THE INTERNATIONAL - International Indian

THE INTERNATIONAL INDIAN VOL 15.6 2008 

ISSUE 6 

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Dark Horse of the 

Meltdown 

Are Diaspora Indians 

different? 

Ram & Veena Buxani : 

a love story 

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[ EDITORIAL ] 

Is India the Last Bastion of 

Great Social Injustice? 

India is probably the last bastion of 

great social evils-Caste, Communalism, 

Corruption and Criminality, and the 

great majority of Indians consent to it. This is 

what constantly breeds violence in some form 

or the other, and unless a massive people’s 

movement is unleashed, we cannot overcome 

the abominations in our country. Indians need 

to take a good look at the havoc caused by 

the deviations of the rule of law we have so 

casually accepted for decades. 

Unlike other countries, there are powerful 

strongholds in our society that will keep India 

in the dark ages unless they are overcome. Take 

any situation in the country, including the 

latest terror attack in Mumbai - nobody can 

doubt the political subterfuge at work behind 

the scenes, the underhanded manipulation 

going on even as the truth is unraveled, if it 

ever will be. Don’t be distracted by the fingerpointing 

at Pakistan, the greater dangers lie 

within. It is not too far fetched to speculate that 

the Mumbai terror episode happened because 

some Indians in high places wanted it to. Such 

is the sorry state of our matrbhoomi. 

Even if it is possible to overhaul the 

system, dealing with our venal politicians is 

not the main solution. Indians must own up 

to the fact that the rot in our country is not 

just political, it is social. We are the enemy. 

Reforming our society first is the only way 

to bring real change. Observe how tangible 

reform in many countries is a reality, but 

it’s quite obvious the few great Indians who 

attempted to transform our land mostly failed. 

Throughout history great social evil has sooner 

or later been dismantled – but not to any great 

extent in India. Slavery was dealt with by 

people like Abraham Lincoln and William 

Wilberforce; Nazism eliminated by war, and 

failed Communist ideology discarded by 

popular will. Martin Luther King Jr and Nelson 

Mandela set an example to the world but it was 

Gandhiji’s ideas they largely borrowed. Isn’t it 

time for India to seriously implement what 

Bapu died for? Can we discover the powerful 

source of his convictions and make them 

ours? Is another great ‘Salt March’ called for to 

galvanize our nation? 

For Barack Hussain Obama to become the 

44th US President, something fundamental 

has realigned in America. Such a paradigm 

shift is required in India where though Dalits 

and women occupy the highest offices in the 

country, nothing fundamental changes. Obama 

could not have made it if the overwhelming 

majority of citizens did not vote for him 

– Americans have dealt a huge blow to race 

prejudice in their country. People power 

unquestionably carried the day in America 

– why does that not happen conclusively in 

India? Every election only brings another 

bunch of crooked politicians to power, who 

merely exacerbate the cancers in our society. 

India is a bizarre place where there are 

people who actually worship actors, politicians, 

gurus etc., as if they were really gods. All it 

takes is one charismatic charlatan to concoct 

something sacred or spiritual or very wise and 

before long he develops a large following. I 

suspect many centuries ago a bunch of clever 

rascals, (most likely in the garb of priestly 

service), got together (possibly backed by some 

ruler) and decided to create and enforce a 

certain hierarchy that would keep them at the 

top of the food chain. They succeeded brilliantly 

because they wove religion into the whole concept. 

Rarely does anyone give up their privileges and 

once a “religious” caste system was entrenched 

it has continued for thousands of years. Those 

bred exclusively with all the perks that wealth, 

knowledge, and superior lifestyles afford, have 

remained securely on the top of the heap. High 

caste folks now actually believe they are some 

kind of exceptional people. The poor and the 

disadvantaged exploited for so long, came to 

accept deprivation and degradation as their lot 

in life. These dispossessed Indians have finally 

wised up and now demand their slice of the 

roti ka tukda but the inequality in our society is 

deeply entrenched. 

Caste is India’s original sin, heinous in its 

far reaching divisive impact among our people. 

The magnitude of injustice is so great in our 

land that national repentance and reparations 

are called for. There are certain key issues that 

urgently need to be addressed to overcome the 

enormous challenges we face. Perhaps in our 

violence torn, religiously manipulated society 

if the following concepts are implemented, 

India could experience a genuine, peaceful 

revolution and our democracy become a 

model of peace and harmony for the world: 

Let the Sangh Parivar prove that Hindutva truly 

seeks the welfare of all Indians by reinventing itself 

as the party that eradicates Caste in India. 

Let Indian Muslim clergy and leaders lead their 

community out of backwardness - empower women, 

emphasize education and ban religious ideas of hate 

and violence. 

Let Indian Church leaders admit they have 

betrayed Christ and India by establishing a western 

institution called Christianity for 30 pieces of silver. 

Let the government make it a crime for any 

political party to use religion in any way to come to 

power and legally prohibit them from running for 

office if they do. 

When politicians attempt to win elections 

or religious leaders build their domains by 

seeking to turn Indian against Indian, can we 

respond by making it clear we are united in 

our search for a better society? That we do not 

want to raise our children to hate one another, 

that we are only interested in issues that unite 

Indians and we will not support the politics of 

division anymore. Can we unite and demand a 

political process where religion cannot be used 

as a tool to manipulate the masses. Can every 

Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Christian etc., hold their 

religious leaders accountable to ensure their 

teaching and practices only foster community 

not discord? If this happens across the country 

its impact can halt the alienation of different 

groups who seek revenge because they are 

nursing many grievances. 

Situations like Mumbai’s terror experience 

suggest it may already be too late. It certainly 

will be if we don’t act now. 

Frank Raj 

Publisher & Founder Editor 

2 

THE INTERNATIONAL INDIAN

[ CONTENTS ] 

ISSUE 15.6.2008: ISSN 0964-8437 

Cover Story 

Sanjiv Mehta: Compassionate 

Capitalism & Soft Power 

Unlike many senior executives 

48 

in a position like his, Sanjiv 

Mehta is open and willing to 

talk about anything, personal 

or professional. His casual demeanor 

belies a sharp finance mind and business acumen 

which when combined with great people skills, 

explains why he is at the helm of Unilever, North Africa 

& Middle East... By Mona Parikh McNicholas 

Desh aur 

Diaspora 

Politics 

The India Column 8 

by Vishal Arora 

Arab View 10 

by Rami G. Khouri 

Columns 

Guptara Garamagaram 18 

by Prabhu Guptara 

22 

How do we change when we leave our 

country? Or do we resist change and 

cling to the old ways we were used to back 

home? Do we eventually realize change is 

inevitable and how do we cope or adapt? 

How do we get the best from the different 

worlds we move in? TII interviews NRIs 

who have moved around the globe and 

picks up their insights... By Frank Raj 

Let’s ask Dr. Dobson 30 

by Dr Dobson 

Sex, Lies and Truth 38 

by Paula Rinehar 

I Believe 43 

by Udit Raj 

Foreign Affairs 46 

by Sreeram Chaulia 

India These Days 75 

by Ashok Dongre 

Home Grown 

Terror 

Buzzword 78 

Future Quest 80 

by Frank Raj 

Miscellany 

60 

Terrorism has always been perceived to 

be a foreign import. Something the enemy 

did, not our own people. But all the 

accused in the recent series of blasts that 

shook India, from Hyderabad to Ahmedabad 

to Delhi, are Indians. And now even 

those said to be involved in the 2006 Malegoan 

blasts are Indian. One cannot help 

but ask: Why?”... By Nita Kulkarni 

Editorial 2 

Letters 6 

TII Hall of Fame 29 

Behram Contractor, journalist, 

born Mumbai, 1930, died 2001 

Features 

Investment: A Historic Year 12 

by Archisman Dinda 

Financial Crisis: The Problem of Fear 14 

by Daksesh Parikh 

Roots: Life Lessons 28 

by Priya Philip 

Inter Caste Marriage 32 

by Davita Maharaj 

Dating in Urban India 36 

by Nita Kulkarni 

Thoda Help, Thoda Magic 40 

by Sarina Menezes 

Micro Finance 54 

by Ingrid Alburquque 

Perspectives 58 

by Shyamola Khanna 

Love Story: Ram & Veena Buxani 64 

by Mona Parikh McNicholas 

Family Cruise Holiday 70 

by Frank Raj 

Moneywise: Financial Meltdown 76 

by Bob Parker 

Interviews 

See U at the Top: 68 

Rajiv Srivastava, General Manager, 

LS2 Corporation 

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4 


[ LETTERS ] 

Indo-Pak Ties 

After flipping through a few pages of The International Indian, while commuting by bus to work, my heart skipped a beat when 

I saw the “Indo-Pak Ties” article. I read every single word of those heart-wrenching stories with tears and goose bumps. I am 

a victim of this saga. Eyebrows are raised, when I submit my Indian passport as ID, after stating that I was born in Sindh (present 

Karachi). After ten years of running around various high courts in Mumbai, I was finally granted a clean chit as an Indian along with 

a passport. I’m sure there are many more people like me struggling for either an Indian or Pakistani visa to be able to visit relatives 

on either side of the border. It’s a pity that my children who are now in their teens have not been able to visit Pakistan, and meet 

their grandfather who’s mentally ill. I’d like everyone to know that I am proud to be Indian, even if I’m not a Hindu. Jai Hind 

Henna Sajan, Sharjah, UAE 

The Business of Education 

Apropos your cover story, we appreciate the way in which GEMS 

has created an excellent educational setup in the UAE. I fully 

agree with your heading as education is now becoming a business. 

We should acknowledge the efforts taken by the group in providing 

quality education which obviously comes with a cost. 

Teachers at Gems are a wonderful. This I was able to 

ascertain within just 14 months of my kid’s presence in their 

school. While we agree that teachers need to be paid well to be 

retained, we are stunned by the increase in the transportation 

costs. We hope that Gems will rethink this and ease our 

burdens, because many men are being forced to send their 

wives and kids back to India. 

Vinodhkumar P, Dubai, UAE 

Let there be light 

A 

s rightly pointed out in the article ‘The Changing 

face of Diwali’ there has been a marked deviation in 

the manner in which the festival used to be celebrated 

a few years back. I remember my childhood days when 

diyas made of clay were used to light up the houses. The 

glow that they spread with the wick dancing in the wind 

gave more warmth than the electric lights of today. The 

early morning oil bath, visits to exchange homemade 

sweets followed by the rounds of cracker bursting 

have all become a thing of the past. Today I miss those 

celebrations while I stand in front of the sweet shop to 

buy my quota of sweets. 

C Sunil Roy, Dubai, UAE 

THE INTERNATIONAL 

Est. 1992: The region’s oldest, authoritative 

magazine of Gulf Indian Society & History 

PUBLISHERS 

Prof Prabhu Guptara 

Santosh Shetty 

FOUNDER EDITOR 

Frank Raj 

ASSOCIATE EDITOR 

Mona Parikh McNicholas 

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS 

Erik Raj Hadden 

Prem Kishore 

Benjamin Parker 

Peter Souri Raj 

Vishal Mangalwadi 

TRAVEL EDITOR 

Shana Raj Parker 

PR MANAGER 

Christine DeSouza 

CORRECTION 

The International Indian would like to apologise to Home 

Centre and the Landmark Group for a mistake made by 

the undersigned in our last issue (TII 15.5) in the article 

‘See U at the top’, which was an interview with Mr. Jonathan 

Jagtiani, CEO of Home Centre. The wrong pictures were 

used by mistake, and therefore the names did not match 

the people in two of the photographs carried in the article. 

We are sorry that this mistake occurred and are grateful 

for the continued support of Home Centre and the grace 

with which they’ve accepted our rectification. Here are 

the correct pictures with the senior management of Home 

Centre and Landmark Group. 

Mona Parikh McNicholas 

Associate Editor 

The International Indian 

DESIGN 

HB DESIGN 

PHOTOGRAPHER 

J.M. Nicholas 

INTERNATIONAL 

CORRESPONDENTS 

CANADA 

SINGAPORE 

UK 

USA 

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OMAN 

QATAR 

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(L-R): Jonathan Jagtiani, CEO, Home Centre, Ibrahim Askar, 

Vipen Sethi, CEO, Landmark Group, Balaji Sambasivam, GM, 

Home Centre and Micky Jagtiani, Chairman, Landmark Group. 

(L to R): Ajay Antal, GM (Furniture Buying), Rajan Narayan, 

GM ( Household Buying), Bhaskar Venkatraman DGM 

(Finance) and Jonathan Jagtiani, CEO, Home Centre 

INDIA 

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Daniel Benji 

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Navin Tauro 

The two best letters to the editor will win 

these exquisite Liali Jewellery pieces. Write 

your thoughts to : The Editor, The International 

Indian, by email to: frankraj@eim.ae 

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6 

THE INTERNATIONAL INDIAN 

Circulation 25,000 copies 

(Publisher’s figure) 

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BPA Worldwide Accepted Application

[ THE INDIA COLUMN ] 

What’s up with the 

election coverage? 

“The media, which boasts of being the fourth pillar of democracy, needs to realise that its 

duty is not to feed insatiable curiosity of sections of the people about who will vote for whom, 

but to discharge its democratic duty to empower the voters with right information.” 

[ By VIsHAL ArOrA ] 

It is election season in India; while elections 

were held in five states last month, 

political parties are now gearing up for 

the national election that are expected to take 

place around May 2009. Pick up any newspaper 

or magazine and you will find that a 

large section of the coverage is being devoted 

to elections. However, as it happens around 

every election, you can stumble on many articles 

that seem to approve bad politics. 

Many elections stories typically dwell 

on the prospects of the contending parties 

based by drawing a demographical sketch of 

the constituencies, anticipating how various 

religious and caste communities are likely to 

cast their votes. For instance, many such articles 

appeared about the recent state elections. It 

was said that a majority of the Jat people in 

Rajasthan might not vote for the Congress, as 

Jat leader Parasram Maderna was not made 

chief minister 10 years ago when the seat was 

instead given to Ashok Gehlot. On the other 

hand, the Gujjar community, it was said, was 

ill at ease with the ruling Bharatiya Janata 

Party (BJP) – for not providing reservation 

in jobs and for the heavy-handedness of the 

state police during the Gujjar protests earlier 

this year, and therefore, was likely to support 

the Congress. 

Similarly, articles anticipated that the 

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), which was more 

of a ‘spoiler’ than contender in the elections, 

would cut into the votebank of the Congress in 

Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, 

and Chhattisgarh, because both parties seek 

to woo Dalits and Muslims. Others evaluated 

the BJP’s stronghold in the Jammu region 

of Jammu & Kashmir following the massive 

mobilisation of Hindutva supporters in the 

wake of the contentious Amarnath land 

row, which centred on the question whether 

the state government should have allowed 

makeshift facilities for Hindu pilgrims in a 

Muslim-majority region in the state. 

What’s the problem with such analysis? 

News stories that merely examine parties’ 

performance on the lines of caste and religion 

without condemning and exposing the misuse 

of religion and caste in politics endorse the 

use of identity politics by parties. Here’s a 

hypothetical example to bring home the 

point. What if a newspaper article explores 

the possibility of the rise in the amount of 

bribe, government officials receive annually 

due to the enactment of a new law? And this 

without condemning bribery or making it 

clear that it seeks to warn the anti-corruption 

department? Do you think such an article will 

appear unless bribery becomes so acceptable 

that babus can accept money over the table? 

So have the people of India finally accepted 

the use of divisive politics? Regrettably, 

the answer seems to be in the affirmative. 

Now, whether improper reporting has led 

to the acceptance of identity politics or such 

coverage merely reflects the popular approval 

is like the chicken and egg debate. But it 

goes without saying that at least some of the 

responsibility lies with the media. Therefore, 

the media, which boasts of being the fourth 

pillar of democracy, needs to realise that 

its duty is not to feed insatiable curiosity of 

sections of the people about who will vote for 

whom, but to discharge its democratic duty to 

empower the voters with right information. 

Information on crucial issues related to the 

welfare of all sections of society as well as on 

various aspects of political parties and their 

candidates, such as their ideologies, policies 

and past record. 

Unfortunately, it is increasingly becoming a 

trend in political reporting where journalists 

like to mull over politicians’ concerns, rather 

than that of the people. This is why we read 

reports dealing primarily with how certain 

policies and moves of a party would affect 

the party itself – with no input on how those 

developments would affect the people or 

democracy. It’s not that journalists should not 

research votebanks or predict election results, 

but they should disseminate the information 

in a larger context and with a clear stand. 

Otherwise, it’s we the people who will bear 

the brunt of bad politics. 

Vishal Arora is a freelance journalist 

based in New Delhi. 

8 


etterlife ad.indd 1 

12/10/2008 3:43:58 PM

[ aRaB ViEW ] 

Obama and Ozdemir: 

Breaking Barriers 

“Cem Ozdemir, 42, was elected recently as co-leader of the Green Party, capping a 

career in the German and European parliaments that started in 1994. His path to 

leadership is perhaps even more remarkable than Barack Obama’s.” 

[ By Rami G. KhouRi ] 

A 

remarkable thing just happened in one 

of the leading Western democracies: 

A man of color was elected to a major 

leadership position in his society that had often 

discriminated against his people. I am not 

speaking about Barack Obama’s presidential 

victory. Perhaps as remarkable in the long run 

as Obama’s win was the selection last week of 

a Turkish immigrant’s son as the leader of the 

major political party in Germany. 

Cem Ozdemir, 42, was elected as co-leader 

of the Green Party, capping a career in the German 

and European parliaments that started in 

1994. In terms of breaking color and ethnic barriers, 

this equals or even tops the historic first 

elected American Black president, because the 

nature of European societies is so much less 

pluralistic and culturally-racially-ethnically 

less egalitarian than American society. 

Full integration in Europe, and the political 

triumph of men and women of color, will be 

a much more difficult achievement than it has 

been in the United States, because the nature 

of the societies and the place of minorities in 

them are both very different from one another. 

The American system from the start always 

held out the promise of racial and ethnic equality 

and opportunity. It was only a matter of time 

- when, not whether - we would see a Black 

American president, because that land was forged 

politically in a spirit and promise of equality - regardless 

of the fact that for the initial centuries 

the equality was only for land- and slave-owning 

white males. Blacks have assumed almost every 

other major position in the United States in recent 

decades, including senators and congressmen 

and women, Supreme Court justices, cabinet 

ministers, secretaries of state, business and 

civic leaders, and heads of the armed forces. 

The promise of equal opportunity has unfurled 

steadily in the past century for Blacks, Hispanics, 

women, Jews and others in the United States, who 

had been formerly discriminated against in institutional 

and - often legal - ways. Critical barriers 

were broken when Black men and women rose to 

the top of such traditionally White-dominated 

arenas as golf, tennis and professional baseball 

team managers - important symbolic markers 

in the culture of the United States, where sports 

plays a role similar to tribalism in the rest of the 

world. By reaching the highest summit in the 

land, Barack Obama dramatically capped a virtuous 

trend that had been going on for some time. 

In Germany and most of Europe, the landscape 

is not so clear, the opportunity and the 

promise not so explicit. White Christian societies 

have absorbed men and women of color 

or from alien religions mainly through colonial 

conquest or the imperatives of importing lowwage, 

unskilled labor. No promise of equal 

rights, opportunity or citizenship-throughimmigration 

historically beckons immigrants 

of color from lands to the south and east - even 

if the color is only a light olive hue. 

Turks, Italians and Spaniards, for example, 

travel seasonally to northern Europe to work 

as “guest workers” in homes and factories, but 

are rarely given citizenship. They are attracted 

to jobs they do not have at home and appreciate 

the income and decent working conditions. 

Many leave their children and families in their 

countries of origin, and usually do not expect 

either citizenship or equality. 

But a first generation has now seen its sons 

and daughters born and raised in Western 

Europe. Cem Ozdemir was born in southern 

Germany and raised and educated there in 

German schools. These now native children of 

Germany grasp that they, too, are in fact eligible 

for the bounty of equal rights and boundless 

opportunity in the lands that have inherited 

them - the lands of their birth. 

These children of immigrants are not immigrants 

any more, but in a single generation 

have become natives and citizens. They participate 

in civic activities, sports, and elections, 

demanding their rights not as Turks or Muslims, 

but as German citizens who take their 

constitutional guarantees seriously. 

Germany alone now has 2.6 million Turkish 

citizens or residents, accounting for three percent 

of the population. Some 660,000 have become 

citizens since 1972, but rarely have they 

risen to the top of their professions. That has 

now changed dramatically with a Turkish-German 

head of a major political party that stands 

a chance of sharing power in a coalition with 

Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats. Federal 

elections are scheduled for next September. 

In Germany, the Greens and the Christian 

Democrats already operate an efficient ruling 

coalition in Hamburg, making power-sharing 

at the national level more possible. A Muslim 

woman of Algerian origin is a cabinet minister 

in France – a similar sign of the slow but steady 

integration of citizens of Middle Eastern origin, 

usually Muslims, into European democracies. 

This is exciting and historically profound, 

given the monotone, White Christian heritage 

of Europe that generally has not advertised itself 

as a nation that welcomed immigrants on a large 

scale. American and European democracies are 

showing their best faces these days. 

Rami G. Khouri is Editor-at-large of ‘The Daily 

Star’ and Director of the Issam Fares Institute 

for Public Policy and International Affairs at the 

American University of Beirut, in Beirut, Lebanon. 

10 


[ INVESTMENT ] 

A Historic Year 

“Most economists believe we’re in a recession that will last until the end of March. It will 

end as soon as people have confidence in their abilities and not the market.” 

[ By ArchISMAN DINDA ] 

Every year has its vicissitudes, but 2008 

will go down in the history books like 

no other year. The extreme volatility 

witnessed by the Indian bourses cannot be 

compared to any other time and the effect of 

these swings was felt all over the globe. 

It all started with the sub-prime crisis in the 

United States. As foreign capital fled, and confidence 

evaporated, the emerging world’s stock 

markets have plunged (in some cases losing 

half their value) and currencies tumbled. The 

seizure in the credit market caused havoc, as 

foreign banks abruptly stopped lending and 

stepped back from even the most basic banking 

services, including trade credits. News 

poured in about the global banking crisis, and 

stocks all over the world started plummeting 

and naturally the Indian bourses followed. 

Media savvy analysts who used to flaunt 

their ideas at any given opportunity are today 

stumped. “We have little to say as we ourselves 

are not confident as to what’s next,” said one in 

self-defense. Another added, “These are difficult 

times like no other and any prediction 

can turn out to be a predicament.” Time magazine, 

in its October 13th issue described what 

it called ‘The New Hard Times’. But investors 

are finding it hard to swallow this drainage 

of wealth, especially those who entered 

the markets thinking it was a one-way street. 

“If they are shy to predict then are we at the 

mercy of God in such times?” asked Pritam 

Kaur, a trader who entered the market for the 

first time in his life this year. Whether we are 

at the mercy of the Almighty is a debatable 

question, but the internet is full of predictions 

made on the basis of astrological charts using 

a plethora of techniques. However, many like 

me question the very basics of such forecasts, 

but it’s good to see that hope still floats. “It 

does,” quips an investment banker. “The old 

theory of whatever goes up must come down 

is true and so is the reverse of it.” 

But many believe the market is already 

showing specks of recovery and it can be 

a harbinger of things to come. The stock 

market historically bottoms out about three 

months before a recession ends. As we noted 

earlier, most economists believe we’re in a 

recession that will last until the end of 

March. “It will end as soon as people have 

confidence in their abilities and not the 

market,” said Ketan Sharma, a stock broker. 

“The confidence has hit rock-bottom and 

panic seems to rule as people are doing 

all that they can to save money. A wellknown 

battery manufacturer has declared 

he will not send out any New Year’s greetings 

cards this time. Though this may 

be an extreme form of austerity, all such 

measures are hurting other industries like 

the advertising industry, and the music 

industry. “These are common symptoms of 

panic when people go back to the old belief 

of savings equal to earnings, but in the long 

term it is earnings that make things work,” 

added another analyst of India Inc. 

But the primary question that still 

remains unanswered is, what does a small 

retail investor do who has put in hardearned 

savings into the stock market hoping 

for a better future? Patience seems to 

be the new buzz word in such times, and 

that’s the advice to people already inside 

the juggernaut. No one knows when the 

stocks will hit bottom and if at all, when 

the market will find the rocks to rest on. 

Volumes of research have proved that not 

even the pros can figure that out with any 

consistency. In the first 40 days of a new 

bull market, stocks typically regain a third 

of what they lost during the bear phase, 

according to Standard & Poor’s. Miss 

that and you’ll feel like you got trampled. 

Moreover, if you’re out of the market when 

the rebound kicks in, the damage to your 

future financial well-being could be severe. 

Also, make sure that the stock portion of 

your portfolio hasn’t become overly tilted 

toward ‘defensive’ sectors such as consumer 

staples and health care. During unstable 

times, these stocks usually underperform. 

Gold has never been and never will be out 

of vogue when it comes to Indian women, 

so for a change you can listen to your wife’s 

call and invest in that timeless metal. 

Nevertheless, like all dark clouds this 

too has its silver lining for this country’s 

economic system. “The world banking system 

will soon follow us and conservatism, 

when it comes to lending, will become the 

new mantra for bankers all over, as countries 

now scour for ways to nationalize its 

banks,” said a banker of a nationalized bank 

in New Delhi. 

Hope is a tricky word. It cannot unleash its 

power by itself but it can make the world go 

round through its omnipresence in you. One 

man has shown that he can unite a country 

torn by very many crises with the old political 

promise of ‘Change’. So here’s hoping for a 

change in fortune in the year ahead. 

Happy New Year! 

Archisman Dinda is a freelance writer 

based in Calcutta. 

12 


[ FINANCIAL CRISIS ] 

The problem of fear 

“Monetary easing, fiscal benefits or cajoling customers with price-cuts 

will not work unless the moot problem of fear gripping 

the consumers is not tackled.” 

[ By DAkSeSh PARIkh ] 

It is interesting to see how the impact of 

the ‘made-in-America’ crisis is drawing 

reactions from various countries. In 

India, like elsewhere in the world, the 

immediate solution was to ease the money 

supplies in the system. The Reserve Bank 

of India acted almost immediately to ensure 

that the economy did not get trapped into a 

liquidity crisis. 

It eased regulations on the cash reserve 

ratio, eased regulations on foreign borrowings 

and opened windows to enable banks to 

borrow and have more liquid funds at their 

disposal to meet the credit requirements of 

the borrowers. When the monetary measures 

failed to spur growth it was left to the finance 

minister to play his part. 

Speaking at the India Economic Summit 

organized by the World Economic Forum 

and Confederation of Industry, Finance 

Minister, P C Chidambaram told Indian 

companies to reduce prices to induce 

demand and boost growth. “ Hotels must 

cut tariffs, airlines must cut prices, real 

estate must cut rates of apartments, car 

makers and two-wheelers must cut prices,” 

he extorted the industry promising to look 

at exploring the possibility of reducing 

excise duties to help speed up the pace of 

growth in the economy. 

Speaking on the day after the fifth death 

anniversary of Milton Freidman, the US 

economist and a strong proponent of laissezfaire 

economy, Chidambaram’s remarks 

expectedly drew howls of protests from 

Indian industrialists. Rahul Bajaj, chairman 

of Bajaj Auto, known for his outspokenness, 

rejected Chidambaram’s suggestion saying 

that price reduction was not possible at 

present, “nor is it a solution to the industry’s 

current woes.” 

Brij Mohan Lal Munjal, chairman of 

Hero Honda, the largest two wheeler selling 

company in India also questioned the 

suggestion saying that in face of mounting 

fuel prices and minimum labour charges it 

was not possible to bring down the prices of 

their products. Airlines also scoffed at the 

suggestion as did property developers. 

Kushal Pal Singh of DLF the country’s 

largest realtor was also unhappy about the 

suggestion. Other realtors also said that the 

government should reduce the prices of 

land if it wanted to make houses affordable 

for the middle-class. 

Chidambaram’s suggestions and the 

immediate responses from the industry 

may not translate into any action. However 

the debate which it has raised may continue 

for a long time in India. Can lowering 

prices and easy availability really stimulate 

spending by consumers? Currently 

consumers in India like elsewhere are 

holding on to their cash. 

