cover backcover2_Layout 1 - Overseas Indian

CONNECTING INDIA WITH ITS DIASPORA 

NURTURING 

INDIANNESS 

Vol 3 Issue 4-5 April-May 2010 

PRAVASI BHARATIYA 

‘My attempt is to create a feeling of Indianness 

in every person of Indian origin who lives abroad...’ 

Vayalar Ravi, Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs 

MINISTRY OF OVERSEAS INDIAN AFFAIRS

CONNECTING INDIA WITH ITS DIASPORA 

izoklh Hkkjrh; dk;Z ea=ky; 

Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs 

GLOBAL-INDIAN 

NETWORK OF KNOWLEDGE 


PRAVASI BHARATIYA 

AN INITIATIVE OF THE MINISTRY OF OVERSEAS INDIAN AFFAIRS 

The Overseas Indian Facilitation Centre (OIFC) has partnered 

with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to develop the Global‐INK framework. 

An online web portal, it is powered by SupportCentral, a next generation knowledge 

management, collaboration and business solutions platform. 

The communities will also provide an array of collaboration tools: 

● Blogs ● Forums ● Ask an Expert ● Document management and sharing ● Online resource databases 

lR;eso t;rs 



www.overseasindian.in


 

 

 

‘My attempt is to create a feeling of Indianness in every person 

of Indian origin who lives abroad...’ 

Vayalar Ravi, Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs 

MINISTRY OF OVERSEAS INDIAN AFFAIRS 

Printed and Published by 

Mithlesh Kumar on behalf of the 


Akbar Bhavan, Chanakyapuri, 

New Delhi ̶ 110021 

Website: http://moia.gov.in 

www.overseasindian.in 

Consulting Editor 

K.G. Sreenivas 

Pravasi Bharatiya is a monthly 

publication. The views expressed in this 

journal are those of the contributors 

and do not necessarily reflect the views 

of the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs 

(MOIA). All rights reserved. No part of 

this journal may be produced, stored, or 

transmitted in any form or by any 

means ̶ electronic, mechanical, 

photocopying, recording, or otherwise, 

without the permission of MOIA. 

Editorial correspondence and 

manuscripts can be addressed to 

pravasi.bharatiya@gmail.com 

Designed and produced by IANS 

(www.ianspublishing.com) on behalf of 

the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs. 

Printed at 

Anit Printers 

1811, Gyani Bazar, 

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www.overseasindian.in 

Change is empowering. Essentially, in terms of its philosophical 

underpinnings. Therefore, it calls for revisiting the founding 

principles. Change also becomes effective when it flows from the 

first principles of engagement. At Pravasi Bharatiya, your favourite 

window on the Diaspora, it was thus that we attempted to revisit our terms 

of engagement with you. Starting this issue, you would see a vivid transformation 

in your magazine. Beginning with its layout, design, fonts, colours 

and relief, Pravasi presents you a palette of rich content. Design and content 

have sought to empower and complement each other, producing, what we 

believe, is a pleasing fusion of aesthetic and intellectual experience. 

We have expanded the horizon of content ̶ from discussions on research 

on the frontiers of science to the quintessential diasporic experience; 

from incisive analysis of television and media to trends in society and community; 

and from literature and festivals to new tools of business management. 

Pravasi, we are confident, will bring you an enriching experience. 

Starting this issue, we also bring you a regular Diaspora quiz. You are most 

welcome to contribute to it. Not far behind is that indulgence we crave 

for ̶ food in newer forms and flavours. We will now have a regular column 

on cuisine, which we hope will recreate in your kitchen, in many ways, the 

flavours and memories of the ʻhomeʼ of your yearnings. 

So, what better way than to have begun it all with an interaction with the 

Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs himself for the Cover Story of the 

makeover edition of Pravasi. The Honʼble Shri Vayalar Ravi gladly consented 

to give Pravasi an extensive interview 

where he speaks about his 

plans and ambitions of deepening 

from 

the 

editor’s 

desk 

Indiaʼs engagement with the Diaspora. 

Committed to “expanding the 

Indian space” across the world, Ravi 

says he looks forward to empowering 

overseas Indian passport holders 

to exercise their right of 

franchise in India and take part in 

the countryʼs public life. “What we 

are trying to do is to bring in as 

many people of Indian origin as 

possible, wherever they live, to 

come to India and make it their 

home,” says Ravi evocatively. In fact, 

ʻhomeʼ was a constant refrain in his interaction with Pravasi. He is fascinated 

by the young Diaspora, who, he says is inquisitive about the land of 

their forefathers. “We are looking to the younger generation. We want more 

and more Indian origin people to come to India and see India and feel that 

ʻthis is my placeʼ. They must feel proud of this country.” 

Ultimately, Ravi says, “My whole attempt is to create a feeling of Indianness in 

every person of Indian origin who lives abroad.” There couldnʼt have been a clearer 

assertion of Indiaʼs commitment to deepening its kinship with the Diaspora. 

Ravi also speaks about a range of policy issues. Under the new Emigration 

Management Bill, he is looking to making the whole process of migration 

transparent and corruption free. Under his watch, MOIA has signed a number 

of landmark agreements with a number of countries in Europe and the 

Middle East to safeguard Indian labour, manage labour mobility, and ensure 

portability of social security benefits under a series of Social Security Agreements. 

Meanwhile, the Government has issued 5,76,000 Overseas Citizenship 

of India cards, a significant number, which is bound to increase over 

time. Forging kinships is thus of the essence. We hope Pravasi will continue 

to help deepen our journeys, both inward and outward at once. 

Please write in with your comments and suggestions. 

̶K.G. Sreenivas 

44 

FORTUNE TELLER 

One of the planetʼs most brilliant business brains, 

the late C. K. Prahaladʼs theories will continue to 

62 

20 

influence corporations worldwide 

86 

58 

SOCIAL MEDIA 

More and more Indian 

companies are building 

communities around their 

brands on web‐based 

interactive tools 

64 

HEALTH 

In a path‐breaking feat, 

Dr. P.N. Dogra of AIIMS 

recently performed Indiaʼs 

first robot‐assisted surgery. 

A peek into the ops theatre... 

78 

CINEMA 

A hundred and fifty years 

years after Rabindranath 

Tagoreʼs birth, his story 

ʻNoukadubiʼ, is getting a 

modern makeover 

contents 

12 

Cover story 

FORGING INDIANNESS 

In an interview to Pravasi Bharatiya, 

Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs 

Vayalar Ravi says he wants to “expand 

the Indian space”... 

ECONOMY FEATURE 

Maruti Suzuki phases out Maruti 800, the 

original ʻPeopleʼs Carʼ, in 13 cities across India. 

The ʻ800ʼ was an icon of its age... 

RESEARCH 

A winner of one of the top U.S. honours, Prasun 

Chatterjeeʼs research has contributed to a new 

way of detecting toxic lead and copper in water 

INTERVIEW 

What makes people uproot themselves Minal 

Hajratwala sets out to understand how the larger 

forces of history intersect with individual lives... 

82 

TRAVEL 

Welcome to Finland, a 

Nordic country that has kept 

its date with modernism and 

technology, but where it is 

winter forever...

news 

CASI-MOIA RESEARCH PROJECTS ON INDIAN EMIGRATION 

YEARS PROJECT IMPACT 

1,2,3,4 Building Statistical Systems Long‐term institutional building; 

and Data Analysis 

analysis and recommendations for action 

1,2,3 Financial Remittances Create the basis for intra‐governmental 

institutional linkages between MOIA, MOF, 

HM, RBI and MEA; recommendations to 

enhance the positive impact and mitigate 

the negative effects 

1,2,3,4 Indian hi‐tech entrepreneurs in the U.S. The study will inform recommendations on 

how India should engage Indian‐origin 

entrepreneurs in other countries 

2,3 Indian emigration and labour flows to This study will provide recommendations 

non‐Anglo Saxon countries of the OECD, 

for action to improve labour flows to 

with a focus on the EU 

non‐English speaking industrialised 

countries 

2,3 International Adoption from India Recommendations for action 

1,2 Leveraging Diasporas: Global Best Practice Provide yardsticks to benchmark GOI 

policies and practices 

2,3,4 The Strategic Implications of Indian Emigration The study will help deepen the 

understanding of the economic‐securityforeign 

policy tradeoffs arising from 

international migration 

Indiaʼs Independence Day celebrations in New Jersey. (File photo) An MoU signed by MOIA and the Center for the Advanced Study of India will seek to carry out 

research on the Indian Diaspora and make recommendations for leveraging the ʻcapitalʼ the community represents for the benefit and development of India. 

Diaspora in focus 

MOIA will grant financial aid to the tune of $2 million for setting up and running 

a research programme to be headed by Professor Devesh Kapur 

The Ministry of Overseas Indian 

Affairs (MOIA) has entered into 

an MoU with the Center for the 

Advanced Study of India (CASI), 

School of Arts and Sciences, University of 

Pennsylvania, for research on the Indian 

Diaspora. Under the agreement signed on 

February 16, 2010 at Philadelphia, CASI 

shall initiate research on the diaspora by 

making use of the facilities and infrastructure 

of The School of Arts Sciences, University 

of Pennsylvania. 

The cost of conducting these research 

programmes by CASI will be shared by 

MOIA and CASI. The research programmes 

will be headed by Professor Devesh 

Kapur, the Madan Lal Sobti 

Professorship for the Study of Contemporary 

India and Director of CASI, who is a 

faculty member of the School of Arts and 

Sciences, University of Pennsylvania. Professor 

Kapur will be supported by a group 

of scholars recruited specifically for the 

purposes of conducting these research 

programmes, as and when needed. 

Duration of the pact 

The agreement between the MOIA and 

CASI begins from the date of its signing 

and will be in operation for a period of 

four years and may be extended for further 

terms of five years each, if agreed 

mutually by both parties. 

There will an annual review of the research 

programme with regard to 

progress achieved by CASI. 

The review will be conducted by an advisory 

committee. Continuation of financial 

support will be based on the outcome 

of the annual review. 

Consideration 

The cost of establishing and running the 

research programme under CASI is estimated 

to be $2 million. The University of 

Pennsylvania will contribute by making 

available the services of the Director of 

CASI to manage this research programme. 

In addition, the building and related infrastructure 

for CASI will be provided by 

the School of Arts and Sciences of the 

University of Pennsylvania. 

The pact was signed by G. Gurucharan, 

Joint Secretary, on behalf of the MOIA, 

and Deborah M. Fisher and Rebecca 

Bushnell on behalf of the University of 

Pennsylvania. 

1,2,3,4 Leveraging the Intellectual Capital of the The study will provide recommendations 

Indian Diaspora 

for action 

Founded in 1992, the Center 

for the Advanced Study of 

India at the University of 

Pennsylvania is the only research 

institution in the 

United States dedicated to 

the study of contemporary 

India. A national resource, it 

fills the need for knowledge 

Prof Devesh Kapur of Indiaʼs politics and society, 

rapidly changing economy, and transformation as both an 

ancient civilisation and major contemporary power. 

Headed by Professor Devesh Kapur, the Centerʼs key 

goals are threefold. The first is to engage in policy‐relevant 

research focused on the challenges facing contemporary 

India and thereby improve the understanding of Indiaʼs 

politics and society. The second goal is to nurture studentsʼ 

interest in contemporary India through internships at the 

Center and interactions with visiting scholars who are in 

residence at CASI, as well as by providing them with 

opportunities to work and conduct research in India. 

And third, the Center aims to act as a public forum on 

contemporary India by hosting seminars, workshops and 

conferences year‐round. The Centerʼs online publication, 

India in Transition, provides scholars around the world a 

medium to exchange ideas about contemporary India. 

The Center provides in‐depth analysis of the most pressing 

issues facing India and the India‐U.S. relationship today. 

About casi 

CASI Working Papers 

The Center for the Advanced Study of India 

has started a series of working papers, 

published electronically. 

Occasional Papers 

The Center occasionally publishes papers by 

leading scholars and policymakers on topics 

of relevance to India, often in connection 

with lectures and conferences held under 

the Centerʼs auspices. An archive is also 

maintained. 

India in Transition 

India in Transition (IiT), an online publication, 

allows scholars from all over the world the 

opportunity to exchange various analyses 

and innovative ideas about Indiaʼs current 

status and growth. 

6 Pravasi Bharatiya May 2010 

May 2010 Pravasi Bharatiya 7

news 

EMPOWERED 

The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act comes into effect 

The day was April Foolʼs Day. But 

for millions of children across 

India, it was a day to get empowered. 

April 1, 2010 will go down 

in Indiaʼs history as the day on which 

Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh enforced 

the Right to Education as a Fundamental 

Right. “Today our government 

comes before you to pledge all our children 

elementary education. The Right of 

Children to Free and Compulsory Education 

Act enacted by parliament in August, 

2009 comes into force today (Thursday),” 

Dr. Singh said in his early morning address 

to the nation delivered both in Hindi 

and English. 

“The fundamental Right to Education as 

incorporated in our constitution through 

Article 21 (A) has also become operative 

from today,” he said. “This demonstrates 

our national commitment to the education 

of our children and to the future of 

India. We are a nation of young people. 

Education will determine the well being 

of our nation. If we nurture our children 

through the right to education, Indiaʼs future 

will be secured,” Dr. Singh said. 

The Act promises 10 broad objectives, 

including free and compulsory education 

to all children in the 6‐14 age group. This 

means millions of children will now get 

education at least up to class eight. 

Currently, in India, nearly 200 million 

children in the 6‐14 age group are in 

schools, while nearly 8.1 million do not 

go to schools. The Act is expected to benefit 

all of them in a big way. Other than 

free and compulsory education, the Act 

speaks of quality education, focus on social 

responsibility like reservation in private 

schools, the obligation of teachers 

and de‐bureaucratisation of admissions. 

I was born to a family of modest 

means. In my childhood, I 

had to walk a long distance to 

go to school. I read under the 

dim light of a kerosene lamp. I 

am what I am today because 

of education 

— Dr. Manmohan Singh 

““ 

The ʻnational effortʼ, as Dr. Singh termed 

it, seeks to create a conducive educational 

atmosphere for differently‐abled children. 

Dr. Singh said: “I was born to a family of 

modest means. In my childhood, I had to 

walk a long distance to go to school. I 

read under the dim light of a kerosene 

lamp. I am what I am today because 

of education.” 

The UNESCO, ILO and the UNICEF in 

India congratulated the Indian government 

on the notification, saying that India 

could inspire other nations to provide 

free and quality education to children. 

India calling 

Major foreign universities may now 

be able to set up satellite campuses 

in India. In a move imbued with 

radical potential, the Cabinet cleared 

the way for what Human Resource 

Development Minister Kapil Sibal 

termed a “milestone” in Indian 

higher education. 

“This is a milestone, which will enhance 

choices, increase competition, 

and benchmark quality,” Sibal 

said, after a Cabinet meeting chaired 

by Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan 

Singh on March 15 allowed foreign 

universities to set up campuses in 

India. The Cabinet approval is 

expected to provide quality education 

in the country and reduce the 

flow of Indian students abroad. 

“(Itʼs) a larger revolution than even 

(the one) in the telecom sector,” 

Sibal said. The bill, which will now be 

tabled in parliament for its approval, 

has provisions to regulate the entry 

and operation of foreign institutions 

who set up campuses and offer 

degrees in India. The effort is part of 

the governmentʼs focus on 

education reforms. 

Scholarships for NRIs 

New Delhi has announced scholarships 

for the Indian diaspora for undergraduate 

studies in India during 

2010‐11. The undergraduate courses 

include engineering, architecture, 

technology, humanities, liberal arts, 

commerce, management, journalism, 

hotel management, agriculture/ 

animal husbandry, science and law, 

The Star newspaper said in Kuala 

Lumpur on March 10. 



news 

Indian flavour in UK polls 

Keith Vaz, Virendra Sharma and Marsha Singh were the three notable winners, among 

at least eight of Indian origin, in the recent landmark British elections 

Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi with people of Indian origin in New Delhi. 

Glimpses of India 

The Know India Programme is a major initiative of the Ministry of Overseas Indian 

Affairs for Indian‐origin youth to experience their native country 

They came, they saw India and 

were enamoured. They came 

from all over the world, 39 young 

people of Indian origin, and Minister 

for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar 

Ravi honoured them on April 15 for coming 

on a programme to know and understand 

their native country. The 14th 

Know India Programme (KIP) is a fullyfunded 

programme of the ministry for 

youth of Indian origin (not NRIs) within 

the age group of 18 to 26, with the participants 

either a graduate or pursuing an 

graduate programme. The content of the 

three‐week programme included presentations 

on the country, political process, 

developments in various sectors, visiting 

a college/university/institute and interacting 

with faculty and students, a presentation 

on industrial development and 

visits to some industries, etc. 

Surya Vatsa from Vladivostok, Russia, 

received a special welcome from Minister 

Ravi who said he was “very happy to see 

Over 5,75,000 OCI cards issued 

The Government has issued 576,000 Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) cards while 9,000 applications 

are pending, Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi said recently. “We have so far 

issued 5,76,000 OCI cards. Over 9,000 applications are pending because the forms are incomplete. 

We have asked the applicants to correct these and we will then issue the cards,” the Minister said in 

the Upper House of Parliament. Minister Ravi said that the OCI card was not a substitute for a visa for 

NRIs travelling to India, adding that there was no proposal to grant voting rights to holders of 

OCI cards. “We do not have the concept of dual citizenship. So there can be no voting rights 

(for OCI holders),” he said. Ravi also said his Ministry would take up with the Election Commission 

the question of retaining the voting rights of Indian citizens who stay abroad for prolonged periods. 

somebody from Russia... for the first 

time.” Vijay Kumar Bhojwani Nandwani 

from Chile said he was happy to be a part 

of KIP. “Being far away from India, we 

miss Indian food and Bollywood movies, 

which is not the case for others of Indian 

origin settled in Europe, Asian countries 

or even South Africa,” he said. 

“I am happy how this has worked. This 

is a major initiative by the Ministry of 

Overseas Indian Affairs. This is a way of 

spreading India to the world,” Ravi said. 

At least eight Indian‐origin candidates, 

half of them fresh faces, 

wrested victory in the British 

general elections, while some of 

their Labour colleagues bit the dust. The 

three notable winners were Keith Vaz, 

Virendra Sharma and Marsha Singh. Vaz 

retained the Leicester East constituency 

for the Labour Party by defeating Conservative 

candidate Jane Hunt and Liberal 

Democratʼs Ali Asghar. 

Helped by celebrities like Bollywood 

actor Sanjay Dutt, Vaz secured 53.8 percent 

of the vote in the constituency which 

has a large population of South Asians. 

Vaz, whose parents were from Goa and 

migrated to Britain in 1965, has been a 

member of parliament for Leicester East 

since 1987. Sharma retained the Ealing 

Southall constituency by defeating another 

Indian‐origin candidate, Toryʼs 

Gurcharan Singh. 

Also making their entry into the House 

of Commons were the first Indian‐origin 

women ̶ Valerie Vaz, Labour (sister of 

Keith Vaz) and Priti Patel, Conservative. 

An India admirer 

Keith Vaz Valerie Vaz Marsha Singh Paul Uppal 

Priti Patel Alok Sharma Shailesh Vara Virendra Sharma 

At 43, Conservative leader David Cameron, born on October 9, 1966, is one of the youngest prime ministers of 

Britain ̶ an achievement shadowed only by the fact that William Pitt became the British PM aged only 24. 

Cameron is also an admirer of India. Cameron became British PM on May 11 after an election threw up a hung 

parliament. The Tories forged an alliance with the Liberal Democrats, helping them end 13‐years of Labour rule. 

Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh telephoned Cameron to congratulate him and hoped that he would further 

strengthen ties between the two countries. Dr. Singh said he recalled with great pleasure his meeting with 

Cameron in New Delhi in September 2006. Ahead of that visit, Cameron, writing in The Guardian, said: “India is 

the worldʼs largest democracy, a rapidly‐growing economy, a huge potential trading partner, a diverse 

society with a strong culture of pluralism and a key regional player. This is Indiaʼs time... Our relationship 

goes deep. But I think it can and should go deeper”. 

People of Indian‐origin recorded yet 

another win when Marsha Singh emerged 

victorious in Bradford West seat by getting 

18,401 votes. He beat Conservativeʼs 

Zahid Iqbal who polled 12,638 votes. 

Conservative candidate Paul Uppal 

ousted his fancied rival, the sitting Labour 

MP Rob Marris, by a razor‐thin margin of 

691 votes to take the Wolverhampton 

Southwest seat. Alok Sharma of the Conservative 

Party won Reading West, a 

Labour seat for over a decade. Agra‐born 

Sharma, a Conservative Party candidate, 

recorded an impressive swing from 

Labour to the Tories in Reading West in 

Berkshire. Following his victory in North 

West Cambridgeshire, Shailesh Vara, who 

was returned as the Conservative MP, 

said he was honoured to be returned by 

his constituents. 

Minister Ravi said that the Overseas Citizenship of 

India card was not a substitute for a visa for NRIs 

travelling to India, and that there was no proposal to 

grant voting rights to OCI card holders 

Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh telephoned 

Cameron to congratulate him and hoped that he would 

further strengthen ties between the two countries. 

Singh said he recalled with great pleasure his meeting 

with Cameron in New Delhi in September 2006 

David Cameron 

10 Pravasi Bharatiya May 2010 May 2010 Pravasi Bharatiya 11

cover story 

We are trying to create a feeling of belongingness to India in every person of Indian 

origin who lives abroad, says Vayalar Ravi in a conversation with K.G. Sreenivas 

In a wide‐ranging interview to Pravasi Bharatiya, Minister 

for Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA) Vayalar Ravi speaks 

at length about the founding vision of his Ministry. 

Under his leadership, MOIA has transformed itself into 

one of the most important ministries of the Government 

of India, shaping Indiaʼs engagement with its vast 25 

million strong Diaspora. Wherever possible, Minister 

Ravi reaches out personally to all those overseas Indians or NRIs 

who seek his intercession. He lends a very personal touch to his 

interactions with NRIs, PIOs and the Diaspora and does not hesitate 

to take calls from Indian labourers put behind bars on foreign 

soil and seeking his intervention. Driven by his core vision 

of what he calls “expanding the Indian space” across the world, 

Minister Ravi has prevailed upon the Diaspora to engage with 

Indiaʼs development. Under his watch, Indian passport holders 

could even get to vote in the countryʼs next General Elections 

and participate in Indiaʼs public life. “What we are trying to do is 

to bring in as many people of Indian as possible, wherever they 

live, to come to India and make it their home,” says Ravi evocatively. 

Pravasi Bharatiya: In its sixth year now, having been set up in May 

2004, how do you evaluate MOIA as one of the Government’s 

most important ministries 

Vayalar Ravi: The subjects handled by the Ministry of Overseas 

Indian Affairs were once part of the Ministry of External Affairs. 

With the growth of the Diaspora, especially with our workers 

going abroad for employment and livelihood, our work has increased. 

I can see the work it entails every day. In fact, I personally 

take phone calls from our workers, especially from those in 

trouble in the Gulf. The Ministry has to deal with many other 

subjects as well and I am afraid MEA wouldnʼt have had the time 

to spend on Diaspora issues. So, we needed a ministry that could 

pay focused attention to the problems of our workers and professionals 

going to the Gulf, Europe or America. 

For example, one day during my last election campaign, I got 

a call from a lady. She said, “Sir, we are a group of 41 nurses in 

Saudi Arabia, living in one room, with one bathroom and no other 

facilities. Our salaries are also 50 percent less than what was 

promised.” I said, “Somebody will come and see you today from 

the embassy. Tell them everything and then I will sort it out.” I 

rang the embassy. They came back and filed a report after a couple 

of days. They said the issue had already been sorted out earlier. 

It was a fact. But they had sorted out an earlier issue I had 

asked them to. I called the girl back. She said, “No Sir, nobody 

from the embassy came to us.” I called the embassy again. They 

reported back, “Sir, you are right there has been a mistake.” After 

I think one or two months, I got a call from the same girl. “I called 

you to thank you. Everything has been sorted out and we are 

very happy. We got our salaries, arrears and everything,” she said. 

On another occasion, one young man called me well past midnight. 

I get many calls around midnight, especially from the Gulf. 

I usually take all calls. “Hello who is this and where are you calling 

from”, I asked. He said, “Sir, from jail”. I said, “Well, you go 

there and overstay and you become illegal, donʼt you”, half reprimanding 

him. I talk like an older brother. I took his cell number 

and other details. He was finally freed and returned to India 

NURTURING INDIANNESS 


INTERNATIONAL 

MIGRATION 

India is a major country of origin with 

an estimated 25 million Indians overseas, 

spread across 189 countries. What 

is less known, however, is that India is 

today home to an estimated 20 million 

immigrants, many of them, irregular 

migrants. As a major country of origin 

and destination, India is an important 

player in international migration. The 

strategy of the Ministry has been to 

evolve a coherent, liberal and progressive 

migration policy. Emphasis has 

been on introducing reforms and implementing 

best practices in migration 

management covering all stakeholders 

in the migration process. In doing so 

the ministry has been led by four 

principles: 

jFacilitate legal migration by making 

the process simple, transparent and 

efficient 

jActively prevent illegal migration by 

acting in tandem with the states 

against unscrupulous middlemen 

and those indulging in people 

smuggling 

jCapacity building amongst all the 

stakeholders ̶ end to end ̶ in the 

migration process 

jProactively pursuing and strengthening 

bilateral and multilateral cooperation 

The focus is on making Indian workers 

skilled, trained and competitive to 

meet the best standards of productivity 

in the international labour market. 

To transform emigration into an orderly 

economic process and constitute 

a ʻwin‐winʼ for all stakeholders, the Ministry 

has taken several initiatives, including 

computerisation of the emigration 

clearance system, a comprehensive e‐ 

Governance project, modernising the 

emigration law and capacity building 

amongst stakeholders. 

“ 

So, the idea is if a person is detained in jail abroad he or she 

has the freedom to call a minster. This is one of the greatest 

merits of Indian democracy... I am available... 

“ 

Top: Vayalar Ravi, accompanied by then Indian Ambassador to the US Ronen 

Sen, addressing members of the Indian community at a reception in his 

honour in Washington in October 2009 Above: Minister Ravi with Indian business 

and community leaders in U.A.E last year 

shortly thereafter. So, the idea is if a person is detained in jail 

abroad he or she has the freedom to call a minster. This is one 

of the greatest merits of Indian democracy. They can talk to a 

minister, itʼs not a joke! I am available and I donʼt blame the Indian 

embassies or anybody because they may or may not have 

the time. I have the time. Another instance was when two people 

were sentenced to death. We organised blood money and got 

them freed. And now 17 people were sent to death row. It was 

shocking, it was unheard of. But I never accuse the judiciary 

abroad, but I will do my best. We also appoint lawyers, some of 

the best, to take up such cases. As regards these 17 people, the 

amnesty will come in the last stage. The case is in the court. However, 

I must point out that the issues are different in Europe, 

America or other places. The Gulf is a labour intensive area. 

PB: On illegal migrants… 

VR: A key issue that I have to tackle is that of illegal migrants. 

They are called illegal because they go there legally on a visit 

visa. They are never given a contract visa or a work visa. They 

land there and then after three months 

they become illegal. When they become illegal, 

the sponsor takes advantage of them 

and makes them indentured labour, literally. 

So they canʼt do anything ̶ they canʼt 

complain, they canʼt run away as the passport 

is now with the sponsor. So, after the 

MoU [with host governments] we argued that the passport was 

Indian property that no sponsor could retain it. Some governments 

have agreed that the passport should be given to the 

owner, but the sponsor says, “no they will run away”. However, 

Chief Guest Lord Khaleed Hameed, CBE DL, Hampstead with Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh at the inauguration of the 8th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2010, in 

New Delhi on January 8, 2010. Minister Vayalar Ravi is also seen 

we insist that the passport should be with the owner of the passport. 

If you want some deposit, we can discuss with the Indian 

embassy and find a solution, but you cannot hold the passport. 

