A Nation on the March

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Abhibhushan
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achy
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Post by achy »

One day I had discussion with my dad ( GOI retired) about contribution to society after retirement and he told me this gem.

"If all the retired person ( Basically senior citizens aged 60 and more) takes under their wings, 5 kids for free mentoring in villages and cities, most of education problem will be taken care of'.

If a network of such senior citizens can be formed, India will truly be a nation on the march.
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From the pioneer, posting in full.
Farmers to get online mandi to sell produce

PTI | New Delhi

Posted online: June 01, 2008

Computers may soon turn the preferred marketplace of farmers to sell their produce, with the National Spot Exchange Ltd getting licence from three states to launch an agri e-trading platform.

Financial Technologies-promoted National Spot Exchange Ltd (NSEL) has received licences from Gujarat, Maharashtra and Karnataka Governments to launch an electronic trading platform -- Spot Exchange-- where farmers can sell as low as one quintal of a product.

"We have started the membership drive across the country last week which will run till June-end and then we will start pilot trading on our spot exchange," NSEL Managing Director and CEO Anjani Sinha said.

Though Sinha declined to reveal the date of the expected launch of spot trading, market sources said that it is likely to be sometime in mid-August.

To start with, the company would launch contracts in farm commodities such as oilseeds, pulses and spices, but would later extend to gold and silver.

"We have fixed the minimum size of contract at one quintal so that even marginal farmers get benefit from our spot exchanges," Sinha said.

In the spot exchange, farmers will be able to sell their produce through the brokers, who will be licensed by the members of the exchange.

When pointed out that there will be as many middlemen in the spot exchange as in the physical market, Sinha said, the commission by all players -- exchange, members and brokers -- will be less than one-tenth of what is pocketed by middlemen in the mandi structure.

The NSEL CEO noted that spot exchanges would make agricultural marketing more efficient and it would be a win- win situation for both farmers and consumers as cost of intermediaries would reduce significantly.

"Our objective is to give farmers 10-15 per cent higher price for their produce and at the same time consumers will also get benefit of 10-15 per cent," he said.

Listing the benefits that are likely to accrue from spot exchanges, Sinha said, "The exchange will make physical market more efficient as price discovery will be transparent".

The prices will be guided by the demand-supply situation at national level as buyers would be from across the country while the sellers will be from Gujarat, Maharashtra and Karnataka.

In the spot exchange, the contract will be on a daily basis, unlike the futures market where it is monthly. The delivery is compulsory in the spot trading.

However, the prices may vary for the same product at different production centres, which will be demand-driven.

"If jeera prices are different at Unjha and Rajkot, the buyers will decide where to buy from, that in turn will influence the price movement," Sinha said.

The National Spot Exchange, which is a sister-concern of leading commodity exchange MCX, would open about 45 delivery centres at main arrival mandis in these three States in the beginning and may expand at a later date.

Another commodity bourse, NCDEX has also floated a spot exchange -- NCDEX SPOT, which was to trade initially in sugar, but the plan is yet to take off.
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Re: A Nation on the March

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Spielberg, India Firm Near Deal to Ally With DreamWorks (WSJ)
The principals of DreamWorks SKG are close to a deal with one of India's biggest entertainment conglomerates to form a new movie venture, according to people familiar with the situation, a move that would give director Steven Spielberg the cash to finance his DreamWorks team's departure from Viacom Inc.'s Paramount Pictures later this year.

Mumbai-based Reliance ADA Group would provide Mr. Spielberg and company with $500 million to $600 million in equity, moving them one step closer to ending one of Hollywood's most contentious and closely watched battles. In Reliance, the DreamWorks team also would have an unusual and ambitious ...
ramana
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Re: A Nation on the March

Post by ramana »

Century of Success

One hundred years of Tata Steel.

I have the memoirs of an American steelmaker who worked in the early years and rose from blast furnace foreman to the manager of the steel plant. Will post links to his work later.
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Post by ramana »

From Deccan Chronicle about a Kannada kathak dancer!
Dance Like a man



Murari Sharan Gupta, the only disciple of Pandit Birju Maharajji in Bengaluru, is a walking, talking exponent of the Lucknow gharana in the south. Murari attributes his perseverance and passion for this art form to his guru and believes his own evolution as a teacher is a reflection of this.

According to Murari, a lot of dedication is required for a young student to reach the rang pravesh stage as it takes close to 10 years to achieve. Training in kathak, he feels, is like building your house without boundaries. The entirety is important, not specifics. He has been in Bengaluru for three out of the 18 years of his dancing career.

The 26-year-old feels kathak is capable of depicting contemporary situations with ease despite its base being linked with the Krishna theme. He was part of Maharajji’s repertoire Romeo and Juliet, which was staged in the city recently. He has even attempted jugalbandi with other dance forms and he says the response has been positive.

"My tarana was very well appreciated and the final piece was in Kannada where all the dancers of different genres got together. So, we kind of broke the barrier that says Kathak is restricted to Brijbhasha and Hindi. Kathak lends itself to solo and group presentations and that’s the beauty of it."

The journey of a kathak dancer is very difficult, feels Murari. "If you are good, sikhane ke sath sath aapka sadhna bhi shuru hona chahiye. Once you think you are a guru, that’s where your growth as a dancer stops." There is also competition from other Western dances like salsa. Inspite of this, he feels this interest is like our penchant for fast food. It will soon die out. He feels there is so much scope in the classical form that there is no need to look elsewhere.

Sponsorships for cultural events is a huge struggle for any classical art form and Murari faces this every time he has a show. "Even Maharajji faces this. Dancers are not businessmen. There is no monetary return in this ki theek hai paisa dala aur fayda hoga. Mostly, it is with my own contacts."

There are many people who ask Murari to teach them Maharajji’s famed gath bhav. He tells them that Maharajji has been dancing for so many decades and because of his sadhna, he performs it so well. It cannot be learnt like an item number.

Murari admits that when he started out, he did not think he would last 18 years either. He feels he has achieved nothing as yet and wants to keep learning and expanding his repertoire as much as possible. He has started enjoying the seriousness and the beauty of kathak after all these years of hard work.

Murari ends by quoting Maharajji, "Guru ho aamil, sishya ho kaabil, aur bhagwan ho shamil." (The teacher should be competent, the student should be willing and God should bless them.)
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Dollar millionaire club tops 10 million.

The number of people having a net worth exceeding $1 million rose to 10.1 million in 2007, an estimated 0.15 per cent of the world's population, a wealth survey has found.

But that is still less than one-fifth of one per cent of the world's 6.7 billion people, says the survey conducted by Merrill Lynch and Cap Gemini.

The number of millionaires in India grew by about 23 per cent even as the United States continued to top the millionaires list - one in every three millionaires in the world lives in America.
The millionaires club added 600,000 new members last year despite the growing credit crisis. Their combined wealth also rose by 9.4 per cent to $40.7 trillion, according to the survey.

