up

Tata Motors’ new manufacturingfacility for the Nano, the world’smost inexpensive car, opened inSanand on June 2, nearly two

years after the company was forced toshift out of Singur in West Bengal over aland row. The new plant was inaugu-rated by Gujarat Chief Minister NarendraModi and Tata Group Chairman RatanTata, who seven years ago had dreamt ofmaking the affordable family car. “Webelong to Gujarat and are happy to re-turn to Gujarat,” said Tata. “I am glad thatwe will now be able to manufacture theNano across the country.” Spread over1,100 acres, the Sanand plant has beencreated at an investment of aboutRs.2,000 crore.

Speaking on the occasion, Modi saidevery middle-class family’s dream toown a car was being fulfilled with the in-

auguration of the Nano plant.“The revolution brought by Ford in the

early 20th century with its small car isbeing replicated now by Ratan Tata withhis Nano,” he added. The new plant willdeliver 250,000 Nanos a year. Tata hadto find a new home for his Nano plantafter Tata Motors was forced out of Sin-gur in 2008 by a campaign led by Ma-mata Banerjee and her TrinamoolCongress. They alleged that farmerswere being forced to surrender theirland at unfair rates by the Left Frontgovernment for the car plant.

A company spokesman said deliveriesfrom the plant, including BS4 TataNanos, will begin later this month. Theoutput, supplemented by the facility atPantnagar in Uttarakhand, will completepending orders from the bookingprocess of 2009. Built in a record time

of 14 months starting November 2008,the integrated facility comprises TataMotors’ own plant spread over 725acres and an adjacent vendor parkspread over 375 acres to house keycomponent manufactures for the Nano.

The plant has state-of-the-art equip-ment. These include sophisticated robot-ics and high speed production lines.Conscious of the critical need for envi-ronmental protection, the plant has en-ergy-efficient motors, variable frequencydrives and systems to measure and mon-itor carbon levels. These are supple-mented with extensive tree plantation,sustainable water sourcing and harness-ing solar energy for illumination.

The plant has already directly em-ployed 2,400 people and on capacity ex-pansion may eventually generate about10,000 direct and indirect jobs.

Tata’s new Sanand plant for makingthe world’s cheapest car goes onstream, reports R.K. Mishra


….To drive into TaiwanTata Nano, the world’s cheapest car made

by India’s Tata Motors, is set to drive in to Tai-wan, a manufacturing hub of iPods andgreen technologies, later this year. TheodoreHuang, chairman of Taiwan’s TECO group, isupbeat about the prospects of the TataNano in the Taiwan market, but says it mayhave to be modified to suit the island’s highenvironmental standards. Huang, who vis-ited New Delhi in January and went on a testdrive in a spanking new Tata Nano, said hewas impressed by the small car and foundthe ride “comfortable and satisfactory”. It ac-celerates smoothly and can exceed speed of100 km per hour, he said.

Huang’s company is interested in becomingTata Motors’ agent in Taiwan and selling theNano car in the prosperous island, the world’s17th largest economy that has identified Indiaas a focus market. The prospects of TataNano in the Taiwan market are bright, Pradeep

Kumar Rawat, director-general of India-TaipeiAssociation that serves as India’s consular of-fice in the Taiwanese capital, told IANS.

Taiwan, the self-ruled democratic islandclaimed by China, boasts of $17,000 percapita income, but has a burgeoning middleclass that is stuck to scooters and now wantsto move on to economy cars. Tagged as the“people’s car”, the basic Nano model costsaround $2,500. Tata Motors is eying a globalmarket and planning a new model for theEuropean market to satisfy its stringent emission standards.

Huang, however, feels that price alonewould not guarantee Nano’s success in Tai-wan and said that the TECO Group, betterknown for its industrial motors and homeappliances, will only sell the car if its specifi-cations conform to Taiwan’s regulations.TECO has provided Tata Motors with Tai-wan’s automobile safety requirements.

every middle-class family’s dream to own acar was being fulfilled withthe inauguration of thenano plant. The revolutionbrought by Ford in theearly 20th century with itssmall car is being replicat-ed now by ratan Tata withhis nano

“

“

Karnataka has managed to reap a bonanza with investorsinking agreements to imple-ment 400 projects in the state

during the next four-five years at a totalcost of $85 billion.

The Memoranda of Understanding(MoUs) for these projects were signedduring the two-day Global Investors’ Meet(GIM 2010) held in the state capital Ben-galuru on June 3-4. The projects are ex-pected to generate employment for about865,000 people.

The mega event, held for the secondtime after a decade, witnessed agree-ments being signed even at the valedic-tory function by seven firms and 20state-run and private banks with the stategovernment committing funds for infra-structure. On the first day itself, MoUs for208 projects were signed involving a totalinvestment of about Rs.3.29 trillion($70.2 billion), while the balance 192projects worth a total investment of about$15 billion were signed on the second day.

The iron & steel sector attracted 38proposals worth Rs.2.21 trillion ($47 bil-lion), followed by the cement sector withnine projects worth Rs.36,991 crore($7.9 billion) and energy sector witheight projects worth Rs.25,214 crore($5.4 billion). Among the major steel proj-ects are those of ArcelorMittal, Posco andBramhani Karnataka Ltd, which have pro-posed to set up six mtpa plants each at anestimated cost of Rs.30,000-36,000 crorein Bellary and Bagalkote districts.

ArcelorMittal chief executive LakshmiN. Mittal said he will give priority to itsKarnataka steel project, as its two othersimilar projects in Jharkhand and Orissaare bogged down by land issues andother approvals. The GIM was inaugu-

rated by senior Bharatiya Janata Partyleader and Leader of Opposition in theRajya Sabha Arun Jaitley in the presenceof Chief Minister B.S.Yeddyurappa, hiscabinet colleagues, central ministersM.Veerappa Moily and Subodh Kant Sahayand a galaxy of high profile investors.

The GIM, twice postponed — once inview of the global economic slowdownand the second time following the devas-tating flood in October-November last

year in large parts of north Karnataka —has been inspired by the success of Gu-jarat in snapping up Rs.7 trillion ($149billion) investments in 2009.

During the meet, state government of-ficials announced that the governmenthad received 88 fresh proposals worthRs.90,000 crore in the infrastructure sec-tor under the public-private partnership(PPP) mode. These proposals are nowbeing processed, they said.


Kannada khazana Investors have signed MoUs worth $85 billion during the second Global Investors’Meet in Karnataka, reports Fakir Balaji

econoMy / invesTMenTs

(Top) Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yeddiurappa addressing delegates at the second Global Investors’Meet, 2010 in Bengaluru on June 3. (Above) ArcelorMittal Chairman Laxmi Ratan Mittal shares a light moment with Wipro Chairman Azim Premji during the meet.

invesTMenTs galore

Brahmani steels

36,000Posco

32,336arcelorMittal

30,000Bhusan steel

27,928Mangalore refinery

15,798JsW steel

15,131aditya Birla group

8,500infosys

2,250Company l

Investment (in Rs Cr) l


new Finance Ministry guide-lines requiring all listed-companies to maintain apublic shareholding of at

least 25 percent will lead to stake salesby 183 companies to raise an expected$32-billion, according to research doneby Delhi-based sharebroking firm SMCCapitals Ltd.

“There are 183 listed companieswith public shareholding less than 25percent. Hence, the new guidelines willtrigger a host of stake sales throughvarious routes such as follow-on publicoffers (FPOs), qualified institutionalplacements (QIPs) and open marketsale by promoters,” said JagannadhamThunuguntla, equity head of SMC Capi-tals, the country’s fourth-largest share-broking firm.

Of the 183 companies, 148 compa-nies are from the private sector, whilethe remaining 35 are public sector un-dertakings (PSUs), Thunuguntla toldIANS. “Of the total amount that is ex-

pected to be raised through these stakesales, the 35 PSUs will raise the bulk ofthe amount, $26.5 billion or 83 percentof the total, while the private sector willraise about $5.5 billion or 17 percent ofthe total,” he said.

Further, as the requirement is thatevery year there is at least 5 percent di-lution, the total stake sale would bephased out and will be $13 billion (be-tween June 2010 to June 2011), $10 bil-lion (between June 2011 to June 2012),$5 billion (between June 2012 to June2013), $2.5 billion (between June 2013to June 2014) and $9.14 billion (be-tween June 2014 to June 2015), he said.

Some of the prominent PSUs that willneed to come out with stake sales areHindustan Copper, MMTC, Neyveli Lig-nite, NMDC, Engineers India, NTPC,NHPC, and SAIL. In the private sector,companies like DLF, Wipro, ReliancePower, Godrej Properties, Jaypee In-fratech, Jet Airways will have to offloadtheir stakes.