Replacement demand of ageing vehicles 

have been put off, as has the spending on 

durable goods. All of which is getting 

reflected in the lower growth seen in the 

index of industrial production (IIP) which 

during the first six months of the fiscal, 

April-September, has halved to 4.9 per 

cent. The corresponding period in 2007 

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has witnessed a double digit growth. The 

automobile industry mirrored a decline 

in the month of October and going by the 

trends, is unlikely to see any significant 

changes in the coming months. Realty 

sector has also seen massive destruction in 

demand with sales falling sharply. Prices 

have not come down significantly as yet but 

analysts feel that it will be a matter of time 

before prices of this asset class also come 

down sharply, especially in the urban areas 

where prices have spiraled by as much as 

300-500 per cent over the last five years. 

As of now, realtors have tried to ringfence 

their profit margins and resisted all 

moves to cut prices. One leading realtor in 

Mumbai reasoned, “Even if we were to cut 

down the prices from Rs.18000 to Rs.14000 

per square feet, there is no certainty that 

demand will go up proportionately.” 

The same could well be true of other 

industries. The government may well pump 

in money, offer reasonable interest rates to 

borrowers but it cannot force consumers 

to go out and buy goods, even if they are 

available at lower rates. It is not money or 

lack of it which is keeping consumers away 

and slowing down growth in the economy. 

Nor it is dwindling exports. 

Exports after all account for less than 15 

per cent of the GDP in the country. The 

real factor which is keeping consumers from 

spending is FEAR. Fear about what could 

possibly unfold in the future. And Indians 

being what they are, they would try and 

save for a rainy day. Salaried people who 

have fears of being laid off try to conserve 

cash not knowing if the next month’s salary 

will be coming or if it comes, will it come 

on time or will it come in installments. 

Small businessmen would similarly defer 

giving goods on credit fearing further price 

reduction and the fear that the buyer may 

not honour his commitments. 

And there have been stunning price 

reduction in metals and chemicals. Sulphur 

for instance which was quoted around 

$846 per metric tonne has dipped to $46 

throwing calculations of all chemical dealers 

in Western India out of gear. Sulphuric acid 

prices have come down from Rs 15.50 per 

“ 

The real factor 

which is keeping 

consumers from 

spending is FEAR. 

Fear about what 

could possibly unfold 

in the future. And 

Indians being what 

they are, they would 

try and save for a 

rainy day. Small 

businessmen would 

similarly defer giving 

goods on credit 

fearing further price 

reduction and the 

fear that the buyer 

may not honour his 

commitments. 

” 

liter to Rs 1.50 per liter. Price decline in 

crude oil and Naptha are too well known 

to be mentioned here but it is this erratic 

price movement which has instilled fear 

in the minds of producers and consumers 

alike. Project funding becomes difficult as 

investors are spooked about the feasibility of 

the project after it goes on stream. 

In a metric of risk-returns if the 

lender feels that the risk is unduly high 

in proportion to the foreseeable returns, 

he will either try to back out or if he does 

go ahead with funding would demand a 

much higher risk premium. The issue is 

not about whether the government in such 

times should look at changing itself into 

a progressive welfare state or adopt a total 

hands-off approach and restrain interference. 

Both are totally unfeasible alternatives given 

the gloom and doom situation fast pervading 

every sector in the economy. 

The root cause is fear. Fear about the 

present and fear about the uncertain 

future. Reports about companies going 

in for massive layoffs, banks going bust, 

stock markets continuously seeking lower 

bottoms, projects being shelved, salaries 

being cut: there are enough negatives to 

provide naysayers with uninterrupted 

fodder. When fear starts becoming the 

universal currency, quickly replacing 

trust, one can see panic building up 

around the globe. And this could well 

spur more protective tendencies amongst 

governments as they try to protect their 

own constituencies from getting hurt. If 

this were to happen global trade could 

shrink still further. And in the process hurt 

emerging markets even more. 

Thankfully rational individuals at the 

helm of the affairs understand the problem 

and may not allow things to get out of 

hand. Right now, however, it is difficult to 

see what the government can do to replace 

the currency of fear. Talking to the public, 

clearly does not work. Politicians neither 

in the country or elsewhere command 

the respect of the common people, and 

are unable therefore to be able to instill 

confidence in the economy. 

There are certainly no world leaders. Even 

if the promises were to be backed by actual 

fiscal and policy changes and concerted 

action were to be taken by the governments 

acting in cohesion, it would take quite a while 

before the effects start being felt. In such a 

scenario one can only wait to allow the events 

to play out its full course. Let us not fool 

ourselves. Times are bad and may continue 

to remain so for some more months. 

Daksesh Parikh, the Executive Editor of 

Business India, is based in Mumbai. 

16 


[ GuPtara GaraMaGaraM ] 

An Indian’s Open Letter 

to President Obama 

“The parallels to the end of the previous phase of globalisation, in 1873, are chilling. 

Let us not make the same mistakes. Let us move towards a form of capitalism which 

includes the possibility of a humane future for everyone in the world by means of a 

global level playing field for capitalism.” 

[ By Prabhu GuPtara ] 

F 

rom your Administration, a fresh 

impetus towards open markets would 

be most welcome. The alternative 

to free trade is protectionism, which will 

ineluctably result in conflict - or war. 

The parallels to the end of the previous 

phase of globalisation, in 1873, are chilling. 

Let us not make the same mistakes. Let us 

move towards a form of capitalism which 

includes the possibility of a humane future 

for everyone in the world by means of a global 

level playing field for capitalism. The Achilles’ 

heel of the current phase of globalisation 

was the WTO’s deliberate avoidance of a 

level playing field - though the problem was 

compounded because of the pre-existing 

tendency to debasing money (“inflation”). 

Right now, the world faces an 

unprecedented crisis whose true 

dimensions are being systematically 

ignored or underplayed. 

The heart of the global problem is not 

currency misalignment or inter-bank 

liquidity or toxic assets - these are all 

important, but the key challenge is the 

derivatives/hedge funds/ credit default 

swaps (CDS) industry, whose global overhang 

is $1,144 Trillion (or 1.14 Quadrillion). That 

is as much as 23 times the total quantity of 

actual wealth in the world - Global GDP 

only amounts to some $50 Trillion. Even if 

we mark such trades at 5% of their value, as 

is usual, that still makes these trades roughly 

equal to world GDP. 

In other words, the mass of outstanding 

CDS/Derivative/Hedge Funds cannot 

be supported by all the money that all the 

governments in the world can provide. 

Moreover, in view of the current low appetite 

for long-term bonds, it is not at all clear whether 

governments will be able to raise the quantity 

of money that has already been promised. So 

it is possible that some 30 countries are already 

bankrupt or well on the path to bankruptcy. 

Much more radical and substantial action 

is therefore needed. Any analysis of the 

contemporary phase of globalisation (the 

last 20 years or so) shows that our global 

economic system suffers from alarmingly 

large booms and busts. These may be 

inevitable, but intelligent ways are well 

established in the research literature for 

smoothing both booms and busts. High 

growth is always politically attractive, but 

it is much more important for growth to be 

sound, otherwise the illusion of so-called 

growth is quickly exposed as being hollow. 

Here, therefore, are some key proposals: 

1. 1 As the purpose of CDSs was to provide 

insurance, and it is clear that insurance 

cannot in reality be provided by these at 

present, all CDSs should immediately be 

declared illegal, and the challenge of the 

actually-existing non-insurance should be 

met by government commitments to provide 

minimum insurance, but no more - that is, 

insurance that would enable all companies 

that were “going concerns” (say, at the end 

of September 2008) to continue trading. 

The initial amounts invested, provided 

those were before say 30 December 2007, 

could be returned to the original investors. 

The consequences for governments and for 

companies need to be worked out in detail 

but those could be good broad principles 

on which to act, essentially unwinding as 

safely as possible the huge industry which 

should never have come into being in the 

first place, at least on this sort of scale. 

2. 2 Derivatives and hedge funds have two 

purposes: (a) to provide insurance and (b) to 

provide speculative gain. The first function 

should, in accordance with item 1, also be 

taken over on a similarly minimum basis 

by governments, while all hedge fund and 

18 


[ GuPtara GaraMaGaraM ] 

derivative activity which was oriented towards 

speculative gain should be immediately 

declared illegal, and compensation should 

be provided to the extent of returning the 

amounts originally invested. 

3. 3 All future speculative financial activity 

(hedge funds, derivatives, CDSs...) should be 

regulated by means of (a) standard templates 

(developed by the financial services industry) 

which provide transparency, measurability, 

gradeability and accountability, and (b) 

registration on, and sale exclusively through, 

a recognised exchange. At least seven 

global exchanges need to be established 

and maintained by law – competition is an 

important principle to uphold, specially 

when the scale is so enormous. 

4. 4 The different types of financial 

activity (insurance, commercial banking, 

retail banking, investment banking, asset 

management...) should be separated by new 

global laws, so that speculation cannot be 

carried out with money originally supplied 

for other purposes. Certainly leveraged 

betting should be banned. 

5. 5 In order to make rescues of companies by 

governments viable, no company’s turnover 

should be allowed to grow to a size of more 

than 0.5% of the GDP of the country where it 

is registered. As soon as any company is within 

20% of that range, it should be required by law to 

start planning to spin out parts of the company; 

if a company does not do so, the national 

authorities must intervene with such plans - 

which will in any case go into effect as soon as 

company size does arrive at the borderline. 

6. 6 Countries within the UN, the WTO, 

Bank of International Settlements (BIS) and 

other such global bodies should agree to 

avoid printing more money than is justified 

by their GDP. Debasing a currency can 

provide a short-term spurt to an economy, 

but sound money is essential if solid growth 

is to take place. Any country violating this 

principle should be considered to have 

disqualified itself from belonging to the 

community of civilised countries with 

whom trade is possible. 

7. 7 Financial institutions (FIs) currently 

lend 12 times (or more) of the amount they 

actually have in money deposited with 

them. The greater the proportion that they 

lend, the more vulnerable they are to lack 

of depositor confidence at any time, and the 

consequent possibility of bank runs. FIs 

may therefore not lend more than six times 

the amount of deposits they hold at any 

one time. The rate of credit growth should 

always be below the rate of GDP growth 

for every country within the BIS, WTO, 

and similar treaties. Whenever the rate of 

growth of credit in a country comes within 

20% of the rate of its GDP growth, the 

amount FIs may lend should immediately 

drop to 5 times what they have in deposits. 

Contrariwise, when the rate of GDP growth 

slows to 2% or less, the amount that FIs can 

lend should be increased to seven times 

what they hold in deposits. If the GDP 

growth rate drops to 1% or less, the amount 

that FIs can lend should be increased to 

eight times deposits. The intention of 

such a policy is to be counter-cyclical 

and to be well within safety margins, so 

that it would be unnecessary for FIs to be 

rescued by governments. Variable lendable 

quantity is an important but ignored lever, 

in addition to the equally-important but 

highly-attended-to-lever of interest rates, 

for influencing debt, economic activity and 

sound growth within the global economy. 

8. 8 Tax and other positive and negative 

incentives should be used to discourage 

credit-based growth for individuals, families, 

companies and countries. Instead, investmentbased 

growth should be encouraged. 

9. 9 The current monopoly of currencies 

(Yen in Japan, Dollars in the USA, the 

Pound Sterling in the UK, et al) needs to 

be complemented by currencies which are 

specifically designed to be cycle-dampening. 

The literature on cycle-dampening 

currencies and the experiences with them 

around the world are well known. 

10. As accelerating stock market activity over 

recent years has speeded short-termism, two 

classes of stocks (Long Term and Short Term) 

should be immediately deemed to have been 

created for all publicly-quoted companies, 

and all existing stock holdings should be 

immediately considered to have been divided 

equally into these two classes. New stocks 

may be purchased only in equal quantities 

of Short Term stocks and Long Term stocks. 

Short Term stocks can be traded at any time. 

Long Term stocks may be traded only once 

a year on the date of purchase. This will 

eliminate “day trading” and so slow down 

the rate of economic activity, but at the same 

time enable growth to be much more solidly 

and healthily based. The exact proportions of 

Short Term and Long Term stock issuable and 

purchasable can be varied by global agreement 

from time to time, say every three years. 

11. The 100 richest families in the world may 

be required by law to invest (invest, not donate! 

- whether through existing vehicles or through 

vehicles that develop for the purpose) 2% of 

their total wealth in democratic countries 

that are Least Developed. In addition, the 

1000 richest families in each country may 

be required to invest 1% of their wealth in 

micro-enterprises in their own country, or to 

funds devoted to that purpose. Note that the 

intention is not to encourage micro-lending 

at the sorts of scandalous rates that are 

considered acceptable; rather, the intention is 

to encourage micro-investment. 

12. Regulatory arbitrage around the globe 

should be immediately prevented through 

global frameworks, global minimum 

standards and global approaches to health, 

safety, pensions, minimum income, 

environmental protection, and tax (for the 

last, minima and maxima can be established 

depending on the level of achievement of a 

country). If a level playing field cannot be 

established around the world straightaway, 

there should at least be rational and agreed 

principles on which different levels of 

playing fields are recognised and established 

from time to time. 

CAVEATS: Whether or not any or all of these 

proposals find favour, the vast majority of 

people in the world would deem the following 

to be completely unacceptable – attempts to 

form a world government and attempts to 

create a world currency. 

This is because we view such things as 

constituting, or at least laying the foundation 

for a slide towards, global totalitarianism. 

The world has had 20 years of casino or jungle 

capitalism. On the rebound, there is a real 

danger that there will be a temptation to rush 

into authoritarianism. 

Global stability and sound global growth 

are essential. But these can only continue on 

a secure footing if we conserve and nurture 

political, economic, fiscal, financial, business, 

social, religious, ideological and lifestyle 

freedoms around the world. 

Professor Guptara writes here in 

a personal capacity. His website is: 

www.prabhu.guptara.net 

THE INTERNATIONAL INDIAN 19

[ DEsH Aur DiAsporA ] 

Are Diaspora Indians 

Different? 

How do we change when we leave our country? Or do we resist change and cling to the 

old ways we were used to back home? Do we eventually realize change is inevitable and 

how do we cope or adapt? How do we get the best from the different worlds we move in? 

TII interviews NRIs who have moved around the globe and picks up their insights. 

“A cultural revolution is a decisive break from the shared 

meanings of the past.” 

- Sociologist Daniel Yankelovich 

[ By FrAnk rAj ] 

Living abroad for nearly four decades now I often ponder 

over what happens to Indians after we exit India and the 

many ways our lives are transformed in our videshi home 

away from home. Life outside our country is so different. In my 

own case for the most part I am glad I adjusted in some important 

ways, but there are also parts of my Indianness where I have 

steadfastly avoided or resisted change. Some obvious aspects 

are language skills, for instance - my diction is much clearer for 

interacting in international work environments, East or West I 

am comfortable in my skin and I can adapt but I keep my Indian 

accent for the most part. Indian food is no longer my exclusive 

preference but I must have the basic dal-rice combination regularly 

(preferably with achar, papad, sabji and fish fry!); the lure of India is 

constant and so is my yearning to return, though TII’s existence 

will always require one foot to dangle in the Diaspora. When it 

comes to faith in the Creator I’m convinced being in community 

with all nationalities and respecting people of all backgrounds is 

important in our common search for the Truth. I still long for the 

kind of friendships I’ve had mainly with Indians and the longing 

for my childhood yaars and scattered friends in Delhi, Chennai 

and elsewhere never leaves me. 

Indians are now so far flung across the world and their experiences 

so varied that a magazine like TII is ensured of a constant stream of 

diverse worldviews to evaluate and gain insights into how we cope 

as residents of a global community. TII interviewed a cross section 

of individuals to find out more about life in the Indian Diaspora. 

Among NRIs the world over, the American desi is probably more 

caricatured than anyone else but until recently the US was also the 

Anil Kumar with his son Vikram: We are what we allow people to think of us 

22 



preferred destination for most Indians. Anil 

Kumar, Managing Director of Dubai based 

Futech Software Solutions, an Al Futtaim 

group company, lived the American dream for 

many years as a successful IT entrepreneur 

in California’s Silicon Valley. Unlike many 

Americanized Desis, here’s nothing phoney 

about Anil, who combines the influence of an 

Indian naval officer father, with sheer Indian 

prowess and chutzpah. It is the typical story 

of scores of middle class Indians, who easily 

adapt to life in America and seize the kind 

of opportunities that put them in the highest 

income brackets anywhere they go. 

Anil makes interesting points of 

comparison between NRIs in the Gulf and 

America. “Indians in the US desire to change 

their accents and want become American as 

opposed to merely adapting to the American 

way of life. However in the Middle East, 

NRIs are quite content to stay the Indian 

course and live the Middle Eastern dream 

without changing their attitude or accents. 

But they do adopt this vociferous appetite 

to save and accumulate wealth for the day 

they return to India or retire,” he notes. “The 

American desi, is quite happy to pursue the 

Green card and meld into the multi- cultural 

American dream.” Paradoxically Indians also 

seem to Americanize themselves at a much 

slower rate than other immigrants in USA 

including the Chinese. 

Anil and family have tried relocating to 

India and found that after their 10 year stint 

in America it was hard to adjust. “Especially 

since we have an autistic boy; India we 

realized is not very ‘disabled friendly,’ and 

apart from some of the physical aspects, the 

stares and questions from concerned ‘well 

wishers’ (many total strangers), people just 

don’t leave you alone.” We Indians are a nosy, 

interfering lot and many of us could find it 

hard to understand Anil’s stand when he 

says, “Honestly we prefer being left alone, 

which the West allows, plus the investment 

and facilities for the challenged are pretty 

well thought through and often more than 

adequate. The school systems especially are 

well structured for kids needing special care. 

India is however far from ready on this front, 

even with acceptance, so parents are left to 

fend for ourselves and discover our own ways 

to make arrangements.” 

He is reluctant about going back even for a 

Vinod Bhatia (second from left): The lack of exposure to the western world make Indians in India more narrow 

minded than their counterparts in the Diaspora 

vacation now, “India as a holiday has ceased 

to be a passion, because you tend to need 

another holiday to recover. Pampered as 

I may sound, the Middle East is quite a bit 

more relaxing and orderly if you are looking 

for a break. Now we experiment with various 

cultures and experiences, having racked up 

visits to over 40 countries in our quest to be 

global citizens.” 

Assessing Indian ideas he is of the opinion 

that, “A basic middle class value system 

bound by years of subjugation has resulted 

in a society that is aware and sometimes 

shaped by an attitude of ‘what our family 

and neighbours will think’. Indians tend 

to centre their actions on the needs of the 

‘family first’ and do tend to be relatively 

less self-centred in one’s approach. Personal 

integrity and the need to earn every cent, 

spend wisely and of course saving for the 

future is high on the agenda.” 

Anil is totally inspired by his parent’s 

views that the world was never meant to 

have boundaries. It paved the way for his 

acceptance and tolerance of every other 

philosophy, race, religion, ideology and 

the basic acceptance of another human 

being the way they are shaped by their 

experiences and backgrounds. 

But what about the fact that we Indians 

are a diverse bunch, how does he deal with 

his South Indian roots for instance? “We 

were brought up as ‘Indians’ and the South 

Indian tag never really stuck. But speaking 

four Indian languages (three being south 

Indian languages), the bond of being able 

to communicate and understand body 

and verbal language of a fellow ‘Southie’ is 

inevitably a good feeling,” he admits. 

Yet Anil does not believe people are vastly 

different, “We are pretty much the same if 

we behave as though we are the same,” he 

explains enigmatically. “If we put people 

on a pedestal or look down upon them, the 

experience is altered to that extent. We are 

what we allow people to think of us. If we 

blame our colour, and allow someone to walk 

over us, we get trampled on. Those amongst 

us who do not allow skin colour to dictate 

the status quo, or allow bias of any sort to 

permeate are the ones who are not affected. 

Racism is just another form of discrimination 

and as an Indian, I can’t just pick on race 

based discrimination as a reason to be so 

angry with the world,” he proposes, since 

Indians can hardly point fingers at others. 

“The rest of the world probably sees Indians 

as, intellectual and nerdy, hardworking 

and conscientious by and large, but I think, 

Bollywood is the marketing machine that’s 

buoying the Indian Diaspora, and IT is by 

far the most recognizable contribution across 

the world today. Many Indians unfortunately 

still see things a bit more negatively, and 



Abraham Joseph, Carol & sons Mathew (Left) and Mark (Right): Indians are more reticent in expressing themselves 

keep trying to talk about our culture and 

past glory. The rest of the world has moved 

on. Indians outside India are very driven and 

want to achieve and play down what we see as 

“our shortcomings,” he suggests. “Indians in 

India seem to be coming out of their comfort 

zones now; but they are disadvantaged by 

the lack of international perspective. Overall 

they seem to be a bit more in a time warp, but 

that is purely my personal observation.” 

Echoing Anil’s observations, is Vinod 

Bhatia, Manager Sales, of Expat Properties, 

who was born and raised in Dubai, “I feel 

that the lack of exposure to the western world 

tends to make Indians in India a lil’ more 

narrow minded than those raised abroad. 

However, having said that, I also do feel that 

they are more independent, aggressive and 

ambitious than the pampered youth brought 

up in the Gulf.” 

Most of Vinod’s closest friendships were 

formed during his university days in Texas 

where being away from family, he formed 

strong ties. “My peer group has a greater 

influence because it comprises people from 

different parts of the world and hence I get 

to learn and experience a lot more through 

them rather than family,” he explains. 

Vinod’s worldview is clearly not of the 

typical Indian setting where family influence 

can be stifling; he was fortunate to be nurtured 

in a home where he was encouraged to think 

for himself. He finds Indians abroad are more 

broadminded, and observes that, “people 

from the West are more forthcoming, more 

confident, friendlier, not as judgemental, 

and surprisingly are less discriminatory. 

You will find the odd ones who may not be 

as pleasant, but that’s just one in many. Our 

own countrymen tend to have an inferiority 

complex which is like shooting yourself in 

the leg when you are out there running in 

the real world.” 

Not surprisingly Vinod’s future plans 

exclude India although he likes to visit. “I 

would not be able to cope with the infinite 

variance –the lifestyle, the conditions and 

various other factors would deter me from 

ever settling there,” he admits, pointing also 

to what many NRIs would agree. “Indians 

within India tend to be more racist than those 

out of India. Indians abroad are in touch with 

various nationalities day in and day out and 

hence they do not tend to feel inferior or 

superior to anyone.” 

Still a bachelor, Vinod considers Indian 

women to be more family-centric and 

sacrificing when it comes to caring about 

the home. “Western women tend to be 

more independent and hence many-a-times 

personal goals and achievements are on 

par with family in terms of priorities,” he 

observes. Vinod is probably a good example 

of how the Diaspora’s influence is stronger 

in some aspects and the confidence and 

preference many NRIs have about remaining 

“ 

indians within india 

tend to be more racist 

than those out of india. 

indians abroad are 

in touch with various 

nationalities day in 

and day out and hence 

they do not tend to feel 

inferior or superior to 

anyone. 

” 

overseas. It is a scenario especially common 

with young Gulf Indians who consider the 

region home even though citizenship is not a 

privilege available to expatriates in any Gulf 

country. 

As someone who has spent considerable 

time outside India, Abraham Joseph, Senior 

General Manager, Gulf, Middle East & 

North Africa of Jet Airways believes that 

exposure makes people change. “You meet 

different nationalities, you work with them, 

interact and socialize with them and this 

gives you a different perspective than what 

you were used to while living in India. You 

also get to know quite a bit about each others’ 

cultures and you learn to appreciate all 

this, which helps you shed your prejudices 

and look at things more rationally,” he 

explains. “Language has no influence in our 

friendships. Our close friends are those we 

are comfortable with and those with whom 

we can have a good time. My wife Carol and 

I have a mix of nationalities as friends.” 

Abraham’s feelings for India are strong 

and he plans to relocate there eventually. “I 

feel wonderful about India….and I feel it’s a 

great country. I’ve been to quite a number of 

countries and lived in Europe and Canada. I 

strongly feel that India is no less as a country 

than many European countries. Every 

country has its own problems to handle in 

a way best suited for that place. India does 

the same. Many say that there is a lot of 

24 



bureaucracy in India; but there is a lot of 

bureaucracy in Europe (where I have lived) 

as well! It’s not a bad thing; it’s just the way 

the world is. Moving back to India? Yes I will, 

but not yet. When my wife and I are ready, 

yes, we will.” 

Indian professionals who thrive in 

different worlds are people the international 

marketplace increasingly has to acknowledge 

are a force to reckon with. They are 

independent thinkers who can hold their 

own in any situation. “I am glad that I have 

my own world view which is not necessarily 

influenced by family or friends,” says 

Abraham. “Our friends have their own views 

of the world; sometimes we agree and at times 

we do not. This makes for good discussion 

when we meet.” He thinks westerners 

generally have a ‘PhD’ in small talk and it 

helps break the ice; Indians are quieter by 

nature till they get to know people better. 

“They follow a more cautious approach, 

unlike western men and women who believe 

in strong expressions of like and dislike, love 

and affection and rightly or wrongly do not 

shy away from public display of their feelings. 

Indian men and women are more reticent in 

expressing themselves.” 

Being in the airline industry for several 

decades, Abraham has plenty of experience 

observing international business paradigms. 

“On the work front I have heard many people 

say that westerners make good bosses. This 

may be because they respect your privacy 

and personal time. But these days, with 

globalization, and exposure to various 

cultures, Indians too have caught on to better 

management techniques and do well in 

many spheres of management,” he points out. 

“Indians are now recognized as professionals 

- bankers, doctors, economists, IT geniuses, 

scientists etc., and are considered the finest 

in the world. The “crab mentality” among 

Indians is also something you see less and 

less these days. Indians are everywhere in the 

world, and they take on various interesting 

identities. But generally they are viewed as 

very peaceful people, hardworking, family 

oriented with a great sense of pride for who 

they are,” he submits. 

Abraham’s view on racism can be helpful to 

those who may not have considered his take on 

the issue. “Racism is not the color of one’s skin 

or a person’s nationality,” he believes. “It’s a 

question of being able to assimilate with people 

Ashok Noah with wife Sona and daughter Andrea: 

Our closest friends are those with whom we share our faith 

of a different upbringing, a different way of life, 

different thinking etc. I don’t think my wife or 

I have ever been subjected to “racism” in any 

way. We have lived outside India for over 33 

years and developed an “international feel” of 

things. There are a large percentage of Indians 

in India who have been able to cultivate this as 

well. Those who have not may need to make a 

serious effort to understand different cultures 

that exist. I think resident Indians are more 

prone to sticking to caste / creed notions than 

non- resident Indians, who because of their 

exposure overseas are less inclined to follow 

this attitude.” 

Ashok Noah Director of Finance and 

Administration, Americas, Middle East 

and Africa, who has been with TNT for 24 

years is of the opinion that, “One does need 

a common language to relate with other 

people,” “English usually has been that 

language for us.” Ashok points out there are 

certain ‘clicks’ one notices in society, and in 

some instances language is the factor that 

brings people together - The French, Italians 

and Germans in particular. “I have not seen 

that with people from the UK or the USA,” 

says Ashok who is a Tamilian but not one to 

cling to any particular community, a view 

equally shared by his Punjabi wife Sona. 

Two decades ago when Ashok first moved 

overseas, he had no idea that being Indian 

made one a second class citizen in most of the 

Arab world and in the West. “My attitude to 

being an Indian changed – all of a sudden, 

for the first time, it dawned on me that I was 

not considered as good as the ‘white’ man. 

Ashok realised then that one gets a wider 

perspective of the world only when you move 

out of your own country. 

Despite that experience, Ashok’s view is, 

“Racism exists, but only to a certain degree. 

Some of it is in our minds, how we approach 

and live our lives and some of it is blatant and 

obvious. The worst kind of racism is the one 

that is practiced by Indians giving preference 

to the ‘white’ man. “I have seen this both 

in India and outside. I have also seen many 

Indians trying to distance themselves from 

being called Indian.” 

Some of his experiences may have 

influenced Ashok’s friendships. “Our closest 

friends are those we have been able to share 

our faith with. They have not tended to be from 

any particular geographic region, but neither 

have we gone specifically looking for Indians. 

We share our faith in Christ with people from 

many nations and there are no boundaries 

because of our common faith. After living 

many years in different countries I know that 

there are all kinds of people everywhere - we 

are all the same,” he concludes. 

Yet, in Ashok’s experience generally 

he notes that Indians are not as arrogant 

as the people from the West are. If I were 

generalising,” he reiterates, “people from the 

west are more self-centred and selfish; their 

family values are not as strong and we tend to 

respect our parents more than they do.” 