The number of people worth over $30 million rose 8.8 per cent while their total wealth grew by 14.5 per cent.

India, China and Brazil, the three fast-growing economies, saw the biggest rises in the number of wealthy individuals, the report noted."The growth of their wealth is outpacing the growth of their population, and that's a trend that's going to continue in coming years,'' Ileana Van Der Linde, an official of Capgemini, said."The growth of their wealth is outpacing the growth of their population, and that's a trend that's going to continue in coming years,'' she added.

With robust performance by emerging economies, the report expects the wealth of the world's richest people to total $59.1 trillion by 2012, an average annual growth rate of 7.7 per cent.

Wealthiest Regionwise:

North America - $11.7 trillion
Europe - $10.6 trillion
Asia Pacific - $9.5 trillion
Latin America - $6.2 trillion
Middle East - $1.7 trillion
Africa - $1 trillion
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Post by Avinash R »

Neighbours envy Bihars pride

Thanks to the CMs initiatives, Bihars labourers find work at home more paying.

In February 2008, when Maharashtra Navnirman Sena activists — led by Raj Thackeray — attacked Bihari workers and drove them out of Nashik, little did they realise that they were about to ruin their matrubhoomi — Maharashtra’s economy.

Four months down the line, these Bihari migrant workers are reluctant to leave their home state. As a result, Nashik’s construction business has suffered a severe jolt on account of scarcity of cheap labour.

Of late, prosperous farmers of Punjab are facing a similar dilemma after the migration of Bihari workers from their state. These farmers are ready to shell out 50 per cent more remuneration than what they used to fork out till last year. But still Bihari labourers are not available.

It’s not that these workers are scared of the likes of Thackerays or his men. But the fact is that Bihar’s economy has witnessed a huge turnaround with an avalanche of employment avenues in this part of the cow-belt during the last two years. The change is no longer merely in the realms of government files but is visible on the ground. The increased economic activity here has caused a crisis in other states, which so far had scripted their growth story on the backs of these poorly-paid Bihari workers.

Recently, mill owners in Surat (Gujarat) made a fervent appeal to Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar Sushil Kumar Modi to help arrange return of Bihari workers as the output (industrial production) had been adversely affected due to the labourers’ migration.

The average Bihari worker, who used to go thousands of miles away to eke out a living, now finds his home state too lucrative to migrate. With a flurry of construction activities — roads, schools and hospitals —jobs are easily available for anyone or everyone, skilled or unskilled.

Take the example of roads. The JD(U) government has spent Rs 4,722 crore on rural as well as state highways in its first two years in office. Compare this with Rs 366 crore spent by the RJD government in its last year. In this fiscal, the government intends to spend Rs 3,000 crore on roads alone. More roads mean more employment, better connectivity and greater economic activity.

Not only roads, other sectors like elementary education and health have seen a drastic improvement. If an average of one person visited a primary health centre per day in the previous regime (then, most of them were non-functional), today an average of 150 patients visit the same centre every day. Almost a 150 per cent jump in a place, which till recently was termed as a BIMARU, also means diseased in Hindi, state.

The perceptible change is because the Bihar government has set an annual plan expenditure target of Rs 13,500 crore this financial year as compared to Rs 10,400 crore last fiscal. Now, compare this with the average layout of Rs 2,000 crore during the RJD rule, that too with a large chunk of funds remaining unutilised.

By pumping in thousands of crores in a plethora of construction activities, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has not only improved working conditions in Bihar but has sent a message across to his fellow brethren: If you can get a job here, why risk your life and limb working elsewhere?
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Post by John Snow »

Thackery's Vanity Fair is the bane of Maratha pride, the idiots dont learn from Mexico and US farm linkage.

So there is silver liniing in this though, The Sick man of Indai Bihar is now laughing all the way at the people of Maha and Guj, who are now sick and tired of their own leaders brainless activities.
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Post by Ananth »

John Snow wrote: So there is silver liniing in this though, The Sick man of Indai Bihar is now laughing all the way at the people of Maha and Guj, who are now sick and tired of their own leaders brainless activities.
Umrao jaan, what did the gujjus do? Navnirman sena and Thackrey gang are finding the virtues of public property after the recent Dera controversy in Mumbai. Things are looking up, how long thats thats the question.
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Re: A Nation on the March

Post by ashish raval »

A much needed university in field of dedicated forensic research.

http://indiaedunews.net/Gujarat/Gujarat ... Modi_4844/

Good work NM. We need a some more in other states to lift the quality to very high standard by encouraging competition.
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Tiger adapts to Sariska, makes first kill
The king has made its mark! The three-and-half-year-old tiger that was relocated to Sariska Tiger Reserve on Saturday killed it's first prey. The victim was a young deer introduced into the enclosure, where the tiger is housed, by forest workers late Saturday.

"It is a good sign, indicating that the tiger has recovered from the initial shock that it would have got into after the tranquillisation. Sometimes tigers kill but do not eat. In this case too initially the tiger didn't eat its prey but later consumed a portion of it," said an overjoyed director of the reserve R S Somashekhar.

He added that the tiger is in good health and has been behaving normally. "The first three days are critical. This is the time they take to recover from the stress of being relocated to a new area. In this case too the tiger has been preferring to remain behind bushes in the enclosure and is rarely coming out in the open. It is only by chance that the patrol party can sight him from atop the watch tower near the enclosure," he added.

The reserve would be getting the next big cat this time a tigress from Ranthambore in about a week's time, but only after the first tiger adjusts itself to the new environs.

A separate enclosure has been built close to the first one at Nayapani for the second arrival. The relocation of tigers is an effort towards the successful re-establishment of tigers at Sariska after they were all poached in
2004.
Now, how about strengthening the anti-poaching laws and giving our forest guards some guns and equipment?
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Post by Kakkaji »

ashish raval wrote:A much needed university in field of dedicated forensic research.

http://indiaedunews.net/Gujarat/Gujarat ... Modi_4844/

Good work NM. We need a some more in other states to lift the quality to very high standard by encouraging competition.
From the above link:
Meena, who was elevated as chief justice in February 2007, praised Modi for setting up Evening Courts and for unveiling other novel legal initiatives including developing infrastructure like court buildings.

"When I took charge there were 3.9 million pending cases. Today the figure has come down to 2.2 million. Gujarat has become the first state to achieve the goal of cutting down pending cases," Meena said.
The massive backlog of pending cases in our courts is a crying shame. Any and all initiatives that would bring down this backlog to a manageable level will be a giant step for a "Nation on the March". 8)
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Vasu wrote:Tiger adapts to Sariska, makes first kill
The king has made its mark! The three-and-half-year-old tiger that was relocated to Sariska Tiger Reserve on Saturday killed it's first prey. The victim was a young deer introduced into the enclosure, where the tiger is housed, by forest workers late Saturday.