“The companies, of course, mayadopt alternate modes of increasingtheir public, but Indian markets shouldget bombarded with a series of stakesales. One may call the first half of thecoming decade of the Indian captialmarkets as the “Era of FPOs”, he said.

stake surge

aMounT To Be raised in $Bn

no of comp Total yr 1 year 2 year 3 year 4 year 5

Psu 35 $26.5 $9.38 $8 $4.79 $2.44 $2

Private 148 $5.5 $3.65 $1.31 $423 mn $94 mn $45 mn

Total 183 $32 $13 $10 $5 $2.5 $1.94

The Finance Ministry’s new public holding norms will see 183

companies raise $32 billion in the nextfew years, says Arjun Sen


collAborATion

The PoWer of TWoCollaboration between academia and industry iskey to applied research and development thatmakes a difference to society besides translating itinto commercially viable and sustainable products,be it better drugs, machines or technology, forconsumers, says K. G. Sreenivas

Writing in EduTech recently, Dr. Ganesh Natarajan,Vice-Chairman and CEO of Zensar Technologies,says, “...there is a considerable gap between the quality of students graduating and the kind of talent

that industry needs. As businesses propose to double and trebletheir workforce and Indian companies strive to maintain theirposition in the global marketplace, it has become imperative toprepare and plan for a world-class, skilled,competent, and innovative workforce.”

In India, thus many public-private part-nerships have been forged to advanceclose collaboration between industry andacademic institutions. The Confederationof Indian Industry (CII) has launched initiatives to promote industry-academiacollaboration by identifying four keyareas of cooperation: developing newknowledge as a long-term investment;helping faculty upgrade knowledge,preferably in an industry environment;fostering Centres of Excellence to makefinal-semester students industry-ready;and, deepening the involvement of tech-nology in the pedagogies of Indian colleges and universities. Australia’s Deakin University too has been forging such recipro-cal research and educational partnerships with industry majorsand academic institutions in India. In an interaction with PravasiBharatiya, Prof. Peter Hodgson, who heads the university’s Insti-tute for Technology Research and Innovation, says, “I moved

from industry to academia in 1996 and had been funding suchprojects when at BHP. At Deakin we took the model a step furtherby really creating a culture of applied research linked to industrythat was underpinned by high quality fundamental research. Forindustry not only were they getting solutions to problems but theywere also training high potential students in their business and gen-eral industry needs.”

Referring to the principles underpin-ning Deakin’s initiative in forging vital relationship, he says, “Australia wentthrough a change process from the early1990s to now. Generally, Australia outper-forms most developed nations on a percapita basis for fundamental/discovery re-search in the basic sciences. However, thetranslation of this into economic and so-cial outcomes has not been as strong. Anumber of initiatives were thus developedto encourage industry and academia towork together. A key element was to haveresearch students focused on more applied research where they would havedirect contact with industry.”

Prof. Lee Astheimer, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Deakin University,who was also on a visit to India with Hodgson, adds, “At Deakin,we have a very strong tradition of research collaboration with industry, businesses and governments, with the underlying philosophy that these partnerships will result in research thatmakes a difference in communities — at local, national and

At Deakin, we have a traditionof research collaboration withindustry, businesses and governments, with the underlying philosophy thatthese partnerships will resultin research that makes a difference in communities

““

international levels. The kinds of difference that we are talkingabout are really diverse. For example, research on novel metalcomposites and carbon fibre will create materials that will reduce the weight of planes and cars and be used inwind turbine blades, with potentially large con-tributions to global energy savings. Our newresearch in bionanotechnology has greatimplications for enhanced agriculturalproduction and targeted drug deliv-ery...” (see interview)

The inDiA engAgemenT

The India story took shape whenHodgson was collaborating with someof the IITs and was encouraging in-terns to come to Australia. In fact, hewas “also looking for future PhDs to cometo Australia as we have a great shortage inmetallurgy, materials science and engineering”.

The process gave him insights into “some of theissues that would exist with such an education system”. He beganvisiting and interacting with Indian. It became evident to him that“there was an enormous gulf between the two sides — evengreater than what existed in Australia”. It struck Hodgson thathe could possibly “tweak some of the Australian models”, partic-ularly those that involved students being placed in industry for research. The incentive? “We also committed significant fundsto make it attractive,” says Hodgson, adding that, “in our devel-opment of research partners we have wanted to always work

with the best as that provides the best chance for success”. However, it also called for establishing specific R&D strategies

for different clients to make it work, examples being Indian OilCorporation and life-sciences major Bicon. “This again was

a rather slow and careful process where we had nu-merous visits and interactions to assess where

were the best matches. Some of it was alsoserendipity! It was not an overnight successfor it took almost three years before we gotour first research collaborations nailed downand with students in place,” says Hodgson.


innovative leader...Professor Hodgson, currently head of Deakin

University's Institute for Technology Researchand Innovation, is a globally acknowledged ex-

pert in innovative lightweight metals and advancedmaterials, especially for the automotive and aerospace

industries. His core work around innovative process technolo-gies and product approaches aim to minimise the environmen-tal impacts of both production and application of metals.Hodgson’s research, which will help develop new metal manu-facturing processes and products, will contribute to a more sus-tainable metal industry. In 2009, he was appointed to the highlyprestigious position of Australian Laureate. More recently, hewas appointed to the Australian Government's Green Car Inno-vation Committee of Innovation Australia.

iDenTifying The gAPs

Hodgson’s client-partners cut across sectors — from TATA Steel,SAIL and General Motors to Bhaba Atomic Research Centre, Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology and TERI to NationalAerospace Laboratories. How did he identify the need gap in different industry segments?

“The gaps in many industries are common around the worldbut in India there are some interesting local dynamics. One isthat a large proportion of engineering students have been drawnto the IT sector and so other sections of industry have suffered.This has impacted manufacturing and infrastructure develop-ment projects. In biotech, India is moving from a producer ofcheap generics to developing their own drugs. However, thischange requires a large number of highly skilled scientists. Itwould not be unrealistic to suggest that India will need between1,000 and 2,000 Ph.D graduates as a minimum each year in therelated fields and it also takes some time to build the capacity toproduce them (i.e. academic supervisors and infrastructure).”

As far as Indian Oil was concerned, Hodgson sees a numberof potential areas. “I have visited their laboratories a number oftimes and we will be hosting a team from there in the next fewmonths. While we have started with lubricant development wecan see this broadening into other areasaround nanotechnology and biofuels too.”Hodgson, however, has a different modelfor R&D organisations. “India has excel-lent research facilities and top re-searchers. In this case we are looking atprobably more fundamental research thatbuilds on the strength of the two partners. For the students there is againthe potential to be awarded an overseasPhD and as part of this spend a signifi-cant time in Australia. In the longer termwe aim to develop larger collaborative research programmes. For example, wenow have four large projects under theAustralian — India Scientific ResearchFund (AISRF).”

Referring to how Deakin structures and plan R&D work to becarried out in India by students enrolled at Deakin, Hodgsonsays, “A Ph.D programme in India with Deakin is the same as aPhD programme in Australia. There is the same level of academicrigour but the real difference is that each student will have an

international supervisory team. One difference in Australia is that there is nocoursework and so we are often lookingfor candidates for the India-based PhDswho have prior research experience —and we must say we are extremely im-pressed and happy with the quality ofstudents who have been attracted to thisprogramme.” The programme has an in-duction phase “where the student be-comes familiar with the field andcompany/institution followed by a critical

review of the literature followed by the research. We have a formal meeting of students and all supervisors regularly usingSkype or other communication media. Students are encouragedto write papers and to present their work at national and international conferences. Our Ph.Ds are examined by an

What i dream about is a modelwhere we can have a seamlesspipeline of ideas and researchflowing between the countriesthrough such a venture. We can help make the connectionsbetween leading technologycompanies in Australia andglobal producers in india

“


Prof. Lee Astheimer, DeputyVice-Chancellor, Deakin University, Australia

on the philosophy that

underpins the initiative…

Australia unfortunately doesn’thave a strong company-basedR&D tradition in its home-basedindustries, but as a nation wehave been very proactive in es-tablishing incentives for industryto engage with researchers inuniversities. Deakin University hasreally embraced this approach toresearch in all discipline areas —but it’s not just about contribut-ing to applied research —Deakin professors and their stu-dents are also conducting cut-ting-edge discovery research.The difference is that we supportand encourage connections

across the full research contin-uum, from highly applied, commercial research through toblue-sky discovery, within our in-stitution, within our research centres and even within the re-search portfolio of individuals.We really try to identify and re-cruit people who can think andwork across the full spectrum ofresearch. Professor Hodgson is awonderful example of someonewho has this unique ability. Thisphilosophy also underpins ourundergraduate teaching pro-grammes at Deakin University interms of producing graduateswho are both job-ready and in-novative thinkers, so I hope thatthere will be more people with aseamless approach to researchinnovation in the upcoming generation!

‘inDiA is so increDibly enTrePreneuriAl’

Australia’s Deakin University has been forging reciprocal research and educational partnerships with industry majors and academic institutions in India. (Above) Prof. Hodgson with researchers at Deakin University.

“

collAborATion


international panel of three experts in the field — there is no as-sessment by the local or Deakin supervisor ensuring that all workis at a truly international level in the field.”

What of collaborations with academic institutions? “Academiccollaborations are based around more fundamental topics of mu-tual interest. However, to promote this we have recently estab-lished with a number of IITs and NITK a model based around theM.Tech thesis. We identify around two topics of mutual interestand during the M.Tech thesis component (i.e. 1 yr). The studentswill spend 50 percent of their time in India and 50 percent inAustralia. Again our focus is on good papers. Where possible weencourage the academic supervisors to travel to Australia andsupport their local costs while their institution covers the airfare.”