The Noah’s who now live in Long Island, 

New York after long spells in Dubai, Australia 

and England, have pretty much decided to 

make the Diaspora their home and are not 

inclined to return to India. 

Being ‘Indian’ Ashok notes is a hard thing 

to grasp. “Much of being Indian is about 

sharing a common experience, language, 

challenges, cricket, and perhaps the kind of 

patriotism my father an officer in the Indian 

Air Force instilled in us, but I am not quite 

sure if Indians feel as patriotic today.” 

As much as Indians in the Diaspora adjust 

and adapt, make videsh their home and find 

peace with all the transformations in their 

lives, it seems that ‘being Indian’ and all that it 

entails, will continue to be pervasive in their 

psyche, no matter how dynamic. 

Frank Raj is the Founder Editor 

of The International Indian. 








































































































































































































































































































[ ROOTS ] 

Life lessons through 

tough times 

“The reason I share these experiences is because I believe that there are many 

teenagers who face similar situations. No one is perfect.” 

[By PRiya PhiliP MaThEWS ] 

When someone asks you who are 

you, how would you respond? 

I’m Priya Philip Mathews, 

Indian National. I’m a student of Bachelors’ 

Degree in Business Administration, studying 

in Troy University, Sharjah Campus. 

Where are you from? 

I’m from India. I lived and studied at 

Bangalore at boarding school, from the age 

of 6 to 16. 

Where do you feel you belong? 

Though born in UAE and brought up 

in India, I truly feel I belong with my 

parents, wherever it may be. They are the 

source of my existence and they need me 

as much as I need them. Nonetheless, 

I do miss India and its colourful 

traditions and lifestyle, which has always 

brightened every corner of my heart. Yet 

I can adapt to any kind of environment. 

How would you define your roots? 

My foundation and support comes from my 

family - parents and brother. Being away 

from them for so many years has been quite 

difficult for me and I missed them a lot. But 

those years of my stay in India has actually 

taught me many facts and realities of life. I 

faced many hardships during my school days, 

but it helped me to grow stronger and bolder; 

and my moral values, discipline came from 

both family and school. I discovered many 

skills and talents that I wasn’t aware of. 

Your attitudes on the world and life - 

where do you get that from? 

Priya Philip Mathews: Those years in India taught me 

many facts and realities of life 

My attitudes evolve through my life 

experiences. Let me share with you a short 

story of my life experience back in India 

which has shaped some of my attitudes 

today. I was sent to India because my parents 

believed the education there was better and 

I would have opportunity to relate to people 

of the same origin and receive an upbringing 

as that of an Indian child. I was a bright 

student during my primary school level and 

was pretty much liked by all my teachers. 

But as I entered my middle and high school 

level, my teenage years, I began to become 

weak in my academics. It was quite shocking 

for my family and former teachers; and I 

was very upset about what was going on. 

A couple of years went by and most of my 

teachers had given up on me and some even 

taunted me about how stupid I was. That 

was when I really felt the absence of family 

support, love and care. I was often quite 

depressed but never told this to my parents 

because I didn’t want to worry them. My 

parents are very hard working people who 

are both in jobs. Mom somehow managed to 

pay short visits to India, once in six months 

to check on me. One visit which had a strong 

impact was when she came during my 10th 

grade, few months before my boards. My 

brother had also come along with her. My 

teachers complained about my scores, and 

the rest on my activities and I still remember 

the look on their faces. I would never want to 

relive such a day where I had to see tears of 

sadness in my loved ones’ eyes. I broke down 

and felt ashamed of myself. 

What helped you deal with this stress 

and pressure in your life that many 

young people face? 

The next day they had to leave and just 

before they did, mom offered to come and 

be with me for a month during the board 

exams. That was what I needed - that boost 

of confidence and encouragement from my 

family, and their trust in me was so vital to 

me then. I did my best in the exams and made 

them proud. From then on, I did fairly well 

in my courses, and many teachers including 

the principal, supported me and I was able to 

28 


[ ROOTS ] 

talk my heart out to them. They showed that 

they understood how life is to be away from 

family. Their words of hope and trust still 

ring in my head. And maybe because of those 

soothing words, today I am doing extremely 

well in my academics (BBA) as well as 

extracurricular activities. Those years of my 

childhood were painful and disturbing. I had 

even gone to the extent of harming myself 

because of the mental torture I was under 

and the guilt of hurting my family. 

Can you share with us, what life lesson 

you learnt through this experience? 

All this has developed an odd character 

trait in me which I am trying to control 

even today, and that is anger. It has made 

me to extremely short tempered and 

I’ve become too sensitive. The reason 

I share these experiences is because I 

believe that there are many teenagers 

who face similar situations. No one is 

perfect. Every successful person in this 

world must have faced failure at least 

once in their life. My experience has 

taught me that failure is not the end; in 

fact it’s the beginning of second chances. 

How would you describe your 

citizenship? 

I am an Indian citizen. Both my parents 

are Indians. 

Where do you see your future and why? 

I have always been interested in drawing, 

apparel designing and other creative 

work. My ambition is to be a successful 

business woman, probably in fashion 

design. With God’s will and guidance, I 

pray to be employed in a top (management) 

position of a global business enterprise. 

I think I have leadership qualities and 

perseverance to go for what I want. 

What does being global or international 

mean to you? 

The purpose of coming back here was a 

stepping stone for my future plans and of 

course, to reunite with my family. Being an 

NRI and residing in UAE, has helped me 

learn about different lifestyles and cultural 

norms. I love to socialize and interact with 

people, and in the process have made many 

good friends who have taught me about 

different living environments, languages 

and traditions. 

What does being Indian mean to you? 

India being a cosmopolitan nation supports 

mixed cultures, religions, languages and 

traditions, celebrating all kinds of festivals 

together. And being a part of such a 

country is an honour to me. One thing I can 

cheerfully say is that, “INDIA ROCKS”! 

What kind of people do you find it easier 

to relate to? 

I love to socialize and can relate to all 

kinds of people. I’m a person who’s very 

approachable, kind-hearted and helpful. 

I like to make friends, but prefer to keep 

a little distance, post past experiences. 

I believe that ‘distance maintains love’. 

Understanding various lifestyles and 

norms can help people get along better 

with anyone. As an Indian living abroad, 

my horizons have been broadened. 

Communication is the best way to express 

our emotions. 

Priya Philip Mathews is a student at 

Troy University, Sharjah. 

[ hall OF FaME ] 

At a young age itself you can see 

how a person will be when old 

I 

write my column every morning, and 

have been at it for almost 40 years. I 

am at my desk at seven in the morning. 

So the discipline – whatever you do at 

night, you have to be at your desk in the 

morning and write well, and write well, or 

else people will talk about it. 

Unfortunately, most of my colleagues 

are dead. I pick up my old phone book 

and start deleting names that are gone. 

Many have retired. If you do meet some 

of them, they don’t seem interested in life. 

They don’t even read the papers. Maybe 

they were not interested in journalism in 

the first place. I think at a young age itself 

you can see how a person will be when he 

is old. Like people in an office who are 

always making one excuse or the other for 

taking leave. 

BEHRAM CONTRACTOR, journalist, 

born Mumbai, 1930, died 2001 

TII’s Hall of Fame features India’s elderly 

– great, interesting and unusual men and women. 

Excerpted from the book ‘Ageless Mind and Spirit’ 

by Samar and Vijay Jodha 

www.agelessmindandspirit.com 


[ LET’S ASK DR DOBSON ] 

Those difficult 

teen years 

“Sometimes we have to be reminded that the human 

personality grows through adversity... Those who have 

learned to conquer their problems are better anchored 

than those who have never faced them.” 

James C. Dobson, Ph.D., is Founder 

and President of Focus on the Family, a 

non-profit organization dedicated to the 

preservation of the home. His syndicated 

radio programmes are heard on more than 

2,500 broadcasting facilities in North 

America and on over 3,000 facilities in 

over 40 countries. His website www. 

family.org is extremely popular too. Dr. 

Dobson served for 14 years as Associate 

Clinical Professor of Paediatrics at the 

University of Southern California School 

of Medicine, and was an attending staff 

psychologist for 17 years at the Children’s 

Hospital of Los Angeles in the division of 

Child Development and Medical Genetics. 

His first book for parents and teachers, 

‘Dare to Discipline’, has sold over two 

million copies and was selected as one of 

50 titles to be rebound and placed in the 

White House Library. His subsequent 12 

books on the family are also best-sellers. Dr. 

Dobson’s premier film series, Focus on the 

Family, saw immense popularity, and to 

date has been viewed by more than seventy 

million people. Numerous awards and 

honours have marked Dr. Dobson’s lifetime 

of work, including the 1987 Marian 

Pfister Anschutz Award and recognition 

of Distinguished Humanitarian Contributions 

by the California State Psychological 

Association in 1988. 

Our fifteen-year-old daughter is getting 

some rough treatment at the hands of her 

peers these days. She wasn’t invited to a 

party given by a girl who had been her 

best friend, and she cried herself to sleep 

that night. It’s just tearing me up to see 

her hurt like this. Will this experience 

leave lifelong scars on her mind? 

It’s a matter of degree. Most teenagers 

experience a measure of rejection like your 

daughter is experiencing. They typically 

roll with the punches and eventually get 

beyond the discomfort. Others, however, are 

wounded for life by the rejection of those 

adolescent experiences. I suggest you give 

your daughter plenty of emotional support, 

keep her talking, and do what you can to help 

her cope. I think she’ll get her legs under her 

when the pressure of these years has passed. 

Let me address the larger issue here. 

When we see our children struggling with 

the teen experience or other frustrations, 

it’s natural to wish we could sweep aside 

the problems and obstacles. Sometimes 

we have to be reminded that the human 

personality grows through adversity. “No 

pain, no gain,” as they say. Those who have 

conquered their problems are more secure 

than those who have never faced them. 

I learned the value of hard times from 

my own experience. During my seventh 

and eighth grades, I lived through the most 

painful years of my life. I found myself in 

a social cross fire that gave rise to intense 

feelings of inferiority and doubt. And yet 

those two years have contributed more 

positive qualities to my adult personality 

than any other span of my life. What I 

learned through that experience is still 

useful to me today. 

Though it may be hard to accept now, 

your child needs the minor setbacks and 

disappointments that come her way. How 

can she learn to cope with problems and 

frustrations if her early experiences are 

totally without trial! Nature tells us this is 

true. A tree that’s planted in a rain forest is 

never forced to extend its roots downward 

in search of water. Consequently, it remains 

poorly anchored and can be toppled by 

even a moderate wind. By contrast, a 

mesquite tree that’s planted in a dry desert 

is threatened by its hostile environment. It 

can only survive by sending its roots down 

thirty feet or more into the earth, seeking 

cool water. But through this adaptation to 

an arid land, the well-rooted tree becomes 

strong and steady against all assailants. 

Our children are like the two trees in 

some ways. Those who have learned to 

conquer their problems are better anchored 

than those who have never faced them. 

Our task as parents, then, is not to eliminate 

every challenge for our children but to serve as 

a confidant ally on their behalf, encouraging 

them when they are distressed, intervening 

when the threats are overwhelming, and 

above all, giving them the tools they need to 

overcome the obstacles. 

30 


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[ iNtEr-CaStE MarriaGE ] 

Globalisation, Caste 

& Arranged Marriages 

“Globalisation has done much to expand the understanding of ‘marrying within one’s 

own community.’ It has made the arranged marriage options wider, more impressive, 

and much more convenient.” 

[ By Davita Maharaj ] 

Like every girl, I enjoy a good love story. 

However, this one was different. 

As children growing up in Kerala, 

Marcus and Annamma Chacko lived just 

five kilometers apart. Their communities 

never intermingled. Marcus explains, 

“Though we hail from the same place, her 

people and my people had nothing much to 

do with each other because we belonged to 

two different castes.” 

They finally met in Uttar Pradesh. Marcus 

was a guest singer at a music hall where 

Annamma was in the audience. She instantly 

felt an affinity to Marcus when he sang in 

their mother tongue, Malayalam. After a 

three-minute conversation, they parted ways. 

Two years later they ran into each other 

again while working for the same nonprofit 

organization. Though in separate 

departments, they couldn’t help but admire 

each other’s warmth, energy, and passion 

for social justice. 

Mutual friends noticed their compatibility and 

offered to arrange a marriage, but they resisted. 

Marcus recalls, “Elders in the organization 

proposed her to me but I told them, that this 

will never work as we are both from different 

castes.’” Marcus’ leaders promised they would 

defend Annamma and Marcus if caste was the 

main issue and that they would legally fight 

for them, as the Indian constitution allows 

inter-caste marriage.” 

Not wanting to go against their parents, 

Marcus and Annamma Chacko: Marrying outside 

their caste communities 

Marcus and Annamma waited for familial 

support, but to no avail. Annamma’s highcaste 

family remained furious at the prospect 

of her marriage to a Dalit. Marcus was simply 

not an option. 

In the end however, Marcus and Annamma 

consented to their arranged marriage. 

Friends provided food, décor, and beautiful 

wedding saris, but the couple recalls, “We had 

to struggle through uncertainties, threats and 

isolation from immediate family members.” 

Through their marriage, Annamma 

exchanged her family’s stature and community 

for Marcus’ life of humility and simplicity. 

By marrying outside of their caste-based 

communities the Chacko’s broke a cardinal 

imperative of Indian socio-matrimonial 

conventions. Namely, whether arranged 

by friends as was the Chacko’s marriage, or 

arranged by family members as are many 

traditional Indian marriages, TIME South Asia 

bureau Chief Jyoti Thottam writes that the basic 

premise of an arranged marriage is that one 

should marry within one’s own community. 

The Continued Desirability of Arranged 

Marriages 

Arranged marriages are still desirable to 

many (even westernized) Indians for a 

variety of reasons. After surveying over 130 

US-based Indian university students in the 

spring of 2007, some reasons that particularly 

stood out to me were: 

1) For the technologically savvy Generations X and 

Y, the nayan or matchmaker, is now a machine. 

Gone are the days of awkward, stifling, 

über-controlled visits with prospective 

spouses in their parents’ homes. The ability 

to size up candidates is now just a mouse-click 

away. The Indian Diaspora has been quick to 

catch on to this newfound convenience. The 

world’s largest Indian matrimonial website 

currently boasts 800,000+ successes. These 

are often considered arranged marriages, 

since relatives can create the profiles. 

2) The process and definition of an “arranged 

marriage” has changed. 

32 


[ INTER-CASTE MARRIAGE ] 

frozen into their parents’ history books and 

left out of their contemporary lives. 

Annamma exchanged her family’s stature and community for Marcus’ life of humility and simplicity 

The “arranged-love-marriage” is a rapidly 

growing phenomenon among urban Indians. 

Parents find or approve noteworthy 

candidates and then give their children the 

freedom to veto them or meet via “internetcafés” 

and even real cafés, leading to a 

quasi-courtship. 

3) The very nature of globalization heightens 

the desire to return to Indian roots. 

In the global conglomeration of cultures, 

people yearn for communities to which 

they truly belong. Prospective spouses who 

value their heritage and will pass it on to 

future generations are especially desirable. 

4) The high divorce rate in the West, 

combined with the strong Indian stigma 

of divorce, makes Indians cautious of 

love-matches. 

The general consensus is that “love 

marriages” which are often “based on 

emotions” are unreliable. In an arranged 

marriage, the couple is held accountable 

to extended families on both sides. While 

increasing pressure, this brings an enormous 

level of community and family support, 

decreasing the likelihood of divorce. 

However there are those who don’t agree 

with arranged marriages. Sunita Rodricks is a 

Chicago-based Indian who still values much of 

the Indian culture, but opted for a love-marriage 

rather than an arranged one. In doing so, she 

escaped some of the more negative aspects of 

arranged marriages. 

In explaining her reservations with castebased 

arranged marriages, Rodricks says, 

“You can live anywhere in the world and 

profess to be really broadminded, but when 

it comes to your kith and kin, things don’t 

change. Caste matters, not just being a Hindu 

but also being from the proper gotr (sect).” 

She defends love-marriages like her own by 

arguing that, “A love marriage is a different 

matter: here the caste, skin color and dowry 

don’t count. More and more people are opting 

to choose their own spouses but acceptance 

of such marriages is hard and takes time with 

the family. ” 

Simran Mathew, an Indian model living 

in Dubai, couldn’t agree more. She says that 

the “Caste system plays a very important 

role in a Hindu family’s life. I disagree with 

this whole tradition.” She continues, “To 

me it’s like a family basically putting their 

daughter up for sale, which is sad for a young 

girl to go through. And I am sure this whole 

thing goes on all over the world and not just 

in Dubai where there is a huge population 

of Indians. But times have changed and I 

believe this generation is getting bolder, and 

are voicing their opinion to the families.” 

Indeed, many young people would prefer if 

caste, skin color, and the dowry-system were 

Caste Threatens Today’s Arranged Marriages 

Like a stubborn stain on a prized carpet, 

the caste system just won’t seem to wipe 

off of the Indian landscape. It continues to 

haunt India for generations. To illustrate, I 

created two “marriage profiles” on a hightraffic 

arranged marriage website, being 

careful to omit my surname in order to 

conceal my identity. 

In the first profile I posed as a welleducated 

Dalit living in the US. In the second 

profile I included the same interests, physical 

descriptions, and “biodata” that I used in my 

Dalit profile. I changed only one detail: I 

listed my caste as “Brahmin.” 

My first (Dalit) profile received 23 

interests in the first three days; 80% of men 

who viewed my profile did not express an 

interest. My second (Brahmin) profile got 

hundreds of hits from around the world 

within the first day. In fact, my profile 

became so inundated with messages that I 

quickly decided to close it down. I still had to 

deal with my 23 Dalit-profile hits. I emailed 

them, “Thank you for your interest in my 

profile. By the way, I am listed as a Dalit. Is 

this a problem for you or your family?” 

No one contacted me back. Those who 

had shown interest in my profile must have 

not noticed my posted caste; once I pointed 

it out to them they were no longer interested. 

Clearly, among internet-surfing Indians, caste 

still matters… a lot. 

The Economics of Inter-Caste Marriages 

“Matrimonials” websites like the one I used 

above can easily, even unintentionally, keep 

lower castes out, simply by featuring membership 

rates upwards of US $100 per month. 

This is more than one-month’s salary 

for most Indians. As the Wall Street Journal 

recently reported, the average Indian 

still makes around $1000 a year. India’s 

300 million Dalits largely represent this 

underpaid quota. 

In addition to the expenses of going 

digital, the phone bills resulting from today’s 

global arranged marriages can be staggering. 

Thottam recounts how a young riskmanagement 

consultant, who was born in 

India but grew up in Singapore and found her 


[ INTER-CASTE MARRIAGE ] 

husband on matrimonials.com, flew to India 

to marry him after “spending four months 

and US $8,000 in phone bill courting.” 

Then comes the wedding itself. According 

to Reuters India, the average cost of a standard 

Indian wedding is between Rs 3 lakh 

($7500) and Rs 6 lakh ($15,000), which is 

the equivalent of up to 15 times the average 

Indian salary. However, the growing middle 

classes of India often host weddings in the 

upper $20,000s and $30,000s, and upper 

castes in the millions. 

Of course, none of these quotes include 

the dowry. 

Globalization, Dowry, and the Dalits 

“Dowry?” you may ask. “Hasn’t that long 

been outlawed?” 

Well, yes it has. But social-snobbery and 

materialistic greed are just the ingredients 

that India’s dowry system needed in order to 

come back with a vengeance. 

The frequency of dowry-deaths is growing, 

thanks to a rise in India’s materialism. In 2001, 

TIME magazine reported that dowry-deaths 

had grown from 400 a year in the mid-1980s 

to nearly 6,000 a year in the mid-1990s. 

Ten years later in 2005, India’s National 

Crime Record Bureau recorded at least one 

reported dowry death every 77 minutes, 

equaling c. 7,000 dowry deaths in the year. 

However, most dowry deaths are framed as 

accidents and are not investigated, so the official 

statistics are expected to be much greater. 

Abigail Lavin of The Weekly Standard 

explains that there is a strong correlation 

between the rise in dowry-related violence 

and India’s economic boom since India opened 

to foreign investment in 1990. According 

to Lavin, analysts say that, “The country’s 

growing economy exacerbates dowry crimes 

by encouraging a culture of materialism.” 

“For many in India’s growing middle 

class, newfound prosperity has brought with 

it the lure of conspicuous consumption. 

Lavish dowry payments are seen as a way to 

increase a family’s stockpile of luxury items 

and brand-name goods,” she says. 

In short, dowry is the easy way to ride 

India’s wave of the nuvo riche. 

So what does dowry have to do with 

the Dalits? 

John Paulraj, an Indian urban single living 

in Delhi, has witnessed again and again the 

Putting your daughter up for sale or giving her away? 

contemporary usage of dowry, even in the 

marriages of his close friends. 

He explains that there is a strong 

correlation between caste-consciousness 

and dowry-related atrocities. “Whenever 

I think about caste, it’s a status symbol,” he 

says. “It has to do with social status…and the 

reason they don’t want to marry a lower caste 

person has to do with the low dowry and low 

status. Caste matters a lot, but if the Dalit is 

wealthy, this could make up for it.” 

But even if a Dalit has managed to stay in 

school and acquire a good education, to get 

hired for a decently-paying job, and to make 

enough money to be accepted as eligible for 

a decent marriage and dowry, she may not 

live past her wedding day. 

Wedding Crashers in India 

While comedies feature wedding crashing as 

a lighthearted topic, this past February the 

Times of India reported a shocking case of 

wedding crashing in Haryana, where eleven 

upper-caste men crashed the wedding of a 

Dalit’s daughter. 

Not only was the wedding party beaten 

and robbed, but the property of the Dalit 

family was burned. As their land went up in 

flames, caste-based insults condemned them 

for their ‘excessive’ display of wealth (the 

groom had ridden in on a ghodi or horse). 

With the Times of India, Dalit intellectual 

Chandrabhan Prasad explained that “Riding 

a horse carriage during a wedding [showcases 

the couple’s] newfound upward mobility.” 

Prasad has sited this trend of castebased 

wedding revolts not only in Haryana 

but also in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. 

Globalization Hasn’t Changed Caste- 

Based Arranged Marriages… Yet 

A wise sociologist once mused that we must 

choose our mothers carefully. The year 2008 

finds us in an increasingly global society. 

Yet to a large extent the rung of our birth 

still shapes the quality of our education, 

careers, medical care, life expectancy, and 

choice of spouse. 

Talk of India’s economic and technological 

advancements certainly reflects truth, 

but it does not represent the full picture. 

Enchantment with India’s elegant global rise 

masks a darkly shadowed backstage, where 

injustices still persist in the names of caste 

and downright indifference. 

But until now, it seems like most of us would 

rather keep silent, than to disrupt our lovely 

little bubbles of comfort. Our caste-based 

identity disorder has yet to be abolished, 

even in sophisticated online settings. 

As a friend once shared with me over a 

chai, “I often wonder, what would I do if I 

were growing up in Nazi Germany? Would 

I just go along with it all, like all the others 

around me, and not trying to figure out what 

was really going on behind the scenes? And 

assuming I did care enough to find out, what 

then? Would I defend the Jews? Or would I 

just keep silent...” 

She paused and then continued, “Well 

I’m not a girl in Nazi Germany, but I am 

living today. And there are many atrocities 

going on that may or may not end up in 

history books, but that I’m held accountable 

for, because I can find something to do to 

make a difference.” 

So we Indians must observe our society 

carefully. Speak up diligently. Love 

recklessly. Fight (non-violently but) boldly. 

Ultimately, what we choose to do today in 

preparation for tomorrow, and how we choose 

to view – or ignore – a rapidly changing 

world, will not only shape our lives, but also 

the legacy of India for years to come. 

Davita Maharaj grew up in the US, and 

Switzerland, and currently works in California. 

She loves the arts, international development, 

and making frequent visits back to India. 

34 


[ DATING IN URBAN INDIA ] 

The 

Dating 

Dilemma 

Those who do date are not hiding it anymore 

“A significant number of youngsters keep out of the dating game 

because they don’t see the need to go on dates. This is where India differs 

radically from the west. Maybe Indian society is still conservative at heart, 

because casual dating hasn’t caught on in a big way. After all dating usually 

means deceiving your parents.” 

[ By NITA JATAR KUlKARNI ] 

Funny, how dating mores seem to 

change every decade or so. Over ten 

years ago dating was just coming out 

of the closet, and was either considered 

“cool” in some circles or “shameful” in 

others. In today’s metropolitan India, dating 

has taken on a new avatar. It’s not a big deal 

to date anymore, and why should it be when 

more than half of the collegians date? Not 

just that, dating isn’t even as clandestine as 

it was before. 

Priyanka Patel from Bangalore, studying 

her final year Textile Design in Ahmedabad, 

feels that dating has become more open 

and that “people are not hiding it anymore” 

and also that “eight out of ten” college 

students date today. With dating becoming 

widespread, the “cool” tag for those who 

date has also disappeared, if indeed it ever 

existed! 19-year old Varun Raitani from 

Mumbai says, “Dating would be considered 

cool or grown-up if one dated in school but 

in college everyone’s dating.” 

If it’s peer pressure that’s pushing youngsters 

into dating, that’s not what they are saying. 

And the truth is that there are many who 

don’t date and they don’t see it as a problem 

either. Rahul Sengupta, a final year MBA 

student is content with his single state.” It’s 

never been an issue for me or my friends.” He 

feels that it’s all about “one’s own perspective 

towards life and inner conviction.” Vishesh 

Unni Raghunathan, a 12th grade student 

from Chennai believes that dating “is entirely 

a matter of personal choice.” 

A significant number of youngsters keep 

out of the dating game because they don’t 

see the need to go on dates. This is where 

India differs radically from the west. Maybe 

Indian society is still conservative at heart, 

because casual dating hasn’t caught on in 

a big way. After all dating usually means 

deceiving your parents. “Most parents are 

still orthodox, they will never agree to 

relationships,” says Arvind from Chennai, 

who has just completed his engineering. If 

this is the case in metros, it’s more difficult 

in smaller places. Kakoli Shaw, a first year 

M.E. student from Bhilai says, “In a typical 

conservative middle class society like my 

city, I don’t think any student is that close to 

his/her parents that he can tell his parents 

36 


[ DATING IN URBAN INDIA ] 

about this.” Not that she feels that parents’ 

orthodox attitude hampers those who want 

to date. She estimates that dating has gone 

up by “50 percent or so in the last 5 years” 

in Bhilai, although just about a quarter of 

students seem to be dating as of now. 

But whether small town or metro, dating 

is taken seriously and perhaps that’s because 

dating doesn’t mean just “going out” but also 

involves some level of physical intimacy. 

They may be in their teens but these kids 

know that if one crosses the line there could 

be a heavy price to pay. Family relationships 

can sour, reputations can be ruined and 

worse, the bitterness can make things very 

unpleasant between the couple. That is why 

Varun feels that it is important that both 

people feel “no pressure at all” in doing 

what they are doing so that there is no blame 

game and guilt feelings are avoided later on. 

19 year old Simoni Shah from Mumbai also 

makes it quite clear that one needs to be sure 

of what one is doing. “If the relationship does 

not work out, you should not feel violated,” 

she says firmly. 

Not that it’s easy to find privacy. Going to 

each others houses is out of the question as 

parents usually have no idea what their sons 

and daughters are upto. Dating couples in 

India usually have to fall back on public 

places and this can deter some. Rahul 

isn’t comfortable with a public display 

of affection at all, and feels that it is very 

demeaning if one is caught in a park by a 

cop with a baton. 

When it comes to pre-marital sex, no one 

actually said that it was “immoral” or “bad,” 

but for most, going all the way is a no-no. 

Commitment is considered important, but 

even then, most girls are against the idea. 

Kakoli feels that premarital sex should be 

avoided at all costs as it can result in emotional 

trauma if the relationship does not culminate 

in marriage. 

The physical aspect of relationships is 

what gives parents the jitters. Oddly enough, 

the more conservative the parents are, the 

more they tend to push the children away. 