"It is a good sign, indicating that the tiger has recovered from the initial shock that it would have got into after the tranquillisation. Sometimes tigers kill but do not eat. In this case too initially the tiger didn't eat its prey but later consumed a portion of it," said an overjoyed director of the reserve R S Somashekhar.

He added that the tiger is in good health and has been behaving normally. "The first three days are critical. This is the time they take to recover from the stress of being relocated to a new area. In this case too the tiger has been preferring to remain behind bushes in the enclosure and is rarely coming out in the open. It is only by chance that the patrol party can sight him from atop the watch tower near the enclosure," he added.

The reserve would be getting the next big cat this time a tigress from Ranthambore in about a week's time, but only after the first tiger adjusts itself to the new environs.

A separate enclosure has been built close to the first one at Nayapani for the second arrival. The relocation of tigers is an effort towards the successful re-establishment of tigers at Sariska after they were all poached in
2004.
Now, how about strengthening the anti-poaching laws and giving our forest guards some guns and equipment?
The director of Wildlife Protection Society of India (Belinda Wright) on NDTV was talking about a major raid in china few weeks back. Chinese authorities caught 700 big cat skins and thousands of pounds of bones, including 43 tiger skins rapped in Indian newspapers. Since than 11 more skin consignments have been confiscated by Indian authorities at Indo-China border most of which were due to help/intelligence from the wildlife society. They showed how the society is sending out undercover agents to jungles and nomadic poachers to eliminate the poaching gangs. They are literally risking their lives and getting these poachers behind the bars. They also recently raised money and bought (and transferred to forest dept) land from farmers to connect the two fragmented jungle parts for elephants to migrate while govt was busy in its bureaucratic procedures to get fund for the same. It seems this is one NGO which is getting things done on so many fronts without much fan fare.

http://www.wpsi-india.org/projects/poac ... gation.php
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Re: A Nation on the March

Post by bart »

http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a ... LATESTNEWS

http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a ... /1530/FREE
Who was that elegant stranger sipping tea and poking around in the service shop of Allen Aron's Chicago area Jaguar dealership this month?

None other than the man who now owns Jaguar, Indian industrialist and billionaire Ratan Tata.

Tata, who just paid $3 billion to acquire Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford Motor Co., wasted no time flying over to the United States to meet some of the brand's oldest and biggest dealers.

It was his first visit to a Jaguar dealership. Anywhere. And also the first time in memory dealers have laid eyes on their top factory decision-maker.

"I've been a Jaguar dealer for 40 years," says Norm Tompkins, owner of San Jose British Motors near San Francisco, whom Tata invited to lunch. "In all the years Ford owned us, I never met a single Ford executive."
"He embraces you and touches you, which is a good thing. To me, that's the sign of a very warmhearted person.

"I'm telling you this," Aron says, growing serious: "He's going to make something out of Jaguar. We're in good hands now. My son can see his future here now."
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Post by Vasu »

Thanks for the link and the news, Katare. Its very heartening to see such good organizations working on their own time and money. I don't think we can stop the Chinese from being Chinese, but we can definitely cut down on every tiger skin, claw, bone, dong, you name it, from reaching these people. The same goes for the Indian Rhino.

This is an organization I would love to be a part of, in any way, and I hope any members in India and elsewhere should try to do the same. Maybe WPSI can start by petitioning to the government to bring out a new punishment for poachers - skin a part of their body in public display.
Katare wrote:
The director of Wildlife Protection Society of India (Belinda Wright) on NDTV was talking about a major raid in china few weeks back. Chinese authorities caught 700 big cat skins and thousands of pounds of bones, including 43 tiger skins rapped in Indian newspapers. Since than 11 more skin consignments have been confiscated by Indian authorities at Indo-China border most of which were due to help/intelligence from the wildlife society. They showed how the society is sending out undercover agents to jungles and nomadic poachers to eliminate the poaching gangs. They are literally risking their lives and getting these poachers behind the bars. They also recently raised money and bought (and transferred to forest dept) land from farmers to connect the two fragmented jungle parts for elephants to migrate while govt was busy in its bureaucratic procedures to get fund for the same. It seems this is one NGO which is getting things done on so many fronts without much fan fare.

http://www.wpsi-india.org/projects/poac ... gation.php
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Post by Singha »

India Today....shades of Prahaar...

Task master
Amitabh Srivastava
June 26, 2008

SPIRIT OF INDIA — EDUCATION

With his sharply-creased police uniform, carefully-combed hair and flashy cell phone, he looks every bit an upwardly mobile IPS officer, and just as every bit out of place in a classroom full of clamouring children.

But there is no doubt that Abhyanand is perfectly at ease here, smiling while teaching Class V students the tenets of mental mathematics, which includes shortcuts to solve problems without the use of multiplication tables.

The Additional Director-General of Police, Bihar Military Police, pops a question and the children look momentarily flummoxed, but Abhyanand patiently nudges them into speaking up, simultaneously provoking them with multiple options.

The indulgent teacher finally smiles when a 10-year-old tells him the right answer and explains why it is so.

“To me, a teacher is someone who never gives the right answer, but keeps asking the right questions. My job is to encourage my students to come up with the right answers,” says the IPS officer with deep conviction in his voice.

“Asking questions is important for a teacher because transferring concepts is not like copying files from one computer and pasting it on another,” says Abhyanand.

“We need to activate the students’ brains and develop their lateral thinking abilities.” This is a doctrine that has seen his Super 30 programme click year after year.

The programme—a free IIT entrance coaching course for 30 select youngsters from underprivileged families in rural Bihar—saw 18 out of 30 in the first batch make it to the premier technology institutions in 2003.

The success rate has been soaring with every passing year as 20 students qualified in 2004 and 22 got through the next year. In 2006, the number of students who cleared the entrance was 26, rising to 28 in 2007.

This year, the results for the programme were even better, as everyone from the Super 30 group made the grade in what is widely believed to be one of the toughest and most competitive entrance examinations in the world.

For Abhyanand, who tutors the IIT aspirants in physics, the tryst with teaching began rather by chance in 1989 when his son, Shwetank, then a Class I student, scored zero out of 10 in a class test on single-digit multiplication.

“My wife held me responsible for this, and so I was forced to give teaching a try. I asked my son a question: what is the biggest number in the world? Shwetank was silent for a moment and then said, ‘There can’t be such a number, as I can always add one to it.’ The boy had accidentally come across the concept of infinity, and I discovered the teacher within me,” he reminisces.


“Since then, I started investing time in their studies. Years later, when both my children qualified for the IITs and left for their respective institutes, I felt that I should never lose my ‘inner teacher’— someone who had grown as strong as the part of me that was a cop.”