Asked about the commercial viability of R&D tie-ups with industry partners, Hodgson hastens to say that “as a universityour priority is not on commercial outcomes but on researchtraining and the quality of the research we undertake. Our focus

is on research that makes a difference in both countries. This isa long-term partnership and there is no better way to demonstrate this than through research.”

However, he wants to go beyond what he calls “the simple academic realms” and “think about broader collaborations”.Hodgson says, “Australia is renowned for discovery science andeven applied research up to the point of commercialisation. Butwe don’t often go that next step — sometimes because our localmarket is small or the investment is not there.”

In the context, he says giving a free flow to ideas is of theessence. “What I dream about is a model where we can have aseamless pipeline of ideas and research flowing between thecountries through such a venture. We can help make the connections between leading technology companies in Australiaand global producers in India. Our university is named after oneof the fathers of our Federation — Alfred Deakin — and he hada strong belief in connecting with India.”

evaluating the indian market

in terms of commercialisation

of r&D collaborations…

One of the great attractions ofconducting innovative researchin India is that India is so incredi-bly entrepreneurial and is grow-ing at such a rapid rate that thereis real interest in and potentiallyrapid uptake of innovation. It is areally exciting time for new andeven for old established markets,and India represents a really newapproach. Look at pharmaceuti-cals for example — there arehuge changes in the marketforces globally as well as in ethi-cal approaches to drug availabil-ity that are likely to seriouslyreconstruct the industry land-scape in the next five years.Deakin has only really been ac-tively engaged in research with

Indian industry for the past 2-3years though, so at present mostof our research is pre-commer-cial. This is certainly a very attrac-tive aspect of our collaborationsand one that our industry part-ners are very interested in.

The way forward…

Deakin’s partnerships with Indianinstitutes and industries are allbased on interpersonal interac-tions, discussion and real under-standing of the synergies andcontributions the parties eachbrings to the relationship. Therehas been a great deal of interestin our ideas about industry-uni-versity collaboration, but not allcompanies immediately see thebenefit of conducting collabora-tive R&D. I think once we havesome real success stories, our

Ph.D students graduate and thevalue of their research is realised,further opportunities for indus-try-university R&D will only grow.We have based a lot of collabo-rative activity around Ph.D stu-dent-based projects. I think thisis a great way to develop inter-national understanding and re-search collaborations that canbecome deeper in the future, es-pecially as our Ph.D graduatestake up leadership positions withIndian companies and in gov-ernment. It’s about building cul-tural understanding as well asscientific and research connec-tions and Deakin is making theinvestment for the long term.

on cross-cultural learnings and

defining differentiations…

I guess that one of the things I

have been impressed by person-ally in almost all the interactions Ihave had with leaders and researchers in industry, institutesand universities in India has beentheir serious and very personalsense of responsibility for mak-ing India a better place for itspeople — in terms of health, education, lifestyle and environment. This sort of na-tional ‘duty of care’ at such a personal level is very heartwarming and humanist. It certainly places a sense of ur-gency and significance on theresearch that is being done toachieve these improvements,but also a sense of making animportant contribution. ForDeakin University it really fits into our philosophy of doing research that makes a difference.

Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research), Deakin University, Prof. Lee Astheimer, and Dr. R.K. Malhotra, Executive Director, Indian Oil R&D, sign the research protocol.


diaspora

historic arrivalHer victory marks the beginning of a new era... Kamla Persad-Bissessar creates historyas she becomes the first woman Prime Minister of Indian origin of Trinidad andTobago, says Paras Ramoutar

Kamla Persad-Bissessar, a descendent of an indenturedlabourer, broke the glass ceiling when she became the

first woman Prime Minister of Trinidadand Tobago. The leader of the UnitedNational Congress, Persad-Bissessar ledher People’s Partnership to win 29 outof the 41 parliamentary seats in theelections held on May 24 and ended theruling party’s 43 years in power. Shewas sworn in as the prime minister onMay 26 by President George MaxwellRichards. Persad-Bissessar, 58, a grand-mother of two and a devout Hindu, said:“I am grateful for the immense supportfrom women and women’s groupsacross the country and to the extent thatthis helps to break the barriers so manycompetent women face. I celebrate thisvictory on their behalf. But the picture ismuch larger than any single group andthose very women would be the first toacknowledge that.”

Persad-Bissessar, who was born onApril 22, 1952, was a topper in lawschool and did her masters in businessadministration and diploma in educationfrom the University of the West Indies.She was the first woman attorney-gen-eral and also served as minister of legalaffairs as well as minister of education.Her forefathers belonged to the firstwave of indentured labourers broughtinto Trinidad in the mid 19th century.

Persad-Bissessar, who has representedher Siparia constituency for 15 years,had held the reins of power during theabsence of then prime minister BasdeoPanday. She has become the first womanto lead any political party in oil-richTrinidad and Tobago. Her meteoric risebegan on January 24 last year when she

successfully challenged her mentor, Bas-deo Panday, for the leadership of theUnited National Congress which he hadfounded 20 years ago. Incumbent PrimeMinister Patrick Manning broke with tra-dition and dissolved the 41-seat parlia-ment April and called for generalelections May 24, some 30 months be-fore it was due constitutionally.

For the first time since independencein August 1962, a coalition of four otherparties joined to confront the ruling Peo-ple’s National Movement which hasbeen in power for 43 years.

The five parties are Persad-Bissessar’sUnited National Congress, Congress ofthe People (COP), the National Joint Ac-tion Committee, Tobago Organisation ofPeoples, and the Movement for SocialChange. These parties came under thebanner of the “People’s Partnership”,with each party maintaining its ownsymbol on the ballot paper. The electionwas fought on several issues, includingcorruption, lack of medical facilities,breakdown in the infrastructural capac-ity and mismanagement. Rising crimewith over 3,000 people being murdered

Various social, cultural and religious func-tions on May 30 marked the 165th IndianArrival Day, the day when 238 people firstcame in Trinidad and Tobago from India towork on the plantations, with Prime Minis-ter Kamla Persad-Bissessar calling it a jour-ney that has taken “us all centuries to arriveat”. She said that observance of the IndianArrival Day must be an active reaffirmationof the government’s commitment to en-sure that every creed and race found an

equal place. To mark the occasion, she hasrenamed the Ministry of Arts and Culture asthe Ministry of Arts and Multiculturalism.Talking about the time when over 148,000Indians were brought from Uttar Pradeshand Bihar between 1845 to 1917 to workon sugar plantations, Persad-Bissessar, said:“It’s a journey that has taken us all centuriesto arrive at, and still the journey continuesas we steadily improve the means bywhich we travel to the destination of our

Celebrating the first footfall

over the last eight years was also anissue. COP chief Winston Dookeran said:“Everyone who wants a change, wants abetter Trinidad and Tobago is welcomein the People’s Partnership”. “Today, webegin the business of government as webuild a partnership of interests on awide range of national issues-safety and

security, economic development, justiceand the well-being of our citizens, andintroduce a new face of governance forour beloved country.”

A former Spanish colony, Trinidad andTobago is an archipelagic state in thesouthern Caribbean, lying northeast ofthe South American country ofVenezuela and south of Grenada in theLesser Antilles. It is mainly made up oftwo major islands — Trinidad and To-bago — and covers over 5,120 sq km.Nearly 44 percent of the country’s 1.3million population is of Indian origin.


nationhood.”Trinidad and Tobago President George

Maxwell Richards, in his message to markthe occasion which has become a na-tional holiday since 1994, said: “Their stakein this country is undeniable and, whilethe circumstances of their progenitor’s ar-rival were less than noble, history has notstood in the way of progress.”

Winston Dookeran, MP for Tunapunaand finance minister in the new govern-

ment, said that Indian Arrival Day is astatement that “this nation is the home ofpeople from all parts of the world”.

“T&T is the micrcosm of the widerworld. And all of us must work to protecteach other’s cultural and religious capac-ities. The new government aims to enrichthe social and cultural stock of all the peo-ple, which in turn could be the unifyingforce, a model nation, an open society,” Dookeran said.

sir seewoosagur ramgoolam (september 18, 1900 — december 15, 1985)

Known as the ‘Father of the Nation’, Seewoosagur Ramgoolam was the firstprime minister of Mauritius from 1968 until 1982. He was an Indo-Mauritianof Bihari descent.

navin ramgoolam (born July 14, 1947)

Son of the late Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, Navin Ramgoolam is the cur-rent Prime Minister of Mauritius. He became the prime minister for the firsttime from 1995 to 2000, and was reappointed in 2005. He won the 2010election to resume the post for a consecutive second term.