That’s what many youngsters said they had 

observed around them, that the stricter the 

background was, the more likelihood of the 

teens dating, and the less likelihood of the 

parents knowing! Yamini Peddada, who 

Youngsters hanging out together at Mumbai’s Marine Drive: Dating is not a big deal 

has just finished her Law from Mumbai 

feels that “going against the family norms” 

is one of the motives for dating and Rahul 

from Kolkata says, “Generally I have seen 

that people who are from very strict families 

tend to get boyfriends or girlfriends quickly 

just to break free.” 

But having said that, there are other reasons 

why dating is becoming common in the 

metros. Families are becoming more liberal, 

particularly boys’ parents. They are often 

amenable to their son having a girl-friend. 

However the vast majority of youngsters 

hide their relationships from their parents, 

and tell all only if they have to, if they want 

to marry. “They wait for the right time, till 

they get into a stable career,” says Kakoli. 

Parents usually do accept the partner, even 

if reluctantly as long as the partner is from a 

suitable background. Marriage is always the 

desired objective. 

And marriage is what the young are 

thinking about too. Whether it s Rahul, or 

Varun or Yamini, or Arvind, none of them 

believe in casual dating. 

Pretty serious huh? Well, that’s what Indian 

youngsters are like, and it’s probably because 

they are unsure of whether they will find the 

right person via an arranged match, where it is 

the parents who usually make the “shortlist”. 

In India the gap between generations has 

leap-frogged in the last decade or so because 

of the sudden onset of global influences. 

Influences which have touched the teens, but 

left parents quite cold. 

Nita Jatar Kulkarni is a freelance writer 

based in Mumbai. 


[ SEX, LIES & TRUTH ] 

How Men Really Think about Sex 

Discover 3 key insights into the mystery of male sexuality 

[ by PaULa RInEHaRT ] 

1. Sexual Identity 

The best metaphor to describe a man’s psyche 

is that of a seamless fabric. Men see themselves as 

a whole entity. If they feel good about their sex 

life then that sense of adequacy spills over into 

other important parts of their experience. And 

conversely, if their sex life is floundering, then the 

rest cannot be too far behind, they reason. Men 

have much less ability to confine their sexual 

experience into one small part of the whole. 

Ed is a case in point. He claims that inadequacy 

follows him around like a dog nipping at his heels. 

He may be great in a boardroom – but he’s not 

all that good in bed, at least by his assessment of 

his wife’s desire for him. In his mind, it’s only a 

matter of time until others discover that he’s not 

as competent as he’s cracked up to be. He tends 

to measure himself, however unfortunately, by 

how physically connected he feels to his wife. 

Sex is the clearest language he knows and it 

speaks volumes to the whole of him. 

While a woman might say she’s happy in her 

marriage even if the sex isn’t all that great and 

hasn’t been for a long time, her husband would 

tend to say their marriage is in jeopardy. There 

is much more resting on the sexual connection 

– for most men, anyway – because sex says 

more to a man about himself. 

2. Sexual Affirmation 

Clark rises at the crack of dawn to iron the 

police uniform he proudly wears into town each 

day. He never knows what will come his way – 

domestic violence, a routine traffic stop where 

someone pulls a gun, a child lost on streets that 

aren’t safe. He just knows he has to be ready to 

make the right call in an instant. 

Clark would tell you that a good word from 

his police sergeant is music to his ears. He loves 

the work he does. But as he crawls into bed with 

his wife at night, he admits that nothing can 

touch what a warm reception from her means 

to him. Somehow her touch makes the rest of 

the world go away – at least for awhile. 

I have wondered, along with many women I’m 

sure, why sex seems to mean so much to a man. 

How does a tryst so basic, so fundamentally 

simple, cut through all the underbrush of a 

man’s life and touch something at the core of 

him? George Gilder, in his wonderful book, 

Men and Marriage, puts words to this mystery. 

Gilder calls women the “sexually superior” 

gender. By that he means that our bodies mirror 

more about being female. We can give birth and 

breast-feed children – glorious acts of power 

and influence unavailable to men. Our bodies 

can actually house people; they are versatile. 

Only one sexual act – intercourse – reflects to 

a man that indeed, he is a man. And in that act, 

performance is vital. A woman can relate to a 

man sexually whether she is into the experience 

or not. If a man cannot perform sexually, it’s 

a “show-stopper,” as they say. Gilder writes: 

“Men must perform. … The man is less secure 

sexually than the woman because his sexuality 

is dependent on action, and he can act sexually 

only through a precarious process difficult to 

control. For men the desire for sex is not simply 

a quest for pleasure. It is an indispensable test of 

identity (emphasis mine).” 

Every day a man walks into a world that says, 

essentially, “Prove yourself. Prove that as a man, 

you have something worthwhile to offer.” In ways 

both blatant and subtle, a man is evaluated and 

measured and stacked up against the next guy all 

day long. The big question in his mind, conscious 

or not, is whether he is man enough. Does he 

have what it takes to win the contract, win the 

woman, win the war? Sex, then, is not the only 

route to affirmation – but it is surely the quickest 

and most direct one for a man. It is a confirmation 

so deep that it is far more soul-ish than physical 

in nature. Sex means more to a man because, 

indeed, he hears in it a message about himself. 

The way this plays out in a marriage is that 

when a man is turned down in his overture 

for sexual intimacy, it feels more personal 

than seems reasonable to either party. It feels 

like rejection. When it comes to matters 

sexual, a man tends to lose his normal hold on 

objectivity. Other situations he can see clearly. If 

his wife speaks irritably at dinner after she’s had 

a hard day – it’s not about him. If she overspent 

on her credit card, then she’s got a problem she’s 

got to solve. But when he’s denied a bid for sexual 

intimacy, it feels to him as though he, himself, his 

very person, is being rejected. And only after he 

works to get past that awful feeling does he stand 

a chance of hearing that his wife actually does, 

in fact, have a splitting headache. This is, at least, 

the internal process that many men go through. 

3. Sexual Angst 

Each conversation I’ve had with the men 

I’ve counseled brought big “ah-ha” moments 

for me as I’ve listened to them talk about 

their encounters with sexual angst. When a 

man chooses a woman to marry, he knows he 

is limiting his sexual options to her alone. In 

the arms of this one woman, he rests the most 

emotionally vulnerable aspect of his being. 

In talking to couples, a woman’s pain in a 

relationship comes out clearly, and usually 

rather quickly. She longs (and rightly so) for a 

man who will truly hear her and understand 

what she’s up against. “I bare my soul to my 

husband and he just stares at me blankly and 

slowly starts to edge out of the room,” a woman 

may complain. You can sense the pain in the 

betrayal and disappointment she feels. It’s nearly 

palpable sometimes. But often the same woman 

will miss entirely the irony of her situation. Her 

husband feels the same pain just as poignantly – 

only his sense of being overlooked, not wanted, 

not attended to is sexual. 

A major breakthrough in a couple’s life happens 

when they let their personal pain guide them to 

the heart of the other person. The awful way I 

feel when my husband backs out of an important 

conversation is a window into the way he feels 

when his sexual life goes begging. The pain we 

feel, then, can tutor and motivate us to reach 

out and touch the other person in the manner 

for which they long. And wounds long festering 

can start to heal, bit by tiny bit. 

Paula Rinehart is a counselor in Raleigh, North 

Carolina, USA and author of numerous books, including 

her most recent, Strong Women, Soft Hearts. 

38 


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[ LIFESTYLE ] 

Thoda Help, 

Thoda Magic 

“Choosing not to hire help in India may raise a few eyebrows since it is so connected to 

social standing, and everyone else does it. While some people enjoy the convenience and 

freedom of having help around the house, others cannot bear the loss of privacy and the 

difficulty of employer/employee relationships.” 

[ By SarIna MEnEzES ] 

Indians in the West are often looked 

upon with envy or a condescending 

attitude by folks back home but life in 

the West is not always as easy as it seems. 

Most of us follow the routine of wake up in 

the morning, make breakfast and dinner 

beforehand, pack the kids off to school, 

work, return home exhausted, sort the kids, 

dinner, dishes, laundry and then crash in 

for the night with no hope of full time or 

part time servants to help out. What we 

NRIs so fondly miss is the fantastic, well 

oiled domestic support system back home 

that keeps even families in a buzzing city 

like Mumbai sustained. 

This was my second visit to Mumbai 

after moving to London five years ago. 

I could not contain my excitement 

and was looking forward to meeting my 

lovely nanny who has been with our 

family since I was born. 

The next morning as I watched the 

city from the 9th floor of our apartment 

in Powai, business in Mumbai seemed as 

usual. Besides the economic boom that is 

gripping the country, little has changed 

in the infrastructure and support system 

in Mumbai. Within minutes there was a 

knock on the door combined with a single 

ding dong to break that silence. 

Nanny Matty with children 

It’s probably the watchman or doodhwallah to 

drop off some sticky, drippy packets of milk, I 

thought. Unlike England where I now live, in 

India you simply cannot have a day without 

having your doorbell ringing periodically 

with the familiar stream of domestic help to 

get through your everyday chores. 

At around 6:30 am while the 

newspaperwallah swiftly flings ‘The Times 

of India’ at your doorstep and scampers 

away to other households, the watchman’s 

wife (please note that the watchman and 

his wife are all-rounders) trundles in with 

three to four hibiscus flowers in colors of 

red, white or yellow freshly plucked from 

the compound tree or the neighbor’s for 

your morning pooja. 

On a typical school day, while mums are 

40 


[ LIFESTYLE ] 

in a frenzy trying to pack off husband and 

kids, the maid strides into the house. This 

is maid no 1 who is breezy and extremely 

focused on finishing the work in the least 

amount of time and effort. She is meant 

exclusively for getting the clothes sorted, 

doing the breakfast dishes, sweeping and 

mopping. All done within minutes, as she 

has a string of other homes to do, after 

sipping her hot tea! 

As she makes her exit, maid no 2 makes 

her entrance. Now she is only for the top 

work. Dusting, chopping vegetables, folding 

the clothes, putting away the vessels and 

generally hanging around to execute any 

odd jobs! Sometimes you wonder why 

you’ve hired her and sometimes you thank 

God for her looming presence. 

At around 8:00 am the watchman is 

again at the door demanding the keys of 

your vehicle, which stands coated with a 

layer of dust, so that it can be washed and 

wiped squeaky clean. Come 10:00 am and 

the dhobhi is tapping his foot with one arm 

propped on the wall for support, looking 

around the living room and making small 

talk with the maid. He counts aloud as he 

drops your crumpled, wrinkled clothes in 

a pile, bundles them up and hoists it over 

his shoulders yelling out the number and 

he trudges out. 

Its 12 noon and the sabziwallah or 

Dad Arun multitasking 

Debbie sometimes babysits for others too 

machiwalli cries out “greens, onions, potatoes, 

tomatoes…” or “fresh pomfret, prawns and 

mackerels”. Usually he rings your doorbell and 

tries to entice you with “fresh stock” or “the 

early catch”. After a few minutes of haggling 

you walk away with your vegetables and fish 

and he walks away with his few rupees. 

You would think no more visitors after this 

but invariably there is always some minor 

repair that needs to get done ever so often. So 

from 1 pm until 5 pm one can have anyone 

from the plumber to electrician to computer 

serviceman to TV/Music system serviceman 

knocking at your door. So you see, fortunately 

or unfortunately your aides stream in and out 

of your household all day long. 

Fair enough, but what is it like for us in the West? 

Quite the contrast I would think. In 

the West, the concept of servants has 

largely disappeared, if only because of 

economics. Very few can afford to hire 

domestic help. Even the occasional services 

of a baby sitter strain finances. However, 

labor saving devices in the home and a large 

selection of convenience foods in the stores 

have reduced the domestic workload in the 

West considerably. 

Tulika Dugar, 30, who now lives in Seattle 

in the United States, gets nostalgic and shares, 

“My family in India was not rich and yet we 

could easily afford a maid for the dishes and 

cleaning twice a day. We could afford a cook 

too but my mum loved cooking and we loved 

her for that. My father never let us drive, so 

we had a driver. Our clothes came crisply 

ironed from the dhobi and yes our maali - 

gardener who worked for the co-op ensured 

the plants and garden looked immaculate.” 

“Some of the lasting memories are of our 

driver, Bhoja who was like a family member. 

He would always look out for us especially 


[ LIFESTYLE ] 

Top: Mahema & Family spending quality time 

together; Bottom:Tulika and family 

when we broke the rules. I also remember 

another driver who taught me to ride a 

bicycle. He was extremely patient and today 

when I teach my four-year-old, I remember 

the rules and his patience.” 

Tulika, like most of us looks back and 

definitely agrees that the help and support 

was invaluable, “Because the chores were 

taken care of, we could spend more time 

on our careers and quality time with the 

family. I have been in USA for the past 

seven years and work 50 – 65 hours a week 

and all our time is spent on domestic chores 

which is never ending.” 

On the flip side, “I think being 

independent is important and it’s good for 

members of the family to pitch in. At the 

same time much more can be achieved in 

quality activities like reading or painting 

with the children, if someone else can 

take over the chores. Sometimes I do get 

overwhelmed with the choices and priorities 

before me,” smiles Tulika. 

In Dallas, Texas, Arun Rao and his wife 

have a small family of two-year-old twins 

and busy careers. He adds, “We definitely 

miss the luxury of domestic help. When we 

return home there is so much to do - cooking, 

laundry etc. Moreover, when you have kids, 

it becomes a constant battle against time. 

Our evenings are just filled with trying to 

Top: House help Priyanka; 

Bottom:Mustharin Khan, an auto rickshaw driver 

keeping travel in Mumbai economical. 

get them through with eating, bathing and 

going to bed. There is absolutely no time to 

interact and spend quality time with them. 

Had we someone to at least cook and do the 

laundry - that would free up so much of 

our time. It would also help us to be more 

patient with the children and take them out 

in the evenings.” 

“Our childhood was different and in 

our growing up years, we had a live-in 

maid who was great. She not only cleaned 

the home but also helped my Mum in the 

kitchen with the cooking. She was also just 

a bit older than us and so we had a play 

mate when she was not busy. One incident 

that comes to mind is when she caught me 

smoking for the first time and I managed to 

convince her not tell my parents,” he adds 

with a wink. 

Choosing not to hire help in India 

may raise a few eyebrows since it is so 

connected to social standing, and everyone 

else does it. While some people enjoy the 

convenience and freedom of having help 

around the house, others cannot bear the loss 

of privacy and the difficulty of employer/ 

employee relationships. Mahema Bhutia 

and her family now live in Paris but she was 

born, brought up and even pursued a career 

in Mumbai almost all her life. She says “If 

we have to return to India, a maid hanging 

around would be a definite NO NO!. I 

would certainly invest in a dish washer/ 

washing machine + dryer and a vacuum 

cleaner! But high on the consideration chart 

would be a cook who can leave the kitchen 

sparkling clean.” 

Is the trend changing in India too like the 

West? 

As the aspiring middle-class climb to 

dizzier heights of lifestyle benefits, domestic 

servants in India seem to keep pace with the 

evolution too. The household help today is 

smart, enterprising, upwardly mobile and 

are turning out to be increasingly hard to 

find or unreliable as they look at different 

avenues to improve their socio economic 

status as well. There are many instances 

where domestic maids have put daughters 

through medical college and young men and 

women who have started out as domestic 

servants have ended up playing pivotal 

roles in the offices of their employers. 

I know of an instance where some who 

understand the value of education got 

together to request teaching to be imparted 

in English at a NGO school so that their 

children could share in the benefits that 

an English education brought. It is truly 

heartening to hear stories like these from 

back home. It seems a long way off for 

now but this progress among the labor 

class combined with household appliances 

becoming more affordable and convenience 

foods making its way into Indian homes, 

there might come a time in the future when 

domestic help becomes scarce. 

As for me, back in London, I long for 

the doorbell to ring. I reminisce about the 

barrage of servants, maids, cleaners, dhobis 

and how domestic help of any kind is a 

luxury out here and not a part of everyday 

life. So while I do cartloads of washing, 

drying, folding, ironing – cartloads of 

vessels – scrubbing the bathrooms and 

toilets – chopping veggies and making my 

own tea and meals – it leaves me to think 

“When I return to India, I will be much 

more appreciative. 

In the meanwhile, I envy a friend of mine 

working out in a gym in India who receives 

a text message from her cook which says, 

“memsaab, aaj kya khana banao?” 

Sarina Menezes is a freelance writer 

based in UK. 

42 


[ i BELiEVE ] 

Who can stop conversion? 

“I believe that wisdom lies in understanding the causes which escalate the processes of 

hatred. So it becomes our responsibility to fathom the mystery of conversion.” 

[ By Dr UDit raj ] 

Unless the problems inherent to 

Hinduism are addressed, conversion 

can never be stopped 

I believe that the right wing Hindus 

never had any issue with Christians or 

with conversion when it came to using, and 

exploiting Christian institutions. They have 

had no problem in availing Christian medical 

facilities. No abhorrence has been evinced 

toward convent schools, where the so-called 

upper castes were taught the English that 

got them jobs abroad and enabled them to 

articulate their views at global forums. 

That changed around 1998, when the BJP 

came to power. Targeting Christians became 

politically useful. A massive campaign was 

launched against Sonia Gandhi, making an 

issue of a person of foreign and Christian 

origin wielding power over a Hindu majority 

country. It culminated in the hatred for 

Christians, who are now seen as villains 

instead of the gentle community they had 

hitherto been known as. 

I believe that wisdom lies in understanding 

the causes which escalate the processes of 

hatred. So it becomes our responsibility to 

fathom the mystery of conversion, usually 

assigned as the basis for attacks on Christians. 

The RSS, Bajrang Dal and VHP blame those 

said to offer inducements to convert; they also 

accuse the global Church of pumping money 

into India to influence the country’s havenots. 

In such a context, the word ‘conversion’ 

becomes synonymous with ‘terrorism’, a 

connotation that could not be further from 

the truth. What does conversion mean except 

the choice of another faith or ideology? 

Laws against conversion are in operation in 

several states and, to date, not one case has 

been reported where a conversion was made 

in the greed for inducements. 

“What worries 

the Sangh Parivar 

is not the welfare of 

dalits but a possible 

reduction in uppercaste 

Hindu numbers. 

i believe that their 

prejudice is so 

entrenched that they 

are not in a position 

to sense the agony 

of those who suffer 

under the caste-based 

system. 

” 

What worries the Sangh Parivar is not the 

welfare of dalits but a possible reduction in 

upper-caste Hindu numbers. I believe that 

their prejudice is so entrenched that they 

are not in a position to sense the agony of 

those who suffer under the caste-based 

system. In general, Hindu believers treat the 

disadvantaged as sinners reaping the fruits of 

a past life. Thus, a leper is to be shunned; 

the exploitation of dalits is justified. On the 

contrary, I believe that a Christian finds 

an opportunity for spiritual fulfilment in 

serving the leper and healing the sick. 

Before they build churches, Christians 

normally build schools and hospitals. Why do 

major Hindu religious establishments involve 

themselves only in collecting donations and 

not in performing such community services? 

Let us examine the few hopes still left for 

Hinduism. Are dalits, tribals and members of 

backward groups allowed to become priests? 

Tall claims are made of dalits being trained 

to become priests or being welcomed to take 

up Hindu rituals. 

But, on the ground, I believe that the 

traditional situation has not changed. Though 

physical untouchability receded in the 20th 

century, the mental block remains. The 

Hindu Right and the so called upper castes 

see ‘saving’ Hinduism as their mission. But, 

in this competition with Islam, Christianity 

and Buddhism, the superficial brotherhood 

shown by right-wing Hindu organisations 

toward tribals and dalits does not ultimately 

win their hearts. 

Unless the problems inherent to Hinduism 

are addressed, conversion can never be 

stopped. A Christian marries his or her coreligionist; 

a Muslim does the same. Is that 

possible for Hindus across caste? Are the 

upper castes ready to welcome reservation for 

their Hindu brothers? Is their society ready 

for inter-dining and for inter-caste marriages? 

Without these conditions being fulfilled, 

no one on earth can stop the rejection of 

Hinduism by the so-called lower castes. 

I believe that the so-called upper castes 

can only stop conversion if they introspect, 

eradicate the evil in the caste system, and 

visualise themselves in a situation where they 

and their families are carrying human excreta 

on their heads. Then, they will feel the suffering 

of those condemned to do so for life. 

Dr Udit Raj is the National Chairman of the All 

Inda Confederation of SC/ST Organizations & 

Indian Justice Party and is based in Delhi. 


[ FOREIGN AFFAIRS ] 

The Global Scientific Race 

“The low ranking of India compared to China, Japan and South Korea 

in technology standings and world-standard universities should be 

a matter of grave concern and generate a national debate 

leading to policy change.” 

[ By SREERAm chAulIA ] 

One of the campaign issues in 

this year’s historic American 

presidential elections was 

innovation and its decline in the world’s 

most technologically advanced country. 

The manifestos of both Barack Obama and 

John McCain contained lengthy policy 

prescriptions to prevent the slide of the 

United States from global leadership in 

science and technology. 

To highlight the salience of the topic, 

within days of his victory, Obama began 

putting in place a “comprehensive 

technology policy” to expand the 

access and applications of the Internet. 

Among the president elect’s proposals is 

appointment of the country’s first ever 

‘Chief Technology Officer’, who will be 

tasked with modernising communications 

infrastructure, enriching e-governance and 

“improving America’s competitiveness.” 

Of particular import is Obama’s 

commitment to enhancing “technology 

literacy”, so that “all public school 

children are equipped with the necessary 

science, technology and math skills to 

succeed in the 21st century economy.” 

He envisions a highly skilled American 

workforce of science and engineering 

graduates who would push the frontiers of 

cutting-edge developments in electronics, 

nanotechnology and biotechnology. 

Obama’s pledge of doubling federal 

funding for research in the physical sciences 

and engineering intends to reverse the trend 

of diminishing US governmental spending 

in these cardinal areas since 1970. For a 

variety of reasons, including wilful neglect 

by the state, science in the United States has 

witnessed a relative fall both in interest in 

the field and in national capability. Its K- 

12 (Kindergarten to Grade 12) education 

system lacks qualified teachers in science 

and mathematics, translating into a secular 

drop in the number of US citizens entering 

engineering graduate schools. A typical 

computer-engineering classroom in any 

American university most likely has an Asian 

instructor with a preponderance of Asian 

(Indian, Chinese and Korean) students and 

hardly any local American presence. 

The proportion of science and engineering 

doctorates awarded in Asia and Europe 

is rising, but it is dipping in the United 

States. About 60 percent of all scientists 

and engineers with doctorates in the US 

today are foreign-born, an ominous statistic 

during deep economic crisis when retaining 

talent from abroad is an ordeal. Both Obama 

and McCain took pains to stress reform of 

the US immigration system with an eye on 

retention of technically skilled foreigners, 

who are searching for greener pastures in 

the growth engines of Asia. 

The World Economic Forum recently 

downgraded the US from first to seventh 

place in its ranking of nations’ preparedness 

to benefit from advances in information 

technology. In Business Week magazine’s 

ranking of the world’s informationtechnology 

companies, only one of the Top 

10 is based in the US. While the US remains 

the Mecca for awarding patents, nearly 60% 

of those filed in the country within the IT 

sector now originate in Asia. 

China has already supplanted the 

America as the world’s number one hightechnology 

exporter. Fifty-two percent 

of all academic degrees in China are in 

science or engineering and the crowd of 

46 


[ FOREIGN AFFAIRS ] 

Chinese universities in the list of worldclass 

academic institutions is swelling. The 

London Times’ World Universities Ranking 

of 2008 features six Chinese names (Peking 

University, Tsinghua University, Fudan 

University, University of Science and 

Technology, Nanjing University and Jiao 

Tong University) in contrast to only two 

Indian ones (IIT-Delhi and IIT-Mumbai). 

According to researchers at the Georgia 

Institute of Technology, China will soon 

surpass the US in the critical ability to 

develop basic science and technology, 

turn those developments into products 

and services, and then market them to the 

world. The 2007 ‘High Tech Indicators’ 

study ranks 33 countries on technological 

standing, which includes measures like 

productive capacity and national orientation 

towards science. China has an overall score 

of 82.8 on this index, compared to 76.1 for 

the US, 66.0 for Japan, 44.4 for South Korea 

and a meagre 20.70 for India. 

The authors of the study attribute China’s 

remarkable progress to its state-driven 

obsession for training swarms of scientists 

and engineers who ensure that the country’s 

innovative capacity climbs new horizons. 

In some areas of avant-garde research and 

development like nanotechnology, Chinese 

scholars are clearly in the lead with more 

academic publications than even their 

American peers. 

Often derided as the ‘world’s factory’ 

due to its specialisation in low-valueadded 

manufacturing, China is clubbing 

its comparative advantage in industrial 

exports with inventions high up on the 

value chain to dominate the global market 

in ‘technology products.’ 

American leadership of the global 

economy after World War II was predicated 

on its massive technological superiority 

over its nearest rivals, the European Union 

and the USSR. But with new competitors 

from Asia playing ‘fast catch-up’ today, one 

cannot blame observers like the former 

US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger for 

lamenting that America is “falling behind”. 

Writing in the International Herald Tribune 

in May this year, Kissinger lambasted the 

American educational system “that creates 

too few engineers and technologists in 

comparison with our competitors” and 

whittles away the country’s industrial and 

economic base. 

The fundamental micro-level obstacle 

that the Obama administration will face 

in trying to turn around the dismal state 

of American science is the absence of an 

incentive structure to encourage young 

citizens to evince greater interest in the 

subject. In rosier economic times, the US 

used to take the easy route of importing 

scientists and doctoral candidates from 

elsewhere to create a low-income, lowprospect 

career path in the sciences that 

native-born Americans could avoid. Local 

Americans opted for lucrative opportunities 

in professions like business, law, medicine 

or numerous forms of skilled manual work 

that offered premium hourly wages in a 

labour-shortage economy. 

The hard grind that inevitably 

accompanies a career in science was thus 

bypassed by American citizens, who could 

command equal or even better lifestyles 

than technologists by entering other 

vocational streams that require lesser 

application and brilliance. The resulting 

loss to the US economy and global power 

was not evident to individual Americans, 

who were spoilt for choice of jobs as long as 

they got a college degree in some field. 

Until worried strategists like Kissinger 

and corporations like the US National 

Academy of Sciences began ringing alarm 

bells about the tightening global scientific 

race, the national climate for innovation was 

ignored and left to individual labour market 

decisions. The push Obama promises to give 

to this impending crisis will be a big break 

from the George W Bush-era conservative 

religious outlook that discouraged the 

scientific temper and crippled R&D in 

latest arenas such as embryo stem cells. 

In developing countries of Asia, the 

incentive problem is somewhat different. 

Higher education in science and engineering 

is seen by millions of Chinese, Koreans and 

Indians as the only ladder for employment 

and success in life. Every year, so-called ‘cram 

schools’ in these countries coach aspiring 

engineers to ace entrance examinations 

that open the doors to prosperity and 

achievement. The security offered by an 

engineering degree is unmatched in these 

fast growing economies and is much sought 

after as a life-making qualification. 

Yet, the low ranking of India compared to 

China, Japan and South Korea in technology 

standings and world-standard universities 

should be a matter of grave concern and 

generate a national debate leading to policy 

change. According to the New Delhi-based 

National Knowledge Commission, as the Indian 

economy grows, “fewer students are opting for 

the pure sciences and this has led to a talent 

crunch, seriously impeding the development of 

the future generation of scientists.” 

Parallel to the ‘rational’ American cop out 

vis-à-vis scientific careers, young Indians 

are choosing the short cut of engineering 

degrees instead of the long haul of pure 

science research in branches of physics, 

chemistry and mathematics. India is indeed 

producing record numbers of engineers and 

doctors, but it has far fewer scientists who 

make lasting contributions to knowledge. 

The Knowledge Commission is cognisant 

of the success of China and South Korea in 

building adequate incentives for facilitating 

pure science research through prudent 

investments, but its mission is handicapped 

by the less attractive salaries and future 

prospects that await average Indian PhD 

candidates who slave away in under-funded 

laboratories and workrooms. 

The main spectre haunting scientific 

R&D in India is the absence of meaningful 

tie-ups with industry and the corporate 

sector. The concept of private firms 

investing in universities in order to reap 

the dividends of inventions and discoveries 

made by research scientists has worked 

wonders in the US and elsewhere. The 

industry-academia marriage is all the more 

necessary in a poor country like India, 

where the state exchequer is cash strapped 

and obligated to address the vast array of 

problems plaguing primary education. 