This is one of the major reasons for such a large number of people 

becoming ʻillegalʼ because the sponsors would not renew the 

passport in time. So we asked the Gulf governments that why 

canʼt the sponsors be made an accused. It is the responsibility of 

the sponsors to renew the passport and they arenʼt doing it deliberately. 

PB: Tackling agents… 

VR: We meet a lot of people whom agents and sub agents have 

cheated. We have launched a big campaign against them. The 

other thing we do is to coordinate with the Chief Ministers of the 

states. I coordinate with the CMs myself while my officers interact 

with the chief secretaries and other senior police officials and 

motivate them to file complaints. If there has been an irregularity, 

there are no questions asked... It is simple: first suspension, then 

questions. I suspend first. No question of suspension after explanation. 

This has reduced the number of complaints. 

PB: OCI Holders… 

VR: As far as America is concerned, there hasnʼt been much of a 

problem. For Indian passport holders and Indians who become 

American citizens, we have expedited the issue of the Overseas 

Citizenship of India (OCI) cards. We have issued over 5,76,000 

cards. In Europe too they need it. Yet, there was a complaint. 

Now, some think this book is a visa, but this is not a visa. The 

visa will be stamped on the passport. Now, when they change 

the passport or renew the passport, they come with a card and 

the new passport, but the visa will be in the other passport. I 

made a statement after somebody filed a complaint. I made only 

two points: One, please cooperate with the government, we are 

trying to help you and please donʼt abuse us. Second, I said 

please clip the passports together even if you have two passports. 

What is wrong with that I said I have three passports and 

I clip them. So, I think, the second idea has clicked. 

PB: Reaching out to the Diaspora… 

VR: What we are trying to do is to bring in as many people of Indian 

origin as possible, wherever they live, to come to India and 

make it their home. Let the ʻIndian spaceʼ expand... They can form 

a closer association with the Indian continent and feel that, ʻyes, 

I am an Indian basicallyʼ. Because in any country he lives I donʼt 

think he can feel the sense of citizenship of that country. There 

will be a sense of alienness. So, this will give him a close association 

with India ̶ a place he can come back to. This will give 

him a sense of security. And with India becoming an emerging 

economic power, the Indian opportunity has brought with it a lot 

of work in industries and in many other sectors, so they can 

come and live here. It is linked with growth, the economic growth 

of India. So, they have the safety, security and safety of sustenance 

and other facilities. They can sustain themselves that is 

our major advantage that they are all linked together. We want 

to promote Indian scholarships and bring in more youngsters. 

We are looking at the younger generation. We want more and 

more Indian origin people to come to India and see India and feel 

that this is my place. They must feel proud of this country. My 

whole attempt is to create a feeling of Indianness in every person 

of Indian origin who lives abroad. 



cover story 

“ 

What we are trying to do is to bring in as 

many people of Indian origin as possible, 

wherever they live, to come to India and make it 

their home. Let the ‘Indian space’ expand... 

They must feel proud of this country... 

“ 

PB: Connecting with the ‘young’ diaspora… 

VR: They are very happy. When they come on the Know India 

Programme, they meet me on the last day of their visit. They look 

very happy and they make suggestions as well. Only, this year 

there was a change. They stayed in the cities. I want them to stay 

in the villages with families. I want to revert to the older system. 

So, these are some of the major things we are doing. In one 

word, one sentence ̶ creating awareness of India, creating the 

sentiment of Indianness in every Indian, be it PIOs or others, and 

make every Indian passport holder who works abroad feel and 

understand that this country is always open for him. I persuaded 

the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Law. In fact, the Cabinet 

has now approved an amendment to the Representation of the 

People Act. Once it is passed by Parliament, an Indian passport 

holderʼs name can be included in the votersʼ list. He can vote 

when elections take place here. Of course, he needs to show his 

visa and indicate where he works. So, this will create a feeling 

that this is my country and I have to go there sometime. However, 

there are a few issues. First, Gulf countries wonʼt allow election 

campaigns on their soil, and second, you will have to deploy 

540 boxes abroad because itʼs not a presidential form of government. 

Besides, the Election Commission will not agree to deploy 

those boxes abroad. Also, the Election Commission also has another 

point. Those who have been non‐resident for more than 

six months in India cannot vote either. 

BILATERAL SOCIAL 

SECURITY AGREEMENTS 

The Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs 

has signed bilateral social security 

agreements with Belgium, France, Germany, 

Switzerland, Luxembourg, 

Netherlands, Hungary and Denmark. 

These agreements provide for the following 

benefits to professionals, skilled 

workers and corporates on reciprocal 

basis: 

1. Those posted for up to sixty months 

will be exempted from social security 

contributions under the country 

law provided they continue to make 

social security payments in the 

home country. 

2. Those who have to contribute 

under the host country law will be 

entitled to the export of the social 

security benefits should they relocate 

to the home country or a third 

country on completion of their contract 

or on retirement. 

3. These benefits will also be available 

to workers posted by an employer 

of the home country to the host 

country from a third country. 

4. Periods of employment in both the 

countries will be totalised in order to 

determine the eligibility for pension. 

5. Corporates in both countries will become 

more competitive since 

avoidance of double payment of social 

security substantially reduces 

costs. 

PB: India’s relationship with Gulf countries… 

VR: Our relations with the Gulf have improved very much. In fact, 

the custodian of the Holy Mosque, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, 

came to India and our Prime Minister went to Saudi. The statements, 

the two leaders issued, both the Riyadh Statement and 

16 Pravasi Bharatiya May 2010

INDIA DEVELOPMENT 

FOUNDATION OF 

OVERSEAS INDIANS 

The broad objectives of the Trust are to: 

1. Lead overseas Indian philanthropy 

into India; facilitate partnerships 

through single window facilitation 

and by building public private 

partnerships. 

2. Establish and maintain a ʻSocial 

Capital and Philanthropy Networkʼ 

in India that can provide a list of 

credible institutions, projects and 

programmes. 

3. Function as a clearinghouse for all 

philanthropy related information. 

4. Partner with states in India and 

encourage credible Indian philanthropic 

organisations to project 

social development opportunities 

to overseas Indians in the sectors 

that best match national priorities 

including empowerment of rural 

women. 

5. Promote accountability and `good 

practices' in diaspora philanthropy. 

Vayalar Ravi with Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh who is seen unveiling a model of the Pravasi Bharatiya Kendra at PBD 2009 

Top: Vayalar Ravi with President Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil and the winners 

of the Pravasi Samman Award 2010 

the Delhi Statement were very encouraging. He said this was a 

second home for him. These visits have also shown how close 

we are. And in every Gulf country, especially the presence of the 

Indian community and Indian workers make them feel that these 

are the people who work for us. Every ministry official tells me 

that ʻyour Indian workers are the most peaceful peopleʼ. They 

create no problems. One or two problems occurred because of 

contractors and the sponsors because they never increase the 

wages. Look at the situation now, during summers the government 

issued orders that workers there should have a four‐hour 

gap between morning and evening shifts. This is because they 

want to keep the workers happy and they also want better shelters 

for them. Except with Saudi Arabia, we have signed an MoU 

with every other country in the Gulf. So, the governments themselves 

insist that workers be given good shelters and good drinking 

water. 

PB: Key Initiatives… 

VR: We created the Indian Council for Overseas Employment to 

facilitate employment in Europe. Essentially, we are creating a 

new destination in Europe for our workers ̶ for qualified, semiskilled 

or skilled workers. We have agreements with 6‐7 countries. 

Then there are bilateral agreements with Germany, 

Czechoslovakia and The Netherlands. We are also trying to talk 

to the Americans also. 

Then we have instituted welfare funds in our embassies. There 

is yet another one on return and resettlement. Itʼs in the process, 

and we are yet to formulate the whole thing. This is a contributory 

one that I am planning. But with the welfare fund that we are planning, 

anyone can get help from this fund any time, including tick‐ 

INFORMATION 

DISSEMINATION ON 

LEGAL MIGRATION 

To overcome this difficulty, the 


launched an Overseas Workers Resource 

Centre (OWRC) to provide information 

and assistance to intending 

emigrants and the family members of 

overseas workers relating to all aspects 

of overseas employment. The OWRC 

was inaugurated by the Prime Minister 

of India during the 6th Pravasi 

Bharatiya Divas in New Delhi in January 

2008.The OWRC is operating with a 

24/7 toll free helpline (1800113090) to 

provide need based information to 

emigrants and their families. 

The workers can also access the 

helpline from anywhere in the world at 

91‐11‐40503090. With a view to extend 

the services to support the Indian emigrants 

an international toll free line 

(800911913) has been established 

which is currently available for calls 

from UAE only. The complaints or 

grievances received on the toll free 

helpline are promptly attended to and 

feedback provided to the complainant. 

ets. So, I pay the money from my ministryʼs fund. Those who avail 

of the services pay a nominal fee. Then we have the Emigration 

Management Bill, our idea being to abolish the Immigration Act. 

PB: Features of the Emigration Management Bill… 

VR: It is mainly that the Protector General of Emigrants office 

will be abolished and another system will be introduced. There will 

be more transparency and the system will be free of corruption. 

PB: Feedback from states on corrupt agents… 

VR: They are doing it, but not enthusiastically. For example, a lot 

of women from Andhra Pradesh emigrate, defeating our own 

policies. They are pushed into doing it. But they are not 

going after the agents, as suspected, only a few cases come up. 

But Tamil Nadu, yes, and Kerala, yes, are active in checking 

these agents. 

PB: Status of the IDF… 

VR: It is one of my key ambitions. Of course, it is yet to take off 

in a big way. I am targeting NRIs so there are lakhs and lakhs of 

NRIs in America and other Western countries who are willing to 

work. We are not looking for millionaires or rich NRIs. I want the 

ordinary NRIs those who can contribute $1,000 a year to contribute 

to the corpus. So, there is a big group of people. Many of 

them come from villages. Your village or your panchayat may 

not have a primary health centre or a primary school, no buildings 

may be. So, you can jointly contribute and say specifically 

what you want. But we will concentrate on two issues: hospitals 

and primary school buildings. And self–help groups (SHGs) at a 

later stage. So, when they suggest that in our village please do 

this, we will do it. So, the money will come and become the part 

of the development of villages. We will put up the names and 

photographs of those who donated for the project/s. He will be 

happy and the villagers will also be happy. So the motivation is 

that you help the people in your village have a better hospital, 

primary health centre, a better school for children. We are going 

to get IDF registered in America and Europe to get tax exemptions 

for money sent here. That process has already started. 

PB: Status of the PIO University 

VR: It is stuck in the Kerala High Court. Someone filed a suit. The 

only solution is to go in for a new law. We are planning a new 

legislation and we have drafted one, but you canʼt move so fast. 

The Education Ministry naturally had some objections. So I 

have to talk to the minister. The Education Ministryʼs consent 

is necessary. 

PB: On PBDs 

VR: I think even though we conducted four PBDs under my 

watch, only last year we made some changes. That is, we 

changed the set pattern. Rather than focusing on investment and 

development, we focused more on the issues of NRIs, property 

issues and NRI marriages. So the issues being faced by NRIs 

abroad were given priority. Priorities were shuffled. It was not a 

revolutionary change but it was appreciated. For example, in 

light of the Satyam scandal, many NRIs who had lost a lot of 

money by investing in the company raised the issue. So, these 

kinds of issues of how they were cheated came up for discussion. 

The Mini Pravasis have also become attractive. The next one is 

in South Africa. 



economy 

Juggling business 

& philanthropy 

Dr. Ravi Pillai is the largest 

employer of Indians in the 

Gulf. With over 50,000 on 

board, he plans to recruit 

another 10,000 workers 

and professionals from the 

country. Add to it, 

philanthropic instincts run 

deep in the heart of this 

visionary man of 

enterprise... 

Dr. Ravi Pillai left the shores of Kerala 

for the Gulf in 1978. The co‐founder 

and MD of Nasser S Al‐Hajri Corporation 

& Gulf Asia, Dr. Pillai is well 

known for his philanthropic step. 

When he set up his company nearly 

three decades ago, it had a strength 

of only 150 employees. Today, it has 

over 50,000 employees, with a 

turnover of $2.5 billion. The company 

employs people from all over 

India in various fields and is the 

largest employer of Indians in the 

Gulf. Dr. Pillai was conferred the 

Pravasi Bharatiya Samman in 2008 

and the Padma Shri by the 

Government of India in 2010. 

Dr. Pillai has been a regular 

contributor to relief funds, 

has built a super‐speciality hospital, 

and has donated land to build 

orphanages in Kerala. 

Dr. Ravi Pillai spoke to 

L. Jyotimala on his expanding 

business plans with the Indian 

diaspora. Excerpts: 

Many congratulations for the 

Padma Shri. It must have been a 

great feeling… 

Thank you, it is always a great honour 

to receive such an award 

from the first citizen of my country 

and all the credit goes to my 

employees and their families, well 

wishers and my family. 

As MD of Nasser S Al-Hajri Co., 

what are your further plans for 

hiring Indians and in what 

areas of operations 

Currently, our employeesʼ 

strength is over 50,000 and we 

are planning to recruit another 

10,000 persons from India for 

construction works in oil and gas, 

power and steel plant projects 

across GCC. Many young engineers 

are being recruited and they 

have been exposed to the international 

experience at the beginning 

of their careers. 

How do you see the role of the 

ordinary Gulf pravasi in the 

coming years 

The opportunities are abundant. 

The international experience 

being gained by the ordinary Gulf 

pravasi is of much use for their 

careers; moreover, they can contribute 

by way of their experience 

and strength for Indiaʼs growth 

once they settle down in their native 

country. The emerging outlook 

for the Middle East shows 

positive growth for new job opportunities 

for another eight years 

and the Gulf pravasi should encash 

these opportunities. As the growth 

prospect is more in all the professions, 

the chances of learning and 

growing inside the organisation 

are bright for the right candidate. 

There is a significant policy thrust 

in India on engaging its diaspora 

in India’s development story. 

How do you see the pravasi 

engaging with India 

There is immense potential both 

in terms of talent and financial 

strength, which I believe can be 

invested in India. The knowledge, 

expertise, skills and resources of 

the vast and diverse Indian community 

could be used as important 

inputs in Indiaʼs march 

towards becoming a developed 

country. The diaspora has been 

contributing to their country of 

origin in various ways. Contributions 

in the form of remittances, 

foreign direct investment, and 

tourism are remarkable. By transferring 

knowledge and supporting 

entrepreneurial networks, 

the diaspora can help domestic 

entrepreneurs gain a lot of international 

business exposure. On 

the other hand, the new initiatives 

of the Overseas Indian Facilitation 

Centre (OIFC) are really welcome. 

OIFC can act as a bridge to ensure 

investment facilitation, knowledge 

networking and business‐to‐business 

partnerships in sectors like 

real estate, wealth management, 

taxation, legal, healthcare, education 

and infrastructure. OIFC 

mainly functions as a clearing 

house for all investment‐related 

information to the diaspora. 

What transformation or change 

have you seen in the Indian 

pravasi in the Gulf in the way he 

relates to India in economic terms 

They are amongst the worldʼs 

biggest remitters, but little of 

those remittances are productively 

deployed. Last year, remittances 

from overseas Indians were 

estimated at $50 billion and 40 

percent of it came from the Gulf, 

mainly from contractual temporary 

semi‐skilled and skilled people. 

Major remittances are only 

deposited in banks; our government 

should bring some sort of 

bonds on infrastructure, NRI etc 

and also business proposals 

through public‐private partnerships. 

Such things can help generate 

more capital to support Indiaʼs 

march to become an economic superpower. 

Marketing by the government 

of India to attract 

Dr. Ravi Pillai receiving the Padma Shri 

from President Pratibha Devisingh Patil 

investments from the Indian 

pravasi through new initiatives in 

the Gulf can bring rapid results. 

What business initiatives/ventures 

have you planned in India 

Our RP business group is currently 

finalising strategic partners 

in the power sector for investment 

up to Rs. 1,000 crores to push our 

interest in building and meeting 

the power requirements in the 

country. Under progress is a 

Rs. 250 crore‐five star resort to 

promote hospitality business, 

which is expected to open this 

year. We are expanding our superspeciality 

hospital in Kerala from 

300 to 500 beds. We are also working 

on other plans as well. 

Future philanthropic activities 

I believe human life is a blessing 

and that the reason for our existence 

is fulfilled once we extend 

our hearts beyond our families to 

meet the needs of the poor and 

downtrodden. Recently, I handed 

over 105 houses along with some 

money in my native village and 

nearby areas to poor people 

through the RP Foundation established 

in my name. We are dedicating 

a new building, which is 

under construction, for the Devaswom 

Board College, Kollam, Kerala, 

where I studied. I also plan to 

support 200 community weddings 

in September across India. 

Each wedding would cost about 

Rs. 25,000. Besides, we plan to 

gift the couple 60 grams of gold 

and a job. I am also planning to 

establish an old age home within 

the next two years. I am also looking 

to establish a charity home 

where we will house adopted 

children. 



economy 

History on wheels 

jLate Prime Minister Indira Gandhi 

handed over the first Maruti 800 

keys to Harpal Singh, a New Delhi 

resident, on December 14, 1983. 

jIn its first year of commercial 

operations, Maruti produced 

840 cars. 

jIn the following fiscal year, 

production touched a little over 

22,000 units. 

jIt was launched in 1983 with a 

price tag of Rs 52,500 (then 

about $5,000) and was currently 

being sold at an ex‐showroom 

price of Rs. 2,15,000 ($4,500). 

jOver 2.7 million Maruti 800 cars 

have been sold since its launch. 

The same car is sold in Pakistan 

as Suzuki Mehran. 

jM800 was being exported to 

Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, and to 

some South American markets 

(Chile) and was available in select 

European markets between 1988 

and 1992. 

jCurrently, Maruti Suzuki enjoys a 

formidable 54 per cent share of 

the Indian passenger car market. 

Ta-Ta M800 

Maruti Suzuki has decided not to upgrade Maruti 800 to the new emission norms 

and has phased out the original Peopleʼs Car in 13 cities. Its owners, however, will 

never forget the triumph of engineering that revolutionised transport for millions 

and coloured Indian roads since its launch 26 years ago... 

It has dominated the Indian passenger 

car market for over two decades 

as the original Peopleʼs Car in India. 

Now, the person who has been at 

the helm of this iconic project, shares 

how “Maruti 800” arrived, braving all 

roadblocks. The Maruti Story, co‐authored 

by Maruti‐Suzuki chairman R.C. 

Bhargava and journalist Seetha and published 

by Harper Collins, shares the behind‐the‐scenes 

manoeuvring that went 

into ensuring the companyʼs success, despite 

being a public sector undertaking 

for over a decade. 

“The targets were stupendous and 

considered unachievable by almost 

everyone,” recalls Bhargava, a career bureaucrat 

who had stood first in the civil 

services exams in 1956, but quit to join 

the Indo‐Japanese car venture in 1981. 

“But the Maruti project succeeded and in 

ways that were unimaginable in 1983,” 

he says. “The car revolutionised the industry 

and put a country on wheels. Sud‐ 

denly, ordinary middle‐class men and 

women could aspire to own a reliable, 

economical and modern car,” Bhargava 

adds. From April 1 onwards, 13 cities, including 

the four Metros, switched to 

Bharat Stage‐IV emission norms. The 

company chose not to upgrade Maruti 

800 to the new norms and instead decided 

to phase out the car. 

Another reason cited was the modelʼs 

declining sales. Maruti 800 sales are 

down by 55 percent in the 10 months 

ending January 2010, with the company 

selling only 27,088 cars during the period. 

For over two decades before the 

conception of Tata Nano, the Rs 

1,00,000 ($2,222) car, Maruti 800 ruled 

the streets, and how. Launched in 1982, 

Maruti 800 was perceived as a Peopleʼs 

For over two decades 

before the conception of 

the Tata Nano, Maruti 800 

ruled the streets, and how. 

Launched in 1982, it was 

perceived as a People’s Car 

and its sales figure explains 

the success rate: Over 2.7 

million units have been sold 

since inception... The Maruti 

story continues to be on 

auto pilot 

““ 

Car and its sales figure explains the success 

rate: More than 2.7 million units 

have been sold since inception. Every 

second car to leave an automobile showroom 

has been this small wonder. On December 

14, 1983, Indira Gandhi handed 

over the keys of the first Maruti 800 to 

Harpal Singh. Twenty‐six years later, on 

March 31, 2010, it was the turn of 36‐ 

year‐old Abbas Ahmed to join history. A 

dealer in steel cupboards, he became the 

last owner of the car in New Delhi. 

For both the proud owners, Maruti 

800 was their ʻbest investmentʼ so far. 

Maruti Suzuki rolled out the one‐millionth 

car of the 2009‐2010 fiscal year 

in March ̶ a first for the Indian automobile 

industry. The great Maruti story 

continues to be on auto pilot. — PB Desk 



economy 

Hello Africa 

Airtelʼs buyout of Zainʼs African assets is not a mere 

indicator of the growing strength of Indian industry, but 

also highlights the increasing importance of Africa as an 

investment destination and market for Indian goods 

and services, says Sushma Ramachandran 

The move by Indiaʼs top telecom 

player Bharti Airtel to acquire the 

African assets of Kuwaitʼs Zain 

marks the biggest foray of a domestic 

company into the continent. The 

landmark deal, estimated at $10.7 billion, 

raises the level of Indian investments in 

Africa to $16.7 billion. Airtelʼs entry into 

Africa is hugely significant as it underlines 

the enormous potential available in the 

continent for Indian industry. In the telecom 

sector, the sky is the limit as far as 

growth is concerned. Tele‐density in the 

continent is only about 30 percent. 

At the same time, Airtel will have to contend 

with stiff competition from MTN, a 

company it tried to merge with on two occasions, 

and which is already making aggressive 

public comments about the 

Indian company having made a mistake in 

going with Zain. But Airtel is not the only 

company looking for growth in Africa. The 

Tatas, Indiaʼs largest industrial group, was 

the first to make their presence felt there. 

The group is estimated to have already 

made about $1.6 billion worth of investments 

in Africa, the latest being a luxury 

hotel in Cape Town. 

The other Indian corporates which are 

active players in Africa include automobile 

majors Ashok Leyland and Mahindra and 

Mahindra, electronics and white goods 

giant Videocon, consumer products firms 

Marico, Dabur and Godrej, energy giant 

Suzlon, breweries group UB, drug‐makers 

Cipla, Dr. Reddyʼs Labs, software and IT 

education firm NIIT, and diversified 

houses Kirloskars and Essar. 

Even state‐run firms like the Oil and 

Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) bought a 25‐ 

percent stake in Sudanʼs Greater Nile Project 

seven years ago in a bid to improve the 

countryʼs energy security, raising quite an 

eyebrow. But crude supplies to India have 

already begun and ONGC maintains that 

its entire investment of nearly $1 billion 

had been paid off in three years. 

Unfortunately, ONGC has been less than 

Active Indian corporates in Africa 

wThe Tatas wAshok Leyland 

wMahindra and Mahindra wVideocon 

wMarico wDabur 

wGodrej wSuzlon wONGC 

wUB wCipla wDr. Reddyʼs Labs 

wNIIT wKirloskars wEssar 

successful in recent years in acquiring oilfields 

in less controversial parts of Africa 

like Uganda and Algeria, where it has been 

outbid in some cases by China. This, in 

turn, highlights the fact that Indian investments 

in Africa are way behind that of 

China which is estimated to have invested 

about $60 billion in that continent. 

Even so, it is clear that there is vast potential 

for Indian industry to have a larger 

presence in Africa. One major plus point 

is the huge middle class estimated to 

range from 350 million to 500 million, 

even larger than the Indian market. 

Automobiles, IT and fast‐moving consumer 

goods of Indian companies have 

made their mark. The pharmaceutical industry 

has played a key role in providing 

affordable and effective drugs for a market 

that had earlier relied on high‐value drugs 

produced in developed countries. 

As for telecom, Airtel is not the first Indian 

entrant to the African market, as 

Essar has already launched its YU brand 

The main challenge in Africa 

is the diversity of its countries. 

The northern region is very 

different from the south and 

there is a wide range of 

cultures. The levels of political 

stability and economic 

progress are different in each 

area. Marketing strategies will, 

thus, vary widely from country 

to country 

““ 

in Kenya and is planning to be a pan‐ 

African player. 

The main challenge in Africa remains 

the diversity of its countries. The northern 

region is very different from the south and 

there is a wide range of cultures. The levels 

of political stability and economic 

progress are also markedly different in 

each area. Marketing strategies will thus 

vary widely from country to country. 

Airtelʼs buyout of Zainʼs African assets 

is not a mere indicator of the growing 

strength of Indian industry. It also highlights 

the increasing importance of Africa 

as an investment destination and market 

for Indian goods and services. 

It seems that India Inc. is turning away 

from the tried and tested markets of the 

West and is finally taking the plunge into 

the relatively less‐explored countries of 

Africa. 

(The author is an economic and 

corporate analyst. She can be reached at 

sushma.ramachandran@gmail.com) 

Call charges for troopers 

in border posts reduced 

On the home ministryʼs intervention, 

state‐run telephone service Bharat 

Sanchar Nigam Ltd., (BSNL) has reduced 

call charges for para‐military 

troopers posted in border areas from 

Rs.5 per minute to Re.1, an official 

statement said on April 16. The move 

will benefit central para‐military force 

personnel deployed in remote areas 

or border outposts who were not 

able to keep in touch with their families 

due to inadequate communication 

links. Troopers often had to cover 

long distances on foot to reach public 

telephone booths for communicating 

with their family members. 

“The home ministry requested the 

BSNL to reduce the call charges to 

Re.1 per minute so that the paramilitary 

jawans posted in remote or forward 

areas can contact their families 

at the minimum possible expense," 

the statement said. “This will go a 

long way in boosting the morale of 

the jawans posted in remote areas,” it 

said. Following the home ministryʼs 

request, the BSNL has installed 400 

digital satellite phone terminals at 

inaccessible locations. 

S Tel signs up over one 

million subscribers 

Mobile operator S Tel, a joint venture 

between Indiaʼs Siva Group and 

Bahrain Telecommunications Co, said 

on April 29 that its subscriber base 

has crossed the one million mark 

within three months of launch of 

services. The subscribers are spread 

across three circles of Bihar and Jharkhand, 

Orissa and Himachal Pradesh. 

The telecom provider will roll out 

services in Jammu and Kashmir, 

Assam and other parts of the northeast 

this year. 

“We made a positive start in December 

2009, becoming the fastest 

mobile operator to have clocked one 

lakh consumer base across the three 

circles. We are delighted to announce 

that we have achieved a sizeable 

base of one million S Tel 

subscribers within just 90 days of 

service launch,” said Shamik Das, the 

companyʼs chief executive officer. 

“We are presently serving about 65 

percent of the urban population and 

a sizeable rural population in the 

three circles,” Das added. 



economy 

World Bank headquerters at Washington 

biz briefs 

1 

Diaspora to savour quality Indian food 

Agricultural cooperative major National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing 

Federation of India (NAFED) is eyeing markets in the Gulf and Europe 

with food products aimed primarily at the Indian diaspora. “There have 

been demands from Indians in the Gulf and Europe to make our products 

available for them. We have now decided to source India‐specific 

products, process and package them and export them to the Gulf and 

Europe. The prices will be competitive,” NAFED managing director C.V. 

Ananda Bose said in New Delhi on April 17. The NAFED move will be a 

boon for the huge Indian diaspora in the Gulf and Europe. 

Mahindra to acquire Renault’s stake in Logan JV 

Automobile major Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) announced on 

April 16 that it was buying out global car major Renaultʼs 49 percent 

stake in their joint venture which manufactures the Logan sedan car. 

“M&M will buy Renualtʼs equity stake in Mahindra Renault Pvt. Ltd., 

resulting in it becoming a 100 percent Mahindra group owned com‐ 

said a company statement. Renault will continue to supply 2pany,” 

M&M key components, including the engine. The joint venture was 

established in 2005. Logan is the only car offered by the joint venture 

and M&M holds the licence to sell it in India, Nepal and South Africa. 