The B.Sc physics topper from Patna Science College, however, needed to find an outlet. After a few meetings with mathematician and teacher Anand Kumar, who was familiar with the struggles of deprived students, the concept of “Super 30” was born and the duo started the coaching programme in 2002.

The first batch of 30 deserving students—many of whom were children of marginal farmers studying in panchayat schools—was picked after extensively screening the shortlisted students.

They were brought to Patna and provided accommodation, food and gruelling coaching for seven months—all for free. Even today, the students of the programme don’t have to pay for anything.

His friend Kumar takes care of the expenses. The success of the programme was evident with 18 of the 30 students clearing the entrance exam in 2003.

The Super 30 programme was an eye-opener for everyone who thought that only students who could afford expensive IIT coaching could clear the tough entrance examination.

According to Abhyanand, it is the difference in the method of teaching that is responsible for the Super 30’s success. Says Ritesh Ranjan, a student of the programme, “The Super 30 teachers leave nothing to chance. They cover every topic and leave nothing untouched. They also help us develop confidence in our abilities.”

Last year, thanks to the school’s burgeoning reputation, around 10,000 students from all over the country turned up for the entrance test.
:eek:

The coaching programme may have run out of a thatched hut with creaking benches under a hot tin roof, but a question from a teacher will often see all 30 hands shooting skywards.

The next batch of Super 30 classes is set to begin in September, but without Abhyanand. He has “moved on and will now expand the concept of Super 30 and pick underprivileged Muslim students and train them for competitive exams”.

The IPS officer has some time till then for the Class V students—and for the teacher in him to grow as well. And Abhyanand, once again turns to the young faces, transfixed in silence as he paces in front of a blackboard to explain how 10-digit multiplication problems can be solved without putting pen to paper.

Abhyanand and his students embody the age-old guru-shishya tradition, where the two are bound together by an unusual intellect and a common drive.

Helping dreams come true

With literacy rates lingering at 61 per cent, India still has a long way to go, but it is only when education is taken up as a cause by ordinary citizens, that the difference starts to show.

Like Abhyanand of Bihar, who is helping dreams come true for hundreds of underprivileged young students by coaching them for the prestigious IITs, or Pravin Mahajan, whose organisation is educating children of migrant workers across sugar factories in Maharashtra.

One passion binds them all—to spread education to India’s farflung corners in the most basic way.

As Amartya Sen asserts, “Widening the coverage and effectiveness of basic education can have a powerfully preventive role in reducing human insecurity of nearly every kind.”

The government may build the most grandiose schemes— whether it is the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, that was launched in 2001, or the National Literacy Mission, which began in 1988—but until every literate Indian adopts one who is not, education will remain a luxury.
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Re: A Nation on the March

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ramana
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Re: A Nation on the March

Post by ramana »

Deccan Chronicle, 10 July 2008
Convent schools lose their sheen

The once-sought after convent schools of the city are losing out to high-profile "international" schools which offer everything from e-learning and skating to entrance coaching and air-conditioned classrooms. There was a time when everyone wanted to send their children to well-run convent schools, which were considered the perfect grooming arena for children. That is no longer the case.

This year, several convent schools of the city have experienced a drastic fall in the number of students seeking admissions. "When I passed out from St Ann’s High School in 2001, there were people rushing to get their children in," says Kavya Reddy, a former student. "But when I recently visited the school I realised that the craze is gone. Convents are no more dream schools for many in the city."

In the past five years, several international schools have mushroomed in the city. Though these schools charge an astronomical annual fee, affluent families prefer to send their children there. Earlier, children from elite families were a fixture at convent schools. Now they troop to international schools, which promise a "corporate teaching pattern". This means easy transport, air conditioned classrooms, e-learning, swimming and more. Convents are facing tough competition not just from international schools but also from concept schools.

There are many parents who dream of their kids making it to the IIT and these schools are feeding on this by offering IIT coaching from early days. "There is much competition for IIT and other entrance exams these days and so I have put my daughter in a concept school," says Mr Ramesh Chandra, a parent.
Maybe an end of an era! Finally the Raj is getting over.
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Post by vera_k »

ramana wrote:Maybe an end of an era! Finally the Raj is getting over.
It's been over for in Pune for over a decade. But too early to rejoice because the convent schools are retargetting towards enrolling the Scheduled Castes.
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Post by shyam »

Aren't these international schools a Yankee version of the Raj?

When India was poor convents took the elites closer to British style.
When Indians becomes rich, these international schools are taking them to American style.
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Re: A Nation on the March

Post by vera_k »

shyam wrote:Aren't these international schools a Yankee version of the Raj?

When India was poor convents took the elites closer to British style.
When Indians becomes rich, these international schools are taking them to American style.
Except that the American public school is not religious in nature. And the Raj is more exemplified by the likes of the Doon school than your garden variety catholic school.
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Re: A Nation on the March

Post by Rahul M »

Is this the right thread for this ?

Team develops new alternative to narco-analysis, brain mapping
http://www.dailyexcelsior.com/web1/08ju ... nal.htm#10
NEW DELHI, July 13: As the country debates on the validity of narco-analysis and brain mapping tests, forensic experts now claimed that a new technology ‘Brain Electrical Oscillation Signature (BEOS)’ is more "efficient and non-invasive" than the current scientific methods followed in the investigation of criminal cases.

"BEOS can read the reactions of brain even if the suspect remains silent. It can pin-point the actual person present in the crime scene among many suspects which both narco-analysis and brain mapping cannot do," Mukundan C R, consultant to the Directorate of Forensic Sciences said.

Mukundan, who is the brain behind the new technology, said BEOS has already been appreciated by the British Psychological Society and the Society wants to have a "collaboration with us and have asked us to set up a lab there to carry out more research."

He said narco-analysis test and brain mapping has been discarded by almost all investigating agencies in different parts of the world as they do not give "concrete results".

"In narco-analysis test, the respondent blows out five per cent sense and 95 per cent non-sense. Under the influence of drugs, he speaks out even what he has not done but had wished to do. It is like hearing a person who has had two to three pegs of whisky," he said.

Giving reasons for disowning brain mapping, he said, "It does not give concrete results. There is no specificity and is like diagnosing a disease by just taking notes of the body temperature. Body temperature does indicate something is wrong but you cannot diagnose the actual disease," Mukundan said.

He explained that both brain mapping and BEOS record time-locked electrical activity from the surface of the brain when the suspect is presented with specially formulated auditory probes referring to various aspects of the crime being investigated.

While in the case of brain mapping, the suspect has to say something but under BEOS, he can remain silent.

"This is the biggest advantage of BEOS. The suspect is not forced to answer, his choice of remaining silent and not being subjected to reply out of force or fear is restored. The brain will react to probes put ahead of him," Mukundan said.

Explaining further he said, "There are two kinds of memories - Conceptual and Experiential. All suspects will have conceptual memory of any crime which means that he will know that a murder has been committed. But experiential knowledge will only be with the suspect who was present when the crime happened or when he is part of it."