To expect the government to transform 

popular attitudes towards pursuing science is 

credible in a context such as Obama’s America, 

where the state can mobilise the needed 

resources. In India, though, the mantra of 

‘public-private partnership’ will work much 

better, provided all stakeholders appreciate 

that this is one race we cannot afford to lose 

if our ambition is to be recognised as a great 

power in the world. 

Sreeram Chaulia is a researcher on international 

affairs at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and 

Public Affairs in Syracuse, New York. 


[ COVER STORY ] 

Compassionate Capitalism 

[ BY MOna PaRikh MCniChOlaS ] 

and Soft Power 

Unlike many senior executives in a position like his, Sanjiv Mehta is open and willing 

to talk about anything, personal or professional. His casual demeanor belies a sharp 

finance mind and business acumen which when combined with great people skills, 

explains why he is at the helm of Unilever, North Africa & Middle East. 

As Chairman of Unilever, North 

Africa & Middle East, Sanjiv Mehta’s 

philosophy of big business, is straight 

forward. “Capitalism is able to channel 

resources into productivity to get the best 

out of people. It is able to link effort and 

reward and promote risk. These are the 

things that hold the company in good stead. 

As a country you can get the maximum 

out of any economy. If you look back, with 

the collapse of the Soviet Union or the rise 

of China, or even the resurgence of Russia 

now, the underlying theme is the success 

of capitalism. So capitalism as a philosophy 

is very powerful.” But Mehta goes on to 

qualify, “Capitalism needs to be laced with 

compassion. What is needed in the world 

today is compassionate capitalism, where 

you are fair to all stakeholders – to society, 

to government, to employees, to the taxman, 

and then you can say that you have a model 

that enriches society. If all the organizations 

only looked at their business from the lens 

of capitalism without giving back to society, 

then you would not have a just order.” 

As an Indian who was very clear that 

he never wanted to leave India, Mehta 

realized at some point, that to climb the 

multinational ladder, a ‘foreign stint’ was 

mandatory. When he first received an offer 

as Commercial Manager with Unilever 

Arabia, he thought, like most NRIs do, that 

he’d go for a couple of years and then return. 

With over 15 years of NRI life behind him 

now, Sanjiv who is Unilever Arabia’s second 

Indian Chairman, looks back at his life and 

Sanjiv Mehta 

Unilever’s Chairman in the NAME region 

Capitalism needs to be laced with compassion 

48 



The Bhopal Crisis Team: (Sanjiv, 2nd from right) This was a company run mainly by Indians with 

high values and integrity 

talks about the highlights and challenges, 

on the business and personal front. 

“I’m a Bombayite, and home starts when 

the car reaches Colaba,” that’s where his 

childhood memories predominate. His 

parents are Punjabis who left Lahore during 

the partition and made their way first to 

Kanpur. “When my dad came to Kanpur, 

he used to study and work, since we lost 

everything during the partition. He began 

his career with the Reserve Bank of India, 

and we moved to Bombay, with short stints in 

Nagpur and Delhi,” Sanjiv starts his story. 

When Mehta passed his Chartered 

Accountancy exams at 22, ranking at the top of 

his batch in the country, he was flooded with 

job offers. The one that caught his interest was 

from Delhi Cloth Mills (DCM), one of India’s 

top conglomerates, run by the late Dr Bharat 

Ram, a doyen of Indian industry. “Though I 

actually wanted to join a multinational, I really 

wanted to meet him,” recalls Mehta, “and 

what better way to meet Dr Bharat Ram than 

to be interviewed by him.” Though Mehta 

was offered a job immediately as Executive 

Assistant to Dr Ram, he declined because his 

heart was set on working for a multinational. 

“Why multinationals? I was very clear 

that I wanted training in business in an 

international set up. In MNCs you learn a 

structured way of thinking, the rigour and 

analysis, power of communication, how 

to take your team along. They represent 

capitalism that works. I had zeroed in on 

two corporations – Hindustan Lever and 

Union Carbide. Both these companies were 

of equal size and stature. I was offered a 

job with Lipton in Calcutta and Carbide 

in Bombay. Being a Bombayite decided it. 

I had eight years with Carbide. I started in 

Corporate Audit, and then the Bhopal gas 

disaster happened and I was pulled out, and 

at 24 years old, I was made a member of the 

Bhopal Crisis Team. I believe that was the 

time when a young boy became a young man. 

When you see reality at such close quarters: 

people in a tragedy of huge proportions, with 

the kind of responsibilities assigned to me 

at ground zero level, traveling under police 

protection at all times, litigations happening, 

American lawyers all over the place, shutting 

down of factories, separating workers… 

then you are forced to grow up and look at 

everything differently,” Mehta remembers. 

Just the words ‘Bhopal gas disaster’ and 

‘Carbide’ are enough to make one want to 

disassociate with anybody even remotely 

connected with the company, and Mehta 

is probably used to the skepticism that 

accompanies this revelation. His take on the 

issue that made Carbide infamous and his 

views on the horrors of the event were candid. 

“It was tough, having been brought up 

under idealist values at home and then 

working with a company that was being 

‘accused’,” he pointed out, “by others of 

causing this tragedy. What is very interesting 

is that because I was part of the crisis team, 

I was privy to a lot of information and got 

to understand Union Carbide at very close 

quarters. I got to understand what caused the 

‘accident’, and how this company lived by its 

values. I came to know the true character 

of many people… truth you know is very 

complex,” says Mehta quite calmly. 

Is it? Or is truth the simplest thing to reveal? 

“You know the matter is still under litigation 

and there are many cases going on, so I would 

not like to talk about it… one day when I write 

a book, I will have a chapter on Bhopal. I’ve read 

many books that have come out on this issue, but 

they only show you some pieces of the puzzle. 

Nobody has shown the full picture. I had 

visibility to much more information, much more 

science than many others; they may talk with 

authority but they have very few facts right…” 

Mehta only gave clues and was unwilling 

to share the whole “complex truth” about an 

event in the history of Industrial India, the 

repercussions of which are still felt by the many 

destroyed lives. Listening to the reasons for his 

silence and not his first hand account of what 

may have happened called for some restraint. 

“I know it must be difficult for you to 

believe but Carbide was a company with 

values. What was portrayed was that it was a 

killer company, that it had thrown all safety 

norms to the wind… that it was all about 

profit before people. That is simply not true. 

It was no surprise that after the ‘accident’ 

that most of the senior management stood 

by the company. I worked on the Bhopal 

crisis for two years. Remember that we are 

Indians first and very proud Indians…if at 

any stage we had come to know that this was a 

company that was not working in the interest 

of the country, then people would have left. 

Getting another job for us wasn’t a problem 

at all. It wasn’t even an accident. Yes there 

is blame, but like I said the cases are still in 

the criminal courts so I wouldn’t like to say 

anything to jeopardize anyone. Morally, I’m 

obliged not to speak at the moment. What I 

can say is that the company wasn’t the kind 

of company that was portrayed in many 

sections of the media. This was a company 

that was run by a great set of people, mainly 

Indians, with high values and integrity. 

They did an amazing job at the way they 

managed the crisis, the people… It was a 

tragedy of huge proportions, but a great 

learning curve for me personally,” Mehta 

concludes the topic, at least for now. 

But what kind of values and integrity is he 



talking about? Maybe it is relevant to look 

at the personal history of the man, and peek 

into his upbringing? “My dad, Soshil Prakash 

Mehta, who is a wonderful man, had a major 

influence in my life,” he says. “From him I 

learnt the values of hard work, education, 

treating people in a way that kept their esteem 

intact, basic respect for the individual.” 

“You know, we didn’t have a pocket money 

system. We knew exactly what our dad 

earned, and in our home we knew exactly 

where the money was kept. We would be 

told that whenever you need money you go 

and take it. This instilled in us trust and 

freedom with responsibility. When you 

know what your dad earns and what bills 

need to be paid, you know his savings… it 

has an impact. Even as children, we never 

abused that freedom. Also, we knew him to 

be an extremely honest and hard working 

civil servant. I remember those days when 

people would bring sweets to our house 

for some occasion; he would very politely 

but firmly return them. He was a middle 

class working man with a modest income 

and strong values. We enjoyed the small 

things in life, not foreign holidays or five 

star restaurants, but maybe a new stereo 

or when dad bought the new Fiat car. He 

moved up amongst the top functional 

positions in the Reserve Bank, from Joint 

Controller to Chief of Inspections. 

“Mom was a great homemaker. While dad 

was looking after the interests of the Reserve 

Bank, she was looking after ours, always around 

when we came back from school. I have very 

happy memories of my childhood. I remember 

our mealtimes together when daddy would 

tell us stories about what happened during the 

day, we’d discuss and debate on many things. 

Education was very important to us. We may 

not have spent much on holidays but when 

it came to books, there was never a question 

asked,” Sanjiv reminisces. 

“After Bhopal, I was moved to Commercial 

Head of the chemicals and plastics business. 

Union Carbide decided to divest. My vice 

president and I were involved in one of the 

largest divestitures of corporate India.” 

Soft spoken and articulate, Mehta ever the 

uncharacteristic corporate bigwig, diverts 

from his Carbide anecdotes to animatedly talk 

about the love of his life, “I have to tell you 

about meeting this wonderful woman, Mona 

through an aunt of mine. She’s a Delhite but 

Sanjiv Mehta as Chairman and CEO of Unilever Philippines, receiving the most prestigious award - 

‘Serve Grow Deliver’ from Harish Manwani President of Unilever Asia & Africa, for the best overall 

country performance in 2007 (Below): Tête-à-tête over a game of golf 

was working with HSBC in Calcutta. When we 

started courting, half our salaries were spent on 

trunk calls and courier costs. We would speak 

to each other for hours and then sit down and 

write a letter and call a courier to take it across 

quickly. I always wanted someone who was well 

educated, professional and more importantly 

someone on the same wavelength, and I was 

very clear that she should have her own career. 

We had a wonderful wedding in Bombay,” he 

recollects with a nostalgia that is refreshing to 

see in a man with his responsibilities. 

“Around that time, Carbide decided to leave 

India,” Mehta continues, “and Hindustan Lever 

(HL) again approached me. We had a couple 

of meetings and were still debating, when the 

Unilever Arabia job also came my way. 

“I wasn’t excited to come to Dubai, nor 

did I want to leave Bombay, but like I often 

tell the people here, I was floored by the 

way the company treated me, the way the 

board members received me, my schedule 

for the two day visit, the sense of importance 

and professionalism… there was an energy 

that I saw in the company, the dreams that 

people shared with me… Gopalakrishnan 

is very proud today because he was the 

chairman when I was recruited.” 

So, an uncertain Mehta left India 

reluctantly and began his foreign stint as 

Commercial Manager with Unilever Arabia, 

in Dubai. He then moved on to become 

Commercial Head of home and personal 

care (HPC), UA’s biggest business activity, 

moving on to become Commercial Director. 

Six years whizzed by, under two chairmen, 

Gopalakrishnan and Tom Stevens. 

“I had a fantastic time here. As head 

of HPC at that time, this was a business 

breaking even, and three years later we’d 

made it a profitable business – 27 million 

dollars of profit. This is something you can 

never do alone. Leadership of a great man is 

a myth,” reveals Sanjiv, “it’s all about a great 

team. It’s about growing, reducing the cost 

base, channeling money in the right places, 

getting the top line growing...,” he identifies 

the corporate nuts and bolts. 

“There are many ingredients to building a 

great team. Once you have the basic education 

and capabilities in place, the challenge is in 

pulling it all together. You need to have 

a clear strategic intent. For example, in 

50 



Bangladesh,” Mehta fast forwards a little 

to his experience as Chairman of Unilever 

Bangladesh, “our strategy was clear – to make 

it grow at twice the rate happening in the 

country. Our mission was to make Unilever 

Bangladesh the most admired corporation in 

the country. You jell a team together when 

you show them the path to the realization 

of that vision. The team has to be aligned 

to that vision. How you do it depends 

on many things... How do you convert 

strategies into actions; what is the culture of 

your organization; what’s the performance 

management systems in place; how do you 

ensure that you link rewards with efforts; 

how do you instill creativity in your team; 

how do you foster risk taking; how do you 

bring in rigour, depth, analysis… that’s what 

goes into the making of a great operation.” 

So, was the mission accomplished in 

Bangladesh? “This is a fascinating story, 

and today there are case studies in Harvard 

Business School on Unilever Bangladesh,” 

he points out. “The company was in negative 

growth and was a loss making unit. 

In the first year we broke even. Today it 

has reached a stage, when the Chairman of 

Unilever refers to it as a jewel in the crown 

of Unilever. One of my proudest moments 

was when British American Tabacoo did 

an independent public survey amongst all 

stakeholders of corporate reputation and 

Unilever Bangladesh came out clearly as 

the most admired corporation. 

“I have great fondness for my time in 

Bangladesh. First we had to instill pride in 

the Bangladeshis themselves for what they 

could achieve. We had to show them that 

we were building an institution not just a 

company. That a company while making 

huge profits, can also enrich society at large. 

We changed the context. Our Bangladesh 

company pays taxes that are close to 1% 

of the country’s federal budget. It runs 

hospitals, schools, women’s foundations etc. 

Many of these things were path breaking. 

Today if you were to go to Bangladesh and 

talk about Corporate Social Responsibility 

(CSR), the iconic things that they would 

refer to would be things done by Unilever. 

Was it the most challenging job 

undertaken? “I would say it was the most 

satisfying. Making an ordinary team into 

an extraordinary one made the difference.” 

What was the method used? “Intuition,” 

says Mehta surprisingly. He clarifies, “Real 

intuition, paradoxically, comes with a huge 

amount of knowledge, skill and experience. 

I’m an avid reader, and when you come 

across a couple of good ideas, you tuck 

them in your head somewhere, and sooner 

or later you get into the habit of linking 

various things and putting the pieces of the 

puzzle together. Whether from Carbide or 

from Unilever Arabia days, when you piece 

all your experiences together, you will find 

answers to what is required at a particular 

time, in this case it was for Bangladesh. 

“Bengalis love flaying themselves and they 

are highly critical people. Often I had to point 

out to them about the positives that exist in 

their country. People say it is one of the most 

corrupt countries in the world, but if you were 

to really ask me, the level of corruption in the 

Philippines (his next post as Chairman) was no 

different. It’s also about branding. Bangladesh 

unfortunately has done a very poor job of 

branding. Today when you talk about the 

country what comes to mind is corruption, 

political chaos, floods, poverty, hurricanes, 

… but this is also a place where you have 

Muhammad Yunus and Grameen Bank, this 

is also a place which for the last 10 years has 

been growing consistently at 4-5%, this was a 

place which the US had written off as a basket 

case in 1971, but has survived. And this country 

has never been close to bankruptcy, though in 

the late 90s Russia was close to bankruptcy. 

Pakistan has defaulted but Bangladesh never 

has. There are so many things that people don’t 

portray. One thing that this country needs is a 

good marketing manager,” says Mehta. 

An Indian Hindu became one of Islamic 

Bangladesh’s loudest supporters. So much 

so that whenever there was a person to 

whom the government of Bangladesh had 

to sell Bangladesh to, they would send 

him to Mehta’s office. Whether it was a 

UN agency or a multilateral agency doing 

a survey, or if ‘foreign people’ wanted to 

find out the truth about Bangladesh, Mehta 

was the spokesperson. “Our impact was 

phenomenal, especially through CSR; 

people accepted us completely and we 

made some great friends there.” 

Sanjiv Mehta with his twin daughters Naina and 

Roshni, wife Mona and the sarod maestro Ustad 

Amjad Ali Khan 

(Below) ... his parents, Anita and Soshil Prakash Mehta 



The world at large has of late commented 

on the Indian strength of diplomacy and 

dialogue – what is termed as soft-power. 

Sanjiv Mehta has exemplified the truth of 

this and shown its value in what Unilever 

Bangladesh has achieved not only for the 

company but the nation. “Wherever we go, 

we are not only planting the flag of Unilever, 

but I’m also planting the flag of India. So it’s a 

responsibility. When I arrived in Bangladesh, 

the Board was predominantly expat, but when 

I left, it was all local, except for one director.” 

How are Indians really faring on the 

international platform? Is there a glass ceiling 

in multinational corporations for Indians today? 

Mehta is clear, “I’ve never faced any kind of 

racism and I’m amongst the top 100 managers 

globally; given opportunities to run businesses 

worth more than a trillion dollars. Unilever 

has put all their trust and confidence in me. 

Outside India, besides me there are three other 

Indian Chairmen-in Japan, Poland and Russia. 

Two Indians are also on the central Unilever 

Board – Harish Manwani and Vindi Banga. 

Look elsewhere too – at Citibank, there is 

Vikram Pandit; Arun Sarin with Vodaphone, 

Indra Nooyi runs Pepsico; I see no reason why 

Indians can’t do it. More countries are realizing 

that talent is all that matters. 

“Modern Indian managers are confident, 

globalized and ready to take on the world. 

Thomas Friedman, author of The World is Flat 

said that when he was a kid, at dinner time, his 

parents used to tell them don’t leave food on 

the plate, because there may be a child in India 

going hungry. Today, he tells his children, ‘work 

harder or a child in India will take your job.’ 

Sanjiv talks about India. “I’m very positive. 

Destiny beckons us. The most important 

thing for our leaders is not to worry about 

being re-elected in the next term but to do 

things in the best interest of the country 

now while they can. What we need to 

do is accelerate on the path to reforms – 

liberalization and privatization has got stuck 

in the politics of votes. The path India has 

taken now is absolutely right but they should 

have taken it a decade and half earlier. We 

need to invest in education more, healthcare, 

women’s empowerment, rural development 

and we need more energy,” Mehta gives his 

opinions without any hesitation. 

Continuing the account of his journey, 

from Bangladesh to the Philippines, he 

relates, “It was a bigger company worth 

Unilever, NAME – What is the market share, 

turnover, profit? 

Our business in this region is about USD 

1.4 billion. We are not a listed company 

so it would not be appropriate to disclose 

profit numbers. As far as market share is 

concerned on a total NAME business and 

across categories we have about 39% of 

the market in the categories in which we 

operate. 

Which is the most popular Unilever product 

here in the United Arab Emirates? 

In UAE we have strong market positions in 

several categories. Lipton is the dominant 

tea brand with nearly 70% of the market. 

Similarly brands like Lux, Comfort, Jif, Close 

Up are market leaders in their respective 

categories. In addition our brands like 

Dove, Sunsilk, Clear, Vaseline, Signal and 

Rexona are well entrenched strong brands 

with a very loyal consumer base. 

What are your immediate challenges, 

and your short term and long term plans 

for the company? 

The immediate challenge of course is 

to ensure that in a highly volatile global 

environment we continue progressing 

along our profitable growth journey. In the 

medium term the objective will be to bring 

forth synergy and leverage the power of 

750-800 million dollars. Philippines, in the 

Unilever scheme of things, is very important 

because it is the home ground of Proctor and 

Gamble, their biggest competitors. 

“In your lifetime you come across some 

great marketing stories and one of the greats 

is the shampoo war in the Philippines,” Mehta 

is the avid raconteur. “Shampoo is one of the 

biggest categories in Philippines, because 

people there love the straight and silky look 

and washing their hair. In that biggest hair 

category, in shampoos, P&G led us by nearly 

12 share points. We were 30 and they were 

42, when I took over as Chairman. To cut a 

long story short, by the time I left, a year and 

a half later, we were 41 and P&G were 34. 

There was a total reversal of fortunes. It is 

one of our greatest marketing victories from 

our arch rival,” he says triumphantly. 

Talking about his present position, Mehta 

is excited about the possibilities. 

“The biggest challenge here is that this is 

essentially an agglomeration of 20 countries. 

We have 300 million people working in 

these countries, with an economy of 1.1 

a billion dollar corporation across the wide 

geography which encompasses NAME. 

What is your vision for Unilever NAME? How 

do you motivate your colleagues to share 

your vision? 

Making and sharing a compelling vision 

which has a ‘buy in’ is one of the key tasks 

for a leader. A leader not only has to create a 

worthy dream but has to help people achieve 

it. It is about raising the aspirations of the 

people and enthusing people to reach for the 

stars. Everyone in the organization should be 

able to see the rainbow and catch a part of it. 

Our collective vision is to transform Unilever 

NAME into a high performing business 

which is recognized as a growth engine for 

Unilever, is deeply embedded along the 

path of compassionate capitalism and is pre 

dominantly led by local managers. 

trillion dollars growing at a decent pace, 

but it is not one homogenous unit – you 

have countries with 1300 US dollars per 

capita and others with 30,000 dollars per 

capita. And our job is to run it as a multicountry 

organization but essentially run it 

with a soul of one company. ” 

As time ticks away, Sanjiv Mehta who has 

spent the first six months of his tenure traveling 

across the region to get to know his territory, 

sighs, “One day, before retirement I hope to 

return to India to give back to the motherland 

more than I’ve ever done.” As he concludes 

the interview, he remarks, “I would like to be 

remembered for being a person who got the 

best out of his people; to be remembered as 

someone who really practiced the concept of 

doing good. I would like to be remembered 

as a person who not only worked with a great 

set of people but helped build great teams and 

future generations of leaders… someone who 

left his footprint in his area of passion.” 

Mona Parikh McNicholas is the Associate 

Editor of The International Indian. 

52 


[ MICRO FINANCE ] 

The Dark Horse of the 

Meltdown 

“It is interesting to note that while the whole 

world can talk of little besides the global financial 

meltdown and even as the IMF is working 

overtime to come up with ways to alleviate 

the effect of the financial crisis on developing 

countries, there is one sector that is poised to be 

unaffected by the crisis. 

Micro-credit – which has proved to be a major 

liberating force catering to neglected groups 

of humanity including women, the urban 

and rural poor and the deprived – is thriving 

like never before. There may be a minor 

crimp in the upcoming short term by a lack 

of monetary infusion from banks, but that is 

being rapidly countered by the rush of healthy 

investment into micro-finance companies. In 

the development paradigm, micro-finance has 

become an irrepressible need-based policy and 

program that is being protectively embraced by 

all developing countries for empowerment of the 

poor and the reduction of poverty. 

Every human being on the face of the earth has 

a right to try to live a decent life. Through Ujjivan 

Financial Service and Parinaam Foundation, 

Samit and Elaine Ghosh have proved that even 

the poorest of the poor can rise above repressive 

social and economic conditions by working to 

bring about their own development.” 

Samit Ghosh, Founder and CEO of Ujjivan Services: Lives are transformed! 

[ By INgRId AlBuquERquE ] 

At the outset, it comes across like an incredible if not foolhardy 

idea. Why would any institution want to give loans to poor 

people without any financial security or surety? 

And yet that’s exactly what Samit had in mind when on August 1, 

2004, he issued the invitation to the public to invest in Ujjivan. After 

academic empowerment at Jadavpur University and Wharton School, 

Samit was pulled into the significant tracks of international banking. 

He also pioneered consumer banking in India with Jerry Rao, Ravi 

Bahl and Steven Pinto at Citibank. Thereafter, he was at the helm of 

the launch of retail banking for Standard Chartered in the Middle 

East and South Asia, and for HDFC Bank in India. 

It was an impressive track record in international banking for over 

three decades. Samit says: “After covering the entire gamut of banking: 

Corporate, Investment & Retail, providing financial services to the 

poor was the last frontier; it was a professional challenge which I had 

to take up.” 

54 



The Root of Inspiration 

The genesis of the idea can be traced to his 

roots. Once he had achieved professional 

and material success in his career as a 

banker in India and the Middle East, he 

says, “When I reflected on my life, I realized 

that I had always been strongly influenced 

by my parents and teachers. My father 

spent his life working for the government as 

a doctor for the coal miners in Bihar. Father 

McFarland, an American Jesuit who had 

become my mentor, spent his life setting 

and running educational institutions in 

India and Africa. Both of them strongly 

cared about the vast numbers of the poor 

and deprived, my father by caring for the 

sick, while Fr. McFarland saw to their 

education, and constructed schools.” 

Fr. McFarland had been a close friend of 

the family. When he was 10, Samit had lost 

his father who before he died had asked the 

priest to watch out for the family. “And he 

did,” Samit remembers nostalgically. “He 

cared for us more than any other member 

of our family did; to the extent of grilling 

Elaine when we had decided to get married. 

He was like our surrogate father.” The year 

Samit quit banking, Fr. McFarland had just 

died. Samit took a year’s sabbatical and 

used a lot of that time to collaborate with 

friends to bring out a book on the American 

priest. Titled One Beautiful Life, the book 

traced all that the Jesuit priest had done for 

the society around him. Samit remembers 

with awe that Fr.McFarland had been a 

brilliant professional who could have done 

anything in the corporate world; instead he 

chose to serve people around the world – in 

India, the US and Africa. “Even when he 

was dying, his thoughts were only on how 

he could improve life of the poor.” 

The experience of putting the book 

together became a tipping point. “I felt that 

as a financial service professional, my life 

would be incomplete, if I did not utilize my 

academic and professional experience to 

help people get out of poverty,” says Samit. 

Unstoppable 

So when the invitation to micro financing 

was issued, it was not just anyone who was 

issuing it, but a man with credentials, 

experience, and a heart for the target 

customer. Like his wife Elaine puts it, “He 

kept talking about it to all the banks he had 

Samit and Elaine Ghosh with their children: Mallika, Sailen and Nihal 

worked for, but no one was really interested. 

His last commercial assignment was Chief 

Executive, of Bank of Muscat in India. He 

took voluntary retirement, spent time in 

Bangladesh, returned to India and did a 

strategy paper on setting up a microfinance 

institution for urban & semi-urban poor with 

an old friend from Wharton, Sunil Patel. 

For a year, he talked about it with investors 

with little effect, and he was on the verge of 

giving up when friends and colleagues from 

the financial services industry from around 

the world and India rallied to support the 

enterprise. And he accepted their invitation. 

He was well respected and people trusted 

him. Their attitude was, ‘If Samit is doing it, 

then it has got to be something good’.” 

They were right. By December 28 2004, 

Ujjivan was incorporated as a finance company; 

a month later the first board meeting was held, 

in February 2005. Ujjivan got its first employees 

– Samit, Ajit Grewal, Carol Furtado, Srikrishna 

, all old colleagues in their first office lent to 

them by Mphasis Ltd. 

By August 26, Ujjivan had completed 

raising domestic capital of Rs. 24.31 

million. The icing on the cake was the 

RBI’s swift approval of the license for the 

Non Banking Finance Company. Samit 

explains, “The RBI is very supportive 

& encouraging to microfinance and 

promotes financial inclusion of the poor 

into the organized financial services.” 

Understanding Micro-finance 

The basic idea of micro-finance is as simple 

as those it is intended for: if poor people 

are provided access to financial services, 

including credit, they will be given the 

opportunity to start or expand a microenterprise 

or educate their children that 

will allow them to break out of poverty. 

The programs actually succeed in enabling 

them to increase their income levels. Elaine 

says rather emotionally “The most beautiful 

part is that they can now increase their 

income levels. Before, they were unable to 

even open a savings account in a bank; they 

had no access to financial services which 

were exclusively available to the upper and 

middle income population.” 

The poor women Ujjivan works with are 

either employed (garment factory workers, 

domestic help, etc.), self-employed (vendors, 

tailors, shop keepers, etc), and piece rate 

workers (those who roll agarbattis, beedis, etc.). 

In the past, to make ends meet, these women 

had to rely for their finances on moneylenders, 

chit fund operators and pawn brokers, 

and pay interest rates up to 10% per month. 

Micro-credit changed their life. They 

could now get loans from Ujjivan at one 



tenth of those charged by money lenders, 

and once they gained a reputation for regular 

repayment, they could get a bigger loan the 

next time around, and so on. Apart from loans 

they are provided life and health insurance 

that takes care of life’s calamities which push 

the poor back to poverty. In the process, the 

quality of their lives is constantly improving. 

This is how micro-finance has become 

one of the most effective interventions for 

economic empowerment of the poor. 

Goal in Place 

Ultimately the aim is to empower the poor 

and mainstream them into development. 

Of India’s population of 1.1 billion, 32% 

or 352 million live in urban & semi urban 

areas. Of this 352 m, 30% which is around 

106 million constitute the poor. And this 

is Ujjivan’s target group, a fact which 

also accounts for Ujjivan’s spectacular 

success. There are a host of micro-finance 

institutions active in rural India, but not 

many for the urban poor. Ujjivan made 

a bold initial focus on the urban poor 

because “surveys and interactions with the 

urban poor reveals that they are exposed to a 

number of contingencies and are required to 

share their meager resources with neighbors, 

friends, relatives and colleagues. They live 

in the worst physical environment of our 

society even compared to the rural poor.” 