Votes count 

Recent changes at the World Bank have made India an important shareholder, with 

the seventh largest voting rights. Arun Kumar examines the import of the changes 

India will benefit both as a borrower 

and a shareholder as a result of the 

historic decisions taken by the World 

Bank last month to increase the financial 

capacity of the Bank and give 

more voice to the developing countries. 

The policymaking Development Committee 

of the World Bank announced on April 

25 changes in the Bankʼs shareholding 

pattern. 

According to the new shareholding 

structure, India with a shareholding of 

2.91 percent, up from 2.77 percent earlier, 

has become an important shareholder 

in the Bank with the seventh 

largest voting rights ahead of Russia, 

Canada, Australia, Italy and Saudi Arabia. 

The increase in voting power reverses 

the trend of declining stake in the Bank 

since the 1970s. Chinaʼs share, too, has 


soared to 4.42 percent from 2.77 percent. 

These changes reflect the rapid 

growth of the Indian economy in the past 

decade and its rising economic weight in 

global affairs, officials said. 

The overall shift of a little over three 

percent vote share to developing countries 

bringing their total vote share to 47 percent 

comes in recognition of the global 

economic changes. The voting power of 

Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico and Turkey has 

also increased, while that of some of the 

major European and other countries that 

have traditionally dominated international 

finance like the U.K., France, Germany, the 

Nordic and Benelux countries, Japan, Australia 

and Canada, has gone down. 

The Bank has also agreed to review its 

shareholding every five years and as 

Indiaʼs economy grows further, this should 

lead to a further improvement in Indiaʼs 

relative importance, officials said. 

The Development Committee also 

agreed to raise the capital base of the 

Bank through a General Capital Increase 

after a gap of over 30 years. With this the 

authorised capital of the Bank would go 

up by $58 billion with a paid in portion at 

6 percent amounting to $3.5 billion. The 

increase in its capital base, along with the 

capital that would flow in as a result of the 

realignment in shareholding, would allow 

the Bank to lend an additional $86 billion. 

As one of the largest borrowers of the 

Bank, India also would be able to secure 

additional assistance from the Bank. The 

enhanced lending capacity would enable 

India to receive additional assistance to 

the extent of $7‐10 billion in the 

coming years. 

3 

Finmeccanica targets Indian students 

Targeting Indian students, the Finmeccanica Group, a key Italian player in 

defence, aeronautics, space and security, in collaboration with leading 

universities worldwide, is inviting applications for a one‐year masterʼs 

programme in international business engineering. “The programme enables 

high‐potential graduates to become world class professionals in 

4project management, innovation and business development. It will be 

taught in English in Rome,” Finmeccanica said. The course will commence 

in July. It is a fully sponsored masterʼs programme and hence free 

of cost. One can apply online at www.finmeccanica.com/fhink. 

IGNOU inks MoU with TASMAC, London 

The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) has signed a memorandum 

of understanding with Training and Advanced Studies in Management 

and Communications, London School of Business, to open an 

international partner institute. According to the MoU, “the institute will 

offer about two dozens of IGNOU academic programmes and these 

would benefit not only learners of the Indian diaspora, but also transnational 

students”, IGNOU said on April 3. The institute is the “first wholly 

owned subsidiary between India and the U.K. in the education sector”. 

The institute will be accredited to the British Accreditation Council . 


infrastructure 

RARING TO BUILD 

India needs huge 

investments to 

bridge its 

infrastructure deficit. 

With increasing 

public‐private 

partnerships, it is 

hoped that the 

country can attract 

considerable 

investments, reports 

Arjun Sen 

First the Asian tigers ̶ South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore 

and Hong Kong ̶ showed the way in the immediate 

post‐war period. Then Malaysia, China and Vietnam followed. 

All these Asian economies had two things in common 

̶ rapid economic growth based on building infrastructure 

ahead of demand or with lightning speed to stay in tune with demand. 

For these economies, economic development came riding 

on the back of infrastructure development. Today, India too is 

on a high growth path, but the country needs top infrastructure 

to sustain this growth. In fact, Indiaʼs Minister for Road Transport 

and Highways Kamal Nath recently told a group of Canadian investors, 

“We have the biggest infrastructure deficit in the world.” 

The minister went on to say: “Infrastructure is now the buzzword 

in India.” Today, India has prioritised infrastructure development 

at the top of its economic agenda with total investment 

on infrastructure during the Eleventh Plan period expected to be 

about $500 billion ̶ double the actual investment in the Tenth 

Plan period. The Prime Minister has recently indicated that total 

investment on infrastructure development will again double during 

the Twelfth Plan period to about $1 trillion. To consider just 

one segment of the total infrastructure space ̶ roads ̶ a comparison 

with China is instructive and also puts in perspective 

Indiaʼs progress during the last two decades. 

At the beginning of the 1990s, Indiaʼs road structure was actually 

more advanced than that of China, but that advantage reversed 

dramatically in the intervening years, say researchers M. 

Julie Kim, a senior researcher at Rand Corporation and Rita Nangia, 

Director (Special Projects), Office of Information Systems and 

Technology of the Asian Development Bank (ADB). 

In their working paper “Infrastructure Development in India 

and China ̶ A Comparative Analysis” for the Pacific Basin Research 

Centre, Aliso Viejo, California, the authors wrote: “Between 

1991 and 2002, Chinaʼs annual investment in its road network 

increased from about US$1 billion to around $38 billion; meanwhile, 

Indiaʼs annual investment, starting at a similar level in 

1991, increased to just $3 billion over the same 12 year period. 

“China also adopted a different investment allocation philosophy, 

focusing first on arterial networks to connect its 100 largest 

cities. Projects included the 35,000 km national trunk highway 

system, along with an additional 25,000 km of low‐grade fourlane 

highways without access control. In total, China devoted 60 

percent of its investment to new arterial networks, 25 percent 

to upgrading existing networks, and 15 percent to rural roads. 

“India, in contrast, focused mainly on rural roads, adopting the 

basic goal of stretching a limited budget as far as possible. China 

currently boasts an impressive road network infrastructure capable 

of supporting its continued economic growth into the future, 

while India must now find a way to deal with an under‐sized 

and over‐crowded road system. Indian officials 

are well aware of this dilemma and have taken 

steps to reverse this trajectory. Initial results 

appear promising, but much remains to be 

done.” Indeed, much remains to be done. 

“Having now privatised infrastructure in 

India, we are looking at the second decade of 

the 21st century as the decade of infrastructure,” 

Kamal Nath told his audience. While the 

thrust on accelerated infrastructure development actually began 

during 1998‐2004, it was under the successive governments of 

Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh that spending on infrastructure 

got a big boost in the Tenth Five Year Plan (2002‐2007) and 

the Eleventh Plan (2007‐12). Despite higher allocations, infrastructure 

development has proved to be problematic, mainly because 

of difficulties in land acquisition, problems in working out 

private‐public partnership protocols that would make private investment 

in the infrastructure sector attractive and absence of 

long‐term financing institutions. 

To speed up the work, especially in the roads sector, the minister 

had announced immediately after taking charge in June 

We have the biggest infrastructure deficit in 

the world. Infrastructure is now the buzzword in 

India. Having now privatised infrastructure in India, 

we are looking at the second decade of the 

21st century as the decade of infrastructure 

2009, that his ministry has set itself a target of building 20 kilometres 

of roads every day. Recently, the ministry has revised that 

target to 12‐13 kilometres a day for the rest of the fiscal because 

of a slightly slower progress in land acquisition. 

According to a report in March, the National Highways Authority 

of India (NHAI) is in its final stages of acquiring 80 per cent 



j India Inc can 

save Rs. 43,205 

crore every 

year if there 

are no power 

cuts 

j Economy can 

save as much 

as Rs. 27,330 

crore a year if 

there are better 

roads with less 

congestion 

j Maritime trade 

can save Rs. 

1,400 crore a 

year if there is 

adequate port 


POTENTIAL 

SAVINGS 

REMOVING 

ROADBLOCKS 

j Investment on 


doubled in the 

11th Five Year 

Plan to $500 

billion compared 

to the 

10th Plan 

j Infrastructure 

investment to 

double again 

in 12th Plan to 

$1 trillion 

j Big thrust on 

private‐public 

partnerships to 

garner 70 percent 

of investments 

from 

private sector 

in both 11th 

and 12th Plans 

Bridging the gap: 

India has doubled its 

investment on the 

infrastructure sector. 

Pictures show view of a 

new highway (left) and 

the Bengaluru 

International Airport 

(right) built through 

the public‐private 

partnership route 

of the land required for Work Plan I. It requires 30,000 hectares. 

Work Plan I is the list of projects to be awarded till June this 

year, under which 126 projects worth a total of Rs. 1 lakh crore 

will be awarded. “The pace of land acquisition is four times more 

than what it was earlier. We are in the process of acquiring 80 

per cent of the land for the projects to be awarded under the first 

To build 20 km of roads a day, NHAI will have 

to award over 200 projects worth Rs. 2 lakh crore by 

the end of 2010-11. The authority has revised 

eligibility conditions, including raising the net worth 

criteria of the bidder, to restrict frivolous bidding 

work plan,” the report said, quoting NHAI. 

The states are cooperating and things are going well, said 

NHAI, adding that the time taken in land acquisition has been 

drastically brought down to 12 months from 24 months earlier. 

While this is good news, however, around 70 per cent of the road 

projects in the country have been delayed owing to land acquisition 

problems. The road ministry under Kamal Nath took up 

the issue and the highwaysʼ authority set up special land acquisition 

units across the country to streamline the process. Ten 

such units are in Rajasthan, 13 in Bihar, 25 in Uttar Pradesh, seven 

in Gujarat, 11 in Orissa, 13 in West Bengal, four in Jharkhand, 11 

in Maharashtra and five in Assam and around 41 are in Tamil 

Nadu, Karnataka and Goa. The ministry has 

also created a post of a Joint Secretary (Land 

Acquisition) to monitor the whole process. 

To achieve the governmentʼs target of building 

roads at a pace of 20 km a day, NHAI will 

have to award over 200 projects worth Rs. 2 

lakh crore by the end of 2010‐11. The highways 

authority has revised various eligibility 

conditions, including raising the net worth criteria 

of the bidder, to restrict frivolous bidding. While NHAI is 

building highways, rural roads are being built under the Prime 

Ministerʼs Gram Sadak Yojana, a part of the governmentʼs flagship 

Bharat Nirman programme. 

Apart from delays in the road sector, infrastructure projects in 

other sectors are also facing some difficulties. For example, a re‐ 

port in September 2009 on the status of mega projects in the infrastructure 

sector by the Ministry of Statistics and Project Implementation 

showed that with respect to the original schedule, 

out of 111 mega projects (costing more than Rs. 1,000 crore) as 

many as 62 projects were delayed, 39 were on schedule and only 

three projects were ahead of schedule. 

Slower infrastructure development can also mean substantial 

losses for the economy. A 2009 study by the IT industry lobby 

Manufacturersʼ Association for Information Technology (MAIT) 

and Emerson Network Power covering 800 companies across 14 

sectors in seven major cities, concluded that if there are no power 

cuts, India Inc would save a whopping Rs. 43,205 crore every year. 

Similarly, proper roads with less congestion can save the economy 

$6 billion a year, according to Gajendra Haldea, adviser to 

the Deputy Chairman (Infrastructure) of the Planning Commission 

of India. A recent report tabled in Parliament by the Comptroller 

and Auditor General of India (CAG) has said that Indiaʼs 

maritime trade can save Rs. 1,400 crore annually if there is adequate 

port infrastructure. 

Several studies have shown that among all the items on which 

governments spend, the greatest effect on poverty reduction 

comes from building roads. A recent study of 17 Indian states 

covering the period 1970 to 1994, found that a 10 percent increase 

in the road network (measured by kilometres of road per 

square kilometre of land) would lead to a 3.4 percent increase 

in per capita income. Similar studies in other developing countries 

such as Philippines, Indonesia, Mexico or Zaire also indicate 

that providing market access to rural areas through road connectivity 

has the greatest impact on poverty reduction. 

Thus, although the need for rapid development of infrastructure 

is well recognised, and the government has also increased 

investment on the infrastructure sector, Indiaʼs needs are such 

that government resources alone cannot bridge the infrastructure 

deficit. According to the Prime Minister and Planning Commission, 

nearly 70 percent of the planned investment of $500 

billion during the Eleventh Plan and $1 trillion during the 

Twelfth Plan will have to come from the private sector, including 

foreign direct investment. 

With the government taking many initiatives to make publicprivate 

partnership projects in the infrastructure sector attractive 

to private investors, it is hoped that India will manage to lure the 

investments needed to bridge its infrastructure deficit. 



diaspora 

Balliram Maharaj (second from right), Leela and Navin with students of the school. 

Roots of Yearning 

A tale of an Indian labourer who travels to Trinidad for work and whose grandchild 

returns to India in search of her roots a century later. Shubha Singh reports 

Then President of India Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam with Mauritius Prime Minister Dr. Navinchandra Ramgoolam (middle) and Mrs. Ramgoolam on his arrival at 

Port Louis in Mauritius on March 11, 2006. 

Gaga over Ramgoolam 

The ancestral village of Navinchandra Ramgoolam in Bihar celebrates as the Mauritian 

takes over as the countryʼs Prime Minister for a second time, writes Imran Khan 

Two days after Navinchandra 

Ramgoolam was sworn in as 

Mauritius Prime Minister for a 

second consecutive term, people 

from his ancestral village in Bihar on May 

13 celebrated by playing with colours 

and distributing sweets. Ramgoolam, in 

his third stint as Prime Minister, is an icon 

for youths in Bhojpur districtʼs Harigaon 

village, about 60 km from Patna. 

College student Deepak Kumar said: “I 

am proud of him and consider him my 

icon. My village is his ancestral village.” 

Raj Kumar Singh, in his late 20s, said 

Ramgoolam was an ideal for the youth to 

follow. “Ramgoolam has inspired the 

young generation in the village,” he said. 

Mukesh Prasad, another village youth, 

said the villagers were upbeat after they 

got the news that Ramgoolam had again 

become the Prime Minister of Mauritius. 

The swearing‐in ceremony was held in 

the Mauritius capital St Louis on May 11, 

and the jubilation was palpable. 

“We always keep our heads high and 

share stories circulated by village old men 

about his ancestors,” said Mukesh Prasad. 

Villagers recalled how Ramgoolam impressed 

them when he visited the village 

two years ago and announced $250,000 

for the development of roads and for 

building a hospital. A public reception 

was organised in his honour at the village. 

“He is a big man, but touched the soil 

of the village, smeared some mud on his 

forehead and described Bihar as his 

motherland,” Raj Kumar Singh said. He 

said the Mauritius Prime Minister spoke 

in Bhojpuri, the language of about 60 percent 

people of his country. Ramgoolam 

first became prime minister from 1995 to 

2000. He was elected again as Prime 

Minister in 2005. 

A large number of people from Bihar 

travelled to various parts of the world, including 

Mauritius, in the 19th century to 

serve as indentured labourers in various 

plantations. Ramgoolamʼs grandfather 

Mohit was among those taken by the 

British in 1871. Most of the workers then 

were from Bhojpur, Chapra, Gopalganj 

and East and West Champaran. About 60 

percent of the 1.2 million population of 

Mauritius is of Indian origin. 

In 1910, Paltu Persad travelled to Trinidad as an 

indentured labourer to work on sugarcane 

plantations. He was, however, one of the thousands 

of Indians who eventually returned home with a 

zeal to contribute to his native village 

Avillage school in Faizabad district bears a cornerstone ̶ “Built by Paltu Persad 

of Sorzano and Queen Street, Arima, Trinidad”. It is the story of an indentured 

labourer who travelled half way across the world for work and his grandchild 

who came back in search of her roots. Not many in Bassi village would recall 

that Paltu Persad left his village to go to Trinidad in 1910 and returned 37 years later. 

But a hundred years later, his granddaughter Leela Maharaj was moved to tears when 

she saw the plaque. Leela Maharaj and her husband Balliram Maharaj had travelled 

from Trinidad to attend a function to mark the centenary of her ancestorʼs departure to 

the Caribbean island. To the Maharajs, the trip was a “pilgrimage”, the result of a “discover 

your roots” search. They not only located the ancestral village in Faizabad district, 

but also discovered some relatives still living there, descendants of Persadʼs brother. “It 

was on the invitation of Ram Jokhan, second cousin to my wife Leela, that we visited 

the area,” Balliram Maharaj said. “This visit is 

the biggest highlight of my entire life because 

of the experience, respect and honour bestowed 

on my wife Leela, our son Navin and myself by 

the people here,” he added. 

Persad had gone as an indentured worker to 

work on the sugarcane plantations in the West 

Indian nation. He was one of the thousands of 

Indians who returned home from a successful 

stint in a foreign land with a zeal to contribute to his native village. Independence was 

in the air when Persad decided to return home to India in 1947 to spend his last years 

in his village. On returning home, Persad decided to set up a school in the village. The 

school was completed in 1953. According to the Maharajs, Persad endured many hardships, 

like the hundreds of thousands of indentured Indians in many parts of the world. 

He left the security of family, friends and community, in order to develop his vision. 

That vision was for a better future for his family. 

While visiting the school, Leela learnt that it had 668 registered students and estimated 

30,000 children had studied there. “For a long time we were longing to visit 

India. But pressures of work kept us away. So when this invitation by Leelaʼs cousin 

came, it was not only to celebrate her ʻajahʼsʼ (grandfatherʼs) 100 years of departure, 

but to visit the school he started,” Balliram said. Now Balliram plans to organise a grand 

family reunion next year to mark the 100th anniversary of his grandfather Changaʼs 

departure for Trinidad. 



diaspora 

Historic Dean 

Named the first Indian‐American dean of Harvard Business School, Nitin Nohria seeks 

to transform business education to help meet global challenges, says Arun Kumar 

Green billionaire 

Venture capitalist Vinod Khosla, who tops Forbesʼ green list, constantly looks to invest 

in ʻscience experimentsʼ seeking sustainable solutions, says Arun Kumar 

Indian‐American Silicon Valley billionaire Vinod Khosla has topped the list of the 

10 greenest billionaires chosen by Forbes “who are most active in green, sustainable 

causes and who are working to have the greatest impact”. The leading U.S. 

business magazine said it found that the top ten “are altruistic, yes, but most of 

them are also very much aiming to turn a profit” and they hail not just from the U.S., 

but also from Israel, Germany and Canada. 

“Khosla, a cofounder of Sun Microsystems and a longtime partner at venture capital 

powerhouse Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers has, with fellow billionaire and green business 

supporter John Doerr, been pouring millions of dollars into green tech companies,” 

Forbes noted. The magazine put Khoslaʼs net worth at $1.1 billion and Doerrʼs at $1.7 

billion, noting that in 2004 Khosla began, through his Khosla Ventures, to fund dozens 

of innovative companies involved in areas such 

as sustainable building materials, solar power 

and advanced biofuels. It said that Khosla has 

described some of these investments as “science 

experiments” that may or may not succeed. 

“I like Vinodʼs strategy because traditionally 

VCs donʼt buy into companies at their early 

stage. He does, and the ʻscience experimentʼ that 

survives that germ‐of‐an‐idea stage has a good 

chance itʼll be mainstream some day,” Forbes quoted Michael Kanellos of Greentech Media 

as saying. Ausra, a solar thermal power company backed by Khosla Ventures and Kleiner 

Perkins, had trouble getting financing and permits for planned solar plants and in 2009 

switched its focus to selling equipment for customers that included coal‐fired plants. 

Now the company is out of Khoslaʼs purview as in February French nuclear giant 

Areva bought Ausra for an undisclosed sum. 

Among others making Forbes greenest billionaires list were Israeli Carnival Cruises 

heiress Shari Arison, Google cofounders Larry Page and Sergey Brin and German 

billionaires Aloys Wobben and Prince Albert von Thurn und Taxis. Nearly everyone 

wants to be green these days, or so it seems, said Forbes, noting that more than $200 

billion globally will be invested this year in sustainable businesses ̶ a 40 percent 

increase from 2009. 

Nearly everyone wants to be green 

these days, Forbes said, noting that more than 

$200 billion globally will be invested this year 

in sustainable businesses — a 40 pc 

increase from 2009 

Professor Nitin Nohria, an alumnus 

of the Indian Institute of 

Technology in Mumbai, who 

takes over as the first Indian‐ 

American dean of the prestigious Harvard 

Business School from July 1, says “we 

must strive to equip future leaders [business 

leaders] with the competence and 

character to address emerging global 

business and social challenges”. 

Currently the Richard P. Chapman Professor 

of Business Administration at the 

century‐old institution and co‐chair of its 

Leadership Initiative, Nohria will serve as 

the 10th dean of Harvard Business 

School. 

“I feel a profound sense of responsibility 

for continuing Harvard Business 

Schoolʼs proud legacy of ground‐breaking 

ideas and transformational educational 

experiences,” said the chemical engineerturned‐management 

expert who has 

co‐authored 16 books. 

Some of his students also recall how he, 

along with his brother‐in‐law Bharat N. 

Anand, the Henry R. Byers Professor of 

Business Administration at Harvard, are 

known for their hospitality and the receptions 

to celebrate Indian festivals and its 

culture. “As his student, I found his discussion 

techniques and detailing immensely 

informative and thought 

provoking,” said Manoj Kumar, managing 

partner with the Hahhurabi and Solomon, 

a legal and corporate consultancy firm. 

“Prof. Nohria also made the curriculum 

and case studies very relevant to issues in 

the Indian business context. He deserves 

a special mention for making the programme 

so very insightful,” Kumar added. 

Nohria received his degree in chemical 

engineering in 1984 from the Indian Institute 

of Technology in Mumbai, which 

also awarded him with its distinguished 

alumnus medal in 2007. He then received 

his doctoral degree in management from 

the Massachusetts Institute of Technologyʼs 

Sloan School of Management in 

1988 where he earned an outstanding 

doctoral thesis award in behavioural and 

policy sciences. Following that, he joined 

the Harvard faculty as an assistant 

professor in 1988, became an associate 

professor five years later and then served 

as the Richard P. Chapman Professor of 

Business Administration since 1999. 

His current academic interests include 

the theory and practice of leadership, the 

study of human motivation, the analysis 

of management practices critical to corporate 

success, and the strategic and organisational 

challenges of globalisation. 

Harvard Business 

School, Boston 

I feel a profound sense 

of responsibility for continuing 

Harvard Business School’s 

proud legacy of 

ground-breaking ideas and 

transformational educational 

experiences 

Among his 16 books, the latest ̶ Handbook 

of Leadership Theory and Practice ̶ 

has been co‐edited with his Harvard colleague 

Rakesh Khurana and reflects a colloquium 

he organised as part of Harvardʼs 

centennial in 2008 to stimulate serious 

scholarly research on leadership. 

“Nitin Nohria will be a wonderful dean of 

Harvard Business School,” said Jay Light 

about his successor. 

“He is widely respected within our extended 

community as a perceptive scholar 

of leadership and as a thoughtful and able 

academic leader.” 

““ 



diaspora 

The world’s the stage 

For Masaka Ono, Odissi is a mission she has dedicated her life to, says Jatindra Dash 

She decided to learn Odissi as 

soon as she saw legendary 

dancer Kelucharan Mohapatra 

on video in Tokyo. Masako Ono 

came to India in 1996 and has not looked 

back since. After 14 years, Ono has 

earned fame not only for her dance, but 

also for her innovative choreography, her 

lecture and demonstrations on Odissi ̶ 

one of Indiaʼs oldest surviving classical 

dance forms. 

Her journey began when she joined 

Nrityagram, founded by model‐turneddancer 

Protima Gauri Bedi in Bengaluru. 

She moved to Orissa ̶ home to classical 

Odissi ̶ and trained under several gurus, 

including Mohapatra. Today Mohapatra 

and Bedi are no more, but 38‐year‐old 

Ono is carrying their dreams forward. “I 

donʼt miss them. They live in my body. 

Odissi will be the main dance for my 

whole life. I want to take it to all corners 

of the world,” Ono told IANS. 

The strict vegan said: “Odissi has already 

expanded across the world. In the 

U.S., Odissi is performed by the Indian 

community, which is good. They keep up 

the tradition. But it should go more 

global.” Ono has been performing in 

many countries, including India and her 

home country Japan, which she visits a 

few times every year. Her choreography 

̶ a blend of tantra, yoga and classical Indian 

dance ̶ has received appreciation 

wherever she performs. She has danced 

and given lectures and demonstrations on 

Odissi in India, Japan, the U.S., Canada, 

Italy, France, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, 

Indonesia, and Sri Lanka. She has 

performed for former Prime Ministers of 

Japan Junichiro Koizumi and Shinzo Abe. 

Ono has also participated in the contemporary 

dance project Boi Shakti in 2008. 

She has innovated and choreographed 

many fusion performances which have incorporated 

elements of other dance 

forms. “After seeing one video of the performance 

of Guruji (Kelucharan Mohapatra), 

I decided to learn Odissi,” the dancer 

“ 

A dancer cannot just be 

confined to the portrayal of 

the beauty of body. He or 

she can go beyond in exploring 

the boundaries 

To 

“ 

recalled. “Next moment I was at the embassy 

of India, asking where to go. They 

gave me a brochure of Nrityagram; so I 

went to Nrityagram.” 

Since early childhood, Ono has been 

passionate about dance. She started at the 

age of four under Masako Yokoi, the only 

Japanese modern dance graduate from 

the Martha Graham Dance School in the 

U.S. She was later trained in Tokyo western 

classical ballet, jazz and hip hop. 

Living in Bhubaneswar since 2001, the 

slim dancer, who has also learned yoga 

and pilates, has opened a dance school 

here, and has taught over 30 students 

both dance and yoga. Her students range 

Masako Ono strikes an Odissi pose 

from eight to 45 years in age. She has half 

a dozen students right now, including a 

Japanese who is learning hip hop. Asked 

what she thought of other Odissi dancers, 

Ono replied: “Some are good, but what 

bothers me is that there are people who 

have not worked enough before doing it.” 

“The main challenge before the students 

who are talented and have interest 

to learn dance is that many of them are 

not able to afford a teacher. I always think 

what I can do for them. Those who have 

talent should be taught free.” 

Ono wants to teach them free, but she 

needs financial support. She has recently 

registered a trust called Mudra Foundation. 

“I will try to do this through this 

trust,” she said. 

Asked about her personal life, she said: 

“At this point in time, I am far from thinking 

about marriage, but still I have hope; 

search for a suitable partner is on.” 

Ono has attended workshops in 

Flamenco, contemporary dance, African 

dance, Chhau and Kalaripayattu. 

“A dancer cannot just be confined to 

the portrayal of the beauty of body. He or 

she can go beyond in exploring the 

boundaries,” she said. 

Jorge Ramirez, the Bolivian cab owner and a Shah Rukh Khan fan 

Khan-mad in Andes 

Language is not a barrier for this cab owner from Andes who is crazy about Indian 

superstar Shah Rukh Khan and his movies, says Viral Shah 

be asked about Shah Rukh in the midst 

of the Andes at an elevation of over 12,000 feet was 

surprising enough. What added to it was 

Jorge’s excitement at meeting someone who 

was from the same country 

Jorge Ramirez seemed like an amiable technician‐turned cab owner who might be 

meeting an Indian for the first time in his life. “From India” he asked and before 

I could answer yes, he added, “Shah Rukh Khan” Before I could answer even that, 

he popped in a CD in his cabʼs player that belted out Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham. 