Mahendra pal Chaudhry (born february 9, 1942)

A Fijian politician and the leader of the Fiji Labour Party, Mahendra PalChaudhry became the first Indian origin prime minister of Fiji from May 19, 1999 to May 27, 2000. Chaudhry has his ancestral ties to the Indian state of Haryana.

basdeo panday (born May 25, 1933)

Basdeo Panday was the fifth prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago from1995 to 2001. He was born to Harry “Chote” Sookchand and KissoondayePanday — both first-generation East Indian Arrivants to Trinidad. He wasconferred the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman in 2006.

indian origin pMsacross thediasporic

world

i am grateful for the immense support from women and women’s groups across the country and tothe extent that this helps to break the barriers so many competent women face. i celebrate this victory on their behalf. but the picture is much larger than any single group and those very women would be the first to acknowledge that —Kamla persad-bissessar

““Top: The Dharmveer Sewdass Sadhu Memorialstatue was installed to commemorate the 150thanniversary of Indian arrival to Trinidad Right: Kamla Persad-Bissessar offers ablutions tothe Shiva Lingam in observance of the Maha ShivRatri at the Patiram Trace Mandir, Penal, onFebruary 13, 2010


born to parents of Goan descent in Lisbon, NaliniElvino de Sousa is the di-rector and anchor of the

third series ‘Contacto — Goa’, a pop-ular docu-series in Portugal’s leadingpublic broadcasting channel RÃ¡dio eTelevisÃ&poundo de Portugal(RTPi).It is a series about the heritage ofGoa — a beautiful blend of Por-tugese legacy and the centuries-oldcultural tradition of Goa. In 1998,she fulfilled her dream to come backand settle in the land of her roots. Married to a Goan doctor, she alsoruns a language centre in Panajicalled ‘Communicare’, which offersclasses in Portuguese, Spanish, Russ-ian, Italian and other regional lan-guages. Nalini founded aPortuguese-language kindergarten inPorvorim. She has also organised atleast three workshops in Portugueselanguage for children in FundaçãoOriente, Goa.

Nalini Elvino de Sousa spoke toL. Jyotimala about her ties with Goaand Portugal. Excerpts:

goa, once a portuguese colony, is the

land of beaches, fun, vibrant night

life... more than that what does goa

mean to you? how does it feel to be a

goan and a portuguese at once?

Goa is my home. It is the epitome offun, the land of beaches, magnificentchurches, tall palms, exotic food andfeni, and it flaunts a colourful life. ButGoa is beyond that. It’s here, on thesoil of Goa, that old culture and tradi-tion of Goa blended with that of Por-tugal and gave birth to a new richand vibrant culture. Goa was a Por-

diaspora / roots

reliving heritage Nalini Elvino de Sousa, a Goan origin Portuguese filmmaker, chronicles the richhistory, cultural heritage and tradition of Goa in a docu-seriesNalini Elvino de Sousa, a Goan origin Portuguese filmmaker, chronicles the richhistory, cultural heritage and tradition of Goa in a docu-series

interview


tuguese colony for nearly 450 years.The rich heritage inherited from cen-turies past is marvelous. The culturalheritage, its history is beautiful. I am aPortuguese citizen of Goan origin aswell as a Goan, and it’s a wonderfulfeeling and am really proud of myidentity. I would say that I am a hybridplant — with Indian roots and Por-tuguese stem, which blossoms Indo-Portuguese flowers.

Years ago, your ancestors left india for

portugal, made home of an unknown

land... and you spent your childhood

there... what has brought you back to

the land of your roots?

When I was a child, I used to dreamabout Goa, I dreamt of coming back tothe place which my parents had leftyears ago. I never thought of workinghere or marrying a Goan. All these did-n’t matter to me at that point of time.But, I always felt the connection that Ihave with this place. I knew, I wouldone day come back to settle here andquench my desire to live here.

You must have been told of goa, when

you were a child... and you must have

pictured goa in your mind. how did

you feel when you saw the real goa for

the first time?

Goa was never new and unknown tome. I was only 6 months old when Ilanded at my dream place for the firsttime ever. Obviously, I don’t rememberanything about my first trip but I usedto visit Goa every two years with myparents. And, when I turned 17, Istarted traveling to Goa on my ownduring my August/September summervacations. I remember how I used todivide time between my two ancestralhomes — Aldona, the village where myfather belongs and Sinquerim, mymother’s place. Apart from theseplaces, I used to visit Panjim, to see ourother relatives. Goa has always beenclose to my heart. So, it was not a newfeeling when I came back to Goa in1998 and settled. I felt as if I was com-ing to my own native land.

any plans to go and settle back in

portugal?

I havn’t thought of going back to Portu-gal and settle there, but I can never saynever. Because nobody knows what thefuture holds. At the moment, we haveno intention or plan to leave Goa.

what is ‘Contacto – goa’ all about?

‘Contacto Goa’ is about the history, tra-dition, folk dance and music, the ex-otic food and wine, and culture of Goa.It’s an effort to explore and re-intro-duce Goa. ‘Contacto Goa’ is part of abigger series called ‘Contacto’ that isshown on RTPi, a Portuguese channel.There are 14 contactos all togetherfeaturing other countries like: ‘Con-tacto Canada’, ‘Contacto Brasil’, ‘Con-tacto France’ etc. These ‘Contactos’talk about the life of immigrants inthese countries. The series tell the sto-ries of the immigrants, the stories oftheir struggles and success. In ourcase, it’s different because there are afew Portuguese in Goa. So our pro-gramme ‘Contacto Goa’ talks about thePortuguese influence in Goa, in its ar-chitecture, gastronomy, festivals, aswell as highlighting certain socio-cul-tural aspects of life in Goa.

in ‘Contacto – goa’, how have you man-

aged to blend the flavours of goa and

portugal?

India and Portugal are two differentcountries with their own distinct cul-ture and tradition. But when it comesto Goa, the scenario is different. Youwill get the feel of Portugal every-where in everything that we do in ourdaily life — in the food we eat, thedress we wear, our behaviour, and inour language. You will find a numberof Portuguese words like pao, mesa,vestido etc in Konkani language. The‘flavours’ are already there, we onlyhad to capture it on camera.

how and when did you become a part

of the series?

I was approached to do the series bythe Portuguese Consulate in Goa. Itwas in 2005, that Pedro Adão, a verydynamic consul, called me. He told methat RTPi was interested in featuringGoa and was looking for someone whocould help producing such a docu-se-ries and he thought of me. After all, Iam a product of Goan culture! This ishow I got the privilege to become apart of ‘Contacto Goa’.

reliving heritage

1. Nuno on camera and Nalini as the anchor of ‘Contacto Goa’; 2. Picture taken during the shooting ofthe series; 3. Nalini with her daughter Maya in Portugal; 4. Nalini with her team members — (from leftto right) translator Darryl Pereira, Producer Rohit Phalgaonkar, Nalini, Editor Prasheela Achrekar, andcameramen Jude Santos Fernandes and Ricardo Estanislau.

1

2

3

4

if you feel like tucking into sometandoori chicken or aloo gobi whiletraversing the lanes of the SouthKorean capital, walk right into one

of the many Indian restaurants that area hit with not only tourists but also lo-cals. North Indian cuisine, especiallyPunjabi dishes, is fast making inroads inSouth Korea, with the country boastingof at least 300 Indian restaurants, of whicharound 50 are in the capital city alone.

“Lots of restaurants serving Indiandishes have come up in South Korea, moreso in Seoul. There are around 50 Indianrestaurants in Seoul,” Shrestha Rajesh,president of Mount Fishtail that servesIndian and Nepali cuisine told IANS.

Besides stand-alone restaurants, there

are also chains of Indian restaurants inSouth Korea. Interestingly, the restau-rants are owned by enterprising Nepalislike Rajesh as well as locals — and notnecessarily people of Indian origin. “Thedemand is good as there are many Indi-ans in South Korea. Also the Koreans aredeveloping a liking for Punjabi cuisine,”Rajesh said. He said Koreans and otherinternational travellers prefer tandooriitems like naan — the regular variety aswell as flavoured with butter-garlic, rotiand lassi. Other items like aloo gobi, daaland tandoori chicken also find favour.

Adds Shovan Das, Coex Intercontinen-tal’s Chef de Partie: “The South Koreansprefer Indian dishes less spicy. For theIndian taste buds it will be bland.”

He said for Indian diners, the itemsare made as per their request and thereis a good demand for Indian chefs inSouth Korea. According to him, Indiandishes are more pocket-friendly com-pared to Korean food and there arearound 300 restaurants in South Koreaserving Indian dishes. “We require moreIndian chefs to cater to the needs of notonly tourists but also local Indians andKoreans. The pay packet is around$6,000 per annum,” he added. There arean estimated 6,000 Indians in SouthKorea who include businessmen, soft-ware engineers, scientists, research fel-lows, workers and students. There aremany Indian companies in South Korealike Tata Motors, L&T Infotech, Mahin-


diaspora / food

With Indian food gaining popularity, as many as 300 restaurants in South Korea nowoffer tandoori items and other Indian delicacies, says Venkatachari Jagannathan

desi tadka in seoul

Left: Shovan Das, Coex Intercontinental’s Chef de Partie


hot and spiCY in istanbulChicken curry, papad, dal tadka, gajar ka

halwa.... all this and more was churned outat an Indian restaurant in the heart of Is-tanbul to cater to Abhishek Bachchan andothers shooting in Turkey’s commercialcapital and most important city for a Bol-lywood film. Imran M. Rana, the affableowner of Musafir Indian Restaurant, lo-cated in Talimhane in Taxim, says he wasexcited when two Indians, members ofthe film crew, approached him for thefood meant for a 15-member team thismonth. They were reportedly shooting forthe movie, Dum Maro Dum. But this wasnot the first time Rana was taking ordersfor an Indian film crew.