Ujjivan’s urban model was piloted in 

Bangalore over an 18-month period, from 

November 2005 to April 2007. By March 

2008 Ujjivan had 38 branches in Bangalore, 

Delhi and Kolkata with a customer base of 

68,033. Operations have also been launched 

in Mumbai and the plan is to reach 2 million 

customers nation-wide in the company’s 

6th year of operation. 

The record as of 15 November, 2008, reads thus: 

No. of customers: 1,64,577 

No. of borrowers: 1,44,930 

No. of states: 8 

No. of branches: 100 

Amount of Loans disbursed: Rs. 1617.8 million 

Loan Repayment Rate: 99.5% 

Highs and Lows 

What delights the founder and CEO 

of Ujjivan is “the immediate impact of 

whatever we do. For example a loan given 

to a domestic help enables her to send her 

child to a ‘convent’ school; she knows that 

Elaine Ghosh at Ujjivan functions: The impact of their work is immediate 

the only way she can ensure that her child 

has a better future is by putting her through 

quality education. And she is happy to do it 

this way. She does not want charity; if she 

did she would be begging and not struggling 

valiantly through her hard life. She wants 

whatever is available to everyone else in our 

society at not an exorbitant price. Seeing 

her get ahead in life and looking at her joy 

gives us an immediate gratification.” 

The downside – and there is one, admits 

Sumit a little sadly – is that “however much 

you try, some of them will fail to make it, 

they are unable to get out of poverty. It is a 

very human situation; they never before had 

access to this kind of credit; suddenly there 

are 4 or 5 micro-credit institutions ready 

to give them money; they over-borrow 

and that puts them in a downward cycle.” 

Ujjivan officers counter this by providing 

financial literacy training and by avoiding 

giving credit to those who have already 

borrowed from multiple institutions. 

The need, therefore, is to share 

experiences and materials which will help 

the practitioners not only in understanding 

successes and failures but also provide 

knowledge and guidelines to strengthen 

and expand micro-finance programs. Only 

then can development take place. 

Birth of Parinaam 

Micro-finance has been in India for 

decades, and Andhra Pradesh can be 

considered its headquarters, because that 

is where the original impetus stemmed 

from. Research into the Micro-finance 

experience in Andhra has revealed that 

through the process only 50% are able to 

get out of poverty; 30% show no change; 

and 20% get worse because they use the 

credit for non productive things. 

The founders of Ujjivan too realized that 

unless they took a holistic approach towards 

the disadvantaged, they would only provide 

a partial solution to poverty alleviation. Out 

of this belief, Parinaam Foundation was 

envisioned as a ‘not for profit company’ with 

whom Ujjivan could partner to cover critical 

areas of initiatives outside the scope of microfinance. 

Parinaam was launched in March 

2008, with an initial seed capital of Rs 

56 



Parinaam is a not-for-profit company 

registered under section 25 of the 

Companies Act. This means that all 

programmes are funded purely through 

donations and/or grants from sponsors. 

The only investors in the company are 

the Promoters/Founders (Elaine Marie as 

the main and one other - very senior retd 

director from the Tata Group of Companies 

– Mr. Sarosh Ghandy). Parinaam does not 

give any dividend on the investment, and 

all profits and funds will be channelled 

back into the organisation’s programs 

for the poor. Therefore, as Parinaam is 

a purely not-for-profit, it is permitted to 

apply for tax exemption under Section 

12A and for the exemption under 80G (the 

‘“... the truth of the matter is that borrowers of microfinance 

always pay back; women in particular.” 

Income Tax Act) to provide some tax relief 

to all donors and sponsors. Parinaam’s 

application for these two exemptions 

is under process at the Tax Dept at the 

present time. Anyone who wants to help 

with healthcare, education and other 

programs for Ujjivan’s poor customers 

will be welcomed with open arms! Please 

send queries to: Elaine Marie Ghosh, 

Executive Director, Parinaam Foundation, 

Website: 

www.parinaam.org, 

Email ID: emghosh@ujjivan.com, 

Cell: +91 98450 28680 

Regarding Ujjivan, Samit says,“ We 

just completed our fourth round of 

capital infusion on November 14th, 

2008. We will next raise capital after a 

year. People who want to get involved 

in our programs can do so through 

Parinaam.” 

5,00,000 to provide ‘credit plus’ programs 

for Ujjivan customers: quality healthcare 

and education; practical vocational training 

and job enhancement; basic community 

services and capacity building initiatives 

for the Ujjivan customer, her family and 

her community. 

Financial Meltdown 

How have Ujjivan and Parinaam been 

affected by the financial crisis that has 

made the world weep? Elaine Marie 

answers this one: “Ujjivan is not a charitable 

organization, a foundation, or an NGO. 

It is a non-banking financial institution 

registered under the Companies Act. It 

was set up with people who invested their 

money; it is for profit; the profits go back 

to the investors, employees and customers. 

Investors are in it because they want to 

help the poor, but they do not want to give 

donations. While the rest of the world is 

going broke, the shares of micro-finance 

companies are being sought after because 

they are valued higher.” 

Samit affirms this as he says, “We signed 

the documents for our fourth round of 

Capital increase on November 14, 2008. 

Due to over subscription, we raised Rs. 94 

Crores instead of the original plan of Rs. 

75 Crores. This is after less than three full 

years of operation. Also, for the first time 

in the micro-finance industry in India, we 

organized secondary sales of our individual 

investors. The few of our initial investors, 

who opted for this, were able to register 

incredible capital gains. Quite a story 

considering today’s environment. We have 

less than fifty investors of whom four are 

from Dubai.”The problem if any is that 

they have depended on the banks for loans 

which they on-lend it to the customer. Now, 

the banks have reduced extending credit, 

the flow has slowed down, the interest has 

been raised by at least 2 to 5 % and as Samit 

points out, “This increase cannot be passed 

on to our poor customers, we cannot raise 

our rates, so it impacts our profitability.” 

It is however not a large problem since 

the amount of investment has increased so 

dramatically. And the truth of the matter is 

that borrowers of micro-finance always pay 

back; women in particular. “We have a 99.5% 

repayment record,” says Samit with pride. 

Where Parinaam is concerned, it remains 

unaffected by the global crisis because, as 

Elaine Marie points out, “The reality is that 

one way or another, we cannot do without 

our maids, vegetable vendors, grocers and 

all those who make our lives comfortable 

Those who can afford maids will continue 

to afford them; meltdown or not, you will 

still go to buy your vegetables and pick up 

your rice and dal. So the jobs of the poor are 

not affected and they face no crisis. That’s 

what makes micro-finance companies so 

attractive to investors.” 

Sacrifice is the Bottom line 

The irony is that rarely is there great 

professional success without a large dose of 

personal sacrifice. 

Samit says with a laugh: “Elaine complains 

that our social life is nil. Frankly, when I 

stepped into it, I had not expected it to be the 

24X7 involvement it has turned out to be.” 

Elaine elaborates: “He leaves at 7.30 

in the morning, returns at 7.30 in the 

evening and goes straight to his computer. 

As a couple, we have lost touch with one 

another. I could be ill, or the children 

could be having some problems, but he has 

had to let go of those kinds of concerns. 

I cannot talk to him about the cook or 

the maid or the things couples normally 

interact about. Our conversation is only 

about work. I feel sad that we have lost 

our personal relationship and am honest 

enough to admit it. But in 2004, when we 

walked through the door, we both knew 

that we were no longer husband and wife, 

but that we had become colleagues. What 

I had not anticipated was that we would 

remain colleagues even after coming out 

of the door at the end of the day.” 

However, both Samit and Elaine consider 

it a “small price to pay” when they look at 

the lives that are being transformed by 

Ujjivan and Parinaam. 

Ingrid Albuquerque is the Content Editor and Website 

Manager of the Haggai Institute’s international 

website; and the Managing Director of Berean Bay 

Media House. She has edited many magazines and 

is the author of a few best-selling books. 


[ PERSPECTIVE ] 

Lifestyles for the aged in 

India and the US 

“A while ago, when I toured the very large country of the US of A, I could not help but 

notice the joie de vivre and zest for life that the silvers have. Nothing stops them – some 

are walking slow, holding on to walkers, being wheeled along by attendants, but go they 

must! You see them at museums, at malls, at tourist spots and everywhere that 

other (‘read younger’) people go to!” 

[ BY ShYamola Khanna ] 

Jacquelin and Philip Sheehan had 

driven down to New York in their 

RV(recreational vehicle) all because of 

19 year old Celia, an exchange student from 

Turkey who was with them for just one week. 

Philip is 71 while Jackie is 68. From New 

York they were driving down to Washington 

and then they were to return to Massena, 

their home in upstate New York. Philip’s 

sister, Connie Hall (62) rides a motorbike 

for fun and to test her endurance. 

Edith Fisher(77), was out on a tour of 

the Grand canyon with her two daughters 

and her grandson. Whenever there were 

long stretches of walking to be done, the 

daughters would leave her behind and walk 

ahead. She did not mind and was quite happy 

sitting around admiring the view. Edith has, 

in any case, lived her life very much on her 

terms and continues to work for Wal-Mart in 

her home town. Vivian Parker(78) is on her 

second job – painting copies of Rembrandt 

from the originals in museums! 

She drives to Washington from 15 miles 

away to go twice a week to the Museum 

of Modern Art so that she can paint and 

indulge her long standing interest. Till a 

few years ago, she was working as a scientist 

Jacquelin (68) and Philip Sheehan (71): Age doesn’t restrict them from leisurely driving miles together 

in a government organization. Her friends 

have been asking for the copies of the 

Rembrandts she does – that is what keeps 

her excited and makes her look forward to 

the next one! 

A while ago when I toured the very large 

country, I could not help but notice the joie 

de vivre and zest for life that the silvers have. 

Nothing stops them – some are walking 

slow, holding on to walkers, being wheeled 

along by attendants, but go they must! You 

see them at Museums, at malls, at tourist 

58 


[ PERSPECTIVE ] 

Connie Hall (62) rides a motorbike for fun and to test her endurance 

spots and everywhere that other(read 

younger’) people go to! 

Ageing In India 

We quantify age according to the stages 

of our lives. ‘Young’ is before marriage 

– after that everything else is heading 

towards dotage. When I was in my 30s, I 

was told that I was ‘too old’ to wear pants 

because I was already a mother of two. I was 

also told that I needed to slow down and not 

have such a hectic life as I did. If I had a 

good figure, I was not supposed to show it 

off. “Dowdy” was more like it – how could I 

dream of wearing anything remotely sexy? 

That was reserved for young people. 

Other people, especially women, made it 

a point to tell me what I should or should 

not do, ‘considering my age’! I was always 

polite but I paid scant attention! Clothes 

were a special point for discussion. I have 

always been fond of bright colors and still 

love wearing them. Years ago, one lady who 

was at least ten years younger than me and 

was fond of wearing all the dullest shades of 

brown, remarked that I was heading for my 

second youth! 

We are not encouraged to do things 

beyond the norm. My husband and his 

brothers mollycoddled their father into 

staying at home and doing nothing after he 

retired from his insurance job. My husband, 

after he retired from the Air Force, chose 

not to do anything. He claims he is happy 

but I hear rumblings of “I am old and I 

cannot do this or that!” On the other hand, 

my husband’s younger brother who retired 

from the Indian Army is now into a second 

career as the owner of a Reliance gas 

station and his own security company. In 

fact at this stage he is able to indulge in his 

nascent interest in horses – he is now the 

proud owner of three horses of his own! 

The bottom-line 

The final word in the way we age in India 

and the way people in the developed world 

age is a matter of perspective. 

In India, parents have always invested 

in their children. The movie Baghban was 

a realistic presentation of what parents 

do. They spend all their money on the 

education and growth of their kids. The 

kids go through college and years of higher 

education, before they are ready to start 

earning. Kids are not encouraged to work 

and study so that they can share the cost of 

higher studies. 

With the new found prosperity, today 

retirees have a lot more money to spend. 

If one is sensible, one can plan to be 

comfortable for a life time. But if retirees do 

not have a home ready before they retire, 

they have to spend a whole lot out of their 

savings to get a roof over their heads. Silvers 

have to save for medical care and health 

related problems. They have to be ready 

for rising costs of living and be careful with 

their investments. 

So, all their lives, they are saving….and 

saving… and saving! Many of them say, 

so when do we celebrate life? By the time 

they are entering their silver era, saving is 

such a way of life with them that they find 

it difficult to splurge even on new clothes 

or shoes. 

If they are traveling it is because their kids 

are paying for their tickets. They may have their 

own homes but the renovations and additions 

are done by the next generation because the 

older people find it difficult to spot anything 

wrong! Even a fresh coat of paint costs so much 

that it is allowed to relapse! 

So we have these beautiful old bungalows 

which are in a state of neglect, especially 

where there are only older people living. 

One can make out when the youngsters 

come back to live because the exteriors get 

a fresh coat of paint, the garden is cleared 

of all undergrowth and the house once 

again becomes a home. 

According to a study done by a young 

marketing executive on the cost of food 

and the percentage of salary spent on food, 

it was found that India has the highest – we 

spend as much as 45% of our salaries on 

food alone. Compare that to a paltry 10% 

in the USA and 12%in UK. 

The truth is that silvers in these countries 

have a lot of money to spare which is why 

they can afford to take off whenever they 

want to. Another factor is that in their 

system, kids are expected to look after 

themselves when they start working, which 

under normal circumstances is between 16 

and 18 years of age. They like to move out 

of their parents’ homes so that they can be 

freer and can make their own decisions. 

NRI parents are holding on to their kids for 

as long as they can but peer pressures are 

more powerful. So a lot like in the movie 

The Namesake they are also moving on. 

Maybe we in India can also learn to 

celebrate in small ways. Maybe we can start 

doing all those things which we had put on 

hold all those years we were busy looking 

after the kids – catch up with painting, 

writing poetry, learning a new skill, getting 

back to music lessons etc. Anything that 

gives you a zest for life again. 

Shyamola Khanna is a freelance writer 

based in Hyderabad. 


[ COMMUNAL MATTERS - INDIA ] 

Home Grown Terror 

“India has its home-grown Naxalite violence and communal riots, but home-grown 

terrorism is something that is still being grappled with. Terrorism has always been 

perceived to be a foreign import. Something the enemy did, not our own people. But 

all the accused in the recent series of blasts that shook India, from Hyderabad to 

Ahmedabad to Delhi, are Indians. And now even those said to be involved in the 2006 

Malegoan blasts are Indian. One cannot help but ask: Why?” 

[ By NITA JATAR KULKARNI ] 

If one talks about people of the minority 

community who are being caught for 

terrorist activities, what keeps coming up 

is the feeling of alienation that the community 

feels. “There are people who don’t want 

to employ Muslims, lease to Muslims, sell 

to Muslims… what does this all mean? It 

means that we don’t want to associate with 

Muslims. This has become worse after the 

bomb blasts. It’s very demeaning,” says 

Zeenat Shaukat Ali, professor of Islamic 

Studies in a Mumbai College. 

This feeling of being distrusted is 

disturbing, and some feel that it has 

been a factor in breeding terrorism. 

Mohammed Naseem Siddiqui, Chairman 

of the Maharashtra State Minorities Rights 

Commission believes that for every action 

there is a reaction. “If even educated boys 

have come in touch with terrorism, it could 

be because they feel they want justice. What 

about Godhra, what about Babri Masjid? And 

what about the hostility towards Muslims… 

statements like go to Pakistan or go to 

Kabristan.” What is worse in his eyes is that 

hardly any of the guilty of the Godhra riots 

and the Babri Masjid demolition have been 

punished; but after bomb blasts hundreds 

of Muslims are routinely rounded up, most 

of them innocent. He doesn’t think that 

comparing terrorism with the communal 

riots and with the Babri Masjid demolition 

is incorrect. “Why can’t you compare these 

things? It is a question of faith, of hurting 

Muslim sentiments.” He agrees though that 

Zeenat Shaukat Ali, professor of Islamic Studies in a Mumbai College, at a cricket match which she had organised 

for communal harmony. Moulavis and Hindu priests played together. 

not everyone is driven to rage and violence, 

but the vulnerable are. 

BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) politicians 

do not accept that Muslims are being 

discriminated against in India. They feel 

that poverty and lack of education is one of 

the reasons. “It is not a case of discrimination 

but a case of introspection,” says Prakash 

Javadekar, Rajya Sabha MP, referring to 

the Sachar Committee findings which have 

shown that the Muslim community lags 

behind in education (National literacy rate 

is 64 percent but Muslims literacy rate is 

59 percent) as compared to other groups in 

the country. “Tell me of any case where a 

Muslim has been denied admission into an 

educational institution?” But Javadekar adds 

“Terrorism is not linked to any religion.” 

Sandeep Khardekar, Vice-President of 

the BJP’s Pune Unit says, “I do not believe 

that there is discrimination, at least not in 

the middle and educated classes. In fact even 

the BJP is not anti-Muslim. We are just antianti-national 

elements.” 

However the feelings of being 

discriminated against persist, and help 

60 



terrorists brainwash young 

people by rubbing salt in 

the wounds. Says Asghar Ali 

engineer, the Director of 

Centre for Study of Society 

and Secularism. “Injustices 

against Muslims give a handle 

to terrorists; it is one of the 

causes.” He also believes 

that education creates more 

prejudices. “Uneducated 

people are far more secular that 

the educated. Our education 

system creates more bigotry.” 

The portrayal of history is one 

of the reasons cited… a history 

that is full of the evil deeds of 

Muslim Kings. Zeenat Shaukat 

Ali points out that the history 

books are biased. “Muslims 

are portrayed as violent and 

aggressive. Positive things 

should be highlighted,” she says 

and there are positive things. 

She quotes noted historian 

Romilla Thapar, who has gone 

on record to say that there is a 

tendency to highlight the bad 

deeds of Muslim rulers and play 

down their good deeds. Even 

the contribution of Muslims 

during the Independence movement is not 

adequately projected rues Engineer. 

And so the divide deepens, and somewhere 

sometimes the seeds of violence are planted. 

Perhaps in school, perhaps at home and 

perhaps in adulthood, as there is only a 

superficial interaction between people of 

different communities. “Ghettoism adds 

to the feeling of alienation, leads to a lack 

of understanding of the other,” says Julio 

Ribeiro, former Commissioner of Police 

(Mumbai) and former Director General 

of Police (Punjab). Engineer defends the 

ghettoism. “It is ideal to live in cosmopolitan 

areas but community people feel insecure.” 

Such feelings of insecurity increase after 

communal riots. 

No one actually believes that there 

is a direct link between feelings of 

discrimination and terrorism. “Not 

everyone turns to violence, only a minority. 

There are so many fundamentalist Hindus 

Zeenat Shaukat Ali at the event 

but only one of them killed Gandhi. So 

many women are gang-raped but there is 

only one Phoolan Devi. But it is still action 

having a reaction,” says Siddiqui. 

Considering that all the accused in the 

Malegoan blasts have turned out to be 

those from the Hindu community seems to 

strengthen such a hypothesis. These blasts 

were allegedly carried out to “avenge” the 

terrorist attacks in various parts of the 

country over the past several years. Action 

and reaction? 

Has India been good to Muslims? 

Counter to the argument that Muslims 

are being discriminated against in India, 

is the belief of the Hindus who argue that 

Muslims in India have it good because 

India’s constitution is a secular one. Siddiqui 

acknowledges this. “India’s constitution gives 

equality to all, I would say this is the best 

country for Muslims in this sense, in fact 

Muslims here have more freedom 

that even in Muslim countries.” The 

Indian Constitution allows Indian 

Muslims to have their Personal Civil 

Laws. And this is the point that the 

major opposition party, the BJP, 

keeps raising and objecting to. But 

while Muslim leaders acknowledge 

that the constitution is a good one, 

they believe that the reality on the 

ground is different. Siddiqui points 

out that the government has failed to 

protect the minorities and Engineer 

says, “Any claims of appeasement of 

Muslims is nonsense. If appeasement 

was happening Muslims would be 

more represented everywhere, but 

they are not getting recruited even 

if they are educated. Everywhere 

they are below 3-4 percent, even 

in the military.” In fact this lack of 

representation of Muslims in the 

police forces and in the army is 

hurtful to Zeenat Shaukat Ali. “As an 

Indian how would I feel?” 

Trends from the National Sample 

Survey Organisation (NSSO) in 

1990-2000 and 2004-05 do show that 

Muslims do face discrimination when 

it comes to getting jobs… and it is 

educated Muslims who face the most 

discrimination. This reiterates Engineer’s 

point that it is educated people who are 

prejudiced against Muslims. The difference 

in the unemployment rate between the two 

communities is significantly less amongst 

the less educated. For example 9 percent 

of Hindus in the rural areas who had 

studied till school level were unemployed 

as compared to 14 percent Muslims, a 

difference of 5 percentage points. In urban 

areas there was no difference at all, with 

both communities facing an unemployment 

rate of 7 percent. However, when it came 

to educated Muslims the scenario was 

different. 15 percent of Muslim graduates 

in rural areas are unemployed as compared 

to only 7 percent of Hindu graduates. And 

10 percent of Muslim graduates in urban 

areas were unemployed as compared to 

5 percent of Hindu graduates. The gap 

in unemployment rates reduces at post 

graduate level, but it does exist. six percent 



of Muslims in rural areas were unemployed 

as compared to 4 percent Hindus. In urban 

areas, there is only one percentile difference 

– 4 percent of Hindus are unemployed as 

compared to 5 percent of Muslims. 

There was also a controversial two-year 

collaborative study by researchers at the 

Indian Institute of Dalit Studies (IIDS) 

and sociologists supported by Princeton 

University’s Institute for International and 

Regional Studies which brought out that 

candidates with distinctly Dalit or Muslim 

names were not called for interviews as 

frequently as those with Hindu upper caste 

names, their resumes being equal. 

While it very difficult to evaluate the 

extent of the bias based on the findings both 

from the NSSO as well as the Princeton 

study, there does seem to be some bias. 

However without going into all the reasons 

why more Muslims are unemployed, it 

is difficult to arrive at any hard and fast 

conclusion. At times the candidate himself 

may not prefer a certain kind of job. Julio 

Ribeiro gives an example from the police 

force. He recounts his own experience 

when he was DIG CRP (Central Reserve 

Police). Acting on a directive from the 

centre to hire more people from the 

minority community, he hired about a 

dozen young Muslim boys. “Within a 

month their own leaders influenced them 

to leave,” complains Ribeiro. And when 

it comes to the poor representation of 

Muslims in the Maharashtra police, he feels 

it is because the state government has made 

Marathi compulsory. “Mumbai may be a 

cosmopolitan city, but it is the capital of 

Maharashtra so we cannot say it is wrong to 

make Marathi compulsory. But it is sad that 

“ 

While family 

background,the 

circumstances, social 

situation all play a part, 

the psychological aspect 

is also important. 

Finally, it does depend 

on how strong your 

mind is. That is why the 

masterminds always 

pick on young people: 

some of the members 

of IM are teenagers. 

” 

even those who know Marathi are being 

influenced by community leaders to give it 

up, I have seen this myself.” 

He believes that there is an urgent need 

to get more Muslims on board, particularly 

in the police force, “but the community,” he 

says needs to look within itself. 

Global terrorism and incorrect interpretation 

of religious texts 

Javadekar believes that the root cause of 

home-grown terrorism is mostly because 

of global terrorism. Terrorism has become 

a world-wide political movement, fuelled 

by religious misinformation. “The reason 

is mainly global terrorism. You see what is 

happening in the Middle East, in Chechnya, 

in Indonesia…if injustice was the main 

cause why should people from well-to-do 

families also be caught?” He gives examples 

of other downtrodden groups in India who 

have not turned to terrorism to solve their 

problems despite suffering great injustice. 

Zeenat Shaukat Ali agrees that the 

misinterpretation of Islam is a problem. “We 

need enlightened interpretation of Islam, of 

the text. Islam is a non-violent religion, but 

there is misrepresentation, not just by non- 

Muslims but also by Muslims.” 

Ribeiro adds: “The biggest problem is 

when someone thinks that only his own 

religion is the only true religion.” He 

believes that such feelings are exploited by 

fanatics who indoctrinate people for their 

own ends, by making wrong interpretations 

of the religion. A combination of religious 

fanaticism and feelings of religious 

discrimination can be a potent combination 

- for vulnerable people. 

Criminals take to terrorism 

And many of these people are criminals 

- mass murderers, no less. “Anyone who 

perpetrates violence is a criminal,” agrees 

Engineer, quite unequivocally. And this is 

borne out by the fact that the number of 

criminal minded people accused in Indian 

Mujahideen (IM) is high. Riyaz Bhatkal 

(alias Mohd Riyaz alias Roshan Khan), 

believed to be the head of (IM) is not just 

linked to Lashkar-e-Toiba, the Pakistanbased 

terror outfit, but has links with the 

criminal underworld. He gave lectures on 

Asghar Ali Engineer, the Director of Centre for Study of 

Society and Secularism 

Mohammed Naseem Siddiqui, Chairman of the 

Maharashtra State Minorities Rights Commission 

Julio Ribeiro, former Commissioner of Police (Mumbai) 

and former Director General of Police (Punjab) 

62 



Sandeep Khardekar, Vice-President of the BJP’s Pune Unit 

austerity, an Islamic lifestyle, and religious 

devotion to gullible recruits, but he led a 

lavish lifestyle. He is believed to have used 

the funds he gathered from terrorist activities 

for his real estate business. And IM collected 

money through hawala, extortion and even 

kidnapping. In fact many of those recruited 

by Bhatkal alias Khan were petty criminals. 

At the same time it is also worth noting 

that the coastal town of Bhatkal in Karnataka 

from where Khan operated, had suffered 

severe communal violence in 1993 - 17 

people were killed, almost a hundred injured 

and hundreds of houses were burnt and 

shops looted. But again, one should take into 

account that most victims of communal riots 

do not become terrorists. An example is that 

of Qutubuddin Ansari, whose pleading face 

became the face of the victims of the Godhra 

riots. He was furious when the IM used his 

photograph in a chilling e-mail sent by them 

a few minutes before the Delhi blasts. 

Psychological factors and brainwashing 

But if a man has no criminal antecedents, 

does not come from the deprived classes, 

has not been a victim of injustice, then what 

makes him turn to terrorism? Weak minded 

individuals, particularly those with a lack 

of closeness to family are susceptible to 

brainwashing by the criminal masterminds. 

This explains why educated people who 

have led a privileged life get indoctrinated 

by terrorists and also manage to fool their 

own family members! A high profile 

Prakash Javadekar, Rajya Sabha MP 

example is that of techie Mohammed 

Mansoor Asghar Peerbhoy who had a 

coveted job. Not that it was easy to recruit 

him. It is said that it took the IM 2-3 years 

to brainwash him, but finally he did turn… 

after being bombarded with horror stories of 

Muslims suffering not just in the rest of the 

world but also in India. He was also shown 

material from the Gujarat riots. Recruiting 

people with non-criminal and well-to-do 

family backgrounds is difficult, but it’s not 

impossible. And it doesn’t always work. It is 

believed that several boys who were worked 

on by the IM backed out of the bombing 

plans as they felt killing of innocents was a 

wrong thing to do. These very boys are now 

cooperating with the police. 

Says Engineer, “While family background, 

the circumstances, social situation all 

play a part, the psychological aspect is 

also important.” Finally, it does depend on 

how strong your mind is. That is why the 

masterminds always pick on young people: 

some of the members of IM are teenagers.” 

Is India a soft state? 

One reason cited for the increasing number 

of terror attacks in India is that the Indian 

government has a soft approach towards 

terrorists. The BJP points out that the 

withdrawal of the tough terror law - POTA 

(Prevention of Terrorist Activities Act 

which allowed the police to detain terror 

suspects without the filing of charges and 

also allowed them to withhold the identities 

of witnesses and treat a confession as proof 

of guilt) was a big mistake. “The government 

has removed TADA and POTA, and today 

we have no effective law in India against 

terrorism,” complains Sandeep Khardekar. 

But there are accusations that TADA and 

POTA helped the police terrorise the 

innocent. After all, a person will say almost 

anything under torture. “Our police are still 

the colonial police. All arrests are arbitrary 

and most of the evidence is by confession 

after torture,” says Engineer. 