To be asked about Shah Rukh in the midst of the Andes at an elevation of over 12,000 

feet was surprising enough. What added to it was Jorgeʼs excitement at meeting someone 

who was from the same country and, therefore, by implication his favourite starʼs 

representative. As we began driving from La Paz to Lake Titicaca, reputedly the largest 

navigable lake in the world at an elevation of 14,000 feet, Jorgeʼs CD kept churning out 

songs from many of Shah Rukhʼs most popular Bollywood movies. He would occasionally 

hum along, not understanding a word of 

what was being said. “I love Shah Rukh Khan 

and I have seen many of his movies,” Ramirez 

told IANS. As if to prove his knowledge of the 

actorʼs body of work he mentioned Karan Arjun, 

Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Chalte Chalte, Kabhi 

Khushi Kabhie Gham, and Kal Ho Na Ho. 

“I found Kal Ho Na Ho very touching, with 

Shah Rukh Khanʼs heart problem. I remember 

Karan Arjun was about two brothers and a mother,” Ramirez said as he seemed to process 

the complicated names of movies. And then as if he had a eureka moment, he started 

talking about Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham. “Kahol dances very good,” he said pronouncing 

the ʻjʼ in Kajol the way it is done by the Spanish‐speaking people, like a soft ʻhʼ. 

Ramirez said his CDs and DVDs of Shah Rukh movies came from Lima, the capital of 

neighbouring Peru. When told about the actorʼs new movie My Name Is Khan, which 

Ramirez did not know of, he promised to get it from Lima on his next trip there. 

It is hard to gauge how popular Hindi movies are in this part of the world, but if a 

visit to a corporate office the next day is any indication, their popularity certainly 

stretches beyond Ramirez. 

An office worker was playing a Shah Rukh song on her PC! 


diaspora 

Guru Supernal 

Deepak Chopra and Liquid Comics come together for a film adaptation of the 

supernatural thriller novel ʻBeyondʼ 

Deepak Chopra 

New Age guru and author Deepak 

Chopra and Liquid Comics will partner 

together on a film adaptation of 

Beyond, a supernatural thriller about 

a businessman whose wife suddenly vanishes 

from a small store in India. Liquid Comics 

Founders, Gotham and Sharad Devarajan, will 

produce the film with John Garland and 

Michael Dufficy. Filmmaker Suri Krishnamma 

will direct the film currently in development as 

a U.K. production. Announcing the deal, Deepak 

Chopra, who created the story and wrote the 

screenplay, said: “Beyond is a story about reality 

being multi‐dimensional and how we can 

take journeys to realms we never dreamt of by 

separating the veils that partition our minds.” 

“As with all my work, I hope to open audiencesʼ 

minds to the fact that all reality is a projection 

of a paradigm or worldview.” 

Filmmaker Suri Krishnamma said, “I am 

thrilled to be working with Deepak, someone 

who has been an influential part of my familyʼs 

life for many years and whose books I sincerely 

treasure. Together, we have the opportunity of 

making a great action‐adventure movie ̶ the 

fantastic journey of a man in search of his missing 

wife ̶ realising that he is in fact on a journey 

of self‐discovery that transcends our own dimension and takes us into parallel 

worlds ̶ an ordinary man who is asked to take on the responsibility of a mythic hero.” 

Beyond is a supernatural thriller about a businessman, Michael Morton who arrives 

in India with his wife Anna and son Ty on a vacation. While Michael is distracted on a 

phone call with an overseas colleague, Anna and Ty wander through a typically teeming 

Indian shopping bazaar. Then the inexplicable happens ̶ Ty watches as his mother 

wanders into a small store, but never comes out. Sheʼs vanished without a trace. Michael 

searches for his wife, at first irritated by her elusiveness, but soon turns frantic, as he 

canʼt uncover any clue to her whereabouts. Things then turn even stranger and desperate 

when Michael hears his wifeʼs whispering, crying for his help. Tracking the sounds, 

Michael and Ty are led on adventure of both physical and metaphysical danger as they 

stop at nothing to reunite their family. 

Liquidʼs CEO Devarajan said: “Deepak Chopra is one of the worldʼs most prolific 

thinkers and creators. To bring his first screenplay to theatres and to the millions of 

people who have been touched by his work for decades along with Suriʼs vision is 

a thrill.” 

Beyond is a story about reality being 

multi-dimensional and how we can take journeys to 

realms we never dreamt of by separating the 

veils that partition our minds 

Indian origin Hollywood actress 

Noureen DeWulf, who has been featured 

on Maxim magazineʼs Hot 100 

list, is keen on doing Bollywood films 

as “itʼll be like going back to her roots”. 

She also wants to share screen space 

with ageless beauty Rekha. “I love Bollywood. 

I grew up watching Bollywood 

films like Sita Aur Geeta, Satyam Shivam 

Sundaram, Coolie and so many. There is 

a lot of talent there and if an opportunity 

is there and presented in a right format, 

Iʼd love to do a Bollywood film,” Noureen 

told IANS in a telephonic interview from 

Los Angeles. “If itʼs an interesting role, Iʼll 

certainly consider it. Iʼd love to do that because 

for me, itʼll be like going back to my 

roots. I have seen them over and over 

again. My parents are Indian and I feel a 

strong connection to those films,” said 

Noureen, who teamed up with singer‐actress 

Jennifer Lopez in The Back‐Up Plan. 

The movie released in the U.S. on April 23 

and hit Indian screens on May 14. 

Noureen DeWulf in a still from her latest movie “The Back‐Up Plan”. 

Bollywood Bond 

Indian‐American actress Noureen DeWulf talks to Robin Bansal about her dreams of 

working in Bollywood and her love and connection with the land of her roots 

Noureen was on Maxim magazineʼs Hot 

100 list as one of the most desirable 

women on the planet in 2007. And guess 

who is on the 26‐year‐oldʼs wish list 

“Iʼd love to work with Rekha. I like her. 

She is so beautiful and she is a great actress. 

I love (her) Silsila a lot... Iʼve 

watched it so many times,” said Noureen, 

who was last seen in the comedy The 

Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard. 

“I am (also) a big fan of the actors out 

there like Salman Khan and Shah Rukh 

Khan. Those two stood out with their acting. 

I think they have done some great 

work and I have watched a couple of their 

more recent films,” she added. 

Language is no barrier for Noureen 

who hails from a Gujarati family. “I can 

speak Hindi, Gujarati and Urdu... I am 

very comfortable with all the languages,” 

said the actress, who is known for her 

roles like in the Academy Award winning 

movie West Bank Story and Ghosts of 

Girlfriends Past. 

In Alan Poulʼs romantic comedy, 

Noureen will be seen as Lopezʼs employee 

and friend. The film also stars Alex 

OʼLoughlin, Melissa McCarthy and Eric 

Christian Olsen. 

Throwing light on her character, 

Noureen said: “I play a character called 

Daphne in the film who works in the pet 

store owned by Jennifer Lopezʼs character. 

We have a funny relationship (in the 

movie). Itʼs very irreverent ̶ we have a 

boss‐employee relationship, but I am also 

her friend. 

“I have been here (Hollywood) for eight 

years and Iʼve worked with really great 

people... at the end of every production, I 

made some great friends,” said the actress 

who has Mickey Rourke, Quentin Tarantino, 

Robert Rodriguez, Baz Luhrmann 

and Naomi Watts on her Hollywood 

wishlist. “Iʼve learnt a lot from my co‐stars 

too. Iʼve definitely learnt from them and 

if from nothing else, from their presence 

and personality,” she added. 


perspectives 

Of knowing, learning, 

experiencing… 

What of the yearnings for oneʼs roots What of the cultural memories that go 

into forging oneʼs identity. On her first journey to India, Cherese Thakur says how 

knowing herself meant knowing her origins in the land of her forefathers 

“Masala Chai” by Cherese Thakur 

We were forty leaves picked from sixteen tea-bushes 

Brewing together in an Indian kettle 

A bitter-sweet blend 

Ours was a unique flavour — of spice and spirit 

A wholesome, heady drink 

We bubbled on buses 

We spilled out on streets 

We swirled under a milky moon 

We were masala chai 

The taste lingers on the tongue… 

What does it mean to ʻknowʼ oneself 

Every person, at some point, 

grapples with the question. Like 

any young person in the process 

of forming their identity, I often 

find myself returning to it. The answer is 

as important for oneʼs future as it is for 

the present. I thought about this as I sat 

on the plane to Thiruvanthapuram. My 

conclusion was that knowing myself 

meant knowing my origins in India. 

Would knowing India, I thought, be the 

final piece in the puzzle of my identity 

I played with the words in my mind: Indian 

South African, South African Indian. 

My great‐great grandparents left the 

shores of India to make a new life in Africa. 

I didnʼt know which part of India they are 

from. I thought that, without knowing my 

history, I did not know my place in the 

world. It was difficult to reconcile my Indian 

heritage with my nationality. 

South Africans of Indian descent enjoy 

a rich and colourful history in my country: 

although originally mostly indentured 

labourers on the sugarcane fields, they 

have since flourished: through hard work, 

strong community‐based orientation, and 

a commitment to education. They were a 

force in the struggle for freedom from 

apartheid. Today they occupy high positions 

of authority in most sectors. However, 

it lies with each person to define 

their relationship with India herself, the 

motherland. It is a personal journey that 

each must take. 

I was reminded of this when I had to introduce 

myself to the 39 other KIP participants. 

As such, the Know India 

Program (KIP) experience is one that 

could not have come at a better time in 

my life. In knowing India, I have come to 

know myself better. 

I have learned that the magic of India 

is such that it cannot be contained within 

her borders. Although her children have 

been spreading out across the world for 

generations, when they return they 

recognise India as Mother and each other 

as brethren. That is the only way I can explain 

the amazing kinship I felt with the 

39 other participants in the programme: 

a subtle, yet strong bond. 

We were fortunate to be hosted by the 

partner states of Kerala and Rajasthan, 

and our visit also included visits to New 

Delhi and Agra. Each new experience on 

the Know India Programme that lit up my 

eyes with wonder ̶ the serene beauty of 

Kovalam beach at sunset, the patterns of 

the tea‐bushes in the plantations in 

Munnar, the vast expanse of the majestic 

Amber Fort, the afternoon sun striking 

the pearlescent splendour of the Taj 

Mahal ̶ was mirrored in the faces of my 

39 new friends ̶ my ʻfamilyʼ in India. 

But these beautiful sights do not make 

up India. To me, India is the sum of her 

people, a lesson I learned again and again. 

One such occasion was New Yearʼs Eve. 

At midnight, we rushed to the roof of the 

Metropolitan Hotel in Cochin, where we 

saw the sky explode with fireworks like 

stars. We then spilled out into the hotel 

courtyard, where we danced together 

with the hotel staff, under a tree garlanded 

with fairy lights. There were only 

smiles as everyone sang along to the Bollywood 

tunes, laughing as they danced. 

There was magic in every beat of the music. 

It was moments such as these ̶ dancing 

together, playing football with member 

of the Indian Defence Force, chatting 

with students at the Rajagiri College, 

speaking to the roadside traders in Delhi, 

witnessing the noble work of the Bhagwan 

Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti 

̶ these were the moments that made me 

realise that the greatness of India stems 

from the spirit of its people. 

This sentiment was echoed many times 

by fellow persons of Indian origin (PIOs) 

and non‐resident Indians (NRIs) at the 

Pravasi Bharatiya Divas conference in 

Delhi. The conference featured delegations 

from the corners of the globe ̶ 

leaders in politics, commerce, arts and culture, 

industry, humanitarian work, academia 

and other sectors were present. It 

was a gathering of the finest representatives 

of Indiaʼs legacy to the world ̶ 



perspectives 

I revelled in the tastes of India — the cool clarity of the juice from fresh coconuts in Kerala, sweet 

warm gulab jamun dripping in syrup, steaming-hot rotis soaking up rich curries cooked with cream. 

I enjoyed the unexpected flavours of pani puri and papdi chat bought from vendors, the goodness of 

guavas from the roadside, and could not get enough of the fragrant delicacy of chai 

“Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh 

being one of the many inspiring and distinguished 

speakers. I shrunk in the presence 

of such esteemed individuals: after 

all, I am still only a student, without any 

real achievement to my name. But at the 

same time, I realised that if I worked hard 

and focused on my goals, I could perhaps 

one day also stand proud in the presence 

of such greats. 

Knowing India is very much a sensory 

experience. I remember the sounds of 

bhajans in the early hours of the morning 

in Thrissur, where the melodic singing 

gave an ethereal quality to the dawn. I remember 

running my fingertips over the 

cold, smooth shapes of flowers in the 

marble of the Taj Mahal, and thinking 

about the craftsman from the ancient 

years whose hands fashioned them. I remember 

the pungent smell of cow dung 

at the Navneet Prakritik Yoga Chikitsa 

Dham Naturopathy Centre in Bassi, where 

the dung was not waste, but an environmentally 

friendly source of fuel. 

There was no shortage of spectacular 

sights: from the sun setting amidst the 

palm trees, viewed from the boat cruise 

in Cochin; to the beautiful light show at 

Fort Maharani Padmini Mahal in the 

chilly evening. I loved the colourful swirl 

of dancers in bright saris at the various 

cultural evenings, as each elegant movement 

was matched with the chiming of 

bells on their feet. I will forever remember 

the day we sat on the steps at Lake 

Pushkar, where the clear, holy water before 

us was like a mirror for a sky filled 

with wheeling kites. 

I revelled in the tastes of India ̶ the 

cool clarity of the juice from fresh coconuts 

in Kerala, sweet warm gulab 


“ 

Bio 

A fourth‐generation Indian, Cherese 

Thakur, 20, was born in Chatsworth, 

a large and predominantly Indian 

township in the outskirts of Durban, 

South Africa. Her great‐grandparents 

had moved to South Africa at 

the turn of the last century. Cherese 

schooled in Chatsworth and 

Malvern in Durban. She is now in 

her fourth year, reading law, at the 

University of KwaZulu‐Natal. 

Cherese closely follows art and 

writes, especially poetry. A passionate 

student of human rights and 

justice, she serves on a body known 

as Students for Human Rights and 

Justice on her campus. Cherese 

loves animals and had a favourite 

pet Daschund, Pupsie, which tragically 

succumbed to cancer a few 

months ago. 

jamun dripping in syrup, steaming‐hot 

rotis soaking up rich curries cooked with 

cream. I enjoyed the unexpected flavours 

of pani puri and papdi chat bought from 

vendors, the goodness of guavas from the 

roadside, and could not get enough of the 

fragrant delicacy of chai. 

I could not have ever dreamed of the 

wealth of experiences I gained from the 

13th Know India Programme ̶ it surpassed 

my expectations time and time 

again. I remember being informed beforehand 

by our Consul‐General, Mr. Anil K. 

Sharan, that KIP would be an experience 

of extremes. India is a country of contradictions 

living together, I was told. 

I have learned that this is true: India features 

magnificent skyscrapers, and halfbuilt 

buildings slowly being reclaimed by 

the trees. It features stunning scenes of 

natural beauty, as well as littered streets. 

What occurred to me, as I gazed out of 

the bus window on the way to Cochin, is 

that these things are part of the uniqueness 

of the land ̶ despite all the contradictions, 

it all feels right. 

In the same way, I felt right in India as 

well ̶ the contradiction of the Indian 

South African versus the South African Indian 

was no more. I realised that I did not 

have to choose my identity, and that India 

accepted me as I am, as it does all people. 

In knowing India, I began to know myself: 

I am South African. But a piece of my 

heart will always live in India. 

Indeed, the magic of India cannot be 

contained in her borders. As I learned at 

the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas conference, 

India is reaching out to the world – to 

PIOs, to NRIs, and to people who are yet 

to experience the spirit of the land. And 

as long as we reach out too from our respective 

countries, India will grow to us. 

There is so much to learn and share, and 

so much to benefit from nurturing our 

ties with India. 

I wish to thank all those involved in the 

KIP Programme ̶ The Indian Government, 

the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs, 

the Confederation of Indian 

Industry, the governments of the partner 

states of Kerala and Rajasthan, and all the 

organisations and individuals that contributed 

to making our trip such a wonderful 

learning experience. 

I would urge all other young PIOs to 

apply to be a participant on this programme 

̶ as myself and my 39 friends 

have discovered, it can only enrich you, 

as I hope my poem will show. 

How well do we know each 

other What do we know about 

each otherʼs music, culture, 

books, country, history and 

leaders... What are those 

memories and connections we 

share... Starting this issue, we 

bring you a quiz on the Indian 

Diaspora. The answers are given 

at the bottom of the page. You 

can also write in with littleknown 

facts about the Diaspora 

community. Let us begin a 

journey of learning more about 

each other... 

DIASPORA QUIZ 

Q1: The advent of Buddhism in 

India in 500 BC heralded the 

beginning of a new travelling 

Indian, who went far beyond 

geographical boundaries in 

pursuit of knowledge and wisdom. 

They were among the 

earliest of Indian diasporas. 

Name the Emperor who sent 

Buddhist monks to spread the 

message of peace and love, as 

also expertise in medicine, 

mathematics, chemistry, printing 

and textiles, to faraway 

lands. 

Q2: This particular word means 

“people of Graeco‐Roman origin”, 

the Graeco‐Romans 

constituting the next most important 

diasporic population 

after the Buddhist era. The 

wordʼs origin is believed to be 

connected to the Ionians of 

Greece, and the word finds 

mention both in north and 

south Indian classical texts, 

which stand testimony to the 

grand trade and cultural ties 

between these two great civilisations. 

Name the word. 

ANSWERS 

Q3: This 5th century navigational 

guide describes in detail 

the trading activities that took 

place between the Roman 

Empire and India. Name it. 

Q4: The presence of the grand 

Hindu civilisations across 

South‐East Asia in modern‐day 

Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, 

Malaysia and Vietnam during 

the early Hindu Medieval Period 

points to the possibility of 

the migration of artists, engineers, 

scholars, saints and 

traders from India. Which was 

the most prominent Hindu 

kingdom during the medieval 

period 

Q5: About 1400 A.D., this 

Hindu ruler of the then insignificant 

island of Singapore, 

known in history as Temasek, 

fled with a handful of followers 

after constant attacks on Singapore 

by raiders from Majapahit. 

Later, he founded the 

kingdom of Malacca around 

1402 A.D. Name him. 

Q6: This trading route is 

famous for many of the technological 

innovations like 

printing, gunpowder, and 

compass, that have filtered 

into Europe from India, especially 

during the High Middle 

Ages in Europe. Name it. 

Q7: This community of people 

migrated from the western 

parts of India to Europe 

through Afghanistan, Persia 

and Turkey, and still follow 

largely ancient Indian rituals 

and practices. They are also 

loosely called gypsies. Their 

language has many Sanskrit 

words, and they have often declared 

their affinity and desire 

to be identified as Indians. 

Name the community. 

Q8: The cities of Roman Egypt 

and the Mediterranean basin 

maintained trade relations with 

such ancient port cities as 

Muziris and Barygaza. What are 

the modern names of these 

two port cities 

Q9: It was under an agreement 

that groups of Indians left the 

shores of India more then a 

century ago to fulfil labour 

needs of British and other 

European colonial empires. 

Under the indenture system, 

some 1.2 million Indians 

signed an agreement of indenture 

and sailed away to more 

than ten European colonies to 

work on plantations in which 

African slaves earlier worked for 

free. What is the agreement 

called 

Q10: In 1830 began the first 

ʻarrivalsʼ of the people of the 

old Indian diaspora who were 

sent as indentured labourers to 

Mauritius. From 1834 to 1924, 

these labourers arrived at this 

ghat now recognised by the 

Unesco as a World Heritage 

Site. Name this famous ghat. 

1. Emperor Ashoka 2. Yavana 3. Periplus of the Erythrean Sea 4.The Chola Dynasty 5. Parameswara 6. Silk Route 7. The Rromas 8. Kochi and Surat, respectively 

9. Girmit (a corruption of agreement) 10. Apravasi Ghat

obituary/c.k. prahalad 

Fortune Teller 

One of the planetʼs most brilliant business brains and seminal thinkers, Prahaladʼs 

theories will continue to influence corporations worldwide 

He saw the India story coming 

as we know it today. The 

world‐conquering spree that 

Indian business tycoons now 

regularly indulge in as a matter of 

course, is a scenario Coimbatore Krishnarao 

Prahalad envisaged much before 

such business leaders even thought 

they were capable of it. One of the 

planetʼs most brilliant business brains 

and seminal thinkers, Prahaladʼs theories 

will continue to influence corporations, 

and behaviours that build great 

institutions and practices. 

Not without reason, many of his admirers 

firmly believed that should there 

have been a Nobel prize for management 

and public administration, C.K. 

Prahalad would surely have won it for 

India. A die‐hard capitalist, Prahalad 

was unlike most others of his clan, for 

he gave the word “profit” a new humane 

meaning, and took a lead role in addressing 

issues such as poverty, income 

inequality and corruption. 

Prahalad was passionate about India 

and knew that the world would eventually 

admire India as a global economic 

power, a vision reflected in his bestseller 

The Fortune at the Bottom of the 

Pyramid: Eradicating Poverty Through 

Profit. It is this theory that many corporations 

now follow in global emerging 

markets. For a man who was consulted 

by a host of global companies like 

AT&T, Cargill, Citicorp, Kodak, Oracle, 

and Philips, and who served on the 

boards of several others, Prahalad loved 

academics and was a teacher at core. 

He did try his hand in business and 

founded Praja Inc. However, he sold the 

company soon after. Even then, it is 

worth noting the name of his short‐lived 

company, as Praja in Sanskrit translates 

into a kingdomʼs subjects, or citizens ̶ 

a realm that always remained close to 

Prahaladʼs heart. 


“ 

Not without reason, many of his admirers firmly believed that 

should there have been a Nobel prize for management and 

public administration, Coimbatore Krishnarao Prahalad 

would surely have won it for India 

“ 

ideas 

Immortal 

C.K. Prahalad may be no more, but his ideas will continue to live on, reports Arjun Sen 

With the passing away of management guru C.K. Prahalad, 

the world has lost a great business thinker. 

CK, as he was popularly known, produced several 

ideas during his 33‐year career that have not only 

become an inseparable part of business lexicon today, but are 

likely to continue to drive corporate boardroom strategy discussions 

well into the 21st century. No wonder voters at the 

Thinkers50 website, which brings out a list of the most influential 

business thinkers every year, elected Prahalad as the worldʼs 

most influential business thinker for two years ̶ 2007 and 

2009 ̶ a feat unsurpassed by any one else except the legendary 

Peter F. Drucker. 

Prahalad was also a social activist, successfully convincing 

some of the worldʼs largest corporations that there were profits 

to be made by serving the poorest segment 

of consumers ̶ those who existed at the 

bottom of the economic pyramid ̶ and that 

by doing so, they could at the same time reduce 

poverty by bringing the poorest of the 

poor into the economic mainstream. “CK created 

a language (Bottom of the Pyramid, for 

example) that allowed the business community 

to talk about social change and simultaneously 

allowed the social sector to talk 

about capitalism as a tool to fight injustice. This contribution 

alone demonstrates his sheer brilliance in the face of one of the 

greatest cultural and ideological divisions of our time,” writes 

Blair Miller, Talent Manager at the New York based Acumen 

Fund and a former student of the late professor. 

Prahalad made as many as five major theoretical contributions. 

The first such concept was that of dominant logic. In an article 

titled “The Dominant Logic: A New Linkage between Diversity 

and Performance”, written with Richard A. Bettis and published 

in the Strategic Management Journal in 1986, the authors argued 

that the main means by which a company makes profits 

generate a dominant logic within the minds of the companyʼs executives. 

Managers tend to seek solutions to problems using the 

dominant logic and this works as long as organisations do not 

face any major structural change in the industry. But when there 

is such a change, the dominant logic blocks a companyʼs executives 

from thinking differently, stifling creativity. 

In another paper developing on the theme, published in Strategic 

Management Journal in 1995, the authors introduced the 

concept of unlearning that a company must do to get out of its 

dominant logic. In both the papers, Prahalad and Bettis gave the 

example of IBM. “In the business world, IBM is an excellent example 

in which the dominant logic revolved around a set of unseen 

assumptions about the centrality of the mainframe 

business. At IBM, this thinking became embedded in the strategy, 

reward system, promotion preferences, and resource allocation 

system so strongly that a catastrophic crisis was necessary even 

Prahalad was also a social activist, successfully 

convincing some of the world’s largest corporations 

that there were profits to be made by serving 

the poorest consumers and also reduce poverty by 

bringing them into the economic mainstream 

to begin dislodging it. Before IBM could begin developing a new 

strategy, the mainframe logic needed to be partially unlearned 

or forgotten. This need to unlearn may suggest why new competitors 

often displace experienced incumbents in an industry 

when major structural change occurs (e.g. the personal computer 

revolution),” Prahalad and Bettis wrote. 

Prahaladʼs next big conceptual construct was the idea of strategic 

intent. Studying the rapid progress made by Japanese companies 

in the post‐war global economy, he concluded that for a 

company to grow and achieve global leadership, it must have a 

strategic intent. In an article called “Strategic Intent”, written in 

collaboration with Gary Hamel and published in the Harvard 

Business Review in 1989, Prahalad and Hamel took up the prob‐ 


In his last book The New Age of Innovation, Prahalad argued that for companies 

to remain competitive in today’s environment, they must learn to co-create products with 

consumers and that while products must be customised to meet the needs of each 

individual consumer, companies will have to garner resources globally through various 

alliances with other businesses to achieve this 

lem of why Western companies had lost their competitive edge 

to newcomers, especially, Japanese and South Korean companies. 

The authors argued that Western companies focus on trimming 

their ambitions to match resources and, as a result, search 

only for advantages they can sustain. By contrast, Japanese corporations 

leverage resources by accelerating the pace of organisational 

learning and try to attain seemingly impossible goals. 

These firms foster the desire to succeed among their employees 

and maintain it by spreading the vision of global leadership. This 

is how Canon sought to “beat Xerox” and Komatsu set out to “encircle 

Caterpillar”. 

In this McKinsey Award–winning article, Hamel and Prahalad 

described four techniques that Japanese companies use to compete 

innovatively: building layers of advantage, searching for 

“loose bricks”, changing the terms of engagement, and competing 

through collaboration. They wrote: “Companies that have risen 

to global leadership over the past 20 years invariably began with 

ambitions that were out of all proportion to their resources and 

capabilities. But they created an obsession with winning at all 

levels of the organisation and then sustained that obsession over 

the 10‐ to 20‐year quest for global leadership. We term this obsession 

ʻstrategic intentʼ. On one hand, strategic intent envisions 

Practical theories: Influenced 

by Prahaladʼs theories about 

the Bottom of the Pyramid, 

more and more companies 

are now offering their 

products in smaller packs 

and lower price points to 

make them affordable for 

the poor. This village shop 

displays various products in 

single serve sachets or small, 

low priced packs. 

tence is the collective learning in the organisation, especially the 

capacity to coordinate diverse production skills and integrate 

streams of technologies. First, companies must identify core competencies. 

Next, companies must reorganise to learn from alliances 

and focus on internal development. The authors showed how 

Honda had developed core competency in motor engines and 

power trains, Sony in miniaturisation or NEC in convergence of 

computing and communication technologies and it is these core 

competencies that were enabling them to manufacture a wide variety 

of products, often entirely new products which opened up 

new markets, and thus maintain leadership in many businesses. 

This article also went on to win the McKinsey Award and took 

the corporate world by storm. But Prahalad was not done yet. Two 

more major ideas followed. Writing in collaboration with Venkat 

Ramaswamy, the authors contended in an article titled “Co‐opting 

Customer Competence” published in the Harvard Business Review 

in 2000, that in the new economy, the business world was shifting 

from formal, defined roles. Major business discontinuities, such as 

Honours 

a desired leadership position and establishes the criterion the organisation 

will use to chart its progress. Komatsu set out to “Encircle 

Caterpillar”. Canon sought to “Beat Xerox”. Honda strove 

to become a second Ford ̶ an automotive pioneer. All are expressions 

of strategic intent. 

“At the same time, strategic intent is more than simply unfettered 

ambition. The concept also encompasses an active management 

process that includes: focusing the organisationʼs attention 

on the essence of winning; motivating people by communicating 

the value of the target; leaving room for individual and team contributions; 

sustaining enthusiasm by providing new operational 

definitions as circumstances change and using intent consistently 

to guide resource allocations. Strategic intent captures the essence 

of winning.” 