Mukundan said in the case of BEOS, experiential memory is activated unlike brain mapping which also requires the person to respond with a ‘yes’ or ‘no’.

M S Rao, Director of Directorate of Forensic Sciences, Delhi said, "BEOS uses conventional, non-invasive and safe method of recording electrophysiological activity (EEG) and hence is a better than the methods that are being used now in criminal investigation."

"In foreign countries, laws have banned use of narco-analysis test for criminal investigation in civil cases," he added. (PTI)
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Re: A Nation on the March

Post by sanjaykumar »

Very interesting but EEG is crude wrt signal/noise. fMRI has shown results that are preliminary and promising. Of course there is probably a lot of fMRI work that is classified and not available.
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Re: A Nation on the March

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India’s detroit
It could well be the most sought-after stretch of land in India. Five global car majors, two commercial vehicle companies, one tractor manufacturer, three earth moving equipment companies, a tyre major and over 100 auto parts producers have either made it their home or will do so soon. The 45-km-long corridor— from Tiruvallur, 44 km north-west of Chennai, to Maraimalainagar, 35 km south of the city—will, by 2012, see production of 1.28 million cars, 350,000 commercial vehicles and an unspecified number of tractors and earth moving equipment every year. Biggies like BMW, Ford, Hyundai, Renault-Nissan, Mitsubishi, Apollo Tyres, Caparo Group, Komatsu and Caterpillar all have a presence here. Little wonder then, the place has earned the sobriquet—Detroit of India.
Ensoi.
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Re: A Nation on the March

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Re: A Nation on the March

Post by Singha »

the chinese peasants lot does not look good. any comp at whims and mercy of local despots and
builders. very telling statistic that and about 95% of top 20,000 richest being CCP allies.
also the proportion of listed PSU cos.
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Re: A Nation on the March

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Re: A Nation on the March

Post by sunilUpa »

Thread title is Nation on the March - only related stories to be filed here. Anything else, please find a suitable thread - JE Menon
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Re: A Nation on the March

Post by ramana »

Cast in myth
Cast in myth


K. PRADEEP


Artisans from Bastar not only breath myth and magic into their metal artefacts, but they also show traditional artistes in Kerala how to adapt and survive in changing market conditions.

Photo: K. Pradeep


Image
Shaping dreams: Artisans from Bastar at work in Thiruvananthapuram.

Sankarlal Jhara loves to sing and he does it at the drop of a hat. In raw Chattisgarhi Hindi, in full throated ease, he sings about his philosophy of life. It conceptualises his ideas, emotions. The song is full of their activities, interactions with men, with nature, with the spirit world.

This song extends to his craft too. Sankarlal, along with 137 tribal artists from various areas adjoining Bastar and Raigarh districts of Chattisgarh, attempt to make the imaginable real. They bring myth and magic to the objects they make. They transfer the images, ideas, expressions of their songs and their music to their works of art.

Leaving their little villages, wedged in by thick forests, the mountains, rivers, waterfalls, the intoxicating mahua flowers, where art is part of their very existence, these artists came down South for the first time. They took part in a 42-day art workshop, organised by the Kerala Lalithakala Akademi, in association with the South Zone Cultural Centre, Thanjavur, and Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahlaya, Bhopal, at Kozhikode and Kochi recently.

Lessons learnt

More than providing these traditional artists a new space, the Akademi had other objectives in organising these two workshops. “What we have observed, at least in Kerala, is that there is absolutely no effort to preserve traditional knowledge. All that we had is gradually vanishing. These traditional arts are actually a documentation of a time, society and culture. We wanted to create awareness about the significance of traditional art and craft,” says T.A. Satyapal, Akademi secretary.

Kerala has an indigenous, 600-year-old casting technology. It is believed that artisans from Thanjavur settled on the banks of the Pampa River at Mannar, near Alappuzha. The clay along the river banks was best suited for their works of metal art. They flourished mainly because of the feudal societal system that was prevalent then. “With the end of this system the artisans found work hard to come by. The superstitions attached to the casting technology of these artisans, like keeping away women, making only traditional artefacts, gradually brought them to the verge of extinction. Today at Mannar you may find rows of shops but most of the artefacts here are mechanically made in places like Moradabad. The tradition is lost as the artists did not evolve,” says Satyapal.

The workshop also had a few artists from Mannar who worked alongside the tribal artists. “This was a new experience for us. Watching these highly skilled craftsmen at work, and by interacting with them, we have picked up some valuable lessons. At the end of the day we have decided to try out some new items other than just working on the traditional ones. They will be works that cannot be replicated by machines,” says Jeevan Raj.

“There is nothing in the curriculum for students of sculpture both for BFA and MFA in metal casting. Hence, most of the students end up working on clay or other mediums. Added to this is the functioning of a sort of ‘art mafia’ that promotes painting, pumping in a lot of money into this genre. This has forced many skilled sculptors and craftsmen to shift to painting. We had as observers art students, blacksmiths, who again have not gone beyond the usual artefacts, who must have gained a lot of confidence from the work of these tribal artists. The Akademi has plans for a follow-up sculpture, metal casting workshop for this group soon,” adds Satyapal.

The tribal artists were provided the materials and they crafted 207 exquisite, exclusive works of art. They were then exhibited at the Akademi gallery in Kochi. “We paid each of the artists Rs. 12,000, looked after their travel, food and accommodation. The whole project cost us Rs. 28 lakh. We now propose to set up a tribal museum in Kochi where these works will be preserved. We have not put any of these objects on sale. The exhibition did attract a lot of orders, which have been sent to the tribal artists.”

Vibrant tradition

Endless in variety, tremendous in craftsmanship the works of these tribal artists provided a glimpse into their world. They have, through generations, kept the art alive and vibrant. The intricate method of moulding clay, the elaborate work on wood, stone and metal, turning them into mind-boggling forms and designs is simply alluring.

The metal casting method that the tribal artists use is the lost wax technique. This is perhaps the same that was used by the Mohenjodaro craftsmen. This ancient art, imbued with an intrinsic starkness and vitality, makes each of the objects of art exclusive, coveted pieces. Though this technique is used worldwide, the coiled thread technique is unique to the craftsmen of Bastar. The craftsmen of this area, as also of the neighbouring areas of Chattisgrah, are artists first and metal workers later. Working on bee wax, they etch out designs and images that form in their mind. The motifs used are all inspired by their culture, the animals around them, gods and goddesses, everyday work, dance and music.
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Re: A Nation on the March

Post by Rahul M »

I think the tribal metal art work that is mentioned here is the dokra, which originated in the chattisgarh region but flourishes even in orissa and bengal.
btw, I'm the proud owner of a dokra bull weighing around 1.5 kg ! :)
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Re: A Nation on the March

Post by ramana »

You still awake!
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Re: A Nation on the March

Post by Rahul M »

ramana wrote:You still awake!
it's just eleven ! evening for me !!
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Re: A Nation on the March

Post by Abhijeet »

Cities with the highest household income in India, from an NCAER study co-authored by "BRICs" writer Roopa Purushothaman.

http://specials.rediff.com/money/2008/aug/11sl1.htm

List in order:

1. Surat
2. Chandigarh
3. Mumbai
4. Delhi
5. Ahmedabad
6. Jaipur
7. Jalandhar
8. Chennai
9. Bangalore
10. Nagpur

(The order in the slideshow is wrong.)
Household income levels for Mumbai, Chandigarh and Surat) in 2007-8 have crossed the Rs 400,000-mark. This makes income per capita in Mumbai and Delhi well over double estimates for all-India GDP per capita, and roughly equivalent to China's 2007 per capita income levels.
Average annual household income of approximately $10,000 in 3 cities in India is hugely positive news.