And worse, the police are believed to be 

communal. “Great injustice is happening as 

in the name of combing operations,” says 

Siddiqui. Ribeiro admits that there is a bias 

in the police force. “Some of it is natural as 

they are part of the society,” he says. 

So poor is the standing of the police 

that many Muslim leaders doubted the 

genuineness of the Delhi Jamia Nagar 

police encounter in October where two 

suspected terrorists were killed. The courts 

have rejected the demands for an Inquiry. 

“There is no hanky panky there,” confirms 

Ribeiro. “But if Muslims leaders do not 

believe it, then it is a reflection on the 

credibility of the police.” 

Conclusion 

Communal feelings aren’t new to India and 

nor is inequality. In fact, the very fabric of 

our society is built on inequality and a strong 

hierarchy…the feudalism, the caste system, 

the wrenching class divide. The police are 

known to favour the rich and the powerful, 

and there are allegations of corruption too. 

It is these very inequalities which have 

made India a fertile breeding ground for 

violence…whether it is Naxalite violence, 

separatist violence or terrorist violence. If 

more and more terrorists are springing up 

from Indian soil, it is not too surprising. It 

would have happened earlier if the global 

masterminds had decided it should. 

The solutions seem complex and elusive 

but if one has to get to the root of the 

problem, then it’s best to make a start with 

the new generation by making changes in 

the education system, by inculcating ideas 

of secularism. There also needs to be zero 

tolerance for communal politics. 

Nita Jatar Kulkarni is a freelance writer 

based in Mumbai. 


[ LOVE STORY ] 

Arranged Marriage made in 

Heaven, delivered on Earth 

Ram and Veena Buxani are traditionalists; and theirs was a conservative generation that 

didn’t talk and think about love like we do these days. When asked to participate in this 

‘love story’, their first response was, but ours wasn’t a ‘love marriage’, do we qualify? Being 

married for over 42 years is a pretty good qualifier; and a glimpse into their marriage is a 

privilege. Men and women chosen carefully for each other by their families, had stereotypical 

roles that seemed to form a firm foundation holding a lasting relationship. Their definition 

of love needs to be revived today: “Actually, the meaning of love is unconditional concern, 

respect and compassion for the other. This is what Veena and I have for each other.” 

[ By MOna PaRikh McnichOLaS ] 

It was the year 1965. Ram Buxani’s late 

elder brother, Hotan felt it was time that 

he looked for a wife for his brother. He 

felt that after marriage, his younger brother 

would be more responsible and focused. 

According to Hotan, a man was incomplete 

until he is married. It is the woman who 

brings meaning and confidence into his life. 

After partition the Buxanis had settled down 

in Baroda and the obvious choice was to find 

a match in their own hometown. “Some girls 

or their parents found me too fat,” remembers 

Ram, “but there were times, I was the one 

who declined an offer.” 

After a certain amount of searching, the 

family finally found a suitable match for Ram 

in Pune. “Many Sindhi families, particularly 

from Hyderabad Sindh, where I belonged, 

had moved there after partition. So, finding 

a girl for me from a good Sindhi family in 

this town wasn’t a problem. It was my aunt 

from my mother’s side, Pari Sabnani, who 

was the matchmaker.” 

Ram met Veena just once and said yes. 

She was known as Janaki then. Her parents 

also called her Hoori, which is derived from 

Arabic, meaning a very pretty damsel. “We 

Dr Ram Buxani, Executive Vice Chairman of the ITL-Cosmos Group, started working straight after his 

metric exams. Always wanting to take his education to a higher level, in 2004 he received his Doctorate from the 

University of Washington in the study of, ‘The Governance of Dubai, Role of Tribal Elements in the Management 

of the City State’. Veena takes great pride in his many accomplishments and is his biggest fan 

saw each other once, but hardly spoke. In 

those days parents rarely gave that sort of 

exposure to their girls. Veena’s parents were 

undecided, but I had mentally concurred 

with the feelings of my late elder brother 

who had checked out the background of 

the family thoroughly, which was the main 

consideration in those days. I had work in 

64 


[ LOVE STORY] 

Japan soon after that and so I left.” 

“I barely saw him for five minutes,” Veena 

explains, “and all I remember was that he was 

really fat and I was really thin. In fact, I was 

in my ordinary Punjabi suit sitting around 

at home and didn’t even know that he had 

come to check me out or meet the family. 

Even though my father had been told by 

everybody that Buxani is a really good man, 

he wasn’t ready to send me off to Baroda, so 

a year went by in our indecision. Later my 

brother came back from Singapore and asked 

me about him, I said I didn’t even remember 

him. My father called me in and spoke about 

him to me, and in those days we didn’t speak 

back to our father and wouldn’t even think of 

saying no. It’s just not in our attitude to argue 

or question. In fact, I was too shy to even tell 

my father that I was ready to marry Buxani, 

and asked my aunt to tell him. Woh zamaane 

mein, meri zabaan hi nahi khulti.” 

While in Japan, Ram received a 

telegram from Hotan, which simply said: 

“Yourself engaged – Congratulations”. The 

arrangements for the wedding were made in 

his absence, as was the custom in close-knit 

families. “It’s the relatives who undertake 

the responsibility of arranging the wedding 

ceremonies and they consider it a privilege 

to do the legwork; so, even if I had wanted 

to, I could not have done much.” 

“I really saw him properly only when we 

were going through the ring ceremony, and 

after 15 days we were married. Yes, we had 

dowry and a couple of simple functions, not as 

much as these days,” recollects Veena, adding, 

“and I changed my name and he shortened his, 

according to our custom with numerology.” 

So, in 1966, Janaki and Jeevatram, 

became Veena and Ram and were married, 

knowing nothing about each other than 

what their respective families had told 

them, and that their numbers matched. 

They went to Mysore-Ooty-Bangalore for 

their honeymoon, as did everyone else in 

those days and Veena started her married 

life in Baroda in a home with women only 

- her mother-in-law and sister-in-law 

(since her father-in-law had passed away 

before partition and her brother-in-law was 

working in Hong Kong and her husband in 

Dubai). “Both ladies were so good to me. 

Mummy was a brave and strong woman, 

whose husband died long before partition, 

and she had to make her way to Baroda 

The Buxanis (L-R): Bunty & Chetna Shastri, Dr. Ram Buxani, Rekha (Jivika) & Romesh Mirpuri, Veena 

Buxani, Gauri (Hanisha) & Ajay Alwani 

with her kids on her own and raised them 

by making papad and pickles. Even Buxani, 

used to sell combs on the streets of Baroda 

after school to help with the family income,” 

Veena tells the family tale with pride. 

Veena and Ram spent many years after 

their marriage living in separate homes in 

separate countries, meeting sporadically 

whenever he could get away or she could 

be in Dubai. In fact, she only moved 

permanently to Dubai after her mother-inlaw 

passed away and their three daughters 

were already going to primary school. “He 

had a wonderful habit,” gushes Veena, “I 

used to get three letters a week from him, and 

often he’d give us surprise visits. I remember 

once when he came home, he booked us into 

a hotel. The next day, I wanted to go home 

to do all my chores, make him food and tea, 

iron his clothes, make papad... so we moved 

out of the hotel and he rented a flat close 

by. People laughed with amazement that I 

wanted to move out of the hotel because I 

wanted to do work.” Hers was a sweet simple 

desire of a wife who didn’t want to live in a 

hotel room, but wanted to do things for him, 

build a home with him, show him love in her 

way, through her seva. 

Did she get to know her husband slowly 

over time through his many letters, and love 

grew? “No,” Veena said firmly, “I just knew 

him immediately, it didn’t take time at all. It 

isn’t difficult to ascertain a man’s character 

and personality,” she insisted, as a woman 

with strong intuition and conviction. She 

hasn’t faced moments of confusion and 

regret, “we thought in much simpler ways 

back then and acceptance and contentment 

came easy. I really don’t understand what 

husbands and wives fight about. I’ve never 

heard anything bad or loud coming out 

of Buxi’s mouth,” she says lovingly, “his 

svabhav (persona) is so nice I don’t know how 

to express it to you, and I guess he liked my 

nature too. We don’t talk about death and 

afterlife, but it must be my good karma that 

I’ve got a husband like him.” 

“There are no courses that you can take 

to qualify to be a good husband, father 

and friend, though it would be a good idea 

for someone to start these. But still, I feel I 

have done fairly well in all these roles,” says 

Ram, without giving much away, though 

he has a lot to say about his wife. “She’s a 

great human being, very caring about other 

people and with strong family values. I was 

very impressed with the way she performed 

the rituals for the death anniversary of my 

mother and even my father whom she had 

never seen. The loving way she treats my 

sisters and brother. These days this is rare,” 

Ram speaks lovingly of Veena, and adds 

teasingly, “But, she does speak a lot.” 

“Its destiny and normal in our times,” says 

Veena, “today they would never marry like this.” 

Theirs was an arranged marriage in days when 

that was the norm, and divorce wasn’t. “Today, 

marriages seem to break up more easily,” Ram 


[ LOVE STORY] 

Ram and Veena’s wedding... 

Last row (standing) (L-R) Kishini Buxani (Ram’s aunt), Leelavati Khiani (Veena’s mother), Ishwari Buxani (Ram’s mother) 

Second row (sitting) (L-R) Bhagchand Khiani (Veena’s father), Hotan Buxani (Ram’s elder brother) 

Front row (sitting) (L-R) Ram, Veena and Dipak (Hotan’s son) 

...42 years of companionship 

says disturbed, wondering if it is “because of 

economic independence acquired by women, 

which makes them unable to allow men to take 

leadership in the home. And at the same time, 

men have egos and the wrong notion that they 

are superior. This clash,” Ram believes, “results 

in the wounding of a marriage.” 

With 42 years of experience behind him, 

Ram’s take on marriage is worth considering. 

“It is a union of two souls that nurture each 

other, help nature in procreation and form 

the basis for the smooth running of society. A 

marriage where a couple slowly discovers and 

learns new things about each other over a long 

period of time brings excitement, and this is 

important for its success. I feel an arranged 

marriage has more scope to provide this than 

a love marriage.” 

A slowly brewed cup of coffee has a completely 

different aroma and flavor to the instant variety. 

“A love marriage often takes place to make legal 

a union that has already lived a certain amount 

of life and to reveal what was hidden for some 

time. How can it have the same freshness and 

anticipation as that of an arranged marriage? 

With the increasing number of failing love 

marriages, our age old customs are being 

revived, with many people opting to go for an 

arranged marriage.” Ram is convinced. 

Regardless of how you got married, 

“married life,” Ram feels, “is just like a 

functioning cardiogram. It has its own ups 

and downs. Such a life gives more fun and 

meaning to living. A steady cardiogram 

is a sign of death,” Ram illustrates quite 

dramatically, “so there will always be fights 

and misunderstandings, that’s okay, as long as 

you then work to sort them out.” 

Marriages always go through serious 

issues, and the help and intervention of 

loving family and close friends is vital in 

the sustenance of all marriages. Again, Ram 

feels this is easier in an arranged marriage, 

because according to his perception, more 

often than not, couples who’ve chosen their 

own partners seem to suffer in isolation, 

not wanting to bring their problems to the 

attention of their families. 

A strongly family-centric woman, Veena’s 

advice to girls is, “Always listen to your husband 

and don’t take what your mother-in-law says to 

heart. Then things will move smoothly. Many 

people warned us that it wasn’t a good idea for 

me to go live alone with my mother-in-law 

because she was a very strong and dominating 

woman and would make life difficult for me. 

But actually mummy was so nice, and really 

cared about me, our relationship became as a 

daughter-mother.” 

Listening to Veena talk about her different 

experiences with her in-laws made me 

wonder if there was an interesting idea here 

worth exploring. It may sound a little crazy, 

but think about it – maybe it’s a good idea 

for all marriages, if the wife lived with the 

in-laws just by herself for a while, to form 

and forge an independent relationship with 

her husband’s family; and maybe he could 

do the same with her family. The husband 

and wife, for that period would meet on 

weekends and get to know each other as 

would their families. Wouldn’t it make them 

all a bigger and stronger unit which would 

be great for a marriage in the long run? 

So does love matter? How is it defined 

in an arranged marriage? “Actually, the 

meaning of love is unconditional concern, 

respect and compassion for the other. This 

is what Veena and I have for each other. 

Values that women especially are great at 

exhibiting. I was extremely overweight 

66 


[ LOVE STORY ] 

“ 

Traditions and 

values hold 

communities together. 

The best marriage 

advice I can give is 

that young people 

understand the truth 

of the adage ‘love is 

blind, marriage is 

an eye-opener’, or 

else you might have 

regrets later... you 

should initiate love 

with eyes wide open 

and then follow the 

path of marriage 

blindly with faith. 

” 

- around 135 kilos. I could not help that, 

but she accepted me. Also, Veena agreed 

to live in India with my mother while I 

lived alone in Dubai, because in those days 

the company did not give family status. It 

is not very uncommon for women to stay 

separately after children are born. But for a 

newly married girl to live like this was not 

easy. Veena and her parents showed patience 

and confidence. I was indeed blessed.” 

Ram and Veena value their roots, 

traditions and culture, and in an increasingly 

globalised world are aware of the dangers 

of their children and grandchildren losing 

their Indian identity. “We must teach our 

mother tongue to our kids, as well as other 

languages that make them street smart. 

Traditions and values hold communities 

together. The best marriage advice I can 

give is that young people understand the 

truth of the adage ‘love is blind, marriage 

Ram & Veena at their silver wedding anniversary: “I was indeed blessed.” 

is an eye-opener’, or else you might have 

regrets later,” Ram exhorts, adding, “you 

should initiate love with eyes wide open 

and then follow the path of marriage blindly 

with faith.” 

Their successful path has been realized 

by mutual respect and an eagerness to give 

more to each other. Veena typically has spent 

her life raising their three daughters - Gauri 

35, Chetna 36 and Rekha, 39; while Ram 

has been over-involved in his professional 

and social life. “I respect her decision of not 

joining me at many social functions where I 

know she may not be comfortable. She does 

not stop me from my social activities. Her 

non-interfering nature, I believe, is greatly 

responsible for my success,” Ram admits, 

characteristic of many men of his generation. 

As also is the regret for not spending 

more time with his children and parents. 

“Circumstances of my life then didn’t allow 

me to do this. If I could re-do that time of my 

life, I’d do it differently.” 

Maybe after you’ve been married this long, 

most memories are naturally linked with the 

children or grandchildren. And Ram’s deeply 

joyous moment in his married life was, “When 

my eldest daughter Gauri got engaged during 

our trip to St. Maarten, it brought a feeling of 

more maturity in our relationship as we were 

now parents-in-laws as well.” Ram is on a 

spiritual quest. He is inspired by, “Mahatma 

Gandhi who used to blame and punish 

himself for the wrong doing of his children. 

He said that if someone is doing wrong to 

you, then you must have qualified for it.” And 

there many gurus - Swami Chinmayananda, 

Swami Sachidananda, Dada J.P. Vaswani and 

Sadguru Sri Sai Narayan Baba and several 

more. “This can always be a challenge in a 

marriage, but fortunately, we are on the same 

spiritual path. We respect the same spiritual 

leaders although Veena does have her own 

guru whom I respect a lot.” 

Veena talks about her spiritual need. “One 

day, while I was massaging oil in Buxani’s 

hair, I asked him main guru karu (can I take a 

guru), and he said sure. And so I became a 

disciple of Swami Shantiprakashji, and now 

his heir Swami Devprakash. If Buxi had said 

no, I wouldn’t have done it, but that isn’t his 

nature. He won’t say no to anyone, and for 

me this was important because I believe, 

guru bina gut nahin hota. I’m a disciple of one 

guru now, though he isn’t ready to name 

one guru, I know he respects them all and 

it is a very personal and individual thing. 

When he’s ready, he’ll name his guru.” 

Ram is convinced that, “Everything is 

finalized in heaven and delivered to us here 

on earth, including our marriage.” 

Mona Parikh McNicholas is the Associate 

Editor of The International Indian. 


[ SEE U AT THE TOP ] 

Be a team player 

and have good ethics 

“I like working with people who are disciplined, aggressive and more importantly, 

those who have strong ethical values.” 

[ By A STAff wriTEr ] 

Rajiv Srivastava is the General 

Manager of LS2 Corporation, an 

end-to-end information solutions 

provider. Srivastava is in charge of the 

IT distribution subsidiary, LS2 Derinton 

LLC, and is responsible for the company’s 

strategy and business development across 

the region. He has had more than 24 years of 

experience in sales, marketing, and product 

& retail management. 

With operations in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and 

Muscat and an annual turnover of over AED170 

million, LS2 Corporation is one of the fastest 

growing IT companies in the region. 

Prior to his appointment at LS2 

Corporation, Srivastava was with Al Abbas 

Group handling their Hyundai Electronics 

business and Jumbo Electronics Ltd as 

their Senior Manager and Head of the 

Department Agencies. 

A man of few words, but tons of experience, 

Rajiv Srivastava shares his views about the 

IT industry, the challenges and success 

strategies of working in the Gulf and the 

importance of finding the right people with 

right values and attitudes. 

TII: What do you enjoy about this 

industry? 

It is the vibrancy of the technological 

industry; the rapid changes and discovery of 

the innovative products that keep me excited. 

TII: What kind of challenges have you 

encountered at work? Give an example of 

Rajiv Srivastava with his wife, Renu who is an IT professional and works for an Investment Banking company 

at DIFC as an Operations Head and their son Rohan 

when you have worked under pressure. 

Some of the work pressures include, finding 

the right profile of people for the job; 

managing product and channel mix in this 

trade where the products and technology 

are dynamic; and the high volume but very 

thin bottom line. 

In one of my previous assignments, we 

had pressure on the bottom line. It took 

me a couple of months to turn the situation 

around and to make the bottom line 

positive. I achieved this by correcting the 

68 


[ SEE U AT THE TOP ] 

distribution channel mix, products mix and 

improving principal relationships. 

TII: Define what success means to you? 

What are the secrets for success? 

I feel success is managing your role and 

goals in an organization. The key quality 

should be leadership - the ability to be the 

visionary for the people who are working 

under you. 

I have felt successful when I have 

delivered more than the company expected 

out of me and when my team members have 

worked with passion. 

My success is also measured by my 

principals who look at me as a great partner 

and my competitors feel my presence all 

around them. 

TII: How do you measure your own 

performance? 

I analyze my performance with my own 

benchmarks. 

TII: What are you contributing to your 

organisation? 

I believe I bring in a lot of revenue for the 

company with good profits, huge growth, 

and a team that’s motivated as a professional 

customer centric team. 

TII: What do you consider your biggest 

achievement? 

Now I feel that I am at the right place, where 

“ 

i feel success 

is managing your 

role and goals in an 

organization. The 

key quality should be 

leadership - the ability 

to be the visionary for 

the people who are 

working under you. 

” 

I have freedom to put all my learning and 

creative ideas into practice and see the results. 

TII: What was your most difficult career 

challenge and how did you overcome it? 

The biggest challenge I faced was when 

we relocated from India to UAE. The 

market situation and working style was 

totally different here compared to India. 

It took me some time to study the market 

and adapt. 

TII: What is your vision for the 

company? 

To drive LS2 towards being a major 

distribution company for the consumer 

products in the Middle East. Someone has 

said, “Vision without action is a daydream 

and action without vision is a nightmare.” 

TII: How would you describe your 

working style? 

I am very thorough with good management 

skills and am a team player which is vital 

to any organization if you want to achieve 

your goals. 

TII: What kinds of people do you like 

working with? 

Those who are disciplined, aggressive and 

more importantly, people who have strong 

ethical values. 

TII: How did you deal with racism in 

your working career? 

What I believe is that if one tries to 

understand other people, you won’t 

encounter any discrimination. Personally I 

feel if you are friendly with your colleagues 

from different cultures, the differences take 

a back seat. 

TII: What advice would you give to 

aspiring young professionals? 

There is no shortcut for success in life. You 

have to put in maximum effort, be focused 

and try and achieve goals in small chunks. 

The victories are usually small but frequent. 

TII: What are your strengths? 

To be able to build teams, customer 

relations and interpersonal skills – these 

are my strengths. 

TII: What is your greatest weakness? 

I need to think hard about this….but 

seriously, I think it is tough to be ethical in 

this cut throat market. 

TII: What is your passion in life? 

I enjoy my work, driving good cars and 

spending time in my garden. 

Rajiv Srivastava (centre) with his office colleagues: Be a team player 

TII: What are your views on India and 

its future, its place in the world arena? 

India was and is a great place in the world 

today. But we are yet to see the best of 

India. I am confident that we will be the 

one of the top five countries in the world 

in another decade. 


Top: A typical JE stateroom – 

it is comfortable enough for four 

people. With kids extra care must 

be taken when using the balcony 

Brilliance of the seas in Venice waters-it's amazing to see giant cruise ships enter Venice harbour and find a berth 

A Family Cruise Holiday: 

Fun with Three Generations at Sea 

There’s something extraordinary about a cruise holiday and it’s not just about being out at sea, it’s the 

whole package of a floating five star hotel, first rate facilities, Broadway style entertainment, and great food 

anytime you feel like it. Combine all that and you have a vacation that’s probably the most restful as holidays 

go, offering options for enough sightseeing without the stress of lugging heavy baggage around or wondering 

where to eat, or rushing to catch flights. Make it a family affair with three generations at sea and you have a 

memory filled holiday of a lifetime. 

Three generations at sea-two Raj’s and four Parkers: It’s 

not mandatory but few voyagers can pass up a “Welcome on 

Board” photo as an official cruise souvenir 

[ By Frank raj ] 

Tirzah Sanjana our three-yearold 

grand-daughter and Rivkah 

Supriya her 7 year old Didi could 

hardly believe their eyes when they first 

spotted the huge cruise liner waiting to 

sail. As our taxi pulled up at Barcelona’s 

port where the Brilliance of the Seas 

was docked at the pier, watching their 

reactions was a treat in itself. A big cruise 

ship looks like a floating city, awesome 

to anyone who sees it for the first time. 

The girls already delighted with their red 

polka dot flamenco dresses we bought at 

the boarding area boutique, were jubilant 

about their first seafaring adventure. 

Posing enthusiastically for the ship’s 

photographer as he snapped a ‘welcome 

on board’ picture, they could hardly 

wait to get going. Apart from having to 

deposit our Indian passports, check-in 

was fairly painless, and our family of six 

boarded Royal Caribbean’s ‘Radiance 

Class’ Brilliance of the Seas for a twelve 

night Mediterranean cruise starting and 

ending in Barcelona, Spain. 

We had arrived in Barcelona two 

nights in advance to relax and do a bit of 

sightseeing. It was a good idea because 

70 


after a tiring flight from Dubai via Istanbul, 

we all needed to put our feet up and stretch 

out a bit before leaving terra firma for the 

wide blue yonder. In Barcelona, we stayed 

in a quaint Salesian run pensione with huge 

gardens only 15 minutes from Barcelona 

city center by train. Green, full of history, 

with easy access to all the favorite tourist 

spots, Barcelona is a great Spanish city 

worth visiting. Just watch out for Spanish 

taxi drivers, they are more sophisticated 

than their Indian counterparts and when 

it’s Euros, if you get taken for a ride it can 

really mess up the holiday budget. Don’t 

be intimidated, ask about all charges in 

advance, including what they will expect 

you to pay for your luggage. 

Serious travelers after a visit to Barcelona 

can tick off three of the world’s 1,000 best 

places to see - the Catalan National Art 

Museum, Antoni Gaudi’s unfinished 

masterpiece La Sagrada Familia and for Picaso 

art lovers the not to be missed Museu Picaso. 

Three generations of our family were 

sailing on this Mediterranean cruise: Our 

granddaughters Rivkah Supriya and her 

younger sister Tirzah Sanjana; our daughter 

Shana and her husband Benjamin Hudson 

Parker, who are in their 30s; and my wife 

Christine and me, in our 50s. If the travel 

industry figures are right, we are among 16 

million other families who choose to travel 

together for multi-generational family 

reunions yearly. 

Excitement mounted for the girls after 

we boarded the ship, as they explored their 

stateroom, receiving strict instructions 

about not using the balcony by themselves, 

and discovering how to use all the cabin 

facilities. Our 

‘Superior Ocean 

View State Room’ 

with a balcony was 

big enough for the 

four of us with two 

double beds, one of 

them being a sofa 

bed, which is okay 

except the room is 

a bit cramped when 

the extra bed is 

used. It wasn’t the 

first holiday with 

their grandparents 

but the girls were 

intrigued at being 

sea-bound for 

nearly two weeks 

in our company. Interconnected cabins are 

available but the kids’ parents were in a 

‘Deluxe Ocean View Stateroom’ on another 

floor. into the ship early like we did for a 

relaxed lunch, it gives you plenty of time to 

explore, eat, and take it easy before the ship 

sets sail in the evening. Like a flight, a cruise 

also begins with safety instructions in case 

of an emergency at sea. A mandatory safety 

exercise drill on how to use the lifeboats, 

Barcelona has these quaint three passenger tricycles - good fun for short city trips 


[ TRAVEL ] 

Rivkah and Tirzah with their “Thathi” Christine. The cops in Malta remind you of Rudyard Kipling stories of the 

British Raj. Malta is a very interesting place to visit - many Sindhi shopkeepers thriving there 

lifejackets etc., is conducted for all the 3,000 

or so passengers on board. And then as we all 

sat around in the Windjammer Coffee Shop, 

the Brilliance of the Seas drew in her anchor 

and slipped into the ocean unnoticed by 

most passengers. We were all busy chatting 

about how to get the most out of the ocean 

voyage. Making friends, meeting people and 

rediscovering the art of long conversations 

over a drink or a meal are some of the 

highlights of a long sojourn at sea. Nobody 

is in a hurry to go anywhere! 

The difference between a land vacation 

and a cruise is probably the level of stress 

free experience you undergo - on a cruise 

nobody gets stuck doing anything they don’t 

want to. When you stay at a hotel, there are 

inevitable decisions about choosing places 

to eat out, keeping enough cash in the 

pocket, carting luggage around, finding 

local transport, rushing to airports etc. 

On a cruise none of this applies. Once you 

board everything is paid for and cash is not 

necessary. Using your Sea Pass you only pay 

for extras like alcohol, specialty restaurants, 

spa visits, on board shopping etc. The family 

gets more time with each other having 

no concern for the usual holiday hassles. 

I especially wanted to get to know our 

grandchildren, whom I don’t see as often as 

I’d like to; and there was plenty of time to 

catch up with our daughter and son-in-law. 

A cruise offers activities and entertainment 

for all age groups so our three-generation 

holiday at sea was the ideal vacation. 

For some folks twelve days at sea might 

seem too long, but we didn’t think so. For us 

the saddest part of the cruise was returning 

to the port of disembarkation! In fact after 

we returned from the holiday, our little 

girls have been moaning about how they 

would have preferred to remain on board 

instead of joining us for sightseeing. We had 

taken them along to explore Venice on both 

days the ship docked there, and they were 

complaining! As adults we sometimes forget 

that our children’s idea of fun is different 

from ours. But parents are also keen to show 

their kids the great sights on their itinerary, 

which is also part of the whole group 

experience. Most families want to record 

the cruise for posterity, and the opportunity 

to take family photos in various countries is 

one of the big highlights of the trip. 

Nonetheless everyone in the family 

enjoyed the mega sailing experience around 

the Mediterranean – especially the girls, 

who probably fantasized they were living 

out of one of their storybooks. As we often 

spun yarns about various creatures hiding 

in the deep blue sea their eyes would be 

wide open and they would plead, “Tell us 

that story again!” A natural storyteller in 

the oral tradition, my wife could easily fill a 

book with the tales she effortlessly concocts 

Christine, Shana & Benjamin with Rivkah, Tirzah at St Peter’s in Rome. Plenty of pigeons for the kids to enjoy 

feeding while you ponder on Michaelangelo’s masterpieces. Rome is just one hour away from the port of Civitavecchia 

–check train timings carefully when you go 

72 


[ TRAVEL ] 

for them. Out at sea, while the children on 

board enjoy a crafts session in the supervised 

playroom, young couples have many options 

like a culinary demonstration, or a lecture 

from various specialists, a movie, a variety 

of indoor outdoor activities, The older 

folks might enjoy a real English tea with 

sandwiches, scones, bread pudding etc., in 

the coffee shop, or chill out by the poolside 

or rejuvenate in the Jacuzzi or sauna. 