The article created a flutter in management circles. The two authors 

further built on this theme in their book Competing for the 

Future in 1994. In 1990, came another bombshell ̶ the idea of 

the core competence of corporations. In the article “Core Competence 

of the Corporation”, written in collaboration with Gary 

Hamel and published in the Harvard Business Review in May 

1990, the authors argued that a companyʼs competitiveness derives 

from its core competencies and core products. Core compejIn 

2009, Prahalad was awarded the Pravasi 

Bharatiya Samman, and Padma Bhushan by 

the Government of India, and was also 

named the worldʼs most influential business 

thinker on The Timesʼ Thinkers50.com list 

jAwarded the Italian Telecom Prize for Leadership 

in Business and Economic thinking 

jLifetime Achievement Award, The Ross 

School of Business, University of Michigan 

jAwarded Faculty Pioneer Lifetime Achievement 

for contributions to Social and Environmental 

Stewardship by the Aspen 

Institute and World Resources Institute 

jAwarded Doctor of Engineering (honoris 

causa), Stevens Institute of Technology, 

New York, May, 2005 

jAwarded D.Sc., Economics (honoris causa) 

from the University of London, June, 2005 

jAwarded Doctor of Business (honoris causa), 

University of Abertay, Scotland, July 2005 

jElected Global Indian, 2004, by a blue panel 

jury of business leaders in India 

jLal Bahadur Shastri Award for Excellence in 

Management, 2000, by the President of India 

jFellow, Strategic Management Society 

jFellow, Academy of International Business 

deregulation, globalisation, technological convergence, and the 

rapid evolution of the Internet have blurred the roles that companies 

play in their dealings with other businesses. Consumers had 

become a new source of competence for the corporation. To effectively 

harness the competence of the consumer, managers must 

engage their customers in dialogue; mobilise communities of customers; 

manage customer diversity; and co‐create personalised experiences 

with customers. 

Prahalad would again return to this theme in 2008 in his last 

book The New Age of Innovation and argue that for companies to 

remain competitive in todayʼs environment, they must learn to cocreate 

products with consumers and that while products must be 

customised to meet the needs of each individual consumer, the 

company itself will have to garner resources globally through various 

alliances with other businesses to achieve this. 

While co‐creation has now been identified as a major corporate 

strategy, the other big idea for which Prahaladʼs legacy will live 

on is one we have mentioned already ̶ the fortune that can be 

made from serving the needs of the poorest consumers across the 

world ̶ the bottom of the pyramid. From the late 90s onwards, 

Prahalad was increasingly getting involved with Indian companies 

and noticed how some of them had begun to focus on the poorest 

consumers ̶ people who earned less than $2 a day. 

Writing in collaboration with Stuart Hart, in their book The Fortune 

at the Bottom of the Pyramid: Eradicating Poverty through 

Profits, the authors proposed that businesses, governments, and 

donor agencies stop thinking of the poor as victims and instead 

start seeing them as resilient and creative entrepreneurs as well 

as value‐demanding consumers. They proposed that there are 

tremendous benefits to MNCs who choose to serve these markets 

in ways responsive to their needs. There are also poverty‐reducing 

benefits if MNCs work with civil society organisations and local 

governments to create new local business models, they said. 

The authors further argued that the Bottom of Pyramid (BoP) 

market represented nearly 4 billion people and although their per 

capita spending capacity was low, together they represented a 

huge market. To serve this market, companies must innovate to 

offer high quality products at prices that the poor can afford. The 

authors pointed out the single serve sachets that companies like 

Hindustan Unilever had introduced to sell shampoos was one way 

of doing this. Today, almost every company operating in the 

emerging or developing economies has worked out ways to penetrate 

the BoP market. For example, Nestle plans to add one billion 

new customers over the next few years by tapping the BoP market. 

Nestleʼs latest product launches in India are Maggi Masal‐ae‐Magic 

and Maggi Rasile Chow priced at Rs. 2 and Rs. 4 per pack but providing 

a nutritious but tasty meal. CKPʼs ideas on BoP are being 

used today not only by corporates, but also NGOs and governmental 

bodies to seek market‐based entrepreneurial solutions to the 

problem of tackling poverty. 




When Shah Rukh Khan winked at me and 

seductively invited me to “sleep with me”, my 

heart tripped... just like millions of women all 

around the world who have fallen in love 

with those dimpled cheeks and wicked mannerisms... 

I prepared for my Friday night date on February 26... 

At precisely 9 PM he showed up with his mischievous 

smile to stay with me for the next half hour. He promised 

he would share his home, his family, his work and indeed 

his secrets too with me over the next 10 weeks. 

And so the king of all ʻrealityʼ shows began... 

Living With A Superstar: Shah Rukh Khan is a first of 

its kind in India being aired on Discovery Travel & Living 

TV channel. It claims to be the “whole truth, in which no 

part was scripted”, as Raj K. Gopalakrishnan of Blue 

Mango Films, which produced the series, says: “This is a 

reality series, and true to the spirit of reality... No matter 

how much we planned, six out of 10 times the plan 

would change with 10 minutes to two minutes notice. 

Like one time when we were shooting in London, SRK 

was walking around and suddenly decided to hop on to a 

rickshaw. We had to quickly find another one for the 

camera... but it was such a wonderful moment. Nothing 

was staged and there was this super duper star just 

roaming about in a rickshaw without a care in the world.” 

SRK has always been a public celebrity. He doesnʼt hide 

behind over‐sized sunglasses or dodges the media. 

“When I have worked my whole life to be in front of the 

public, why should I hide from them, when I go out of my 

house,” he says. In fact, he is rather open about his life ̶ be 

it work or family. Therefore, a reality series seemed like a 

waste of time. But as Samar Khan, the showʼs director 

pointed out, “SRK is a show stealer and in spite of knowing 

every facet of his life, his story remains a best seller.” 

The series follow SRK across four continents, conducts 

a personal tour of his castle ʻMannatʼ, attempts to steal in 

on some of his private moments with family and friends, 

visits his film and ad shoots, listens in to his gameplan 

for his cricket team Kolkata Knight Riders, and discovers 

many more of the actorʼs quirks and intimate feelings. 

The show also explores ʻShahrukhismsʼ ̶ basically his 

take on life of “living, loving, creating and letting go”. Living 

With A Superstar, as predicted, debuted with a bang. 

Reality shows ̶ a 

dramatised version of 

the ʻrealʼ ̶ today form 

a significant portion 

of television content. 

Nandini S. Sen 

explores how much 

ʻrealityʼ is really there 

behind the drama and 

the profits... 

ARE 

YOU 

REAL

In conversation... 

Dr. Anjali Monteiro 

How much have reality shows or 

docu-dramas bordering on stylised 

voyeurism, become a part of our lives 

People in pre‐modern societies have 

always had access to the lives of others 

in their communities. Notions of 'privacy' 

and the 'personal' were perhaps 

quite different from our own. Gossip 

was legitimate, without its present 

negative connotation. All this has 

changed in our present day urban 

lives. Cities are spaces of fragmented 

anonymity. There are stricter codes of 

ʻpersonalʼ spaces. Reality shows, probably, 

are the modern day equivalent of 

gossip, an opportunity to vicariously 

peep into the lives of others. 

Moreover, as our everyday lives become 

more utilitarian and our relationships, 

more instrumental and 

perfunctory, we increasingly live virtual 

lives and seek emotional fulfillment 

through mediated spaces and events. 

Creation of artificial worlds replete with 

emotions make for compelling viewing. 

They also become a space for 

demonstrations of regional solidarity 

and participation in the national mainstream, 

as when artistes from small 

towns in distant states such as Assam 

and Tripura make it big. 

It's a convergence of commerce and 

the vicarious. How much of our lives, 

now partly online, partly on television, 

blur the lines of reality 

Perhaps the clearcut division between 

the 'real' and the 'virtual/vicarious', 

with the latter being seen as a lesser 

form of life, needs to be questioned. 

For example, one's involvement in an 

on‐line campaign that has repercussions 

in the 'real' world, is both real and 

virtual. The question is how do we creatively 

engage with both the real and 

the virtual in order to question dominant 

paradigms and ways of seeing. 

The internet, in particular, offers many 

possibilities for resisting 'commerce' 

and for alternative world‐views. We 

should seize the moment, rather than 

grieve the passing of 'reality' and the 

reign of the virtual. 

Stars today are constantly 

trying to reinvent 

themselves by emerging 

out of cinema and walking 

into television to evolve 

into a ʻstandalone celebrityʼ. 

Clockwise from top: They 

conduct world tours 

(Shah Rukh Khan at a show 

in Chicago), anchor shows 

(Mithun Chakraborty in 

Dance India Dance, Akshay 

Kumar in Khatron Ke 

Khiladi), open up their 

hearts in talk shows (Karan 

Johar and Salman Khan in 

Lift Kara De) and take part 

in reality shows (SRK in 

Living with a Superstar) 

It was the day of the Budget, and trade pundits forecast 

doom for such a high‐profile show. But in India, SRK sells 

and how! At 9 PM on February 26, 

Discoveryʼs Travel & Living, for the first time in India, 

was declared the ʻTRP kingʼ. Discovery claims that the 

TRPs soared, beating not only other English channels but 

also regular Hindi soap channels as well. 

Millions turn to Travel & Living every Friday to follow 

the superstar and ʻseeʼ, and perhaps ʻliveʼ his extraordinary 

life. But after a few episodes, the interest amazingly 

seems to have waned. The show is no longer garnering 

top TRP ratings. Has it all jaded and why so quickly You 

have a star, no less, apparently baring his soul... But how 

much of it is actually on show Or, rather, how much is 

desirable anyway 

The truth, therefore, or rather the ʻrealʼ is not unvarnished. 

It is more of a docu‐drama than a documentary. 

Staged, crafted, designed, controlled, lighted to near perfection. 

SRK himself had tweeted ahead of the show: “Itʼs 

a nicely done feature... go and watch it.” 

The show stole some of his private moments for sure, 

but those were packaged with elaborate interviews with 

the actor, which, of course, may not have been candid 

though. It captures his best moments with his staff and 

fans. His anguish at his IPL team Kolkata Knight Ridersʼ 

continuous losses are genuine, but seem contrived with 

his off‐the‐shoulder interview attire. Image and reality do 

not perhaps gel, with the actor in make‐up all the time. 

The show, though, continues to generate viewer interest. 

After all, it is SRK, one of Indiaʼs top stars and a ʻdiasporic 

iconʼ, and even though it isnʼt warts and all, he has 

chosen to given us some glimpses of his life. Perhaps vicariously 

living it out are his fans. 

What does it all mean Apart from some sound business 

sense for the television channel and indeed some 

good publicity and revenue for the star, does it signal a 

new trend in mass visual media Today, celebrities get up 

close with their fans via blogs, Twitter, Facebook and 

other social networking sites. They are emerging out of 

cinema and walking into television to evolve into a ʻstandalone 

celebrityʼ. “They anchor shows, take part in reality 

shows and open up their heart in talk shows,” says media 

critic Shailaja Bajpai of the Indian Express. 

The ʻcelebrity phenomenonʼ, according to Bajpai, that 

has gripped the popular imagination, has made stars 

walk right into our drawing rooms with their larger than 

life lives. “They are constantly trying to reinvent themselves. 

Thatʼs where television comes into play. A show 

like Living with the Superstar also went through a period 

of slump because people were fatigued by SRK. 

Whichever channel they flipped ̶ from entertainment to 

sports ̶ SRK was the reigning king,” says Bajpai. 

More and more celebrities are turning to television because 

itʼs up‐close and personal. Increasingly, audiences 

relate to celebs more through television than films even 

as they come out of their star closets and willingly share 

glimpses of their lives. Sociologist Dr. Md. Firoz, Associate 

Professor and Chair (Department of Media and Communication), 

Manipal University, Dubai Campus, United Arab 

INCREASINGLY, AUDIENCES 

RELATE TO CELEBS MORE 

THROUGH TELEVISION 

THAN FILMS EVEN AS 

THEY COME OUT OF THEIR 

STAR CLOSETS AND 

WILLINGLY SHARE 

GLIMPSES OF THEIR LIVES 


THE POPULARITY OF THE 

REALITY SHOW IS BECAUSE 

OFTEN THEY DEAL WITH 

‘PEOPLE LIKE US’ WHO 

MOVE FROM THE ORDINARY 

TO THE EXTRAORDINARY, 

OFFERING US POSSIBILITIES 

OF BOTH IDENTIFICATION 

AND VOYEURISM 

Emirates, observes, “There is a change in how celebrities 

are now replacing their ʻpast closed livesʼ with a ʻprojected 

open‐book imageʼ for gaining edge over the audiences.” 

(See interview) 

In the media market, characterised by cut‐throat competition, 

says sociologist Dr. Anjali Monteiro, Professor, 

Centre for Media and Cultural Studies, Tata Institute of 

Social Sciences, Mumbai, “it pays to be ʻaccessibleʼ in a 

carefully constructed way, that markets certain desirable 

identities and lifestyles, in the struggle for eyeballs, 

hearts and minds.” (See interview) 

But are we ready for such ʻmanufactured advertsʼ 

After all, says Firoz, celebrity based reality shows do attract 

mass viewership, “working well on the psychology 

of ʻfansʼ and the followers. Itʼs a wish for every celebrity 

to unleash their private lives and want their personal 

grief as well as joys become public in an effort to emotionally 

appeal to their audiences. Shows like A Simple 

Life starring heiress Paris Hilton and Nicole Smith show 

them doing ʻnormalʼ day to day activities like washing 

and cleaning, which may seem ʻunrealisticʼ but does still 

accomplish as a show as it gains a heterogeneous audience 

who do seem curious enough to watch it.” 

Youngsters watch with stars in their eyes, dreaming of 

the fairy tale lives of luxury, stardom and perfect relationships. 

Firoz says that the majority believe that these 

“celebrities are their source of inspiration”. The youth 

today are stuck in a kind of limbo of “reality and perception”. 

They are slipping into a “distorted view of reality via 

ʻconstructed and mediated reality shows”. For example, a 

show like Living with... while glorifying and idolising SRK, 

also humanises him. For the common man, such shows are 

aspirational. A family man might see an episode and think, 

“Hey thatʼs how teach my son football... or my daughter 

cycling. I can also be like SRK, tomorrow I will join the 

gym and be fit. Maybe that will impress my wife...” 

However, Monteiro argues that it would be too simplistic 

to assume that young people are more gullible or easily 

influenced than the rest of us. “While we need to be 

critical of reality shows and the relations of power they 

reproduce, we need to move out of a simplistic cause‐effect 

way of looking at their social implications. Rather 

than observing about a dubious and indeterminate ʻimpactʼ, 

one should encourage discussion and debate, as a 

part of a process of media education among young people.” 

But Firoz differs. He says that the same young adult aspires 

to imitate the ʻprojected perfect livesʼ. By watching 

reality shows like Indian Idol, Dance India Dance, etc., 

where contestants participate to experience a different life, 

youngsters are indeed influenced. The subsequent seasons 

of these shows have witnessed a deluge of hopefuls ̶ 

from small cities, metros to the vast Indian diaspora. 

Reality shows have changed the way people watch television. 

Monteiro examines the trend and says that the popularity 

of the reality show is because often they deal with 

“people like us” who move from the ordinary to the extraordinary, 

offering us possibilities of both identification and 

voyeurism. “They are built on the idea of common man rising 

to a challenge and making it to stardom. The fact that 

we as audiences can vote them into the coveted place also 

makes us feel powerful and hooks us into the programme.” 

Reality shows are as Firoz says, “highly influenced 

form of reality”, using sensationalism to attract viewers to 

generate advertising profits. With little relation to the actual 

world and extravagant portrayals, the end result is 

usually an exaggerated version of what is truly real. 

As SRK himself says: “I tell every young actor that he 

has to act whenever the camera is on. Even now I am not 

real. There is a camera on me... Nobody knows the real 

me, because nobody has seen me beyond the camera.” 

Reality shows influence 

youngsters, who watch 

them with stars in their 

eyes, dreaming of the fairy 

tale lives of luxury, stardom 

and perfect relationships. 

Shows like, Clockwise from 

left, Indian Idol, MTV Roadies, 

Big Boss and Tere Mere 

Beech Mein, become aspirational 

for youth who are 

stuck in a kind of limbo 

between reality and 

perception 

Top left: A video grab from 

Living with Superstar shows 

Shah Rukh Khan 

interacting with his son 

Aryan in Hyde Park, 

London, on vacation 

In conversation... 

Dr. Md Firoz 

How much have reality shows or 

reality-based game shows and talk 

shows, become part of the common 

man’s life Have they replaced soaps 

and drama serials on television 

We are prone to watching thousands 

of images that are voyeuristic whether 

we recognise it or not. With the neverending 

race of high TRPs, stylised 

voyeurism is fast becoming a part of 

reality shows where audiences donʼt 

have much say on the content aired. 

Voyeurism on reality shows is added to 

grab the viewerʼs attention. The 

intense physical attraction and the allconsuming 

desire for the other person 

are what reality TV dating shows are 

made of. Exploiting voyeurism to their 

benefit increases viewership. However, 

its effect depends on oneʼs culture 

and values. Individuals could be 

gradually coopted into particular 

social and cultural milieux. Evidently, 

we can gather that stylised voyeurism 

seen on reality shows certainly have a 

strong influence as it shows more than 

what exists in the real world. 

Has the audience started living vicariously 

to forget their day-to-day problems. 

Have the lines of reality blurred 

ʻBeing in someone elseʼs life situations 

(shoes)ʼ is a feeling many will go to 

endless lengths to achieve. For those 

who are regular to these shows, they 

tend to exhibit these characteristics 

rather vicariously. What celebrities say 

becomes influential and audiences 

feel that they too have experienced 

such situations, which keep them 

glued to such shows. Therefore, there 

is a convergence of commerce and 

the vicarious nature of these shows. 

Reality television is evidently more 

scripted than itʼs supposed to be, and 

reveals its plot in a more ʻsoapʼ style, 

than reality, so that viewers tend to 

believe it more. By watching Candid 

Camera; Big Brother; Survivor; I am a 

Celebrity, Get me Out of Here, audiences 

are undoubtedly allowed to 

ʻescapeʼ reality via fantasy. 


internet 

A Webbed Life 

The world today is on the cusp with the virtual ʻtransformingʼ the real inexorably in 

many ways. K. G. Sreenivas and L. Jyotimala look at its influence on communities, 

cultures and lifestyles 

In 1993, Howard Rheingold, a scholar who was pushing the 

frontiers of research in communication, introduced the 

world (he is widely credited thus) to the term ʻvirtual 

communitiesʼ through a book by the same name. He was 

studying the social, cultural and political impact of the wide web 

of modern communication media ̶ the internet, mobile phones 

and chat communities. Rheingold says virtual communities form 

“when people carry on public discussions long enough, with sufficient 

human feeling, to form webs of personal relationships...” 

The difference, of course, lying in the medium ̶ the World Wide 

Web. Today, virtual communities have transformed into social 

networking services and online communities, powerful ʻrealʼ entities 

with a life of their own, almost comparable to flesh and 

blood, yet largely invisible. 

Desocialisation 

Virtual communities work beyond the physical confines of space, 

time and geography. These ʻinvisibleʼ engagements are intense 

and often intimate. Not surprisingly, there is a process of 

ʻdesocialisationʼ that sets in. Desocialisation, in a sense, is a 

gradual disintegration of interaction and connection with fellow 

human beings. Instances abound of people across cultures, both 

young and old, getting compulsively addicted to this ʻvirtual 

worldʼ with psychologically disastrous or debilitating consequences. 

Yet, it is not necessarily a zero‐sum situation. 

It has, in fact, become an essential part of everybodyʼs life. We 

share emotions, play, flirt, talk and revive old relationships. We 

do almost everything that we do in real life except physical, faceto‐face 

interactions. Such is its pervasive influence that the ʻvirtualʼ 

is creating new lifestyles, behavioural patterns and 

relationships. There is a powerful transformation at work. Says 

Susan Viswanathan, Chair, Centre for the Study of Social Systems 

at Jawaharlal Nehru University: “The web is what makes us 

human in a globalising world, where everything becomes open 

and accessible. The glut of information is hard to handle, but the 

world is really in the palm of oneʼs hand... In this sense, the coexistence 

of diverse styles of life will be made possible, the organic 

and the scientific or laboratory views of the world will 

make existence possible.” 

With a click, you are in touch with millions of people around 

the world, thus making the world smaller. Contradiction is, even 

as the virtual world shrinks, the real world threatens to grow distant! 

But Dr. K.P. Jayasankar, Professor, Centre for Media and 

Cultural Studies, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, says: 

“Has the world shrunk I suspect not. The new technologies help 

us to speak mostly (a crucially operative word) to our own kind. 

They hardly shrink the world into a village.” 

The growing ʻvirtualʼ interconnectedness engenders newer 

identities. “The new technologies have given us new ways to 

negotiate identities and space. Social networking sites offer us 

the possibility to transcend our ʻrealʼ identities and locations, to 

invent selfhoods and participate in virtual events. The virtual dividend 

has been freedom of choice perhaps,” adds Jayasankar. 

From a larger sociological point of view, and away from the 

personal and the psychological, what dividend does it confer on 

developing societies like ours “We cannot separate the India of 

the rural people any longer. By giving them access to education, 

and allowing the debates to be made available, the actual questions 

of planning for the future may indeed be answered by 

them. Patronage of the state, and the philanthropy of the rich 

must be accompanied by circulation of wealth through planning, 

and by integrating the voices of the people. The web can inform 

and share better than any other medium,” says Viswanathan. 

Yet the debate is deeply enmeshed and ideological. What 

psyco‐sociological effects do these technologies connecting us 

to the distant and virtual have on us Viswanathan says, “People 

receive that information which is pertinent to their choice of 

lifestyle. The debates will be in place continuously, for the 

success of the human race depends on the exercise of judgement 

and free will.” 

The Morality Debate 

There is considerable debate in society and professional circles 

about the consequences of the deepening ʻvirtual engagementʼ, 

especially on the young and the very young. Is the technology 

to be blamed “It is a fearsome world out there, and we donʼt 

know the effects, subconscious and social, of too much interaction 

on the web, where questions of fake identity, eye strain, radiation 

are to be measured. If children receive a sense of comfort 

from electronic social interaction, there is no harm, but even if 

parents are not there to supervise it on a daily basis, they should 

know how much time their children are on the web, and with 

whom, and watching what. If they have no knowledge about their 

childrenʼs activities, and there is no trust between them anyway, 

why blame the web for dangerous exposures,” Viswanathan adds. 

Some feel that such networks are “anti‐social”, minimising the 

quality of ʻrealʼ friendships and relationships, hence the instances 

of morally deviant or simply awkward social behaviours, especially 

among the young and the impressionable. Jayasankar 

chooses to look at it differently: “Our parents thought that films, 

We share emotions, play, flirt, talk, 

do almost everything that we do in real 

life... The ‘virtual’ is creating new lifestyles, 

behavioural patterns and relationships 


Illustration: Veerpal Singh

“Facemark, Orkut 

or Twitter are just not social 

networking sites, but huge 

platforms for business and 

social activism as well. 

Connectivity is so fast that it 

can help awaken the masses 

to social issues” 

— David Bloss 

or even radio, corrupted us. We worry about our children on the 

internet; television has already become passé. When printing was 

invented, our forefathers would have worried about its corrupting 

effects on young impressionable minds. In fact, in the medieval 

scriptoriums in European monasteries, access to certain 

texts was denied to younger writers. We forget that each generation 

has its own relationship with the cultural products of its 

own times... Our collective inability to understand new technologies 

and our suspicion of what young people might be up to behind 

our backs makes us struggle to assert control ̶ an 

essentially futile endeavour.” 

The ‘Real’ Connect 

David Bloss, Director, International Media Institute of India, New 

Delhi, says that for a lot of people, the real and the virtual worlds 

are no longer two different worlds. “Life has become fast paced. 

We have longer hours of working and lesser time to spend with 

our loved and dear ones. We have no time to call up our friends 

every week, no time to visit five‐six friends every month either. 

So, how do we balance it For me, itʼs the media, itʼs the social 

networking sites that keeps us interconnected. Letʼs say I have 

150 friends on Facebook. I can keep a track of each of them. I 

can see their status, the pictures posted there and discuss things.” 

“The new technologies 

have given us new ways to 

negotiate identities and space. 

Social networking sites offer us the 

possibility to transcend our ‘real’ identities 

and locations, to invent selfhoods 

and participate in virtual events. 

The virtual dividend has been 

freedom of choice perhaps” 

— Dr. K.P Jayasankar 

“If children receive 

a sense of comfort from 

electronic social interaction, 

there is no harm, but 

parents should know how 

much time their children are 

on the web” 

— Susan Viswanathan 

“I’m so happy to see you. 

I didn’t have internet all weekend!” 

With advancing technology and increasing connectivity, such 

networking websites have emerged as a powerful mass medium. 

There are many who view social networking as a positive tool of 

change. From politics to business, from education to rural development, 

from mass mobilisation to individual empowerment, 

social networking tools have actively aided and abetted it all. 

Jayasankar says, “What the internet makes possible also is the 

amplification of resistance to the power of the Sarpanch (village 

chief). The ʻPink Chaddiʼ campaign on Facebook against moral 

policing is an excellent example. The internet makes it possible 

for social movements, too, to network and speak to the like 

minded. It makes possible the democratisation of the channels 

of communication.” 

So, even as there is growing inwardness, there is spirited public 

action in the virtual space. The SMS inspired political revolution 

in Philippines which helped install a government in the 

1990s, the Twitter counter‐revolution which highlighted the brutal 

killing of an Iranian student activist last year, and the many 

instances of miscarriage of justice brought to light through the 

ʻwebʼ, are among the direct interventions of the virtual world in 

the real world. David, however, chooses to step aside awhile. “It 

would be a little early to comment on how effective it is going to 

be when it comes to transforming the world. But it has the potential. 

To me Facebook, Orkut or Twitter are just not social networking 

sites, but huge platforms for business and social activism 

as well. Connectivity is so fast that it can help awaken the masses 

to environmental and human rights related issues.” 

Man-Technology Bonding 

A recent study at the ICMPA at the University of Maryland, 

shows how passionately and strongly one gets addicted to the 

virtual world. A student writes: “Texting and IM‐ing my friends 

gives me a constant feeling of comfort...”[See Box] 

Another research by Caroline Haythornthwaite and Lori 

Kendall, professors at the Graduate School of Library and Information 

Science, University of Illinois, shows that online communications 

do have positive outcomes. The study shows the 

involvement of a considerable number of people who go ʻonlineʼ 

to make friends, where some of them even go beyond online 

friends and form strong relationships. 

Some spend hours playing games or even chatting with people 

whom they met online with fake identities. Virtual gaming websites 

like sorority life, secondlife.com, gojiyo.com, Farmville are 

extremely popular and attract huge numbers of users everyday, 

developing a fairly strong, yet addicting, community and 

knowledge aggregation. 

Techno mania 

The International Center for Media & the Public 

Agenda (ICMPA) conducted a study at the University 

of Maryland, College Park, where 200 students were 

asked to abstain from using all sort of media for 24 

hours. After 24 hours, the students were then asked 

to blog on private class websites about their experiences 

of “24 hours without media”. The students 

wrote over 110,000 words which is, in aggregate, 

the same number of words as a 400‐page novel. 

THE STUDY’S TOP HIGHLIGHTS 

1. Students use literal terms of addiction to 

characterise their dependence on media. 

“Although I started the day feeling good, I noticed 

my mood started to change around noon. 

I started to feel isolated and lonely without it.” 

2. Students feel that, going without media, is like 

going without their friends and family. “Texting 

and IM‐ing my friends gives me a constant feeling 

of comfort,” wrote one student. “When I did not 

have those two luxuries, I felt quite alone and 

secluded from my life. Although I go to school 

with thousands of students, the fact that I was not 

able to communicate with anyone via 

technology was almost unbearable.” 