“During the shooting of Guru too, wecatered for Abhishek Bachchan and therest of the crew,” Rana told IANS, referringto the 2007 film directed by Mani Ratnam.“Some of the scenes of Guru were shot inIstanbul,” he said. Born and brought up inManchester, Britain, Rana has deep-rooted links with India and Pakistan. His fa-ther’s side came from Jodhpur and hismother is from Lahore, Pakistan. For Indi-ans keen to get a taste of their food,Musafir has an array of dishes on offer —poppadums (papad), phirni, chanamasala, paneer makhani, naan, tadka ma-soor dal, matar paneer shahi, butterchicken, chicken korma, chicken tikka, andthe works.

The colours of the Indian flag form aprominent border around his restaurantfaçade. The décor is Indian too — tablecloths made of patchwork and sequins,Indian folk art decorations inside therestaurant and a wide television screenshowing the latest Bollywood hit songs.

His grandfather had moved to England

in 1939. Rana, in his early 30s, openedMusafir more than five years ago. He hasone Indian cook, one Pakistani cook andfour-five helpers. One of them is Gurpreet,who is from Punjab. Rana’s wife Ezgi isTurkish. She helps him out at the restau-rant. He has applied for Turkish nationalityand is hoping to get it soon.

He arrived in Istanbul to study Ameri-can literature at Istanbul University, fromwhere he graduated in 2000. While hewas teaching American literature andEnglish language at Istanbul University,Rana started the restaurant in 2004.

Ranjana Narayan/Istanbul

dra Satyam, Indian Overseas Bank, TataConsultancy Services, Jindal StainlessSteel, Nucleus Software Solutions andWipro Technologies. And their employ-ees often make for eager customers forthe Indian restaurants. According to theIndian embassy in South Korea, thenumber of Indian students in Koreanuniversities, mostly in scientific fields, ison the rise. Rajesh said businessprospects were good and he is planningto set up more restaurants. “The invest-ment is quite high. One needs around100 million Korean wons ($86,950) toset up a restaurant,” he added. Chef Alexof the Ashoka chain of restaurants predictsa busy season ahead. “Indian cuisine busi-ness will be good during winter,” he said.

Top: Imran Rana with wife Ezgi outside MusafirBottom: People enjoying their meals at Musafir

Indian-American Kshemendra Paul is all set to lead the U.S. terror information sharing agency. He will take over Thomas McNamara, whoretired from the position in July 2009, as the new Programme Managerof the Information Sharing Environment (PM-ISE). Paul, whose parentsmigrated from Punjab in 1950s, moves to the new position after spend-ing the last three years as the chief architect of the Office of Manage-ment and Budget. The agency that Paul would head has assumed amajor role as the Obama administration is focused on organising andstreamlining the huge terrorism relateddata available with various agencies anddepartments of the U.S. government.

As the PM-ISE, Paul will work in theOffice of the Director for National Intel-ligence, and will be the co-chairman ofinteragency meetings with the NationalSecurity staff, to better align and inte-grate the office of the PM-ISE with theWhite House. He will be responsible fordeveloping standards, policies andprocesses to improve how the federalgovernment shares terrorist informa-tion with state and local law enforce-ment agencies.


diaspora

Spelling ‘juvia’ and ‘stromuhr’ correctly, Indian American Anamika Veeramani haswon the 2010 Scripps National SpellingBee crown to retain the honour for the‘desis’ for the third year in a row. “I’m really,really happy. This is one of the best mo-ments of my life,” said the 14-year-old fromNorth Royalton, Ohio, who defeated an-other Indian American, Shantanu Srivatsaof West Fargo, North Dakota in the nation-ally televised final round on June 4 to be-come the bee’s 83rd champion.

Her win earns a $30,000 cash prize andengraved trophy from the event’s sponsor,The E.W. Scripps Co., along with a $2,500U.S. savings bond and a complete refer-ence library from Merriam-Webster, a$5,000 scholarship from the Sigma Phi Ep-silon Educational Foundation and a pack-age from Encyclopaedia Britannicatotalling $3,499.The final rounds began with 10 contest-ants, who were eliminated one by one bywords such as ochidore, a shore crab, andterribilita, a term applied typically to the artof Michelangelo describing the power andgrandeur of his work.

For the most part, this year’s spellersproved to be intrepid. The semi-finals weresupposed to last three hours covering tworounds. But the contest was extended to asixth round because too many spellers — 19 — were still on board to qualify forthe finals, usually limited to 15 or less.

Kshemendra appointed tokey us intelligence position

spelling queen

Three Indian-origin scientists are part of a team that has for the first time created a synthetic cell, controlled by man-made genetic instructions, whichcan also reproduce itself. The 24-member team included Sanjay Vashee,Radha Krishnakumar and Prashanth P. Parmar. “We call it the first syntheticcell,” said genomics pioneer Craig Venter, who oversaw the project. “Theseare very much real cells.” Developed at a cost of $30 million by the re-searchers at J. Craig Venter Institute, the experimental one-cell organismopens the way to manipulation of life on a previously unattainable scale, theWall Street Journal reported.

Mankind gets its first artificial life

Kshemendra paul’s top priorities include not only short-term solutions, such as interoperability of

multiple government networks, but also working

with the intelligence community, law enforcement

and homeland security communities to develop a long-term strategic vision

Anamika Veeramani

q1. What was Kangani?

q2. What is a Maldivian Buggalow?

q3. Who built the Jama Masjid in Durban -- thelargest mosque in South Africa, in 1884.

q4. A number of turbaned Pathans, originated fromPunjab, Sind, Baluchistan and Afganistan, arrived inAustralia in the 1860s. They were employed as‘cameleers’ (camel drivers). In Australia they were offi-cially classified as _____?

q5. Which year marked the arrival of first Indian stu-dents in America?

q6. The Indian sailors, employed on European shipsfrom the 16th century until the beginning of the 20thcentury, were hired mainly from Gujarat, Assam, andBengal. In course of time, the sailors became an inte-gral part of commercial shipping. They were knownas ______.

q7. He is regarded as the father of modern Mauritius.He was the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Hous-ing, and Minister of Social Security as well. Who washe and where was he born?

q8. On May 23, 1914, a ship arrived at Vancouver andanchored in Burrard Inlet. She carried 376 Indians,who had come to make a new life in Canada. Afterbeing sent back from Canada, 21 of the immigrantswere killed and many hanged by the British police.Regarded as a disgrace, Canada apologised to India.Name the Japanese steamship after which the inci-dent is named?

q9. During the 1930s, which community dominatedtrade in Maldives?

q10. Who was Cheddi Bharat Jagan?

answers

1.Derived from the Tamil kankani, Kangani means foreman or overseer. Kangani emigration prevailed in the recruitment of labour to be sent to Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and

Malaya. 2.During the colonial period, the Maldivian ‘Buggalow’ drove trade in the archipelago. An inter-island vessel, it even sailed as far as Sri Lanka. 3.Memon traders

4.Indians 5.1901 6.Lascars 7.Sir Abdool Razack Mohamed, Calcutta 8.The Komagata Maru 9.Bohra Merchants. The foreign mercantile community comprised 250 Bohras,

originating from western India, 50 Mopplas from Malabar and 50 Ceylonese Moors. 10.The son of Indian sugar plantation workers, Cheddi Bharat Jagan was a Guyanese

politician who became Chief Minister of British Guiana (before independence); later President of Guyana from 1992 to 1997.

Diaspora

quizHow well do we know each

other? What do we knowabout each other’s music,

culture, books, country,history and leaders... What are

those memories andconnections we share... In our

effort to understand theDiaspora better, we bring you

the second part of theDiaspora quiz. The answers

are given at the bottom of thepage. You can also write in

with little-known facts aboutthe Diaspora Community. Letus begin a journey of learning

more about each other...


cuisinE

Mango Delights

The best thing about summers is the fact that thesucculent juicy and the thousand-flavoured mango isthe season’s essence. And because they are in such de-mand during this time, most regions have specialised

recipes for not just desserts, but also main courses. One of themost delicious fruits, the exotic flavour of mango appeals tojust about everyone. A tropical fruit, it comes in as many as1,000 different varieties, each of them utterly delectable.

The fruit traces its roots to Southeast Asia — specificallyIndia — it is now also grown in Central and South America,Africa, and the Arabian Peninsula. Originally from the Indian sub-continent, it has been established that mangoes havebeen around for over 4,000 years. Legend has it that Lord Buddha found peace in a mango grove. Considered a symbol oflife and prosperity, mangoes form a part of our lives on mostauspicious occasions.

EaT MangoEs, sTay young

The king of all fruits has many nutritional benefits and is anexcellent cooling agent. It contains a powerful antioxidant —phenols — that helps to unblock the clogged pores of our skin.During summers, we tend to sweat a lot, which causes dirt andpollution to accumulate on our skin, resulting in blocked pores.Therefore, contrary to popular belief that consuming more man-goes results in pimples and breakouts, this one-seed fruit keepsyour skin healthy. An enzyme found in mango soothes the stom-ach and helps treat acidity and poor digestion.

The ‘Maharaja of Fruits’ is rich in iron, carbohydrate and mag-nesium, making it a fruit with wholesome goodness. So makemango a part of your daily diet during summer and stay healthy.