As an aside, I'm surprised to see so few cities from South India in the list.
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Re: A Nation on the March

Post by ajay_hk »

The New India
Rachel O’Brien
Wales Online, United Kingdom
Aug 2 2008
Forget backpacking on the hippy trail, Rachel O’Brien enjoys India in real style

IT feels a bit like the cheat’s way to enjoy India – reclining by the pool after a stress-busting massage, with Champagne in hand and an army of waiters standing by. It’s certainly a far cry from my friends’ tales of budget backpacking and Delhi belly.

But while this might not be a cheap hippy trail through South Asia, neither is our visit one of old-fashioned opulence, with exotic elephant rides or maharaja-style luxury, as was once sought after by the well-heeled visitor to the colonial “jewel in the Crown”.

This is the “new” India: one of the world’s largest economies, with a staggering growth rate of 8.5% in 2006 and 2007, a film industry rivalling Hollywood and a population set to overtake China’s by 2030.

Amid vast social and cultural changes, the typical tourist experience is undergoing its own transformation.

We’re staying at the Park Hotel in Delhi, which admittedly offers luxury beyond the means of most locals (it has an amazing staff-to-room ratio of more than two to one. But as one of the country’s first boutique hotels, its contemporary take on Indian hospitality seems a suitable starting point for exploring the changing subcontinent.

Set back from hectic Connaught Place – the commercial hub of New Delhi – the hotel’s funky design could be at home in any cosmopolitan city, but there is an emphasis on Indian traditions presented in a new light.

The hotel is inspired by the five elements of nature – water, fire, air, earth and space – from the Hindu science of Vastu Shastra. So while you may prefer to unwind at Aqua, the chilled out poolside area offering cocktails and international cuisine, for a spicy lunch or dinner you can enjoy the award-winning Indian restaurant, Fire.

Our mammoth meal kicked off with a plate of chaat – a sophisticated twist on the Indian snacks usually served at road-side stalls. Five courses later, a mouth-watering dish of ginger kulfi (frozen milk) and betel leaf rasmalai (sugary balls of soft cheese) is proof that it’s worth resisting second helpings of naan bread to leave room for the often-overlooked desserts.

After such a feast, it is tempting to collapse in Aura, the hotel’s day spa, for another 90-minute massage or a honey and milk facial. Again, this is luxury the Indian way: the spa uses local ingredients and traditional treatments from the ancient healthcare system of Ayurveda.

But Delhi is knocking on the door: we have sights to see (not to mention calories to burn), and walks around the beautiful Indo-Islamic Qutub Minar, the world’s tallest brick minaret, or the stunning Mughal-designed Humayun’s Tomb, are best appreciated in the late afternoon sun.

Juxtaposed with the stately calm of these must-see sights is the chaos of local people going about their everyday life, with their hands firmly pressed on their car horns wherever you go.

If your nerves are up to it, hurtle along in a cycle rickshaw towards the 17th century Red Fort, and get lost on foot in the winding bazaars around Chandni Chowk street. Here the pandemonium of Old Delhi is far removed from the gracious boulevards of Edward Lutyens’ New Delhi and the swanky surroundings of our hotel.

On our return to the Park, however, we were instantly thrown back into modern, upscale India at the trendy Agni bar, a popular spot to watch Delhi divas strut their stuff and dance until the early hours.

In contrast the next stop on our trip, Chennai, better-known by its former name Madras, has a relatively small-town feel – despite being home to more than four million people. The city, a two-and-a-half hour flight south from the capital, is India’s fourth largest and the state capital of Tamil Nadu.

Here in India’s deep south, there is plenty of culture to rival Delhi’s offerings. It’s well worth the 60km drive from Chennai to the 7th century temples and sculptures at Mahabalipuram, carved with intricate scenes from Hindu mythology and the Panchatantra animal fables.

For a modern-day, but no less impressive, flavour of Tamil Nadu culture, take a tour around the classrooms of the Kalakshetra Foundation, where ambitious youngsters learn the traditional dance form Bharatanatyam. It’s a fascinating glimpse into a monastic-like retreat, something akin to a strict spiritual Indian version of Fame Academy.

As one of the teachers explains to us, competition for places is fierce, but students are expected to devote four years to rigorous training in dance, music and fine arts – and it shows in their disciplined performances.

Conversely the feeling is festival-like down at Marina Beach in Chennai, where hundreds of locals gather at weekends to picnic, paddle and fly kites. It’s a perfect place to watch the sun set on another day of Indian adventures.

The relaxed vibe continues back at our base, the Park Hotel, where the pale, bamboo-themed lobby has a more laid-back atmosphere than its counterpart in Delhi.

Food-wise, the offerings in the south are largely vegetarian, but in a different league from your average UK balti house.

The Park’s all-hours 601 restaurant, one of three eateries in the hotel, offers a huge range of international and Indian dishes, from the unusual main dish of blueberry kofta (dumplings) to traditional south Indian fare such as the divine masala dosa (a crepe stuffed with potato, onion and spices).

There’s also a chance to do a spot of DIY, as enthusiastic head chef Rajesh offers kitchen demos on preparing favourites like Beans Poriyal and Chicken Chettinad.

Dedicated foodies may want to take home a copy of a book by local cooks Jigyasa Giri and Pretibha Jain, Cooking At Home With Pedatha. Jigyasa, who lives in Chennai and is also a professional dance teacher, tells me that the south is a far better place to bring up children than “fast paced” Delhi. But even here, she feels times are quickly changing.

“There is a new India on the horizon”, she says. “Even at a very personal, human level, the average Indian is changing their personality. Greater exposure to the world at large has brought about immense confidence and ambition in the youth of this country.

“I just hope coming generations remember their national and cultural roots and grow, using them as their anchors of support. For no tree grows and spreads branches without strong, living roots.”