3. Students show no significant loyalty to a news 

programme, news personality or even news 

platform. Students have only a casual relationship 

to the originators of news. “It is very important to 

me to have some sense of what is going on in the 

world on a daily basis, but I also focus on issues 

that I do care about, and I keep up with those 

particular issuesʼ progress. For example, the Equal 

Rights campaign, or local and global 

environmental organisations, whose progress I 

follow via Twitter, Facebook or their websites,” 

one student wrote. 

4. Eighteen‐21 year old college students feel that it 

is the best way to stay interconnected, especially 

with friends. Said one student, “Texting and 

Facebook allow me to make plans to meet up 

and act socially, whereas without these two 

devices, I had no easy way of making plans unless 

I happened to run into the person I wanted to do 

something with.” 

Conclusion 

The study concludes that the portability of all that 

media stuff has changed studentsʼ relationship with 

news and information, with family and friends. The 

feeling of not being connected to their friends and 

to the world was among the major things that 

made the students worried. 

The study shows that most college students were 

functionally handicapped and it was almost 

impossible for them to be without their media links 

to the world. 

Courtesy: Gerrit Visser 



social media 

Virtual 

marketing 

More and more Indian 

companies are 

increasingly building 

communities around their 

brands on a social media, 

reports Arjun Sen 

Get into social media is the new marketing mantra. A recent 

online survey showed that out of some 1,800‐odd 

marketers worldwide coming from both small and 

large organisations, an overwhelming number ̶ 91 

percent ̶ were using social media to market their products and 

services. For businesses the world over, social media represents 

a marketing opportunity that transcends the traditional middleman 

and connects companies directly with customers. This is 

why nearly every business on the planet ̶ from giants like Starbucks 

and IBM to the local ice cream shop ̶ are exploring social 

media marketing initiatives. 

Indian companies, too, are up to speed on 

social media. For example, when General Motors 

launched its new small car Beat, it first 

made the announcement on a social media 

platform ̶ Yahoo!. The IPL franchisee Royal 

Challengers Bangalore has created a fan club 

of more than 50,000 members through its social 

media efforts. And there are many more: 

the Sunsilk Gang of Girls, Whisper Being Girl, MTV Hero Honda 

Roadies, the Xeta Shootout contest, Cedia Great Driving Challenge, 

Aircel Save Our Tigers campaign, Aircel Voice Message application 

on Facebook, Virgin Vturk campaign, Tata Docomo 

Create, Vodafone Zoozoo storyline contest, Idea Cellular My Idea 

contest, Intel Connected Indians campaign, various 

initiatives by Dell, to name just a few. 

What is social media and how do companies benefit from 

social media networking campaigns Social media are Internet 

sites which allow users to build networks and communities 

around any particular theme, brand, product or service. In India, 

the top social media sites are: Google with 34.2 million unique 

users, Yahoo! (24.4 million), Gmail (19.6 million), Orkut (15.5 

million), YouTube (10.9 million), Facebook (10.3 million), Blogger 

(8.5 million), Wordpress (2.9 million), Linked In (2.2 million), Flickr 

(1.7 million) and Twitter (1.3 million). 

The power of social media transcends national boundaries. 

Globally these sites have a much larger membership. Facebook, 

which at present happens to be the worldʼs leading social networking 

site, has 400 million unique users. In other words, if the 

site were to be thought of as a country, it would be the third 

“Social media marketing would make sense to 

anybody, any brand or company which has an online 

audience. It is not meant for the mass market, but 

for those with Internet access — so brands that cater 

to this segment can benefit the most from it” 

largest country in the world in terms of population after China 

and India. Similarly, Linked In has 60 million users worldwide, 

while Twitter has 75 million. 

The membership of these sites is growing everyday. According 

to one estimate, social media sites in India are growing at a rate 

of nearly 100 percent year on year. “Social media marketing 

would make sense to anybody, any brand or company which has 

an online audience,” says Gautam Ghosh, consultant with New 

Delhi‐based 2020 Social, a leading consultancy firm in the social 

media space. “It is not meant for the mass market, but for just 

the urban middle class consumer or those with Internet access 

̶ so brands that cater to this segment of the population can 

benefit the most from social media marketing,” he says. 

“Used appropriately, social media can lead to higher brand engagement 

(marketing), referral leads (sales), customer satisfaction 

(support), new product ideas (R&D) and even more 

motivated employees (HR),” says Gaurav Mishra, CEO, 2020 Social. 

“The biggest benefit of social media marketing is getting 

greater exposure at a fraction of the cost needed to achieve the 

same through conventional advertising and marketing,” adds 

Ghosh. The online survey also found that for marketers, gaining 

better exposure for their products or services was the biggest 

benefit of social media marketing. While 85 percent of all marketers 

reported better exposure as the biggest benefit of social 

media marketing, 63 percent said improving traffic was the second 

major benefit, followed by building new partnerships (56 percent). 

More than half of marketers (54 percent) indicated a rise in 

search engine rankings, and 52 percent of marketers reported that 

social media helped them generate qualified leads. The survey, 

2010 Social Media Marketing Industry Report by Michael A. 

Stelzner and published in April 2010, also indicated changes that 

had taken place over the year based on a similar survey in 2009. 

The changes indicated that every category saw an increase in 

benefits, except new partnerships, which remained at 56 percent. 

In 2009, only 35 percent of marketers felt social media reduced 

their overall marketing expenses. In the 2010 survey, that number 

jumped to 48 percent. Clearly, social media is the way to go. 



innovation 

INTERVIEW 

Venkat Selvamanickam spoke to L. Jyotimala on power issues. Excerpts: 

Power Revolution 

Superconductors have until now been used mostly in medical imaging and high energy 

physics, but Indian‐American Venkat Selvamanickam is developing a technology to 

revolutionise the way electricity is generated, transported and used 

Although the U.S. power industry is 

an engineering marvel, ageing technology 

and increasing demand are 

creating problems for the power 

grid that needs fixing. Now, an Indian‐American 

engineer is set to transform the way 

power is generated. Venkat Selvamanickam, 

Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the 

University of Houston, is developing a technology 

with high temperature superconducting 

wires that is revolutionising the way 

power is generated, transported and used. It 

is estimated that high temperature superconducting 

wires could eliminate 131 million 

tonnes of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere 

and offset the emission of the 

equivalent of 40 conventional power‐generating 

plants. 

“The countryʼs electric transmission grid 

currently consists of about 160,000 miles of 

high‐voltage transmission lines, with forecasters 

predicting an additional 12,900 miles 

needed over the next five years to meet increasing 

demand,” says Selvamanickam. 

“High temperature superconductivity has 

the potential to revolutionise the way we use 

electricity, just like the way fiber‐optics revolutionised 

the way we communicate.” 

“The goal of my research is to modernise 

the power grid with high temperature superconducting 

wires to improve efficiency and 

reliability,” adds Selvamanickam, who did his 

B.E. (Honours) from Regional Engineering 

college, Tiruchi, India. 

What is the concept behind high-temperature 

superconducting wires 

Superconductivity refers to a property of certain 

materials to lose all resistance to the flow of electric 

current when cooled below a certain temperature. 

This phenomenon was discovered almost 100 years 

ago in pure metals and then later in alloys, especially 

niobium‐based alloys. These superconductors 

are used in a number of applications such as medical 

imaging and high energy physics. However, 

due to their ultra‐low operating temperature, 

just 4 Kelvin above absolute zero temperature, 

they have not found use in power applications. 

About 25 years ago, a new class of superconductors 

were discovered which lose all resistance to 

flow of current at temperatures above 77 K, which 

is the boiling temperature of liquid nitrogen. Liquid 

nitrogen is inexpensive, in fact, cheaper than bottled 

water. These High Temperature Superconductors 

(HTS) could thus benefit electric power 

applications. These materials are typically oxide ceramics 

such as yttrium‐barium‐copper oxide. Thus, 

they are very brittle which made it very difficult to 

turn them into long, flexible wires. We have been 

able to develop a thin film deposition technology to 

coat a very thin layer of superconducting ceramic 

atop a flexible metal tape foil. This technique has 

led to high‐performance HTS wires which are now 

available in lengths of a kilometre. 

“ 

Instead of trenching expensive metropolitan 

areas to add conventional cables to bring in more 

power, a superconducting cable can be used in 

place of a conventional cable without significant 

construction costs 

“ 

How does it enhance the efficiency of electricity 

transmission infrastructure 

High temperature superconducting wires can carry 

about 200 times more current than copper wires of 

the same cross section. Power cables made with 

HTS wires can transmit five to ten times more 

power in the same volume occupied by conventional 

cables. Hence, instead of trenching expensive metropolitan 

areas to add conventional cables to bring in 

more power, a superconducting cable can be used in 

place of conventional cable and add more power 

without significant construction costs. Additionally, 

power produced in remote sources such as wind 

farms, solar farms and nuclear plants can be transmitted 

over long distances to urban areas more efficiently 

using HTS cables. About 7 to 10 percent of 

electricity that is transmitted using present conventional 

power lines is lost and superconducting 

power lines can help mitigate this loss. Also, power 

generators, motors and transformers made with superconducting 

wire will be more efficient and so, 

use less amount of energy. These devices can be 

half as light and occupy half the space of conventional 

devices. This can enable high‐power wind turbines 

where the size and weight are limiting factors 

with current technology. Use of fewer, high‐power 

wind turbines can be more effective and less cumbersome 

and less expensive to maintain compared 

to several low and medium power turbines. 

Moreover, use of superconducting wires will increase 

the life span of power system devices and 

can also help reduce power interruption problems 

in the power grid leading to fewer shutdowns. 

Could you throw some light on how the technology 

can help reduce CO2 emission 

Since CO2 is emitted when power is produced from 

coal or other fossil fuels, less amount of CO2 will be 

produced if HTS generators are used. Similarly, if 

HTS cables are used to transmit the generated 

power, less electricity is lost due to resistance and 

so, less power needs to be produced in the first 

place to deliver a given amount of power. Consequently, 

less CO2 will be generated. 

Tell us about your upcoming projects or research 

We are working on improving the performance and 

cost of superconducting wires to make them more 

economical for large‐scale commercial use. We are 

exploring ways to improve efficiency and simplify 

the manufacturing process to increase production 

capacity with minimal capital investment. Additionally, 

we are developing superconducting wires with 

enhanced features that meet critical application requirements. 

For example, we are collaborating with 

SuperPower, Waukesha Electric Systems and Oak 

Ridge National Laboratory to develop and test superconducting 

wires specifically for a fault‐current 

limiting transformer that will be installed in the 

power grid of Southern California Edison, the 

largest utility company in California. Superconductors 

have an inherent capability to instantaneously 

limit surge in power that happens during events 

such as lighting strikes. This unique feature will be 

introduced in the fault current limiting transformer 

project. Such a device will help mitigate power 

interruption problems in the grid. 


esearch 

A winner of one of the highest U.S. 

research honours, Prasun Chatterjee 

is an Indian environmental 

engineering student at the University 

of Lehigh, Pennsylvania. His research, 

which contributed to a new way of 

detecting toxic lead and copper in 

water, won him the prestigious 2010 

C. Ellen Gonter Environmental 

Chemistry Award from the American 

Chemical Societyʼs Environmental 

Chemistry Division. After degrees in 

chemical engineering from Jadavpur 

University, Kolkata, he worked for 

several years in two Kolkata‐based 

organisations before going to the U.S. 

for a Ph.D. Ever since, he has 

dedicated his career to finding out 

ways and means of “cleansing” 

water of toxic stuff. 

“ 

Except for the developed countries and a few other nations where 

ensuring supply of safe drinking water is a national priority, most 

of the world is not well equipped to deal with toxicity in water 

EARLY SYMPTOMS OF 

LEAD POISONING 

Fatigue 

Headache 

Irritability 

Abdominal pain 

Low appetite 

Weight loss 

Reproductive 

problems 

“ 

Prasun Chatterjee (right) with his advisor 

Prof. Dr. Arup Sengupta 

QUENCHING THIRST WITH 

P IS N 

Several thousands of people around the world die or suffer from water‐borne 

diseases after using water contaminated with lead and pesticides 

Prasun Chatterjee spoke to L. Jyotimala on toxicity in water. Excerpts: 

Many congratulations on winning the Ellen Gonter Award... How 

does it feel being the winner of such a prestigious award 

At the outset, I would like to express my sincere thanks to all 

my well‐wishers. I am extremely thankful to my advisor 

Prof. Dr. Arup Sengupta for giving me the opportunity of doing 

research here, grooming me as a researcher, constantly 

guiding and inspiring me. Certainly it makes me happy and 

winning this kind of award makes me feel good about my 

effort and would motivate me to do better work. 

Could you please tell us briefly about your research And how it 

helped in developing the ‘inexpensive inorganic material’ with 

the ability to detect toxic lead or copper in water 

Post World War, due to rapid industrialisation, metal cycles in 

the environment have been greatly affected by metallurgical 

and electroplating activities, mining, etc. As a result, different 

toxic metals such as lead and copper have increased in the 

environment. Lead is toxic even if present in traces; 

copper, though a micro‐nutrient for human beings, is very toxic 

to fish and other aquatic life. For controlling water quality, and 

mitigation of health hazards, a rapid and simple method of 

sensing these metals is a necessity. In my Ph.D programme 

here at Lehigh University, we (my advisor and me) tried to 

focus our research on this area. 

My research is all about developing a rapid and simple method 

of sensing toxic metals (lead/copper/nickel etc) in water. We 

have synthesised an environmentally safe, inexpensive hybrid inorganic 

material (HIM) that forms the heart of the process. HIM 

is essentially composed of calcium oxide, magnesium oxide, silica, 

and iron oxide prepared through thermal‐chemical technique. 

Water containing common ions (sodium, calcium, chloride etc, 

but no toxic metals like lead) upon passage through a HIM bed in 

a column produces near‐constant slightly alkaline pH (about 9.0), 

but in contrast tiny concentrations of lead/copper in the feed 

sample (along with other common ions) causes a sharp drop in 

pH (7.0 or less) at the exit of the HIM bed. Here, change of pH 

signals the presence of toxic metals in water and this change can 

be measured using ordinary pH metre, indicator solution or 

pH paper. 

How convenient is this material to use 

This investigation presents a new approach for detecting contamination 

of toxic heavy metals in water using pH as a sole 

parameter. Except pH metre and/or indicator solution, no sophisticated 

instruments or chemicals are required and thus this 

technique is likely to be very attractive in both developed and 

developing countries. However, for transforming fundamental 

research into practical applications, the technique must pass 

through trials in different real‐life situations. 

How well are we equipped when it comes to coping with toxicity 

in potable water 

Our planet is unique because of water. Though more than 70 

percent of the earthʼs surface is covered with water, only less 

than one percent of this water is available (97 percent is sea 

water, more than two percent in polar ice caps, less than one 

percent as surface water and ground water) for drinking and 

other usage. A vast majority of the worldʼs population has no 

access to safe drinking water. Except for the developed countries 

and a few others nations where ensuring supply of safe 

drinking water (through careful treatment and quality control 

checks) is a national priority, a major part of this world is not 

well equipped to deal with toxicity in water. There are numerous 

instances of people dying or suffering from water‐borne 

diseases due to drinking water contaminated with arsenic, fluoride, 

and pesticides. The amount of water in this planet has remained 

almost constant for millions of years. Industrial and 

other man‐made activities are principally responsible for 

degradation of water quality. Some of this degradation is rectified 

naturally (e.g., through biological activity), but some chemicals 

and heavy metals, once added to water, stay almost 

permanently if not removed by other means. Simultaneously, 

increase of population is leading to serious threat to availability 

of clean water. 

How can we check lead poisoning of our environment in daily life 

Lead is toxic even at tiny levels. Lead accumulates in soft tissues, 

bones, brain, kidney and other parts of our body. The toxic effect 

of lead is cumulative and irreversible. For thousands of years, 

lead has been used because of its malleability and ductility which 

makes it easy to make lead vessels and pipes. Roman emperors 

used to get piped water supply made of lead pipes. [According 

to one school of thought, the eccentricity/ behavioural abnormality 

exhibited by many Roman emperors was due to lead poisoning 

ingress through water supply by lead pipes]. 

Routes of exposure are through air (breathing), water, food 

and dermal contact. Certainly, we can test air, water, food for 

lead contamination. We can also test our blood lead level if we 

have very good laboratories. Practically, there is no easy solution 

for dealing with lead poisoning in everyday life. An organised, 

vigilant and regular effort to monitor quality may be an 

answer to this problem. 

Have you conducted any studies on lead poisoning in India 

No, I didnʼt have any such opportunity. However, in future if 

there is scope, I would definitely consider. 



health 

Photos: Amlan Paliwal 

Scalpel 

is passé 

In a path‐breaking feat, Dr. P.N. Dogra of AIIMS 

recently performed Indiaʼs first robot‐assisted surgery. 

Anindya Rai Verman caught up with the surgeon 

to have a feel of what happened inside the 

operation theatre 

He almost looks like an airplane pilot in his cockpit. 

Except that he is a surgeon and he isnʼt in a cockpit. 

This ʻpilotʼ in question is Dr. Prem Nath Dogra and 

he mans a surgical console where he sits much like a 

pilot in a cockpit. Dr. Dogra is monitoring a robot fitted with 

four arms he deftly manipulates to conduct a complex operation. 

These are scenes from Indiaʼs first robot‐assisted surgery 

conducted at the All‐India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), 

New Delhi, on April 19 by Dr. Dogra, Head and Professor, 

Department of Urology, AIIMS. 

Dr. Dogra, along with a five‐member team, performed a ʻrobotic 

anterior exenterationʼ (removal of organs toward the 

front of the pelvic cavity) on a 50‐year‐old woman with cancer 

of the urethra and bladder. Dr. Dogra conducts the operation 

Life‐saving procedures 

(Clockwise from top): 

Dr Prem Nath Dogra; A team 

of doctors performing a 

robotic surgery under 

Dr. Dograʼs supervision at 

AIIMS, New Delhi; A typical 

robotic surgery being 

monitored on a television 

screen. 

using the four arms of the robot. One controls the camera and 

the other three manipulate the instruments. The entire process 

is observed via a high‐definition 3D vision system. ʻArticulatingʼ 

surgical instruments are mounted on the robotic arms and introduced 

into the patientʼs body through slender tubes called 

cannulae. The surgeonʼs hand movements at the console are 

then translated into corresponding micromovements of the 

instruments. Throughout the process, the camera transmits live 

3D images to the surgeonʼs console. 

Was he nervous or tense before the unique surgery “When 

you are heading the team, you canʼt be nervous or tense. Yes, I 

had to be careful and meticulous during the surgery, as this 

was a radical one where the uterus, the fallopian tubes, ovaries, 

bladder, urethra, anterior and lateral vaginal walls and the 

pelvic lymph nodes were removed. The urinary system is then 

diverted extracorporeally by joining both the ureters to a short 

segment of the small bowel which is then brought out through 

an opening (a stoma) in the abdominal wall. The urine is 

collected in a bag that is fitted over the stoma on the abdominal 

wall,” Dr. Dogra told IANS in an exclusive interview. 

What made the four and a half hour surgery tough was the 

preparation for D‐Day. “It was only after attaining sufficient 

proficiency in robotic surgical methods that such a challenging 

procedure was planned. Besides the console surgeon, a 

dedicated team of assistants, nurses and paramedical OT staff 

and technicians had to be trained, so that they would be well 

versed in handling the various equipment and components of 

the robot,” Dr. Dogra said. 

The Development of Robot-Assisted Surgery 

The past two decades have witnessed a revolutionary transition in surgical techniques and technology. Traditionally, surgeries had been 

performed in the open manner, in which large incisions were required for the surgeon to plainly observe and manipulate the surgical 

field. These incisions inevitably created significant patient trauma ̶ substantial pain and suffering, extended recovery time, prolonged 

pain management and elevated costs. 

Minimally Invasive Surgery (MIS) 

About 20 years ago, surgeons began performing what came to be known as Minimally Invasive Surgery, or MIS. Tiny cameras in instruments 

called endoscopes or laparoscopes were inserted in the patientʼs body through small ports. However, although patient trauma reduced and 

recovery times improved, MIS faced technical drawbacks. The surgeon had to use a 2D monitor instead of 3D visualisation of the operative 

field. The resulting image flattened the natural depth of field, and the fixed‐wrist instruments limited the surgeonʼs dexterity. 



(Left) Dr. P.N. Dogra during a robotic surgery at AIIMS; the da Vinci Surgical Robot System docked onto a patient. 

Regular robotic surgeries and exchange programmes with international 

faculty are now being held at AIIMS. They provide a platform for robotic surgeons 

from various parts of the world to showcase their skills and also help in training 

of aspiring young robotic surgeons in India. Similarly, we visit other medical centres 

abroad to share our experience in robotic surgery 

The robotic system that made it all possible is the da Vinci 

surgical robotic system, manufactured by the California‐based 

Intuitive Surgical. No Indian company at present manufactures 

this system, Dr. Dogra said. “The robotic system costs $1 million. 

However, we hope that with the introduction of indigenously 

manufactured systems in the future, the cost will come 

down. The surgery itself, however, did not cost the patient any 

additional money.” But robot‐assisted surgery is clearly different 

from the run‐of‐the‐mill stuff. “Unlike in an open surgery, 

there is no sensation of touch (haptic feedback) and the 

surgeon has to rely solely on visual cues. 

“The robotic anterior exenteration which we performed at 

AIIMS was a challenging surgery, with the risk of intraoperative 

injury to major blood vessels, massive bleeding and also injury 

to the bowel and other structures,” Dr. Dogra said. 

“However, with the help of the robot, the surgery could be conducted 

quickly and safely with negligible blood loss and no 

blood transfusion. There were no post‐operative complications 

and the patient was discharged within a week of the surgery.” 

For Dr. Dogra, achieving such a feat took a lot of personal 

commitment. “I underwent a training course in robotic surgery 

at UCI Irvine in California and have also participated in many 

international robotic surgery workshops while interacting with 

leading surgeons in this field,” he told IANS. “Regular robotic 

surgeries and exchange programmes with international faculty 

are now being held at AIIMS. They provide a platform for 

robotic surgeons from various parts of the world to showcase 

their skills and also help in training of aspiring young robotic 

surgeons in India. Similarly, we visit other medical centres 

abroad to share our experience in robotic surgery,” he said. 

Presently, most robotic surgeries are carried out in the 

United States, Dr. Dogra said. However, Asian countries are 

catching up. “There are about 50‐60 robotic systems in South‐ 

East Asia. Robotic surgeries are also regularly carried out in 

Malaysia, Singapore, Japan and Korea,” Dr. Dogra said. “At the 

urology department in AIIMS, our next step would be to do 

advanced robotic surgery after attaining sufficient expertise in 

conventional robotic procedures,” he said. 

Robot-Assisted MIS 

In the late 1990s, another evolutionary stage in the development of surgical techniques was achieved with the application of robotics 

to surgical technology. At the forefront of this new era, Intuitive Surgical introduced the da Vinci® Surgical System, featuring wristed instruments 

with seven degrees of freedom, three‐dimensional, intuitive visualization and ergonomic comfort. These innovations 

created the preconditions for minimally invasive solutions to complex procedures in a wide range of surgical specialties. 

(Text courtesy: Intuitive Surgical, Inc.) 

Eat right 

for your type 

Blood group diets are popular in the 

West and they are finding a foothold in 

India as fitness experts are increasingly 

recommending them, says Shilpa Raina 

After hitting the gym, doing 

yoga and jogging, people are 

now trying blood groupbased 

diets, as experts say 

the secret to a fit body may be hidden 

in the blood type. These diets are popular 

in the West and they are finding 

a foothold in India as some fitness experts 

are recommending them. 

Explaining how such diets work, 

Ekta Tandon, Delhi‐based nutritionist 

and dietician at dailydiet.in, says a 

chemical reaction occurs between 

your blood and foods as they are digested. 

“Lectins, a diverse and abundant 

protein found in food, may be 

incompatible with your blood group 

and adverse side effects may occur. So 

I would recommend that one can follow 

a blood group diet along with the 

normal food in order to give all the 

nutrients to the body,” Tandon told 

IANS. American naturopaths James 

DʼAdamo and his son Peter DʼAdamo, 

founder of blood group‐based diets, 

feel each personʼs blood group is key 

to how he burns his calories, what 

food he should eat and how he would 

benefit from certain type of exercise. 

“People with A blood type have a different 

set of characteristics from 

people who are Type O ̶ they 

are susceptible to different diseases, 

they should eat different 

foods and exercise in a completely 

different manner,” says 

Peter on their website 

www.dadamo.com. If one goes by 

the blood group diet chart, it suggests 

that Type O people should eat high 

proteins; Type A should avoid heavy 

proteins and dig on carbohydrates; 

Type B people should drink more milk 

and avoid fruits like corns, lentils and 

peanuts. People with Type AB blood 

group, which is very rare, can go for a 

combination of diet chart recommended 

for both Type A and Type B. 

“In the three months that I have 

been on a diet, I have lost almost 5 kg. 

So far everything is good. My dietician 

is wonderful and always promptly answers 

my queries,” said Akankasha 

Darswal, who has Type A blood group. 

Tandon, however, cautions people, 

saying: “These diets work, but like excess 

of everything is bad, one should 

not over do it. One should have a diet 

which is a mix of blood group, plus a 

diet that suits your lifestyle.” 



sport 

Reliving heritage 

Visitors to the 2010 CWG will hit the heritage trail... A number of historical sites are 

being renovated as the Games approaches, says Madhusree Chatterjee 

Clockwise from top: Among the 46 monuments set to be beautified ahead of the Commonwealth Games are the Red Fort, the Humayunʼs Tomb and Jantar Mantar 

With only a few months to go for the 2010 Commonwealth 

Games, Delhi, the Archaeological Survey of 

India (ASI) and the tourism ministry are working 

round‐the‐clock to turn the capital into a world‐class 

heritage tourism hub. The ASI is excavating two new sites in the 

heart of the megapolis for the benefit of visitors. “Work on the sites 

will be complete before the Commonwealth Games,” the ASI said. 

“A large swathe of the area between Gargi College and Kamala 

Nehru College in the Siri Fort area is being excavated. The 14th 

century Islamic settlement dating back to Allauddin Khilji ̶ of the 

Khilji dynasty ̶ is rising like a Phoenix from its own ashes. We will 

complete excavation and landscaping of the area for visitors before 

October,” K.K. Muhammed, superintending archaeologist, Delhi Circle, 

said. Another site is the Jahanpanah area in south Delhi near 

Saket which was buried but is now being excavated. 

Outlining the governmentʼs plans to spruce up the historic city 

that dates back to nearly 1,500 BC, the archaeologist said that the 

focus would be on experiential culture and heritage tourism for 

nearly 100,000 visitors expected to converge on the city. 

“We are beautifying 46 monuments in the capital for the Commonwealth 

Games with illumination, signages, audio visual guides, 

better infrastructure and face‐lifts for the Games,” Muhammed said 

at a two‐day tourism conference. 

The conference, ʻFirst Delhi Tourism Conclave: Unleashing the 

Potential of Delhiʼ, was organised by the Confederation of Indian 

Industry (CII) and Delhi Tourism at the Indian Islamic Cultural Centre. 

According to a survey by the CII and the Delhi government, the 

capital will draw nearly 32 percent of the total tourists to India during 

the Games and the average length of their stay will be nearly 

12 days during the Games against the general average of 2.75 days. 

The Games might be a catalyst to a growth of 26 percent in the 

number of inbound tourists to India in 2010, a project report said. 