Welcome the ensuing summer season with a wide range ofmangoes including Dusshehri, Hapoos, Banarasi, Choosa,Lucknawi, Alphonso, Sindhu, Badami, to name a few.

The juicy fruit lends its delectable flavour to anything it melds with. From sweet to spicy, starters to curries, Kamini Kumari explores some

yummy mango recipes to please any palate and suit every mood

chicKEn saLaD wiTh Mango

The most delicious starter you couldever have, this light on the stomachdish is perfect for the summers.

ingredients

1 big size Mango (diced) 1/4 cup Mayonnaise 2 tbsp Mango chutney 1/4 cup Lettuce leaves (chopped)500 gm skinless, boneless Chickenbreast halves 1/4 cup Coriander leaves (chopped) 3 Celery stalks (thinly sliced) 1/3 cup Curd 2 tbsp roasted Almonds (sliced)2 tbsp Lemon juice 1/4 tsp Black Pepper (ground)1 tsp Curry powder

Method

Take one tsp salt, and enough water tocover the chicken by one inch in asaucepan. Add chicken and salt, andboil over high flame heat. Reduce heatto low, simmer (boil slowly at low tem-perature) for 8-10 minutes, or untilcooked. Cool for about 30 minutes.Mix curry powder, curd, mayonnaise,chutney, lemon juice, pepper, and halftsp salt separately in a bowl for dress-ing. Drain chicken and slice it into bite-sized pieces. Toss chicken, mango, cel-ery, and coriander with dressing. Lineplatter with lettuce. Top it with roastedalmonds and serve.

Mangai VEPaMPoo PachaDi

Popular in South India, this fairly easyto make dish is a must for April, whenthe mangoes are still raw.

ingredients

1 raw Mango (medium size)3 Green Chillies (sliced) 1/2 tsp Jaggery (crushed) 1/2 tsp Mustard seeds 1 tsp Vepampoo (neem flower), optional1 tsp Oil 4-5 Curry leaves 2 tsp Coriander leaves (chopped)Salt to taste

Method

Chop the mango into big cubes. Boilthe mango cubes with green chilliesand salt for seven to eight minutes,until cooked. Add the jaggery, stir welland heat for a couple of minutes. Heatoil in a pan, add the mustard seeds

and vepampoo. Sauté until it splutters.Add the sauteed ingredients to themango mixture and mix well. Garnishwith curry and coriander leaves.

Dhaniya MangoDi

A popular Rajasthani dish, this is madewith some thick gravy and is best en-joyed with rice.

ingredients

200 gms Mangodi (Mango)1/2 tsp Cumin seeds 1/4 tsp Asafoetida 1/4 tsp Turmeric powder 1/2 tsp Red Chilli powder 1/2 tsp Coriander powder 1/2 cup Coriander leaves (chopped)Salt to tasteOil for frying

Method

Fry mango in oil till it becomes goldenbrown. Mix turmeric, chilli and corian-der powder, salt and water, to make apaste. Heat oil in a kadhai, tempercumin and add asafoetida. Add thespices paste, and cook till the masalaleaves oil. Add the mango to the gravyand cook for 15 minutes. Add corian-der leaves and serve hot with rice.

FRoZEn Mango yoguRT

Treat yourself with a tangy, chilleddessert that would simply melt inmouth.

ingredients

2 Mangoes (medium-size)2 cups unflavoured Yogurt 2-3 tbsp Honey 2 tsp fresh Ginger (chopped)1 Egg (separated) Pinch of salt Pinch of cream of Tartar 2 tbsp Sugar

Method

Peel, pit and chop mango. Puree withhoney and ginger in blender or foodprocessor. Bring puree to boil in asaucepan. Gradually whisk in beatenegg yolk, then set aside to cool. Beategg whites with salt and cream of tar-tar until soft peaks form. Graduallybeat in sugar until stiff peaks form. Stiryogurt into mango mixture then foldin egg whites. Spoon into a shallowmetal pan and freeze until firm, stirringoccasionally.


calories - 107 Protein - 0.84 g

carbohydrate - 28 g Total Fat - 0.45 g

Fibre - 3 g Vitamin a - 6425 iu Vitamin c - 45.7mg Magnesium - 18 mg Potassium - 300 mg

calcium - 20 g cholesterol - 0 g

saturated Fat - 0 g Traces of manganese,

selenium, iron, sodium and phosphorus

Each Mango wEighing

100 gm contains

It was the year 1950... I was studying in St. Gregory’s High School in the eighthgrade and lived in Dhaka, in an area called Malitola. Political unrest and communal riots had forced me to leave

my beloved homeland and settle in Calcutta (now Kolkata) withmy family...

With the passing of the years, my family settled in Shantinike-tan, East Pakistan became Bangladesh and I moved to the U.S. I never thought I will get to visit Bangladesh again since I hadn’t even visited India in 30 years. However, after retiring in 2009, I decided to visit my family in India and planned a trip to Bangladesh.

We landed in Dhaka after a very short flight from Kolkata.The shared cultural and linguistic heritage of the two citiesmeant that they felt quite the same but with one stark difference — Dhaka was cleaner. After many years of politicalunrest, the country was now experiencing stability.

The Dhaka I grew up was now in Old Dhaka and the paddyfields of our childhood were now thriving with commerce andbusy streets. The new Dhaka looked just like any other largeSouth Asian city — with shopping malls, hotels, banks, multistoried office buildings, highways, flyovers...

However, as I entered Old Dhaka, my heartbeat quickened,my home was beckoning me. The affectionately named “City ofRickshaws” felt familiar, yet so different. I felt like the errantson, returning home for some good-old scolding.

When I hopped on to a cycle rickshaw, it suddenly struck me,I was home. There are probably millions of rickshaws in Dhaka.In fact it appears to be a safer option of travelling on the streetsthan walking. Even though the sight of the rickshaw didn’t surprise me, the unique character and ornate décor intriguedme. Covered in tinsel, paintings of popular images from localand Indian films and coloured plastic sheets, they looked like little girls, dressed up as brides! Weaving through the bustlingmass of people, rickshaws, two-wheelers, four wheelers and theoccasional three-wheeler, we reached Sadarghat. Dhaka is lo-cated on the banks of Buriganga river. When I was a child,Sadarghat was a beautiful riverside promenade where peopleused to picnic with families, shelling peanuts and eating icecream. Now, the promenade has disappeared, and so have


Travel

Footsteps alongpukurpar Revisiting his birthplace, Debabrata Bhattacharjeetravels through Dhaka and Bikramhati, exploring hischildhood jaunts and memories...

The entire village ofBikramhati turned up at our house. Some weredescendents of the peoplewe used to know and somecame to quench their curiosity about the ‘returningrelatives from India’

““

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Nostalgic moments: (Above) Debabrata with old village acquaintancesand descendents at the house at Bikramhati. Debabrata (left) with one of his younger brothers at St. Gregory’s old school building. (Top) The pukurpar (pond-side) at the Bikramhati village.

They say that you can never go home,No matter how long you did roam.

There’s no way things will be the same,Having been gone so long, you must take the blame.

Where are all the people I once knew?Are they in another city alone and blue?

We must make an effort to come home once more,To visit and be among the people we love and adore.

A few have been faithful to our home town,They remained here long after the cap and gown.

Listen quietly, there’s a voice from the past,Hauntingly asking, ‘Are you coming home at last?’

Lynn B. Glover, Poems from the Heart

peanuts and ice cream. Buildings have risen on the banks of theriver and there are vendors and hawkers selling all kinds ofgoods on both sides of the street. The river still serves as themeans of mass transportation but the lazy days of watching theboats and steamers passing by were gone. Exploring the citybased on 60-year-old memories, I tracked down the location ofmy old school, St. Gregory’s. Sadly, the old school building wasno longer in use except the church. But the inside looked thesame except that there were many more pictures of principalson the wall. The school had grown a lot in the last 60 years. Itnow has a huge new school building with modern facilities anda students’ hostel. Thankfully the students still use the samefootball field that I used to play in. Next I visited Jagannath Col-lege, where my father was a lecturer. I remember going to thestaff hostel, where many of my father’s colleagues used to live,and being treated to snacks or candy.

The next day we went to the village of Bikramhati in the Tangail region. Bikramhati is our ancestral village, where myfamily has lived for the last three hundred years. Even today,the house is owned and occupied by the family.

Upon arrival in Bikramhati, it was an emotional experienceas we started walking along the “pukurpar” (pond-side) to ourold house. We came upon the old, now unused, restroom of thehouse. This building was as old as the house itself. Trees havestruck roots deep within the brickwork and the building hasdecayed gracefully into an old nostalgic relic. The veranda isnow covered with rows of cauliflower and cabbage fields.

Walking around the property, seeing the places where as achild, some 60 years ago, I used to play, fish and climb trees toget fresh mangoes, I felt a wave of nostalgia engulf me.

As we arrived, the entire village turned up at our house.Some were descendents of the people we used to know and


The unused restroom of the Bikramhati house which has now decayed gracefully into an old nostalgic relic and has become part of the shrubbery.