TRAVEL FACTS

Rachel O’Brien stayed at The Park in New Delhi, where prices start at £172 per night for single, £198 for double occupancy. B&B rates at The Park Chennai start at £135 for single and £148 for a double occupancy.
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Re: A Nation on the March

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'India Inc way ahead of Western companies'
NEW DELHI: Indian companies can teach the world, particularly the US, a lesson or two on workforce training and development. The former disciple that learned best corporate practices from the West has now become the guru, says a latest study.

The study, titled ‘How the disciple became the guru’ , was released by Kauffman Foundation and conducted by Duke University’s global engineering & entrepreneurship project team. It is based on interactions with leading Indian companies across sectors such as IT, BPO, banking and pharmaceuticals.

“We were absolutely astonished by India’s capabilities in R&D that were as good as the West, despite a messed-up education system. It’s not the universities which are training these R&D specialists but the surrogate education system created by Indian companies,” the study’s lead author and Duke University’s Pratt School of Engineering executive-in-residence Vivek Wadhwa said.

The study notes innovative practices developed by Indian companies to tap the talent pool from an early stage. Companies are going to colleges much before they hire to help students become industry-ready.

For instance, 20 of Satyam’s 80 senior executives serve as mentors on campuses, and employees are encouraged to serve as guest lecturers. Infosys is piloting an initiative to hire and train final-year engineering students to do 3-4 month project. Genpact is hiring undergraduates to work for it three days a week for a salary in addition to paying half their tuition fees.

For recruitment, Indian companies are using retail kiosks and stores. While Genpact has about 22 such stores from where it hires 25% of its staff, ICICI Bank has recruitment kiosks inside its retail branches where candidates can submit resumes and appear for interviews.

The study notes that leading Indian firms recruit for general ability and attitude rather than specialised domain and technical skills. They rely on their own training and development efforts to impart the skills required. For instance, all IT-BPO companies hire non-engineering graduates . HCL Technologies’ goal is to have half its recruits from arts and science colleges.

“Indian companies are doing way beyond the West. They are investing in their employees to make them more competent . American companies, who are worried about job loss and immigration loopholes , need to realise that you can only compete by making your workforce competitive ,” Prof Wadhwa said. Attrition remains the biggest challenge for Indian companies, but the study notes that their attrition rates are still lower than most American companies. “Indian firms have been able to keep attrition rates constant or reduce them,” Prof Wadhwa added.

WAH INDIA!

Infosys has a plan to hire and train finalyear engineering students to do three to four month projects at the firm.

Companies are going to colleges much before they hire to help students become industry-ready.

20 of Satyam’s 80 senior executives serve as mentors on campuses.

For recruitment, Indian companies are using innovative means like retail kiosks and stores.
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Re: A Nation on the March

Post by Nayak »


Indonesia-India cultural exhibit: Bollywood is the new Bandung

Sandeep Ray, Michigan

"Shah Rukh?" asked the distinctly Indonesian voice as I sleepily gripped my handphone. Shah Rukh? Who? Then I remembered that some guys I had met the night before had called me Shah Rukh Khan and I had left it at that. We had exchanged numbers at some point. And now this ... "No, this is Neh-ru" I said in jest, "Jawa-har-lal Neh-ru." The man on the other end hung up.

Shah Rukh Khan is the most recognizable Indian in Indonesia today. I don't mind being called Shah Rukh Khan five times a day. I must confess though, that I bear absolutely no resemblance to that startlingly good looking, traffic-stopping heartthrob. Gandhi would look handsome next to me. But when in doubt, or in jest, all Indian men are Shah Rukh Khan.

Bollywood has certainly renewed an Indian cultural presence here, in Indonesia, after the Majapahit kingdom crumbled aeons ago, after Nehru walked off the podium at Bandung in 1955. For every atavistic Ramayana wayang performance in Bali and Java, there are perhaps a hundred Bollywood movies viewed.

I am constantly besieged with people inquiring after the meaning of lyrics from Bollywood songs: "Mister, what is Dil Toh Pagal Hai? (my heart is wild)" asked the man refilling my handphone, or "what do you mean by Dum maaro dum? (go on, take a hit)" inquired the long haired teenager on the bus as a conversation opener.

This phenomenon is not limited to big cities, nor is it particularly recent. I was in a small village in Kalimantan about a decade ago working on a documentary film. This place was way upriver, in the real interior I assure you. As I went down to the bank to wash my clothes a group of middle aged Dayak women started laughing at me and then broke out into "oh made in India, made in India...", the chorus lines from a Bollywood hit from back when. This love for Indian movies dubbed in Indonesian clearly cuts across all demographic cleavages.

Night clubs in Jakarta with hefty cover fees blast reversioned movie dance hits while pembantus (housemaids) will quietly iron clothes watching a 1970s Amitabh Bacchan re-run. I so want to shake the hand of the man who does the Indonesian voice over for the Big B. His intonation is so mean, so apt, so Lawaaris. And even when the cheaply made, appallingly tacky, Bollywood produced, Mahabharata television series aired in the 1990s many people were glued to their TV sets.

But sadly, there is not really much else going on between Indonesia and India. Sure there are diplomatic visits and some improvements in trading but its nothing to write home about -- only about 2 percent of Indonesia's imports are from India. My parents generation had however, seen a different nature of interaction between the two countries, at first during the aftermath of World War II and then during Sukarno's non-aligned nations dream.

I grew up with a story that rivals anything that Bollywood might be able to conjure up -- of a daring mission during which ace Indian pilot Biju Patnaik flew a Dakota aircraft through stormy, Dutch patrolled skies and rescued Sutan Sjahrir. When the Dutch threatened to shoot him down Patnaik had famously replied, "Resurgent India does not recognize Dutch colonial sovereignty over the Indonesian population,"

In 1995 as part of Indonesia's 50th year celebrations Patnaik was awarded the rare "Bintang Jasu Utama." But Biju siapa? Maybe a heady Bollywood song and dance biopic might help remind us of those glory days.

Nehru's presence in Indonesia is of course better known. But whatever does remain of the famous meeting of non-aligned nations in 1955? There was a stamp issued in India, in 2005 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Bandung conference. It bears Nehru's image to the left and those unmistakable pillars and flags from the conference to the right.

Shah Rukh Khan arguably has more prominence in Indonesia than Nehru ever did. While that is uncomfortable to come to terms with, one has to accept that despite its often tacky, mediocre, downright silly productions Bollywood has culturally penetrated in areas and numbers that political ideology could not.

Of course, the advent of new beamable, copyable, easily-viewable media has helped this. And thus, the cultural intercourse spanning the Indian ocean, between the two countries, for millennia has reached epic proportions again.

But could this then be the basis of a more durable bond that could be parlayed into trade and improved bilateral relations? We appear to have two gigantic democracies, both open to free trade now, with vast human and natural resources within a few hours of flying time a few days of cargo ship travel.