In 2009, estimates say, 5.1 million tourists visited India. “We want 

the tourists to experience the feel of India ̶ especially Delhi,” the 

award‐winning archaeologist said. Another mega archaeological 

project that the government has taken up is to refurbish the museum 

inside the Purana Qila (Old Fort) and develop audio‐visual 

guides for tourists who are keen to know the fortʼs history. “The 

site has eight levels of settlement ̶ the oldest dating back to 1,400 

BC. It is said to be the ancient epic capital of the five Pandava brothers 

̶ the Indraprastha, mentioned in the Mahabharata,” 

Muhammed told IANS. “Contrary to 

many claims that Indraprastha was a myth, the 

site was home to a village kingship. Grey ware 

pottery of the era excavated from the site lends 

credence to the fact that it was Indraprastha. 

The old fort came much later,” Muhammed said. 

Among other monuments under renovation 

for the Commonwealth Games are the Tughlaqabad 

Fort, Qila Rai Pithora, Qutab Minar, Sher Shahʼs Gate, Adilabad, 

Siri Fort Wall and the Khairul Manzil Mosque. The 

department will equip six major world heritage monuments, including 

the Qutab Minar, Purana Qila, Red Fort, Jantar Mantar, 

Salimgarh Fort and Safdarjungʼs Tomb with new spacious 

washrooms. The tourism ministry will also appoint tourism officers 

as guides at monuments, who will walk tourists through the history. 

The department is also planning three major exhibitions on 

“Buddhism, Temple Architecture, and Masterpieces of Indian Art” 

According to a survey by the CII and the Delhi 

government, the capital will draw 32 percent of the 

total tourists to India during the Games and the average 

length of their stay will be nearly 12 days during the 

Games against the general average of 2.75 days 

during the Games. The Indian National Trust For Art and 

Cultural Heritage and Dastkar, an organisation for the promotion 

of ethnic crafts and arts, are helping the Archaeological Survey of 

India and the government make Commonwealth tourism “an 

experiential event”. 


sport 

The 2010 Commonwealth Games being handed over to Delhi at the closing ceremony of the 2006 Games in Melbourne, Australia 

Vibrant Indian music, dance, theatre, 

food and more at Games galas... 

The 2010 Games fiesta is set to go beyond Bollywood. Shweta Srinivasan unfolds 

plans for the Games as Delhi prepares to showcase the best of Indian art and culture 

Plans for the 2010 Commonwealth Games ceremonies are a bit of a 

secret. There is speculation that India will showcase its Bollywood 

formula yet again in Delhi like it did in Melbourne. But hereʼs what 

̶ you can actually expect a cultural fiesta replete with classical and 

folk dances and music! Holding the spectacle together will be the ceremonyʼs 

theme ̶ “the wheel of life” ̶ a take on the countryʼs 5,000‐year‐long civilisation 

and colourful celebrations, say organisers. 

“Our key concept is ʻthe wheel of lifeʼ. We are also incorporating the idea 

that the ʻwhole world is one familyʼ, which is affirmed in the ancient Upanishad 

scriptures as Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam,” a top official in the CWG Organising 

Committee (CGOC) said. The organisers say the opening and closing galas 

have a budget of Rs.84 crore and will blend Indiaʼs classical and folk dances, 

with music being the thrust of it. Unlike the Indian show at the Melbourne 

Games in 2006, where only popular Bollywood dance numbers and stars took 

centre stage, this time around 8,000 professional artistes will be out in the middle. 

With rehearsals set to begin in April, the ceremonies department of the 

CGOC is buzzing with elaborate plans to dazzle the international gala. The 

team working non‐stop on the extravaganza is being guided by Kathak exponent 

Shovana Narayan who is also the ceremonies departmentʼs joint director 

general. Along with her, the creative heads incharge include Bharat Bala, Indiaʼs 

noted creative director, filmmaker Shyam Benegal and script writer Javed Akhtar. 

The organising committee has hired international consultants for the gala, 

including Australian producer Ric Birch and renowned creative engineer Mark 

Fisher. For the opening ceremony alone there are around 15,000 participants, 

including the nearly 8,000 professional artistes from all over the country. 

In addition to the events by the organising committee, the Delhi government 

has lined up Indian music, dance and theatre shows in a carnival atmosphere 

with plenty of Indian food to savour. 

24X7 call centre soon 

Delhi will soon launch a 24X7 

call centre and a dedicated 

website to help foreign 

tourists during the Commonwealth 

Games. The call centre 

would provide them all possible 

information about Delhi so that they are not 

exploited by touts. “We would have a website 

of international standard which will give information 

to tourists about rooms under the 

bread and breakfast scheme, budget hotels, information 

about radio taxi service and Metro 

routes, key Hindi words, top restaurants and 

other information,” Delhi Tourism and Transportation 

Development Corporationʼs (DTTDC) 

managing director Rina Ray said. The website 

will also have information about authorised 

tour operators and monuments to be visited. 

“We will also have a 24X7 call centre. With 

these, the foreign visitors would be able to 

plan their complete programme before leaving 

their country,” Ray added. The two‐day conclave 

that began on March 18 was organised 

by the Confederation of Indian Industry and 

the DTTDC. 

All the way from Britain 

Thirty students from the 

Sheffield Hallam University in 

Britain will volunteer for the 

Commonwealth Games, Delhi, 

under an agreement signed on 

March 9. A memorandum of understanding 

was signed by Sheffield Hallam 

University Vice Chancellor Philip Jones and 

Commonwealth Games Organising Committee 

chairman Suresh Kalmadi.The students will be 

selected from Sheffield Hallam Universityʼs 

media and journalism courses and will be part 

of a pool of 30,000 volunteers for the October 

games. They will mainly deal with the media. 

Anti-doping lab ready 

Commonwealth Games Federation 

president Mike Fennell on 

March 11 said that anti‐doping 

procedures during the 

2010 Games in Delhi would be 

all the more stringent thanks to 

the World Anti Doping Agency 

NO DOPING! 

(WADA) approval of the testing laboratory.“We 

are very pleased that WADA has approved the 

anti‐doping lab in Delhi... It is one of 35 antidoping 

labs approved by WADA,” he told reporters 

at a press conference in Delhi. Fennell 

said the National Dope Testing Laboratory at 

Lodhi Roadʼs CGO complex in south Delhi 

would be fully operational during the Games. 

“It (the lab) will have full operations during the 

course of the Games,” he said. 

Sipping coffee 

to history 

Going all out to make the Delhi experience 

a wholesome one for tourists during 

the Commonwealth Games and 

beyond, the Archaeological Survey of 

India (ASI) has decided to allow setting 

up of cafeterias in their protected areas 

near monuments. On the second day of 

the Delhi Tourism Conclave, Rina Ray, 

managing director of the Delhi Tourism 

and Transportation Development Corporation, 

said that the ASI has agreed to set 

up canteens and cafeterias around various 

heritage structures in the next couple 

of months. “The joy of wining and dining 

against the backdrop of a beautiful heritage 

structure is unparalleled, as is seen 

in other countries. The ASI has recently 

agreed to allow cafes to be opened 

around monuments, which will be a big 

attraction for tourists,” Ray said. With the 

Games only a few months away, this initiative 

and others, Ray said, are being 

worked upon by the Delhi government. 

“The Delhi government is looking at installing 

sculptures, art work, murals and 

paintings at the airport and railway stations,” 

Ray said. “While some of these public 

art will be temporary like art work and 

sculptures, others like murals will obviously 

be permanent. This has been especially 

worked upon keeping the Commonwealth 

Games in mind,” she added. 

Emphasising that they must be more 

“tech savvy”, Ray said that they will register 

themselves in social networking sites 

like Facebook for easy accessibility. “A 

month before the games, there will be 

cultural festivals and music programmes 

in Delhi and special programmes 

for disabled children,” 

Ray said. “We are 

thinking of a new campaign 

for Delhi. Since 

the word Delhi comes 

from the Arabic word 

Dehleej or gateway, we 

are thinking on the lines of 

Delhi ̶ the gateway to India,” 

she said. 

— Azera Rahman 

70 Pravasi Bharatiya May 2010

Meet 

kerala festival 

the 

Gods 

Spectacle of caparisoned elephants... 

ensemble of temple orchestra... display 

of colourful umbrellas atop jumbos, 

on the sprawling festival grounds of 

Vadakkumnathan temple ....marks 

the temple festival of Kerala ̶ 

Thrissur Pooram 

Thirty caparisoned elephants, including some that look 

like seven‐storied building, vying with each other in a 

colourful display of umbrellas, is a scene from epic 

films like Lords of the Rings. But in April, this gigantic, 

enthralling vision comes to life in Thrissur, Kerala, when hundreds 

of thousands of devotees and tourists participate in the 

colourful temple festival, ʻThrissur Pooramʼ. 

Thrissur Pooram, dedicated to Lord Shiva, is considered the 

mother of all festivals in Kerala. The word ʻpooramʼ literally 

means a group or a meeting. It is believed that gods and goddesses 

meet for a day of celebration, which falls in the month 

of April‐May every year. 

The festival commences with the arrival of small rival elephant 

processions, which carry their respective deities from 

various temples in different villages across Thrissur, and culminates 

at the grounds of the Vadakkunnathan Temple. 

It is said that King Sakthan Thampuran, who ruled Cochin in 

the late 18th century, started the festival. The king unified the 

10 temples situated around Vadakkunnathan temple and organised 

the celebration of Thrissur Pooram as a mass festival. 

The temples were ordained into two groups, Western and 

Eastern. The Western group consists of Kanimangalam, Laloor, 

Ayyanthole, Nethilakkavu and Thiruvambady temples while 


Clockwise from left: The 

famous Vadakkumnathan 

Temple decorated with 

colouful lights; procession of 

caparisoned elephants; the 

chamayakazcha exhibition, 

showcasing various 

decorations and ornaments 

used in the festival; 

fireworks explode in 

the night sky; and 

the spectacular 

Elajithara‐Melam 

The two most important events in the 30-hour-long Thrissur Pooram 

include the parading of 15 caparisoned elephants each between the Krishna Temple 

at Thiruvambadi and the Devi Temple at Paramekkavu. They vie with each 

other in ‘Kudamattam’, a colourful display of umbrellas that are raised 

by the mahout sitting atop the elephant 

the Eastern group has Paramekkavu, Karamukku, Chembukavu, 

Choorakottukavu and Panamukkamppilly temples. 

The King ruled that the festival would be centered 

around the Vadakkunnathan temple, with all the other 

temples sending their poorams (the whole procession), to 

pay obeisance to the Lord Shiva. 

It is also believed that he himself chalked out the programme 

and events of the festival. The celebrations begin 

a day before the festival with the flag hoisting ceremony 

and the inauguration of the pooram exhibition. 

The city lights up in jubilation while the tempo is in full 

throttle. Sampling of fireworks at the Vadakunnathan 

maidan also takes place a day earlier. Even though the 

testing is only a curtain raiser, it has, nevertheless, turned 

into a mega event attracting huge crowds. 

The other attraction is the viewing of decorations and 

ornaments chamayakazcha, in which the two main temples, 

Paramekkavu and Thiruvambady, show off their respective 

parasols and other decorations. 

The two most important events in the 30‐hour‐long 

Thrissur Pooram include the parading of 15 caparisoned 

elephants each between the Krishna Temple at Thiruvambadi 

and the Devi Temple at Paramekkavu. 

They vie with each other in ʻKudamattamʼ, a colourful 

display of umbrellas that are raised by the mahout sitting 

atop the elephant. “Fifteen people stand besides every elephant 

and hand over the umbrellas to the mahout. The 

beauty of this is the design of the umbrellas,” said veteran 

elephant expert Jacob Cheeran, who has seen more 

than 50 poorams. 

“The colour and design of the umbrellas are top secret 

and very few people know about it till they are raised,” he 

added. The umbrellas come in various sizes, shapes, 

colours and designs. Getting selected to be one of the 30 

elephants is a reason to be proud for its owner because it 

is only the best in size, shape and discipline that gets selected,” 

Cheeran said. 

In all, more than 60 elephants take part in the entire 

festivities. 

The festivities commence with the ezhunnellippu programme, 

which is considered to be a ritual sybolising the 

visit of the Devi from the Paramekkavu and Thiruvambadi 

temples to the Vadakkunnathan temple. 

It is followed by the Panchavadyam, in which about 200 

artistes from the disciplines of thimila, maddalam, trumpet, 

cymbal and edakka participate. The highlight of the 

festival is a performance by ʻmelamʼ artistes and magnificent 

fireworks, including a riot of colours, which make the 

Thrissur Pooram a memorable event. 

The fireworks display is a competition between the 

Thiruvambadi and Paramekkavu Devasoms, who present 

several innovative patterns and varieties of fireworks 

every year. The fireworks begin around 3 a.m. and go on 

till daybreak. 

However, the most striking feature of the Thrissur 

Pooram is its secular nature. The Muslim and Christian 

communities actively take part in it and they play prominent 

roles in the conduct of the festival. For example, most 

of the pandals are the craftwork of the experts from the 

Muslim community. 

Revellers pack streets with their joyful shrieks, laughter 

and boisterous songs filling the air. They simply enjoy basking 

in sunshine and strolling through the vendor‐lined streets, 

munching fried peanuts, wolfing down salmon‐coloured 

cotton candy and guzzling watermelon juice. More and more 

ice‐creams are consumed with sky full of balloons. 


cuisine 

Don the chef’s hat 

It was once a 

delicacy. Now a 

staple, prawns can 

be cooked in a 

variety of styles or 

flavours... Whether 

boiled or steamed, 

sauteed or fried, 

baked or grilled, or 

curried, this versatile 

seafood, is a 

gourmetʼs delight. 

Nandini S. Sen finds 

out what India 

is cooking... 

Poach, grill 

Sauté... 

Sizzling, literally, with anticipation, 

I eyed the ʻspawn of the 

seaʼ on our table, burnished orange 

on sparkling china. My 

motor mouth stopped, watering and 

drooling... I gently lifted the giant crustacean, 

crackling shell and fresh ground 

spices intoxicating my senses... I take a 

juicy bite... I have not a care in the world... 

Yes, I was in seventh heaven, having 

just bitten into a delicately flavoured 

grilled King Prawn. Such is the taste of 

this easy‐to‐cook seafood, that with simple 

strokes and a few added flavours, it 

transforms into a ʻcomplimentaryʼ dish, 

which is easy on the stomach. 

From being a delicacy in India to becoming 

an everyday staple, prawns can 

be cooked in any style or flavour. A Bengali 

will serve their traditional Malai Chingri 

or Daab Chingri, while a Malayalee 

will treat you to Malabar Chemmeen 

Curry. Or you could sample the famous 

Goan Piri Piri Prawn, complementing it 

with feni. You could also go experimental 

and try King Prawn Puri at home and be the 

envy at the next potpourri party you attend. 

Whether it is boiled or steamed, 

sauteed or fried, baked or grilled, or curried, 

this versatile seafood, both shrimp 

and lobster, is popular because of its delicious 

flavour, and easy to digest properties. 

With the mercury hitting the roof, 

prawns or shrimps or even lobsters, replace 

the traditional white meat, such as 

fish and chicken. 

Prawns are also an excellent source of 

protein. They are low in fat and calories and 

have a good amount of calcium, magnesium, 

sodium, zinc, vitamin B12 and niacin. 

The cooking time for prawns varies according 

to the preparation. It could take as 

little as 30 seconds. However, the only way 

to spoil the prawn is by overcooking it, as 

they become hard, dry and rubbery as their 

delicious juices are lost. Some of the foolproof 

ways to prepare prawns are poaching, 

steaming, deep frying and grilling... 

Poaching: To poach prawns, boil the 

cooking oil and then reduce the heat. Simmer 

prawns for 3‐5 minutes. 

Steaming: Prawns can be steamed over 

oil in a covered saucepan. 

Deep-frying: Coat the prawns with bread 

crumbs or batter and fry them until golden. 

Grilling: Pat the prawns dry to remove 

moisture. Coat them with olive oil. Cook 

in a pre‐heated grill on an oiled aluminum 

foil for 2‐3 minutes, turning once, 

halfway through cooking. 

Now, try out some of these yummy 

prawn recipes in Indian ishtyle... 

“ 

Consider the prawn... 

they spawn... in the 

ocean’s watery womb, 

in their millions... 

gad-zillions of prawns, 

swimming happily in blue... 

its true... 

but they taste so good 

on the B-B-Q!!!! 

some in garlic butter, with 

a crisp chardonnay, 

you never hear them mutter, 

they never have their say, 

while you rip of the heads, 

and peel their shells away, 

and gobble those salty 

crustaceans that have only 

fed on plankton three 

times a day... 

Anonymous 

“ 

DAAB CHINGRI 

The specialty of this unique Bengali dish is the 

perfect blend of sweet and spicy flavours. In 

this, prawns are steamed inside the shell of a 

green coconut. The end result is of an exotic 

blend of spices, aromas, textures, that bursts in 

the mouth to give a rich gastronomic delight... 

Tip: Complement this dish with a coconut 

liqueur based cocktail, or a lemon vodka 

DAAB CHINGRI 

Ingredients 

Prawns 

1 kg 

Tender coconut 1 

Salt 

to taste 

Turmeric powder 1/4 teaspoon 

Mustard oil 

1 tablespoon 

Panch phoran 1/2 teaspoon 

Onions, sliced 2 medium 

Ginger paste 

1 teaspoon 

Garlic paste 

1 1/2 teaspoons 

Green chillies (slit) 4‐5 

Coconut (scraped) 1/4 cup 

Coconut flesh 1/4 cup 

Flour 

as required 

Tip: Panch Phoron is a mixture of equal 

quantities of five spices: cumin seeds, mustard 

seeds, fennel seeds, fenugreek seeds and 

onion seeds. It is used extensively in Bengali 

cooking. 

Method 

Shave off the top of a tender coconut, pour 

out the water (even better, drink it up, or use it 

to ferment your dosa batter), and cut out the 

flesh. Keep the top as a lid. Preheat oven to 

220°C. Add salt and turmeric to the fresh 

prawns and keep aside. Heat mustard oil, 

allow it to cool a bit, and add paanch phoron. 

As the seeds crackle, add onions and sauté. 

Throw in a daub of ginger and garlic paste, a 

handful of green chillies, and fresh coconut. 

Sauté for 2 minutes. Add 1 cup of water and 

stir. Trundle in the prawns and stir. Now add 

coconut flesh and temper with salt. Put the 

mixture into the coconut shell, cover it with 

the ʻlidʼ and seal off with dough. Place the 

ʻcooking shellʼ in the preheated oven and 

allow it to cook for 20 minutes. Serve hot. 

FROM THE BACKWATERS OF KERALA 

This recipe is traditionally prepared in an 

earthen pot, known as ʻMeen Chattyʼ. Keralites 

believe that the curry made this way tastes 

special and lends the dish a unique flavour. 

Tip: Sip a delicate chardonnay to enhance the 

coconutty flavour. 

MALABAR CHEMMEEN CURRY 

Ingredients 

Prawns 

1 kg 

oil 

1/4 cup 

Ginger 

1 tablespoon 

garlic 

1 tablespoon (paste) 

chillies 2 

chilli powder 1 tablespoon 

turmeric powder 1/2 teaspoon 

tomatoes 2 (diced) 

coconut milk 

shallot's 

Salt 

black pepper 

mustard seeds 

Curry leaves 

2‐1/2 cup 

2 (diced) 

to taste 

1/2 teaspoon (ground) 

1/2 teaspoon 

garnish 

Method 

Mix the prawns, turmeric, garlic together and 

set aside for 30 mins. In a clay pot (if available) 

or saute pan, heat the oil, saute the shallots, 

ginger, green chillies for about 10 min until oil 

separates. Add the chilli powder and saute for 

a few more minutes add diced tomatoes and 

then the prawns and 1 ½ cup of coconut milk. 

Cook the prawns for about 20‐30 mins until 

prawns turn bright pink and are not rubbery. 

Set aside. In a skillet fry some mustard seeds 

then add 1 tsp shallot and curry leaves. Pour 

onto curry and serve hot with rice or parotas. 

— Modern Cookery for Teaching and The Trade 

A TWIST WITH FENI 

Ambot tik literally translates to sour‐spicy. The 

sour comes from the use of the petals of the 

ʻKokum solamʼ in the dish. Known to be a 

cooling agent and honoured for its medicinal 

value, the red‐coloured fruit of ʻKokumʼ is the 

real king of Goan cuisine. 

Tip: Cashew feni is fabulous with this dish... 

PRAWN AMBOT TIK 

Ingredients 

Prawns 

1 kg 

dry red chillies 8‐10 

peppercorns 6 

tumeric powder 1/2 tsp 

cumin seeds 

1 tsp 

cloves garlic 8 

ginger 

1 inch 

lump of tamarind Golf ball‐sized 

Onions 

2 medium 

vegetable/ canola/ 

sunflower cooking oil 3 tbsps 

Salt 

to taste 

Method 

Soak the tamarind in half a cup of hot water. 

Keep aside. Heat a griddle or flat pan on a 

medium flame and gently roast the cumin 

seeds, peppercorns and dry red chillies till they 

begin to darken and release a faint aroma. Remove 

from fire and cool. Heat the oil in a pan on 

a medium flame and add the onions. Fry till soft 

and slightly golden. Remove from the fire and 

mix with the other ingredients (except prawns 

and tamarind) and grind to a smooth paste in a 

food processor. Squeeze the soaked tamarind to 

release the softened pulp. Do this till you have released 

all the pulp. Strain and keep the juice aside. 

Put the onion‐spice paste back into the pan 

in which you fried the onions. Fry for 1 minute 

and add 1 1/2 cups warm water and the 

tamarind juice. Bring to a boil on a medium 

flame. Simmer the flame. Add the prawns and 

cook till done (they will turn from pink to 

opaque). Do not overcook as they will become 

rubbery. Season with salt. Serve hot 

with steamed rice or Sannas (steamed Goan 

rice cakes). 

(Source: Petrina Verma Sarkar) 



cinema 

On this birthday, 

The great distance grows in my heart 

The starry path is nebular, 

Mysterious... 

And my remoteness impenetrable. 

The pilgrim moves, his path unseen, 

The consequence unknown. 

Today, I hear the traveller’s footsteps 

From my lonely seashore 

Grabs from Rabindranath 

Tagoreʼs iconic film 

adaptations: (Clockwise 

from top) Aishwarya Rai 

and Raima Sen in 

Rituparno Ghoshʼs Chokher 

Bali, Raima and Riya Sen in 

Noukadubi and Satyajit 

Rayʼs Charulata with 

legendary actors Soumitra 

Chatterjee and Madhavi 

Mukherjee 

— Rabindranath Tagore 

Gurudeb is back 

Noukadubi 

(2010, 1932) 

Shyama 

(2008) 

Chaturanga 

(2008) 

Chokher Bali 

(2003, 1938) 

Ghare-Baire 

(1984) 

Atithi 

(1965) 

Charulata 

(1964) 

Kabuliwala 

(1961) 

Teen Kanya 

(1961) 

Khudito Pashan 

(1960) 

Charana Daasi 

(1956) 

Kabuliwala 

(1956) 

Gora 

(1938) 

Chirakumar Sabha 

(1932) 

Giribala 

(1929) 

Balidan 

(1927) 

A hundred and fifty years years after Rabindranath Tagoreʼs birth, his story Noukadubi, is 

getting a modern makeover, says Madhusree Chatterjee 

“Flow of images constitutes cinema” 

Polymath Rabindranath Tagoreʼs eternal words will once 

again cast a spell, when his Noukadubi, a tale of four 

cross‐wired lovers, gets a contemporary makeover in 

director Rituparno Ghoshʼs film, 150 years after the 

Nobel laureateʼs birth. A rather progressive Bollywood‐style story 

from Galpa Guccha (Collection of Stories published in 1912), 

Noukadubi had raised eyebrows during the bardʼs lifetime for its 

“freewheeling slant”. 

Tagore, whose birth anniversary was recently celebrated on 

May 9, has left an indelible imprint on the psyche of the Indian 

film audience, helped along by ace directors like Satyajit Ray, 

Tapan Sinha and Rituparno Ghosh. His stories are endowed with 

natural cinematic potential because they are rich in visual 

metaphors and dramatic intensity. 

Tagore had written to a long time friend, the brother of late 

theatre legend Sisir Kumar Bhaduri in 1929, that the flow of images 

should be used so that it can communicate with the help of 

words. “This cinema is still enslaved to literature.” Some of the 

critically acclaimed iconic film adaptions of Tagoreʼs work include: 

Charulata (The Lonely Wife): An iconic film by Satyajit Ray was 

based on Tagoreʼs short story Nashtanir (The Broken Nest). The 

film captures the conflict between freedom, conventions and the 

intellectual awakening of 19th and 20th century Bengali youth. 

Ghare Baire (Home and The World): Much like Charulata in its 

quest for emancipation of women, in Ghaire Baire Ray explored 

Tagoreʼs saga of an elite Bengali woman Bimalaʼs journey to the 

world outside from the confines of her palace with a new 

panache ̶ and a subtle allusion to complex adult love. 

Teen Kanya (Three Daughters): Another Ray iconic films, Teen 

Kanya is based on three of Tagoreʼs short stories, which dealt 

with the complexities of human relationships. 

Shesher Kavita (The Last Poem): Young filmmaker Subhrajit 

Mitra improvised the story into a fictional drama in Mon Amour: 

Sesher Kavita Revisited ̶ an Indo‐French production, in 2008. 

Atithi (Guest): Released in 1965, Tapan Sinhaʼs film was based 

on the life of a young Brahmin boy who finds himself on the 

same boat as the village zamindar when he runs away from 

home. The landlord adopts him and anoints him as his daughterʼs 

prospective groom, but a day before his wedding, the boy flees. 

The story was a poignant comment on the eternal human quest 

for freedom that Tagore was obsessed with. 

Kabuliwallah: Another Tapan Sinha interpretation, was a window 

to the rigid milieu of 19th century Bengal and a telling comment 

on mores such as child marriage ̶ told through a friendship between 

a little girl Mini and an itinerant Afghan hawker. 

The Hungry Stones (Khudito Pashan): The film was inspired by 

the Shah Jahan Palace, now Sardar Patel Memorial, in Ahmedabad, 

overlooking the Sabarmati river in Gujarat 

Rabindranath Tagore has left an indelible 

imprint on the psyche of the Indian film audience, 

helped along by ace directors like Satyajit Ray, Tapan 

Sinha and Rituparno Ghosh. His stories are endowed 

with natural cinematic potential because they are rich 

in visual metaphors and dramatic intensity 

where Tagore had stayed for a brief period. 

Tagoreʼs secret craving for a bit of mystery 

to lend spice for the most exciting cinema. The 

bard was among the first to recognise that cinema 

should have their own language. “The 

beauty and grandeur of this form in motion 

has to be developed in such a way that it becomes 

self‐sufficient without the use of words.” 

To complement the film adaptations, numerous Rabindra 

Sangeet have been used in Bengali, as well as, Hindi films. In his 

songs, pure poetry integrates the creator, nature and love. Human 

love (prem) transforms into love and devotion for the creator 

(bhakti). The collection of his 2,000 odd songs is known as Gitabitan 

(garden of songs). Bengali and Hindi filmmakers of all generations 

have been deeply inspired by his stories and songs. The 

film fraternity says that Tagoreʼs creations are “eternal”. “Rabindra 

sangeet is eternal. The popularity of the songs has been consistent 

from the time these were written and it will remain the same 

because Tagore has woven every emotion in them through his 

words and music. The results can be seen not only in Bengali but 

also in Hindi,” filmmaker Buddhadeb Dasgupta said. “Take for example 

the use of Rabindra Sangeet in Tere mere milan in Hindi 

film Abhimaan. It is inspired from a Bengali song Jodi tare nai 

chini go sokhi. Tagore has all the components in terms of emotions 

in his songs, and filmmakers are going to take reference 

from them for times immemorial,” he added. 

Singer Abhijeet Bhattacharya said: “Tagoreʼs songs have almost 

become like a software. They are eternally modern and are being 

used since the time they were written. “Till date his work inspires 

not just Bengali songs but in other regional languages also in 

some form or the other,” he added. 