Travel

some came to quench their curiosity about the “returning relativesfrom India”. The afternoon was spent sharing stories of the last 60years, dining and forging new memories and bonds. It was a wonderful experience and I cherished every moment of it.

While I was nostalgic about the old times, it was very refreshingto see the progress the village had made during the years. The vil-lage now has electricity and permanent houses, which we couldnot even think of during our time; and most of all, there is an over-all sense of prosperity and economic progress.

Neither was the Bikramhati of today the one which we had leftbehind, nor was Dhaka. Even though Dhaka suffers from commonurban problems such as pollution, congestion, and lack of adequate services due to the rising population, it remains the samein essence — the delicious food, mainly the ilish mach (Hilsa), the sweetmeats and above all the warmth of its people, irrespective of religion or nationality.


leavInghome

The old and the new: Dhaka’s old world charm, such as its street-side sweetmeats (right)and ornate rickshaws (below)exist side by side with seven storied malls (bottom).

It was 10.30 in the morning ofFriday, February 10, 1950. Mybrother Sunil and I were inschool — St. Gregory’s — whenthe alarm sounded, asking us toflee home. Hindu-Muslim riotshad broken out in Dhaka. Wereached home in Malitola ataround 2 p.m., having dodgedvarious rioting groups on theway. All afternoon we could hearthe sounds of screams, gunfireand bombs. Scores were gettingslaughtered everywhere. Bynight, some 200 people fromour neighbourhood had takenrefuge at our home.

The next morning, we lefthome with only a gathri (clothbundle). A Bengali military offi-cer assisted us and sent twojawans with Baba to retrieve fewmore possessions. We were es-corted till the High Commissionof India. However, even thoughwe got shelter, there was nofood there. Baba, Sunil and Iwent in search of food. That wasthe day, we discovered whattrue hunger was. We went toDipu Mama, who lived nearby.There he gave us some bashi(stale) pulao, but for us it wasamrit (nectar).

After a few days, one of Baba’sfriends offered us his house, asthey were leaving for Calcutta.Soon, a Muslim barrister fromWest Pakistan came to our houseand requested shelter for hisfamily. Baba agreed to rent themthe upstairs apartment, in turnfor protection, since a Hinduhousehold was never safe. During this period, we went backto our Malitola house once,where a rude shock awaited us.Our house was taken over andturned into ‘Aliah Hotel’. Theowner told us that they had keptour possessions in a room andwe could take them.

After two months of ordeal,on March 23 we left Dhaka forever and came to Calcutta.

aamir Khan’s 3 Idiots swept the11th edition of the InternationalIndian Film Academy (IIFA)Awards that was recently held in

Colombo in June. The three-day extrava-ganza included a fashion show, celebritycricket match and the main awards event.

The ritzy grand finale’s highpoint wasHrithik Roshan’s mindblowing livewireperformance where he not only dancedbut wowed the audience by singing as well.

The other highlight was the comperingby Lara Dutta along with Boman Irani-Riteish Deshmukh, who once again enthralled the audience with their excel-lent chemistry on an extravagant set. Butthen, there were the low points too — forinstance, Bipasha Basu’s performance on

the awards night and the humid weather.The Bollywood flag flew high with the

likes of the glamour quotient of SalmanKhan, Sanjay Dutt, Anil Kapoor, Saif AliKhan, Kareena Kapoor, Hrithik Roshan andBipasha Basu.

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksawas ecstatic about hosting the awardsceremony in his country. “Thank you IIFAfor choosing my country as the venue forthis extravagant event. It will help us inbridging the gap between the two nationsin a simple manner,” Rajapaksa said.

The grand finale apart, there was muchmore to the three-day event. On the firstday, the IIFA Fashion Extravaganza sawthe participation of many Bollywood actors and Sri Lankan cricketer Kumar

Sangakkara, who walked the ramp forleading Indian and Sri Lankan designers.

This was backed by a live musical per-formance by composers Salim-Suleimanand singers Kailash Kher and AnushkaManchanda.

A charity cricket match was organisedthe next day between the Sangakkara XI,boasting of some Sri Lankan greats andtwo teams comprising Bollywood starsand led by Suniel Shetty and HrithikRoshan. The former, quite naturally,knocked out the Bollywood heroes.

The sixth edition of the FICCI-IIFAGlobal Business Forum, focused on various strategies to explore and boostbusiness opportunities between India andSri Lanka. The theme this year was “India

Cinema


Cricket, fashion& awards The 11th International Indian Film Academy weekend was a milieu of fashion show,film festival, cricket and ritzy awards ceremony...

— Sri Lanka Partnership: The Way for-ward”, with some key speakers beingPresident Rajapaksa and former Indianjunior foreign minister Shashi Tharoor.

The first look of movies like Dabaang,Lamhaa and Knockout were also show-cased at the event, as was a sneak peekinto the multi-million project — Kingdomof Dreams — a mega entertainment des-tination slated to open in Gurgaon aheadof the Commonwealth Games in October.

The green carpet of the IIFA sporteddresses, train gowns, saris and black suits.Just like previous years, most of the Bollywood beauties stuck to gowns anddresses while men chose to play it safewith black.

3 Idiots walked away with 11 trophies,

being declared the Best Film, while theBest Director award went to Rajkumar Hirani and the Best Actress award to Kareena Kapoor for the same movie.

Kareena shared the award with VidyaBalan, who was honoured for her role inPaa of a single mother whose son is suf-fering from progeria.

Sanjay Dutt walked away with the BestComic Actor trophy for his rib-ticklingperformance in All The Best, while BomanIrani received the Best Actor in A Nega-tive Role honour for his brilliant portrayalof an eccentric professor in 3 Idiots.

Sharman Joshi won the Best Support-ing Actor award, while Divya Dutta received Best Supporting Actress honourfor her performance in Delhi 6.


Clockwise from left: Actors Sohail Khan and Aftab Shivadasani celebrate during a cricket match between Bollywood actors and Sri Lankan cricketers; actors Salman Khan and Seema Khan display designs at IIFA Rocks;Khan and Jacqueline Fernandez attend a "Habitat for Humanity" initiative event for villagers; and actors Kareena Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan arrive at the hotel lobby in Colombo to attend the 11th IIFA Awards weekend.

When Salman, anildanced to Boman'stunesVersatile actor Boman Irani

showed a different side of hispersonality as he played theguitar and sang a song at theIIFA Awards. And two peoplewho enjoyed his performanceto the hilt were actors SalmanKhan and Anil Kapoor. Bomansang Give me some sunshine atthe event and both Salman andAnil supported him throughoutby doing some dance movesfrom where they were standingand tried to motivate the audi-ence too. After seeing Salmanand Anil’s enthusiasm, the audiences joined in and soonthe venue was abuzz with clapsand people singing along withBoman.

When Riteish embarrassed neil Riteish Deshmukh, who isknown to play pranks, embar-rassed Neil Nitin Mukesh whenhe showed his semi-nude pic-ture from the movie Jail andasked why he was exposing somuch. An embarrassed Neilsaid: “The director of the moviewanted me to do this andhence I did it.” But Riteish wasn’tdone with pulling Neil’s leg andsaid: “Abhi aisa kar rahein ho toaage kya karoge?” Neil blushedand couldn’t find words tomatch witty Riteish.

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And Thereby Hangs a Tale Author: Jeffrey Archer Publisher: Pan Books Price: Rs. 253


books

The play, Toote Armano Ki Aawaz, was staged by eightlocal artistes on June 4 with the active participation ofthe Himachal Pradesh government, the Delhi-based NGODelhi Kala Karam and the National School of Drama. “A col-

lection of 153 poems which Sudhir Sharma penned during his con-demnation has been put into dramatic form and was staged atGaiety Theatre on June 4,” Saroj Vasishth, Delhi Kala Karam generalsecretary, told IANS. She said the play was an effort to portray themental frame of a prisoner during his sentence and his transforma-tion if corrective measures are adopted by the prison authorities.

Sharma, 29, was convicted in 2000 for raping a woman. Hereceived a nine-year prison sentence and was discharged fromKanda prison, on the outskirts of Shimla town, in February 2009.

He has got married now and does farming in his ancestral village near Solan town. Sharma said: “My initial years in jail werequite worrisome. But when I started penning poems, I learnt howto live in a different way. Now, I am trying to reorient other pris-oners so that they come out of prison as better people.”

While in prison, the Class 12 dropout also maintained a dailypersonal diary. “I have also jotted down the hidden details ofprison life... the way the jail staff violates quarantine proceduresand promotes drugs and triggers circumstances that convert anordinary prisoner into a hardcore one,” said Sharma.

Vasishth, 77, popularly known as ‘mom’ among the prisoners,said: “He used to give us a few stanzas of poem penned on a pieceof paper when we visited the jail during reformatory pro-grammes being run by our NGO for prisoners.”

“In fact, when we met him during his initial years of the sen-tence, he was under frustration and deep mental disorder. We

motivated him and transformed his restlessness into black andwhite,” she said. Vasishth, who is also a former All India Radio(AIR) broadcaster, said Sharma’s poems were compiled into aHindi book titled Toote Armano Ki Aawaz — the same as theplay. The 66-page book was also released on June 4.