Add to this the thought that if you're a little tired, or have had a couple of drinks, it becomes very difficult to distinguish between a Dangdut duet and a Bollywood ballad. Like it or not, in this post-Reformasi era of the New World Order, a pirated DVD of Om Shanti Om has more socio-cultural salience than a stamp, a statue or a shadow puppet. I thus implore marketing guru's and political strategy Imam's to ponder over this and possibly devise some new directions for better relations -- both cultural and fiscal.

I wouldn't mind getting in touch with my inner Shah Rukh Khan if it gives Indians and Indonesians more reasons to hum together.

The writer is a documentary filmmaker and is currently a graduate student at the University of Michigan. He can be reached at SandeepR@UMich.edu

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Answers to questions a resurgent India seeks!
In Indian mythology, one day in devaloka is a whole year for humans. The lunar month beginning in mid-December is like pre-dawn and in mid-January a new dawn breaks for the Gods. During this period, if actions are taken with a pure mind, concentration and a positive attitude, then an effulgent and successful day can be expected.

India is in such a pre-dawn period. Public life in India needs to be characterised by a clean mind, concentration and a positive attitude. Strictures against chief ministers and views like 'God save this country' from the highest judicial body are a national shame for our system of governance.

My great grandfather spent his entire life in Vilakudi, our ancestral village in Tiruvarur district, Tamil Nadu. His generation accepted that the British would be around forever. My grandfather's generation must have wondered whether the British could stay forever. My father spent his initial life in the village but moved out to the city. For his generation it was clear that the British would certainly have to leave; it was a matter of when.

I grew up in post-independence , urban India with occasional forays to the ancestral village. My education was replete with nationalistic rhetoric and my generation was obsessed with India's poverty and the passion to distribute "nothing" with great fairness.

My children's generation is obsessed with opportunities in India and wants to do things. The national economic statistics of 1950 versus 2008 suggest fantastic progress but these could have been vastly better. It is the proverbial half full, half empty cup.

Just as marketers forecast new product performance by building a 'stochastic model' based on the consumer mindset, the future of India is based on the consciousness of the youth of India. The lead indicator for a nation's future is the mindset of its young people, especially in India where 55% of the population is under 25.

Indian youth have a huge amount of dissatisfaction, hopefully a divine discontent , and they can change things around. They have three strengths: first, persistence, second, innovation, and third, happiness. These are distinctive and are rooted in our history and genes.


PERSISTENT INDIA


Two anecdotes exemplify this:


Ramesh, a tea boy in Shahjehanpur, UP, once insisted on conversing in English. "I want to practice with you and pass TOEFL, so that I can go to America. 500 English words are enough to pass TOEFL," he said with a 'can-do' look on his face.

In Mithapur, Gujarat, I asked Arvind Chudasama, a micro-entrepreneur , supported by a Tata Chemicals outreach activity, about the state of his ice cream business. Bad, he replied. Power cuts. So what about his loan? "I took a second loan to buy a chakda (like a jugad, intervillage transport contraption). I make enough to repay the loan and to invest in a battery to power the ice cream machine ," he said, full of confidence.

Living in India is like running an obstacle race. One is overcoming obstacles , every day and all the time - poor schools, crowded cities, corrupt officials , unhelpful agents of governance. Indians have the freedom of democracy but not the liberty that is supposed to accompany democracy.

Only when common people can get ordinary, day-to-day things done without a hassle can we say that Indians have the liberty of democracy. "In India, democracy is flourishing, liberty is not," to borrow from Fareed Zakaria's comment (The Future of Freedom ). But let us not despair, these things take time. 80 years after the Declaration of Independence, the US was fighting a civil war. Our democracy is maturing. In the meanwhile, the never-say-die and can-do spirit of Indians like Ramesh and Arvind Chudasama holds great hope for the future. Persistent India.


INNOVATIVE INDIA

When I lived in Saudi Arabia, I learnt an Arabic aphorism, Kollu Oqda Laya Hull, which means 'every problem has its own solution.' Problems and opportunities are two sides of the same coin. Indians solve problems. Indians are entrepreneurial in their genes and through their history. They are restless, constantly seeking new ways of doing things. They can be almost exasperating in this respect.

Dharnidhar Mahato (Balakdih, Bengal ) developed a Rs. 500/- cycle pedal paddy thrasher, which costs one-fifth and produced twice the output of a regular thrasher. Arindam Chattopadhyay (Bankura, Bengal) developed a single finger pen so that the handicapped could write (Ref: Honey Bee, National Innovation Foundation, March 2008).

The message is that India can innovate big-time like the Param and Eka supercomputers , the Nano car and the offshore software delivery model. Indians have also democratised innovations like the cycle pedal paddy thrasher and single finger pen.

For innovation to be valuable, there has to be ambition. The ambition of young Indians has increased, so the innovative spirit is poised to deliver big time. Innovative India.

HAPPY INDIA


JRD Tata once said, "I do not want India to be an economic super-power . I want India to be happy."
The MTV Networks International published a well-being index, according to which ''young Indians are the happiest people on the planet" . Among people in the age group of 16-34 , Indians reported 60% happiness, at about the top end along with Argentina which was 70%. Guess who was miserable at the lower end? Japan at 8% and America at 30%.

Kelly Services, a Fortune 500 staffing leader company found that Indians ranked first in Asia-Pacific in employee satisfaction and seventh out of 28 countries globally, with Denmark, Mexico and Sweden at the top and, Hungary, Russia and Turkey at the bottom.

The Vedanta says that instead of searching for happiness outside of oneself, one should look for infinite joy and peace within oneself. Sant Kabirdas also said that fools search for happiness and peace outside. Just as the Himalayan musk deer tires itself by running around seeking the source of the fragrance, little realising that the smell originates from its own navel, man too should search his own self.


Here is the story of a happy Indian from modern times.


A young man, who was working in the Indian Army, could not find meaning in his life. So he decided to commit suicide. He chanced on an inspiring book by Swami Vivekananda. He took premature retirement from the army, collected Rs 65,000, and returned to his village in Maharashtra. He used the money to repair the village well, to close down liquor outlets and to mobilise the villagers to work for their own development . In a few years, his village was proclaimed a model village and he found a new meaning in life.

The name of the village is Ralegaon Siddhi, and the man who put it on the national map is Anna Hazare, who was decorated with a Padma Bhushan for his pioneering work. He found happiness within himself. The sheer adventure and scale of India's economic growth, with social justice and entrepreneurship as its pillars, is staggering. There are beauty spots in this model and there are warts and moles, too.

This much is beyond doubt: no experiment of balancing growth, entrepreneurship and social justice has been undertaken in human history by any country on such a large canvas. Over the coming decades, India has the real chance of reclaiming its place at the top table in the League of Nations, a position she held for centuries but lost in the last few hundred years.

(The author is Executive Director Tata Sons and is the author of The Case of the Bonsai Manager. The views expressed here are personal)
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