When male passengers are occupied with 

their interests, the ladies can enjoy their 

recreation time too. Mothers are at peace 

knowing the kids are safe under professional 

supervision in the ship’s Adventure Ocean 

program. A mobile phone is given to every 

parent who leaves a child in the care of the 

ship’s staff in case of any emergency. There 

is time for a massage and other treatments 

at the Brilliance Day Spa and lots more to 

do. Some programs are also offered for the 

whole family, including bingo for prizes, 

various games, karaoke, disco dancing, etc. 

Some of Royal Caribbean’s other ships have 

ice skating, mini-golf, surfing etc. There 

are plenty of activities on board for kids, 

the challenge is to balance them all with 

sightseeing at ports of call. 

Rivkah and Tirzah had a great time joining 

the Adventure Ocean complimentary 

program of fun and educational activities 

open to kids of all ages from 3 – 17. Separated 

by age groups the youngsters get to learn 

about local customs, do science experiments 

and make friends, with special privileges 

for the older ones. Adventure Ocean staff 

are all certified in CPR and have college 

degrees in education, recreation and related 

fields with experience in working with 

children. Babysitting is also available on a 

limited basis in your cabin or as a group, 

for minimum 1 year olds. There are also 

playgroups for 6 to 36 month-olds who are 

designated Aqua babies and Aqua Tots. 

Dining is particularly easy, and varied 

enough to please different tastes. The only 

complaints we heard was that timings could 

be a little more kid friendly, a little earlier 

for those whose kids were used to sleeping 

early. For a typical meal, the youngsters 

could opt for basics like burgers and hot dogs 

poolside, or join everyone in the informal, 

buffet-style Windjammer Café. Options are 

quite mindboggling and include a sushi/ 

salad bar, along with half a dozen stations 

with pizza/pasta, tantalizing main courses 

including Indian food and a large variety 

of desserts and ice cream. In the evenings 

a table-service formal dinner is a stylish 

option if you are so inclined. Complimentary 

room service is another option to be enjoyed 

whenever you feel like it. Family dining on 

Eating out can be expensive in Europe. Look out for these small cafes when you are sightseeing and feel like 

having a bite 

A Gondolier in Venice in full regalia. Gondola rides 

can cost you 100 Euros or more but they have a cheaper 

version similar to the Abra in Dubai 

a cruise if great, everyone eats what they 

like and if something doesn’t quite hit the 

spot, go and try something else! There is 

simply too much food available and if you 

are health conscious, it is advisable to stick 

to light meals and get some form of exercise 

everyday even if it’s just a long walk around 

the ship on the appropriate deck or use the 

excellent gymnasium. 

Many cruise itineraries are suitable for 

families and the Mediterranean is definitely 

one of the best because you can see so 

many countries in a relatively short time. 

Europe’s old world charm is an experience 

hard to match anywhere else and even kids 

are unlikely to forget chasing pigeons in St. 

Peter’s square in Rome or the Gondola rides 

in Venice, the ruins of Pompeii and great 

pizza in Naples. That’s just Italy - our 12 day 

sojourn took us from Barcelona (Spain) to 

Cannes, (French Riviera) Livorno near Pisa 

and Florence, Naples, Venice, Civitavecchia 

(an hour away from Rome) Malta, and Split 

(Croatia); and each destination had its 

unique delights. Brilliance of the Seas spent 

about 12 hours in each port most of the time, 

with two nights in Venice. Everyone had 

enough hours to enjoy their preferences, 

shopping, and attractions without really 


[ TRAVEL ] 

having to hurry back to the ship. Some 

folks even preferred to venture out in the 

morning, return for lunch to the ship and go 

sightseeing again till it’s time to sail in the 

evening. You can do a lot in one day if you 

are reasonably organized. 

To get the most out of our time in ports we 

were keen to explore, we would have an early 

7am breakfast and get ready to disembark as 

soon as the ship docked. Deciding on ‘must 

see’ places in advance is a good idea not only 

to get things done but also for budgeting 

purposes. For instance Pompeii is one place 

you cannot miss on a Mediterranean cruise, 

but it is a long taxi ride from the port of 

Naples, and you need to allocate several 

hours to see it. Europe is not a place for 

aimless wandering, taxis are expensive and 

even a simple snack can cost you ten euros 

if you don’t know where to eat. Unless you 

want to splurge, look for cafeterias that have 

a selection of tasty snacks rather than full 

meals that are waiting for you on board. You 

can even pack a picnic lunch from the ship 

and take it with you. 

“With two children in tow, our family 

vacation at sea, had more helping hands, and 

that made a big difference to our vacation” 

said our daughter Shana admitting how nice 

it was to have her Mama and Papa along on 

the cruise. 

“We all had such a good time, three 

generations at sea made it so much more 

fun than it would have been with just two.” 

More and more families seem to be finding 

out about the rewards 

of threegenerational 

get-togethers. A survey 

of 400 agents by the 

American Society of 

Travel Agents found 

that 64.5 percent had 

seen their multigenerational 

groups 

increase in the last five 

years. 

After experiencing a 

floating vacation you 

tend to compare the 

Rivkah and friends at lunch with the Adventure Ocean staff – the program 

for kids is fully supervised by qualified staff. I was not allowed to photograph 

the other kids faces for security reasons. 

difference between 

doing Europe on a land 

tour versus a cruise. Many people would 

probably be just as happy to commute from 

city to city by train or road, but you have to 

admit it is hard work, compensated perhaps 

by seeing a little more. 

On a cruise you unpack your bags once 

when you board the ship. If you are smitten 

by the sea, you will want to do it again and 

figure out ways to improve the experience. 

Cruising allows you to explore by day and 

relish the comfort of a cruise ship by night 

or whenever you are tired and want to stay 

on board to enjoy the facilities. 

Based on our experience, here are some 

tips for a family cruise: 

• Book early if you want a connecting 

cabin. For the best selection, book at least 

six months in advance, and if possible, a 

year in advance. 

• A safe is provided in your 

room for valuables and the 

wardrobes are spacious 

enough.You can opt for formal 

dining in the evenings, so 

bring along some formal 

wear, but its mostly casual 

dining so keep the luggage 

light, wear shorts is okay 

most of the time. 

• Daily on-board routines 

and activities are provided in 

Compass – the ship’s newsletter. 

It is quite detailed and the 

There are plenty of Indian crew on board to make you feel at home. (Left) Anshuman 

Gune, Asst F& B Manager with some of his crew in the Windjammer Café 

range of activities available 

is mindboggling. Pick your 

favorites everyday and note 

the timings carefully. Try and 

experience new things like learning how to 

dance the Salsa or play a round of mini-golf. 

Movies are shown throughout the day in a 

regular theatre and in your room TV and 

Internet availability is 24 hours at fixed rates. 

After dinner head to the live theatre for off 

Broadway type shows, some of them are of 

high caliber and worth watching. With a 

discotheque, karaoke, and other options you 

can be entertained 24 hours if you choose. 

• Brilliance of the Seas had two formal dinner 

options and since we had young children, we 

opted for the first 6.30 pm seating. Dinner at 

8:30 p.m would be too late for the kids. A 

children’s menu is available. There are also 

specialty restaurants where you must pay 

separately for dining 

• Besides the cruise costs consider all 

expenses like air fares, en route airport 

expenses, tipping, shore excursions, meals 

ashore, souvenirs etc.). The cost of a basic 

cruise alone is about US$ 125-200 a day, 

depending on the cabin you choose and the 

month you travel. 

• For further details contact: 

Lakshmi Durai 

Executive Director - Middle East 

Royal Caribbean 

P.O Box 72785 Dubai, UAE 

Tel: +971 4 3314299 

Fax: +971 4 3310583 

E-mail: sales@royalcaribbean-arabia.com 

www.royalcaribbean-arabia.com 

Frank Raj is the founding editor 


74 


[ INDIA THESE DAYS ] 


[ MONEYWISE ] 

The Route to Financial 

Meltdown 

“How did this all start again? Haven’t we learned any lessons from history? Is this 

just another boom bust cycle? Or is it something far worse? Finally, what do we do 

right now in these tumultuous times?” 

[ BY BOB ParkEr ] 

Never in 30 years of financial planning 

have we in this industry experienced 

anything like it. In fact 

unless you are over 80 you cannot possibly 

remember the 1929 Great Depression. 

Louise McKenzie a US citizen now 91 can. She 

hears echoes of her past in the economic turmoil 

of late, which many analysts have described as 

the worst since the “Black Tuesday” stock market 

crash of 1929. At the height of the Depression 

that spanned the 1930s, unemployment rates 

reached almost 25 percent. 

The common adage of the time, McKenzie 

recalled, was: “Use it up. Wear it out. Make 

it do. Do without.” The ethic of conserving 

money – and avoiding credit – stuck with 

many in her generation for the rest of their 

lives. Some have never used a charge card 

or rarely allowed a balance due. 

How did this all start again? Haven’t we 

learned any lessons from history? Is this just 

another boom bust cycle? Or something far 

worse? Finally, what do we do right now in 

these tumultuous times? 

It all started in the early part of this 

century with the George Bush government 

fuelling a consumer led economy. The 

whole house price rise excitement led 

to more and more unregulated bad risk 

lending as lenders chased after a burgeoning 

market for mortgages. As the market grew 

and house prices spiralled upwards lenders 

started to sell mortgages to people with bad 

credit histories and started putting products 

together that were simply unsustainable in a 

crisis. That crisis started in 2007 when this 

lending (the sub prime) started to unravel. 

But not before a whole new industry created 

a new financial instrument known as “Credit 

Default Swaps” that took the derivative that 

took the derivative industry to new heights 

and cloaked the whole mess in secrecy – who 

knows who the lender of last resort now is? 

In the USA in April 2007 (aptly named) 

New Century Financial, disappeared in 

a blaze of bankruptcy. This triggered the 

crisis which led to losses being reported at 

bigger and better banks too. 

In September 2007 the crisis crossed 

the Atlantic Ocean with the astonishing 

news that a UK lender – Northern Rock 

was suffering and there was a run on the 

bank. The UK government bailed them out 

by nationalising the bank. Desperate times 

desperate measures. 

Then the catastrophe, on 14th March 

2008 Bear Stearns falls, but the Fed moved 

quickly to arrange a sale to JP Morgan Chase. 

To allow Bear Stearns to go under would 

have created widespread devastation in the 

banking industry and yet on September 15th 

– 6 months later the Fed allowed Lehmans 

to file for the world’s largest ever bankruptcy 

– where was the logic? 

If we wind right up to date and following 

Lehmans and AIG and other major disasters 

its worth taking a quick look at the 10 

days leading up to Black Friday the 15th 

of October to remind ourselves how fast 

things were unwinding and how perilous is 

the current situation. 

September 30th 2008 

The London market opens to carnage with 

all the banking shares clobbered following 

the Asian markets weak response to the failed 

Wall Street bailout. 

October 1st 2008 

Warren Buffett decides to buy $3bn worth of 

General Electric whilst Fortis shelves plans to sell 

3bn Euro of its shares as no one wants them. 

October 2nd 

US Senate votes in favour of the Wall Street 

bailout whilst European leaders discuss a 

$400bn bailout. 

October 3rd 

US jobs data are worse than expected and 

the UK government authorises an increase 

of the bank compensation scheme from 

35,000 to 50,000 sterling per depositor. 

October 4th 

Europeans leaders attend an emergency 

76 


[ MONEYWISE ] 

summit in Paris. 

October 5th 

German Chancellor announces deposits in 

German Banks will be secure. 

October 6th 

The London FTSE market has its largest 

one day fall. 

October 7th 

Iceland Bank, Icesave, blocks savers from 

withdrawing funds. 

October 8th 

Icesave accounts declared in default, FTSE 

drops to lowest levels since 2004 and UK 

announces £500bn banking rescue package 

to the public. 

October 9th 

The IMF announces emergency plans to 

bail out governments affected by the crisis 

and warns no country will be immune. 

October 10th 

BLACK FRIDAY 

A global stock market rout starts in Asia as 

recession fears deepen, the Nikkei falls by 

10% the biggest drop for 20 years. 

So here I am sitting at my computer in 

these astonishing times deciding how to 

advise you, dear reader, on how to best handle 

your financial situation. It is possible that 

you are one of the thousands whose portfolio 

has dropped by 60% this year, you may be 

a Middle East property speculator and have 

lost a fortune, you may be about to retire and 

all your life savings have sunk like a stone, you 

may be Mr average like me and wonder if you 

can ever trust the investment world again. 

In my opinion we may now be facing 3 or 

4 years of a very deep recession with the next 

12 to 18 months being extremely volatile and 

uncertain but unlike Louise Mckenzie, I do not 

think we are heading for a Great Depression. 

The world today is a very different place to 

the late 1920’s – for a start India and China are 

talking about 6%+ growth in 2009 – those are 

incredible plans and yet they are achievable 

because of their internal economies – over 

80% of the Indian economy feeds on itself 

and it is not export led. 

The US economy which took us into this 

mess and will have to take us out is much 

more integrated into the rest of the world 

than in 1929. They hopefully have elected 

the right leader in Obama and he will like 

his democratic predecessor, Clinton, restore 

some sanity to the US economy. 

In the meantime, what do we poor mortals 

do? In times like these it is more about holding 

on to your job, your income and hopefully 

your assets. Certainly when it comes to your 

investments, assuming like me, you have huge 

losses then you should just hang in there! Do 

not sell – these losses are only on paper, and 

one day they will bounce back. In my case 

I will probably be pushing 70 but it's better 

than crystalising a 60% loss! 

Get rid of your debt – especially 

expensive debt like credit cards. If you are 

saving every month in medium to long term 

savings, this is a great time to increase the 

savings because you are buying cheap! 

Finally, the first priority in a financial crisis 

is do a full review of everything ( a qualified 

financial adviser can help you here). Check your 

basics are in order – Life assurance, disability 

cover, health cover, pension savings and if you 

are one of the fortunate people who have cash to 

invest then this is going to be a time for bargains. 

My big tip for a 2009 bargain hunter expat 

is to buy into the Greater London residential 

real estate market – we in the Middle East have 

the double whammy of massive drops in value 

by desperate people and a very weak pound. 

If you are a dollar (or equivalent) earner you 

will not do much better than to buy and let an 

apartment in London next year and you can 

still borrow 75% on mortgage! 

Bob Parker is a seasoned UK qualified 

Independent Financial Adviser. He formed 

Holborn Assets in 1999, which is now a 

pre-eminent financial advisory service with over 

35 qualified advisers and staff. 

Email: robert@holbornassets.com 

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12/3/2008 5:07:32 PM 


[ BUZZ WORD ] 

NEXUS: Maturing Insurance Markets Challenge 

GCC Insurers to Raise Service Levels 

Michael Walton, Director for General Insurance, Nexus 

The GCC insurance market is rapidly 

evolving as expatriates choose to call the 

UAE and surrounding regions ‘home’ 

for longer periods of time. “More working expats 

are adopting the mentality of entrepreneurs 

and are willing to invest in commercial 

and trading opportunities. Banks, wealth 

management firms, insurers and financial advisors 

need to identify challenges that could 

arise as the industry expands and new government 

regulations come in to place,” commented 

Michael Walton, Director of General 

Insurance at Nexus Group 

One of the key challenges insurers face in the 

UAE and across the region is the limited market 

penetration of life insurance and non-life 

covers. Although these are changing trends, it 

is still paramount to raise awareness, educate 

customers and offer standardised products. 

“Market analysts strongly believe that life insurance 

plays a key role to raise the level of 

savings in an economy, plus channel savings 

as funds into the capital market. Regional 

economists understand this and look to encourage 

the penetration of life insurance in 

the Middle East,” added Walton. 

As international and local insurers 

compete for larger market shares, their 

audience is becoming more economically 

aware, globally connected and sophisticated 

in their demands,” concluded Walton. 

www.nexusadvice.com 

Giordano achieves double 

digit growth in the region 

The Chairman and 

CEO of Giordano International, 

Dr. Peter 

Lau, attended Giordano’s 

annual regional meeting 

and commemorated the 

brand’s successful growth 

and expansion in the region. 

During his visit, Dr. 

Peter Lau discussed the 

ongoing global and regional 

expansion as well as 

the group’s brand portfolio 

which includes Concepts, 

Giordano Junior and BSX. 

“Giordano is now 

stronger than ever. Since 

its inception in 1981, we 

have been on an upward 

trajectory that has taken the 

brand to new heights. The Dr Peter Lau, Chairman and Chief Executive 

Middle East is one of our Giordano International Limited 

strongest regions. Despite 

the current economic landscape, Giordano’s heritage and high 

standards of operational efficiency in the retail world has ensured 

that the brand maintains its momentum and achieves consistent 

growth. We intend to continue this trend during the years to come, 

without compromising on our quality and value,” said Lau. 

ETA Star and its partners 

raise AED2 million for 

‘Habitat for Humanity’ 

Dubai Lifestyle 

City, Homes 

r Us and Star 

Cement partnered 

with ETA Star to 

be part of this noble 

venture. The 

contribution from 

the ‘Homes for the 

Homeless’ initiative 

will be used to 

build homes for the 

needy across India, 

Pakistan, Bangladesh 

and Ethiopia. 

Commenting on the 

Indian actor John Abraham, the goodwill ambassador 

for Habitat of Humanity, receives a cheque worth 

AED2 million from ETA Star and its partners on 

behalf of Habitat for Humanity at a special event 

held at the InterContinental Hotel, Dubai 

partnership with the Homes for the Homeless initiative, Mr. 

Rick Hathway, Area Vice President, Asia-Pacific region, Habitat 

for Humanity International, said: “We are very thankful to ETA 

Star and its partners for their involvement and contribution. 

This donation would go a long way in providing a shelter 

to people who are struggling to make ends meet -- without a 

roof over their head. We hope initiatives such as this would set 

an example for other corporate houses and be a catalyst in the 

development of impoverished communities.” 

78 


[ BUZZ WORD ] 

Honda launches the ‘All New Jazz’ 

for the PAN GCC region 

Honda Motor Co., Ltd. launched the ‘All New Jazz’ for the PAN GCC region. The 

second generation Jazz inherited the DNA from its extremely successful first 

generation and has evolved into another masterpiece improving on elements based on 

global customer feedback. 

The second generation Jazz was also developed following the tradition of Honda’s 

man maximum, machine minimum concept with the goal of setting a benchmark in the 

highly competitive segment. 

In addition to that, packaging, 

utility and driving performance 

have been further advanced on 

the New Jazz to provide an 

answer to all the requirements 

of everyday life including the 

sudden and unexpected. 

Honda’s man maximum, machine 

minimum concept is a basic 

approach to car design that calls 

for maximising space available for 

humans by minimising the space 

occupied by the machine. 

Panatech gifts world’s 

largest plasma TV 

Al Futtaim Panatech presents 103” 

plasma TV – the world’s largest plasma 

TV to Surinder Singh Kandhari. 

Kandhari was the recipient of the 103” 

plasma TV during the Legends of the Lords 

event at the Atlantis hotel. 

L-R: Saeed Binbella, Sales Manager, Al Futtaim 

Panatech, Shaun Sullivan, General Manager of 

Al-Futtaim Panatech, recipient of the 103-inch plasma 

TV Mr. Surinder Singh Kandhari and Maushum Basu, 

Divisional Manager – Marketing, Al-Futtaim Panatech 

Jet Airways wins 

the TTG Travel 

Award 2008 

Jet Airways won the prestigious TTG 

Travel Award 2008, for ‘Best Domestic 

Airlines’. TTG Travel Award winners 

are selected, based on votes cast by readers 

of the TTG magazine across the Asia 

Pacific region. 

Jet Airways becomes the recipient of 

the TTG Travel Award for the sixth year, 

having previously won the same in the years 

2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007. 

Commenting on winning the Award 

at the Gala Dinner, Mr. Gaurang Shetty, 

Senior Vice President, Alliance & Interline 

Distribution said, “Having redefined 

the passengers flying experience in India 

for over a decade, at Jet Airways we continue 

to constantly raise the bar in terms 

of service excellence. Awards such as these 

stand testimony to our efforts to build a 

truly world-class Indian airline, at par 

with the best.” 

Liali Golf Tournament 

As a part of their 

10th Anniversary 

celebration, Liali 

Jewellery organised the 

Liali Jewellery Golf 

Tournament & Exhibition 

at the Arabian 

Ranches Golf Club. 

The two-a-team golf 

tournament was widely 

participated by men and 

women from all over 

UAE with over a 100 Left to right: Ksenia Grayling, Richard Stillwell, Oofrish Contractor, Divya 

participants who had a Tandon, Peter Hedley and Tony Grayling 

great day on the field 

and with attractive prizes of cash vouchers for Liali Jewellery. They also showcased an 

exhibition of their diamond pieces and the rare Akoya, South Sea and Tahitian pearl 

strands. The response was great and Liali Jewellery is encouraged to part of the community 

with these events. 

Liali Jewellery was started in 1999 by an enterprising Indian - Anuraag Sinha in 

partnership with Raed Baker of the Dutco Group of Companies with their first store at 

Jumeirah Centre. Today the chain boasts of 25 retail stores in major shopping malls and 

high street stores in the UAE, Bahrain & Spain. 


[ FUTURE QUEST ] 

Christmas: Priceless Gift for All or Just One 

Religion’s Unauthorised Monopoly? 

Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? Who hath gathered the wind in his fists? Who hath bound the waters in a garment? 

Who hath established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is his son’s name, if thou canst tell? – Proverbs 30: 4 

Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it. – Luke 18: 7 

I am not alone at all, I thought. I was never alone at all. And that, of course is the message of Christmas. We are never alone. 

– Taylor Caldwell 

[ By FRANK RAJ ] 

At my age, Christmases past tend to blur 

and remain a few jumbled memories. 

Special family traditions and joyful 

childhood moments eclipse what could have 

been filled with more meaning rather than just 

participating in Christmas as the clichéd ‘eat, 

drink and make merry’ syndrome the world 

thinks it is. My Christmas memories make me 

melancholy-I somehow knew I was missing the 

wood for the trees going along with customs that 

made it something it wasn’t. One activity was 

worthwhile though - every year in the freezing 

Delhi winter my brothers and I would go carol 

singing with a bunch of schoolmates mostly 

from St. Columba’s. We didn’t fully understand 

the good news we were singing about, but we 

eagerly anticipated yuletide treats from the 

homes that invited us to share homemade 

fruitcake and maybe something more. The 

lyrics so universally cherished, have stayed with 

us, and we know most carols verbatim. 

As I look back on those days I wish the words 

of my favorite carols had penetrated my mind 

sooner rather than much later. Remember your 

God in your youth, the scriptures urge us. I did 

not know that injunction and my heart sighs, for 

mine could have been a life more responsible. In 

a society that still lives for consumption, I was 

aimless and lost for a big chunk of my youth. 

My biggest regret is my delay in unlocking the 

wisdom of the scriptures - after nearly three 

decades of blissful, costly ignorance. 

Christmas is probably the greatest challenge 

to the world for those who genuinely seek 

to know God. If it’s the truth, (something 

only individually discernible) it dares us to 

investigate the most awesome event in history. It 

is not a festival for irreverent, thoughtless merry 

making, nor is it something to be celebrated only 

in December by lighting up a Christmas tree. 

And so it was that my first real Christmas 

came at a time in my life when all the chickens 

had come home to roost, and like the prodigal 

I had run out of alternatives. It was actually in 

August of 1976, when a remarkable but painfully 

slow transformation began after I was ready to 

admit my failures. From that point began the 

gradual process of freedom as I started dealing 

with seriously flawed character traits to put it 

mildly that literally had me in chains. Bondages 

broke one by one, and thankfully the process 

of change still continues. My spiritual trek has 

taken me a long way from institutional faith. 

Like most people for much of my life I 

staunchly adhered to what I thought was my 

own religion. But I began to see clearly that God 

couldn’t possibly care about masses of people 

following this ritual or that tradition, especially 

when they have no impact on men’s lives. Yet 

in and out of our homes we allow ourselves to 

be controlled by various religious middlemen 

who claim a hotline to the giver of all life. I 

rather sensed the Creator’s desire for a personal 

relationship, not an emphasis on what pious men 

and their strange rules demand. 

Most importantly I realized I couldn’t 

authenticate my life and I knew I was in trouble, 

even by what I considered my own fairly decent 

standards. A strong conviction of right and wrong 

seemed to pierce my very being. How could I be 

a different person I wondered with a helplessness 

verging on despair as I wrestled with the 

impossibility of change. Only when I glimpsed a 

light beckoning at the end of what turned out to be 

a much longer tunnel than it appeared to be at first, 

did a flicker of hope suggest I could be whole. 

I have been stumbling towards that light 

ever since that first Christmas when the Truth 

incarnated in my heart. Some folks change quickly 

but my journey of understanding and personal 

growth is a slow one. When a life goes astray 

and gets bound in different ways, only God’s 

intervention can help an individual overcome the 

evil that is determined never to give up its hold. 

Seeking power over their faction, political and 

religious leaders and institutions have convoluted 

the simple spiritual relationship available with 

the Creator. To be loosed from their clutches, 

one’s religion must cease to be the exclusive 

militant obsession it is for many, if the truth is 

to be grasped. We are human beings, not the 

popular, divisive labels that all religions have 

cleverly tacked on to us. The only true religion 

is one where an individual serves and cares for 

people not because God can be bribed with good 

works but because he cares about his fellow man. 

Understanding the miracle of what is known as 

the Incarnation - God’s entry into history, holds the 

key to man’s longing for an eternal home. It is the 

greatest promise of the scriptures, and plain logic 

dictates it can only be a free gift - impossible for 

mortal man to earn. This is a prize no middleman 

can play a role in obtaining for us, or any religious 

membership promise. No religion can claim a 

spiritual monopoly on our eternal salvation-none 

has been given the authority. 

Christmas is about simplicity and accessibility 

not any kind of exclusivity. About a Savior who 

came to seek and to save what was lost. In every 

authentic Christmas a rebirth happens - Emmanuel 

- God with us and his Truth rejuvenates us. 

Things could possibly have been simpler if we 

did not have a free will, but God designed us to 

have it. The gift of Christmas is available to all, 

but so is the choice of accepting it or rejecting it. 

Regardless of the choice that one makes, 

hopefully it is only after thoroughly investigating 

the possibility that 2,000 years ago God may 

have intruded into human life. 

Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, 

Futurequest is a search for the truth in our times. 

Frank Raj is the founding editor of 

The International Indian. 

80 


AL-FUTTAIM AL-FUTTAIM WATCHES Dubai: WATCHES Mall Dubai: of the Mall Emirates of the (04) Emirates 341 0354 (04) THE 341 WATCH 0354 THE HOUSE: WATCH Dubai HOUSE: Dubai Dubai Festival Dubai City Festival (04) 206 City 6970, (04) Bur 206 Juman 6970, Bur Centre Juman (04) Centre 352 8699 (04) 352 8699 

Lamcy Plaza Lamcy (04) 334 Plaza 8073, (04) Al 334 Maktoum 8073, Al Street Maktoum (04) Street 228 9593 (04) Abu 228 Dhabi 9593 Abu Marina Dhabi Mall Marina (02) 681 Mall 1665, (02) Abu 681 Dhabi 1665, Mall Abu Dhabi (02) 645 Mall 2001, (02) Hamdan 645 2001, Centre Hamdan (02) Centre 632 9254, (02) 632 9254, 

Foutouh Al Foutouh Khair (02) Al 633 Khair 3850, (02) Al 633 Wahda 3850, Mall Al Wahda (02) 443 Mall 7021 (02) Ajman 443 7021 Ajman Ajman City Ajman Centre City (06) Centre 748 0030 (06) Al 748 Ain 0030 Al Jimi Al Ain Mall Al (03) Jimi 763 Mall 3970, (03) Al 763 Ain 3970, Mall Al (03) Ain 751 Mall 2922 (03) 751 2922 

and across and all Time across Zone all Time outlets Zone in the outlets UAE. in Dealer the UAE. in Dubai Dealer Mall in Dubai - Watches Mall Corner - Watches (04) Corner 434 1255 (04) 434 1255 

e-mail: e-mail: afwatches.jewellery@alfuttaim.ae www.al-futtaim.com www.al-futtaim.com 

www.afwj-uae.com

THE INTERNATIONAL - International Indian

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