“Several copies of the book have been procured by the NGOand will be distributed in other prisons across the country to mo-tivate other inmates,” she said. Vasishth was associated with re-forms at Tihar Jail in Delhi for a long time and later shifted toShimla to continue her prisoner reform programmes in the hillstate. By staging plays and other correctional programmes, herNGO re-integrates non-violent offenders into society.

imprisoned dreamsSudhir Sharma jots down his thoughts and emotions about his life in prison in TooteArmano Ki Aawaz. Vishal Gulati takes a peep into his transformational journey

Sudhir Sharma exhibits the book of poems he wrote in prisonPhoto courtesy: Kumar Lalit

The Immortals of Meluha Author: Amish Publisher: Tara Press Price: Rs. 295

TheodoreAuthor: John GrishamPublisher: HachetteIndia Price: Rs.199

Deliver Us from EvilAuthor: David Baldacci Publisher: MacmillanPrice: Rs. 433

One Amazing ThingAuthor: Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni Publisher: Penguin BooksPrice: Rs. 450

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preamble turns storybook

puffin lives: akbar: The Mighty emperor

By Kavitha Mandana

In this story of Akbar’s life, as exciting and thrillingas any adventure tale, the author describesAkbar’s rough, difficult childhood spent on therun; his consolidation of the empire through warand diplomacy; the myriad interesting and enter-taining people who made up his court; the

strong women of the Mughal household; and finally, the intrigu-ing circumstances under which the crown passed on to his son,Jahangir. Accompanied by many vignettes of information aboutthe Mughal empire, this book is a fascinating introduction to thelife and times of a ruler who still rules our imagination.

The life and Times of baba ramdev

By Ashok Raj

The continuing saga of a contemporary massleader who sought out a vision and a method toamalgamate yoga and healthcare into the main-stream consciousness....Baba Ramdev’s emergence as the new ideo-logue of a national and global spiritual resur-

gence is considered by many as a curious phenomenon. Thiswork is a study on the making of the Ramdev spectacle with allits inescapable assertiveness, and mass enthusiasm.

leela: a patchwork life

By Leela Naidu, Jerry Pinto

A Patchwork Life is a memoir that is charming,idiosyncratic and a window to a world of Chopin,red elephants, lampshades made of human skin,moss gardens and much more: a world where anaked Russian count turns up in a French gar-den, plush hotels offer porcupine quills as tooth-

picks and an assistant director sends his female lead an inflatablerubber bra. Leela’s life was about ‘staying in the moment’. Every-one who met her has a Leela Naidu story. This is her version.

new releases

Book: “We, The Children Of India”;Author: Leila Seth; Publisher: Puffin; Price: Rs.150

sTsellers Becoming

IndianAuthor: Pavan K. Verma

Publisher: Penguin/AllenLane Price: Rs. 499

Jangalnama — Travels InA Maoist Guerilla Zone

Author: SatnamPublisher: Penguin Books

Price: Rs. 250

The Difficulty of Being Good

Author: Gurcharan Das Publisher: Penguin/Allen Lane

Price: Rs. 699

Gandhi: Naked Ambition

Author: Jad AdamsPublisher: Quercus

Price: Rs. 699

Songs ofBlood and Sword

Author: Fatima Bhutto Publisher: Penguin Viking

Price: Rs. 699

What’s the most important book of India? It’s the Constitution, silly,and its goals are contained in the first long sentence, the Preamble.Any child who has gone through super grandmom and former chiefjustice Leila Seth’s latest offering can tell you that.

Seth, the first woman to be chief justice in an Indian state, who has alsopenned her autobiography, acknowledges that she has written this timewith the help of her five- and eight-year-old granddaughters. And it shows.

Not only does she break down every single big word — Sovereign,Socialist, Secular, Democratic Republic — to its simplest meaning but also, through trivia, photographs and drawings, turns the Preamble into a storybook.

“On 9 December 1946, about eight months before India becameindependent, a group of men and women met in a beautifully deco-rated hall in New Delhi, which is now known as the central hall of Par-liament House. They were to discuss their ideas and write theConstitution...” And thus the golden book came to be written. In “We,The Children Of India”, the words as well as pictures do the talking.Starting with B&W photos of Gandhi and Nehru in action and on topages from the Constitution, the book is a feast for the eyes.

The drawings by Bindia Thapar will hook children from the start.The back cover simply says the book is for seven-plus readers. But thistome should make it to junior school curriculum and to bookshelvesat home, for adults to refresh long forgotten pledges. Paloma Ganguly

Two persons of Indian origin figured amongForbes’ list of Malaysia’s 40 richest as the re-bounding Malaysian economy expanded 10percent in the first quarter of 2010, its high-est growth rate in a decade. Malaysia’s 40wealthiest are worth a total of $51 billion, upfrom $36 billion a year ago and even higherthan the $46 billion they were collectivelyworth in 2008, the U.S. business magazinenoted. Indian origin Ananda Krishnan with anet worth of $8.1 billion retained his secondplace after Malaysian Chinese Robert Kuok.

They are worth a combined $20.1 billion,or 40 percent of the top 40’s wealth. Thecountry’s 10 billionaires are worth $30 bil-lion, accounting for 59 percent of the total.

The 72-year-old former oil trader Krishnan’smost valuable asset is Maxis Communica-tions, Malaysia’s largest cellphone serviceprovider, which went public in November, rais-ing $3.4 billion in Malaysia’s largest-ever IPO.

Krishnan’s telecom interests in Indonesiaand India are still privately held and he plansto take his satellite TV broadcaster, Astro AllAsia Networks, private.

Newcomers include another person of Indian origin — self-made building contrac-tor A.K. Nathan, 54, placed 24th with a networth of $250 million. He owns and runsEversendai, a Kuala Lumpur contractor thatfabricates, designs and erects the steelframes for buildings.

46 Pravasi Bharatiya � May 2010

dIAsPoRA / newsmAkeRs

IndIAns RAnk fouRth In AustRALIA’s mIgRAnt communItythe India-born population in Australia rose from 110,563 in 2002 to 239,295 in 2008 | In 2007-08 alone,

the number of Indian-born people in Australia grew by 39,529 | In 2008-09, for the seventh year in

a row, India was the biggest source of permanent settlers in Victoria

Courtesy: The Age

US-based Veena Rao, who recently entered the Limca Book of Records as the first NRIwoman to edit and publish a newspaper outside India, hails from Mangalore and is theeditor and publisher of NRI Pulse. Launched in 2006, NRI Pulse is a free monthly newspaperthat serves the Indian-American and other South Asian communities of Georgia and othersoutheastern states of the U.S. “It is important that people know what’s happening in theircommunity, and the country they live in. It is important that they stay abreast of happen-ings in India. This is vital for the socio-economic and cultural growth of the community asa whole,” a statement quoted Rao as saying. Rao has a masters’ diploma in journalism andcommunication from India’s Symbiosis International University.

Limca moment for Veena Rao

Peerage forIndian tycoon

— PB Desk

A spot on the Richie Rich list

Left: Ananda Krishnan ranked secondwith with a net worth of $8.1 billion;Right: A.K. Nathan placed 24th.

Dolar Popat, who workedas a waiter after arriving inEngland in 1971 and laterbecame a self-mademulti-millionaire, will benominated for a Britishpeerage by Prime Minis-ter David Cameron. TheUgandan-born Indianbusiness tycoon, whogave the Conservativesover £200,000 in dona-tions, will get a seat in theHouse of Lords. He has anestimated fortune of £42million, Daily Mailreported on May 27. Popat's family fled fromIdi Amin’s regime; whenhe arrived from Ugandaas a 17-year-old in 1971,he had just £10 in hispocket. He has helpedbankroll Tory front-benchers, including Inter-national DevelopmentSecretary AndrewMitchell and Cabinet Min-ister Baroness SayeedaWarsi. Popat, 55, has alsomade a string of dona-tions to fellow Ugandan-born MP Shailesh Vara’sconstituency.

Ministry of OverseasIndian Affairs

Confederation ofIndian Industry

Making investment in India easier for overseas Indians.

For details contact:

Shefali Chaturvedi Chief Executive Officer, OIFC

& Director, CII249-F, Sector 18, Udyog Vihar, Phase IV

Gurgaon - 122 015, Haryana, INDIATel: +91-124-4014060-67 / 4014071

Fax: +91-124-4014070Website: www.oifc.in

lR;eso t;rs

Home is HodkaLocated in Kutch in Gujarat, this small village called Hodka is rich in traditional art and craft, and culture. The village beckons you with itssand dunes, mud houses, mural paintings and has emerged as an important rural tourist destination. Once in Hodka, you will bemesmerised by the sparkling clean and naturally cooled circular mud houses called bhungas. The women folk have mastered the art ofmural painting — the art of using dung, natural dyes and pieces of glass, to decorate the interiors of their huts. The camel is the mostpreferred mode of transport if you want to go strolling in the desert. The villagers play the perfect host treating you to their very own dietof ‘bajre ki roti’ along with curd made of camel’s milk. Hodka is home to a variety of birds, including the rare to spot black-necked stork. Youcan also witness some fine embroidery and leatherwork of the region. Hodka’s colours and culture are what lures the tourists most. Allowthe community to host you in the style they are used to — plying you with food, sharing their art and music and showcasing their craft.

lR;eso t;rs

Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs www.moia.gov.in


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