“You are standing beyond my song. My melody reaches your 

feet, but I cannot reach you” 




cinema 

“ 

The children’s film will be very different from the ones that 

people have seen before. It’s set entirely in India and there will 

be no weddings in this one and certainly no Punjabis 

— Gurinder Chadha 

“ 

Gurinder Chadhaʼs 

previous top grossers are 

the iconic Bend It Like 

Beckham (top) and an 

adaptation of Jane 

Austenʼs book Pride and 

Prejudice into Bride 

and Prejudice 

Wedding belle 

Punjabi wedding 

specialist Gurinder 

Chadha now takes on 

adventure with a 

childrenʼs film based 

in Kerala. She is also 

looking to an epic film 

based on family 

history. Robin Bansal 

finds out her plans for 

the future... 

Gurinder Chadha has decided to 

move on. The Britain‐based Indian 

filmmaker says she will 

leave behind her usual marriage 

formula in new projects, one of 

which is a childrenʼs film focussing on 

ecology and another that trails her own 

family history. 

“At the moment I am working on a childrenʼs 

film set in Kerala. Itʼs a childrenʼs 

adventure film. We are working on the 

script. Weʼll hopefully roll it on in winter,” 

Chadha said. “Itʼs about elephants and is 

set in an elephant sanctuary. It has an 

ecological message. I realised children are 

growing up too fast and they have to deal 

with issues too soon. I wanted to make a 

proper innocent adventure movie that 

specifically deals with children I used to 

see when I was young,” she said. 

Chadha, 50, made a mark for herself 

with movies like Bend It Like Beckham 

and Bride & Prejudice which were about 

marriage and even her latest release, Itʼs 

A Wonderful Afterlife, belongs to the 

same genre. But Chadha admits she is 

moving away from her signature style. 

“Yes, the childrenʼs film will be very different 

from the ones that people have 

seen before. Itʼs set entirely in India and 

there will be no weddings in this one and 

certainly no Punjabis,” she said. Any title 

for the movie “We had a Malayalam title, 

but at the moment we are only calling it 

GCs Indian Adventure,” she quipped. 

Asked if she had zeroed in on the cast, 

she said: “Not yet, but Iʼm thinking. But 

the main cast will be children. I need a 

girl from India and I am looking for one 

who is between nine and 11. And Iʼll have 

an English boy.” And what about the language 

of the film “Itʼll be in English, but 

we may shoot a little bit in Hindi as well. 

I am not sure about that. But we might do 

a Hindi‐English mix and may be a little bit 

of Malayalam too,” she said. 

Talking about her other project that 

will have references from Larry Collins 

and Dominique Lapierreʼs bestseller Freedom 

at Midnight, she said: “I have the 

rights to Freedom at Midnight, but Iʼm 

also doing my own research. 

“It will be a film from a British Indian 

femaleʼs perspective. Itʼll be a complete 

epic drama set in India and England. The 

film is about independence. Itʼll look at 

my own history. My ancestors were originally 

from Persia and then Jhelum and 

Rawalpindi (now in Pakistan). They were 

in Maharaja Ranjit Singhʼs army and then 

after partition my fatherʼs family was in 

Kenya. My motherʼs side of the family had 

to leave and move to Delhi as refugees. I 

was born in Kenya and then I went to 

England with my parents as a baby. “So in 

a way itʼs more about my history and how 

come I ended up where I am,” she said. 

“Freedom at Midnight has some interesting 

information so we are taking references 

from the book but 50 percent of 

the storyline will be ours and we will have 

our own characters.” 

So when does the dream project go on 

the floors “First, I have to get the script 

as it needs time. This is one project I want 

to get absolutely right. We are working 

on it, but we need to do a lot more research. 

Itʼs a passion project and if the 

script comes along this year, then weʼll do 

it next year,” she said. 


travel 

With the mercury breaking all sorts of records this Indian summer, how about 

visiting a place where winters are so dark and long that summer is taken very 

seriously Welcome to a Nordic country that has kept its date with modernism and 

technology but hasnʼt forgot its roots and respect towards its natural resources. 

It is winter in Finland, always, ever, forever, says Nishant Arora 

At right in this photo is the Senate Square 

building that presents famous architect Carl 

Ludvig Engelʼs work as a unique allegory of 

political, religious, scientific and commercial 

confluence in Helsinki. At the centre is an 

Evangelical Lutheran Cathedral of the Diocese of 

Helsinki. The church was originally built as a 

tribute to the Grand Duke, Nicholas I, the Tsar of 

Russia and until the independence of Finland in 

1917, it was called St. Nicholasʼ Church. 

Try asking any Indian about Finland and he may 

immediately reply: you mean Nokia! Or if he is a wellread 

working professional who commutes by the 

swanky Delhi Metro, he may tell you that the elevator 

or the escalator he uses everyday are installed by Kone, a 

Finland‐based MNC. 

Not only this, if you ask an environment lover, he may be able 

to inform you that this small country ̶ bordered by Sweden on 

the West, Norway on the North and Russia on the East ̶ is a 

world leader in nurturing its natural resources and has been 

recognised numerous times by the World Economic Forum as 

the most environmentally advanced country in the world. 

But I discovered that this Northern European experience to be 

much more that just the land of Nokia or Kone... 

Get soaked in Northern Lights 

At the home of Saint Nicholas or Santa Claus in the northern 

Lapland region, above the Arctic Circle, there is a polar night ̶ 

a period when the sun doesnʼt rise for days or weeks, or even 

months! The extreme north of Finland is so far north that the 

magnificent ʻAurora Borealisʼ (dancing lights and natureʼs most 

breathtaking show) is seen regularly in winter. The light shows 

are the result of ionised nitrogen atoms hitting solar wind 

particles funnelling through the Earthʼs atmosphere. 

A shutterbug moment only if you can brave the coldest 

temperatures on earth. At Finlandʼs northernmost point, in the 

heart of summer, the sun does not completely set for over 73 

consecutive days! 

We may or may not have heard these stories about Finland 

that tell us about the extremes of life on this earth... what we 

must know here is the endurance it needs to survive in these 

beyond normal living conditions. 

My friend, philosopher and guide Saara Rimon tells me that 

global warming has hit even Finland as you donʼt witness snow all 

the time during the winters and mercury has also gone up quite 

considerably and hovers in between 0 to ‐10 degrees Celsius. 

There were times, she says, when Finns handled temperatures 

up to ‐34 degrees Celsius and felt proud of surviving the long 

PLACES TO SEE 

Temppeliaukion, the Church of the Rock 

In the late 1960ʼs two architect brothers designed 

a church that is built into solid rock. Since then 

the church has become one of Helsinkiʼs most 

famous tourist stops. 

Soumenlinna, The 18th Century Sea Fortress 

Built in the 1740ʼs to secure Helsinki against 

Russian attacks, the fortress called Suomenlinna 

was constructed on a group of six islands outside 

the cityʼs Harbour. Today, Suomenlinna houses 

museums, parks, gardens, cafes and restaurants. 

Ateneum Art Museum/ National Museum 

The Ateneum Art Museum houses perhaps the 

finest collection of Finnish art in the country. The 

National Museum holds a vast collection of 

Finnish pre‐historic artifacts. 

spell of winters and still excelling in having normal services 

enduring all the hard winters. This shuddering soul, at ‐3 degree 

Celsius, agreed without much ado. 

Pay for an enriching life 

Finland has a population of 5.4 million. With a GDP of $273 

billion, the country provides its people a very high quality of life. 

There are nearly 188,000 clean water lakes in and around 

Finland but still, the country is investing billions of Euros in 

treating its waste water. 

“We pay as much as 35 percent of our wages as taxes to the 

government so that we can have all the basic amenities of life. 

And Finns are willing to shell out more if asked as we care for 

our future generations,” says Saara. 

How come the Finns are able to get the best results in 

whatever they do 

The answer lies in the fact that they do it sans corruption. This 

small country ranks fourth in the latest corruption list by 

Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index. 



“ 

Indians here are a happy lot as there is no discrimination and Finnish people respect your 

professionalism and give you every chance to excel in life. So I don’t need to really explain 

it to people here that My Name is Khan! 

— Zahoor Khan, ex-Nokiaiite 

“ 

From left (clockwise): A frozen lake on way to Lahti; 

an inter‐city tram leaves for Espoo, a suburb; kids snowskiing 

near the Helsinki City Centre; people take a stroll in a 

snowing evening in Lahti; a black hot coffee can keep you 

warm even at ‐5 degree Celsius outside. 

NOT TO BE MISSED 

Spectacle in Senate Square 

There is no disputing the fact that the 

climax of New Yearʼs Eve can be 

experienced in Helsinkiʼs Senate Square. The 

living room of the nation hosts this 

bacchanal each year. In Helsinki, there is no 

need to plan your own party ̶ just show 

up at Senate Square with your friends! 

Helldone Festival 

Each year Finnish rock band HIM hosts a 

special New Yearʼs Eve festival at the 

legendary rock club Tavastia. If you enjoy 

dressing up in black and listening to loud 

guitars rather than official speeches, you 

wonʼt be disappointed! You are probably 

not alone, however, so make sure you 

reserve tickets well in advance! 

— Helsinki Finland 

Connecting India, the Finnish way 

Although there are not many Indians living in this Nordic 

country, I met a few on my trip. One student, S. Subramanian 

from Chennai, who is pursuing a B. Tech from the University of 

Helsinki, tells me that Finland is now on the radar of Indian 

students owing because not only the quality of its education is 

at a par with what you can aim for in any other European 

country, but it is also one place where racism hasnʼt corroded 

peoplesʼ minds. “I feel at home in Helsinki,” says Subramanian. 

There are several Indians who are working with Nokia, 

headquartered in Tampere, a city with over 100,000 people. As 

the saying goes here ̶ if you are an Indian in Finland, you must 

be working with Nokia. And Nokiaiites were in plenty! 

India‐born Zahoor Khan, who has been living in Lahti for over 

six years, came to Finland as a project manager with Nokia. Now 

a project manager (R&D) with Wipro Technologies Finland Oy, 

Finland for him is second home. “My decision to join Nokia was 

one of the best moves of my career. At Nokia, I found several 

Indians. Indians here are a happy lot as there is no discrimination 

and Finnish people respect your professionalism and give you 

every chance to excel in life. So I donʼt need to actually explain 

it to people here that My Name is Khan!” smiles Zahoor, who did 

his B.Tech from the National Institute of Technology, Hamirpur 

(Himachal Pradesh). His wife Rakhshanda Khan, a co‐owner in a 

company called AD Priori Oy, is on maternity leave. “India is just 

seven hours away from here so when I miss my parents, either I 

fly or ask them to come here. They always enjoy their stay here, 

especially in summer which Finns treat as their most precious 

gift, as this is winter here all the time.” The countryʼs national 

airlines Finnair has daily flights connecting Delhi to Helsinki, and 

the journey takes less than seven hours. Finland is one of the five 

countries chosen by India for its visa‐on‐arrival scheme. 

Simply Sauna 

The Finnish sauna is an integral part of Finnish life. For over five 

million Finns, there are two million saunas in Finland ̶ an 

average of one per household! They are found everywhere, at 

the depth of 1,400 meters (Pyhäsalmi Mine), and at the 

Parliament of Finland. The traditional sauna day is Saturday. 

After splashing water on the rocks and soaking up the heat, cool 

off with a refreshing swim. You can even swim through a hole 

cut in the ice in wintertime. 

Get your taste buds tingling 

Rye, barley, oats, blueberries, lingonberries, cloudberries, sea 

buckthorn... fish... reindeer meat... you must already be licking 

your fingers! A must try, after meals, is Karelian pastry that is a 

quintessentially Finnish dish. And if you are in love with wines 

or vodka, you are about to shout Yureka! Yureka! 

Koskenkorva (famous vodka‐like clear spirit) and Lapin Kulta 

(the best beer on earth) wonʼt let your evenings go without action. 

Also, Cloudberry liqueur Glögi (Mulled wine), Marskin Ryyppy 

(Marshal Mannerheimʼs shot), Jaloviina (cut brandy), Kilju (a 

notorious home‐brewed beverage traditionally fermented 

without flavouring), Salmiakkikossu ̶ a cocktail of koskenkorva 

and salmiakki, Sima (mead), Pontikka (Finnish moonshine), Sahti 

(traditional beer)... The list is endless. 

Fish and meat play a key role in traditional Finnish dishes from 

the western part of the country, while vegetables and 

mushrooms take over the dishes from the east. 

Being in Finland is all about the great outdoors and being 

exposed to the elements. Itʼs the warmth of the natives and the 

exoticism of the clime that leave an indelible mark on your mind, 

heart and soul. Itʼs winter here, ever, forever! 



interview 

In search 

of roots... 

What makes people uproot themselves and migrate 

“I set out to understand how larger forces of history 

intersected with individual lives,” says Minal Hajratwala 

For me India is a place to which 

I feel a stronger connection than many 

other countries; in that sense, it’s a kind 

of homeland to which I can return with 

curiosity, love and great interest 

4 

5 

6 

1. The Narsey family in Suva, 

Fiji, circa 1962 2. Greatgrandfather 

Motiram 

Narsey, the first in Minal 

Hajratwalaʼs family to travel 

from India to Fiji 

3. The next generation: Her 

nieces and their cousins in 

suburban Michigan 

4. Minalʼs mother Bhanu 

(nee Narotam) Hajratwala 

arrived in U.S. in 1967 

5. Minalʼs father Bhupendra 

Hajratwala graduating from 

UC‐Boulder, 1965 6. Minal at 

age 7 at Disneyland 7. Greatgreat‐uncle 

G.C. Kapitan in 

front of his restaurant, 

South Africa 

3 

7 

1 

2 

Author of the globally acclaimed 

book Leaving India: My Familyʼs 

Journey From Five Villages to 

Five Continents, Minal Hajratwala 

is a poet, performing artiste, 

journalist, and a queer activist. 

Descended from an early settler in Fiji 

in the 1900s, she was born in San Francisco 

and was raised in New Zealand and 

suburban Michigan. Minal has travelled 

across the globe exploring the true 

meaning of the Indian diaspora and 

its emotional moorings. Minal spoke 

to L. Jyotimala of IANS on her book and 

her ʻbelongingnessʼ. 

Leaving India... is a diasporic documentary. 

How much of it is also a metaphorical 

narrative on the Indian diaspora 

I think thatʼs for others to say. There 

were many metaphors and images and 

ideas that occurred to me in the writing 

process, but I am not objective enough 

to quantify how much is this or that. To 

me the book is a seamless whole, and it 

has many levels and layers: the intimate, 

the epic, the metaphorical, the factual, ̶ 

they all swirl together, just as they do 

in real life. 

What motivated you to write the book 

I have 36 first cousins and they live all 

around the globe. My extended family 

lives in nine countries. So I was curious 

about how that happened. Thereʼs a part 

of the book where I reflect on the fact 

that in our families, migration stories are 

told as very personal: “Your great‐grandfather 

wanted to go to Fiji, so he went”... 

“Your father decided to study in America”... 

and so on. But obviously there are 

huge social and economic and political 

factors at work, to make people suddenly 

uproot themselves and migrate, to make 

certain avenues possible at certain times. 

There are reasons that certain borders 

were open or closed to Indians at different 

periods in history. So I set out to 

understand how these larger forces of 

history intersected with individual lives. 

It took seven years to write Leaving 

India... What emotional and intellectual 

effort did it entail 

I travelled to New Zealand, Australia, Fiji, 

Hong Kong, India, South Africa, England, 

Canada, and, of course, throughout the 

United States ̶ basically anywhere I had 

family members. In each place, I interviewed 

as many relatives as would talk to 

me on the record, and of course I stayed 

in peopleʼs homes. In each place, I also 

met academics or historians who had insight 

into the history of the South Asian 

community in that particular country or 

city. And I went to local libraries and 

national archives to look at documents 

related to the early history of Indians in 

that area, censuses and statistics about 

the community, Indian newspapers and 

newsletters, and mainstream newspapers 

̶ really anything that would give me the 

texture and context for the personal 

stories that my relatives were telling me. 

I had thought I would research the book in 

a year and write it in a year. Seven years 

later, I finally turned in the first draft to 

my darling and very patient editors! 

There was a challenge in combining reportage 

with a more emotional voice. 

Even though I had a very complete book 

proposal and outline going into it, the 

process of selecting from all the material I 

gathered, finding (and losing, and finding 

again) the voice of the book, pulling a few 

strong narrative threads from hundreds of 

disconnected anecdotes, and overcoming 

my terror of making the wrong choices 

was quite time‐consuming. Amazing, too: 

I learned so much about myself, my fears, 

and my own creative needs. 

What does India mean to you What is 

the emotional and spiritual kinship that 

sort of binds the diaspora to their roots 

The relationship to India is different for 

each person in the diaspora, depending on 

their particular circumstances, how and 

why they migrated, what they found when 

they arrived, how frequently they were 

able to return to India if at all, the time 

that has elapsed... For me India is certainly 

a place to which I feel a stronger connection 

than many other countries; in that 

sense itʼs a kind of homeland, and a place 

to which I can return again and again with 

curiosity and love and great interest. I will 

be living in India for nine months as a 

Fulbright Scholar in 2010‐2011. 

But San Francisco is my home. 

A different era, a different time zone, but 

similar aspirations. How would you reconstruct 

the journey your great-grandfather 

undertook to Fiji years ago 

He was one of the first of our community 

to travel to Fiji, so he was in that 

sense a kind of pioneer. As with every 

migration, a combination of 

personal and historical factors made 

his journey possible. He was just an 

ordinary man from a village, a tailor, in 

1909. Yet he was swept up by complex 

forces: the end of slavery, the labour 

needs of the British Empire, the climate 

of Fiji, a prolonged drought and famine 

in Gujarat, the Industrial Revolution, the 

decline of the homespun cotton industry 

̶ so many factors impinging on one 

small life. And a mystic might say it also 

had something to do with destiny. 

Each time we move, we must leave 

something of ourselves behind... What is 

that something that you would look for 

Memories, places, people, sensations, 

emotions, inhibitions, restrictions, a 

fixed idea of the self, a favourite toy, a 

favourite book, myself at age 6, at age 

16, at any age. Each moment of oneʼs 

entire past is profoundly linked to place. 

What would be your next venture 

I will be coming to India later this year 

to begin research for a novel. I am also 

working on a collection of my poems. 



tribute 

TIMELESS 

GENIUS 

A poet, playwright, musician, essayist, 

philosopher, and one of the finest storytellers 

of all time, Rabindranath Tagore has few 

equals, says Mani Sankar Mukherji 

Six feet two inches in height, Rabindranath Tagore had 

to strive hard to hold his head high. The 14th child in a 

family of 15, he alone was sufficient reason why India 

should not worry too much about family planning. And 

150 years after his birth, he continues to grow in stature as the 

subcontinentʼs greatest creative genius. Those who know many 

languages claim he has no equal anywhere on earth. The issue 

is not whether he is the Mt. Everest, but, say, after another 150 

years, will anybody believe that such a man ever walked this 

earth And yet, the obstacles he overcame, the treatment he 

received from his contemporaries when alive, the endless chain 

of suffering he underwent are worth recounting. Here are some 

snippets. There was lunacy in the Tagore family, which came 

from the mother Sarada Debiʼs side. One of her brothers had insanity 

and two of the poetʼs elder brothers divided their time in 

asylum and the house at Jorasanko. It is said when the news of 

the Nobel prize reached Calcutta in 1913, one of these brothers 

started shouting, claiming that he was the real author of 

Geetanjali. They were originally Sandilya gotra Banerjees, grandfather 

prince Dwarkanath had opened a Bank of Bengal account 

as ʻThakurʼ and later turned ʻTagoreʼ. 

Was Rabindranath rich Prince Dwarkanath was one of the 

richest Indians of the 19th century, but his firm Car Tagore & 

Co. went bankrupt shortly after his untimely and unexpected 

death in England and son Debendrath, more a rishi than a businessman 

filed insolvency. He sold everything, including jewellery, 

but the zamindari remained in hand and Rabindranath regrets 

around the Nobel Prize time that he had miserably failed to earn 

money either from his writings or other efforts. 

He often borrowed money from friends, relatives and moneylenders 

at punitive interest rates, his collaterals being residential 

properties, family jewellery, copyrights and stocks of unsold 

books. At one time he offered his entire copyrights for Rs.10,000, 

but had no success. Was he a good‐for‐nothing in studies and 

became a school dropout Records show, the reluctant schoolboy 

topped the list in Bengali language and annoyed his teacher 

Haranath Pandit who insisted on a second exam. Even then 

Rabindranath topped. His unhappy school days led him to found 

a great educational institution at Santiniketan. 

Death and bereavement were the poetʼs lifelong companion. It 

began with the death of his mother when he was 14, following 

A picture dated 1940 shows Rabindranath Tagore sharing a moment with 

Mahatma Gandhi 

an injury from a collapsed iron safe. Seven years later, on the 

very day of his marriage, his elder sisterʼs husband died. Shortly 

thereafter, Kadambari Debi, his brotherʼs wife, committed suicide 

by taking poison, a tragedy, which left its mark on him forever. 

Following the Tagore family tradition, his bride Mrinalini came 

to the Jorasanko house to be married. She bore him three daughters 

and two sons. Yet, the family is now extinct. Mrinalini developed 

appendicitis and died in 1902. The poet, criticised for 

sticking to homoeopathy, became, for some years, a vegetarian. 

The death of his beloved youngest son Samindranath at the age 

of thirteen was another big blow. 

The relationship with the three sons‐in‐law was far from 

happy, although he bore their expenses for higher education. Eldest 

daughter Madhurilata, the most beautiful among them all, developed 

TB and died at the age of 32. Malicious rumours were 

spread about the poet marrying for the second time, and Dwijendralal 

Roy, an eminent writer, took the trouble of staging a 

play on this possible marriage! Another rumour suggested that 

the poet had already approved of a beautiful girl from Assam! In 

desperation, the poet approached a friend, attached to a newspaper, 

to issue a denial. The relationship with the British was always 

a mixture of hate and love. His first sojourn in England was 

“ 

In common with thousands of his countrymen I owe much to one who by his poetic genius and 

singular purity of life has raised India in the estimation of the world 

— Mahatma Gandhi 

“ 


Right: Undated 

picture of Rabindranath 

Tagore reading out 

from one of his works at 

Shantiniketan 

Left: Tagore with 

astronomer and 

humanitarian Karel Hujer 

“ 

“ 

I say that a poet’s mission is to attract the voice which is 

yet inaudible in the air; to inspire faith in the dream which is 

unfulfilled, to bring the earliest tidings of the unborn 

flower to a sceptic world... 


at the age of 17, when he studied for a short while in a London 

school. Records reveal that he had plans to sit for the Indian Civil 

Service examination, like his brother Satyendranath, and applied 

for an age certificate from the local government. 

His first book, a 54‐page collection of Bengali poems, was published 

by a close friend, Prabodh Chandra Ghosh. Priced six 

annas (36 paise), it received good reviews, but even 500 copies 

could not be sold. The unsold stock was a source of embarrassment 

to the poet. Thereafter, no publisher worth the name 

showed interest, and printing was funded by the poet or his family 

members. His luck with booksellers and unsold stock was bitter. 

At one stage, for an advance of Rs. 1,100, he sold the unsold 

stock of 12 books, which were advertised as “printed on best papers, 

full of emotions and attractive commission on sale”. 

At one time, Rabindranath desperately looked for a publisher 

who will buy his copyrights for a paltry sum, but even that effort 

failed. His bad luck with publishers continued till he set up his 

own publishing house Visva Bharati after winning the Nobel Prize. 

The volume of Tagoreʼs literary output is formidable. Even 

decades after his death, the collection of all his writings and 

letters is not complete. His daughter‐in‐law has left behind an account 

of a normal day in his life. Retiring at 12 midnight he will 

wake up at 3 a.m to do his prayers, followed by tea at 4 am. Then 

he would write nonstop up to seven. After breakfast another writing 

session up to 11 a.m, followed by early lunch. Never any rest 

post‐lunch, only studies and writings. Tea at 4 p.m. was a welcome 

break. Dinner at 7 p.m. After dinner, no wastage of time, 

but another marathon writing session till midnight. 

At the famous Alipore Bomb trial in 1909, in which Sri Aurobindo 

was involved, one of the young accused, Ullaskar Datta, 

dared to sing in open court a Tagore song and thus was responsible 

for the earliest translation next day in English newspapers 

̶ “Blessed is my birth, for I was born in this land”. 

Bengali Gitanjali (1,000 copies) was published in Calcutta on 

April 1910 ̶ soon efforts began to reach the English‐speaking 

world. Three short stories translated by Sister Nivedita were sent 

to a British magazine, but were straight away rejected. Even the 

manuscript was mislaid. 

In 1912, his second voyage to England aimed at trying the 

English‐speaking world and also to get his painful piles treated. 

On an exercise book, he himself translated the poems, which 

later brought him the Nobel Prize. In London, his son Rathindranath 

lost the manuscript (the only copy) in an underground 

railway coach. A desperate Rathindranath, as a last resort, went 

to the lost property office the next day and got back the priceless 

notebook. This was handed over to the British sculptor Rothenstein 

whom he had met earlier in Calcutta. 

The rest was history. 

An admiring Rothenstein typed three copies and initiated a 

limited edition (250 copies for sale) at 10 shilling 6 pence. The 

date of publication was November 1, 1912. Later, Macmillan 

published a modestly priced second edition and up to February 

1914 sold 19,320 copies. The news of the Nobel Prize reached 

Calcutta on November 14, 1913. A cheque from the Chartered 

Bank for Rs. 116,269 followed. The Income Tax Department 

played its role immediately and Rs. 2,070.50 had to be deposited. 

Another Re 1 was spent as stamp duty for a formal application 

claiming tax exemption. Tagore biographers do not know the fate 

of that effort! Around Rs. 30,000 were paid to clear urgent debts 

and the rest deposited with his favourite agricultural bank. This 

bank, in due course, failed. Even the Nobel Prize news was received 

with a pinch of salt. It was said the writings were not his, 

the credit should go to Yeats. The number of ardent admirers 

were no less. They chartered a special train from Howrah to 

Bolpur and offered him greetings. For the first time the poetʼs 

patience broke and in his reply to the felicitation he recalled the 

many unkindnesses received which made it difficult for him to 

accept the greetings of his fellow countrymen. 

So disturbed were some of the guests that they refused the poetʼs 

tea and snacks and returned to the special train waiting at Bolpur. 

Tagore later regained his cool, and wrote a letter of apology. He 

even visited some personalities in Calcutta seeking forgiveness. 

The poet who bore all humiliation and suffering silently all his 

life only once lost his calm as the world recognised his creation. 

(Mani Sankar Mukherji is a well-known Bengali novelist. He can be contacted at msm@rpg.in) 



ook review 

Danseuse, iconoclast 

Madhusree Chatterjee reviews a book by Leela Samson, as the author chronicles her 

guru Rukmini Deviʼs life, how she revolutionised dance form Sadir into Bharatanatyam 

In 1935, Rukmini Devi brought the ancient dance form Sadir, 

later known as Bharatanatyam, back to life on the Indian 

stage with a performance in Chennai. Sadir till then had 

been confined to the temple precincts and was the ʻpreserveʼ 

of devdasis. The renowned Bharatanatyam danseuse established 

her dance school, Kalakshetra, in Chennai the following 

year ̶ an example of womenʼs empowerment, lending them a 

voice at a time when culture was a male bastion. 

Kalakshetra has been instrumental in breaching gender walls 

in the history of Bharatanatyam. It was the first institution in 

southern India to induct women instructors at the school. “An 

important development, for its far‐reaching effects on the teaching 

of dance took place around this time. Instructors 

Meenakshisundaram Pillai and Chokkalingam Pillai left 

Kalakshetra for personal reasons. Until then, teaching dance had 

been the preserve of such gurus who belonged to a particular 

community and guarded their privilege,” writes Leela Samson in 

her biography of legendary Bharatanatyam danseuse Rukmini 

Devi, Rukmini Devi ̶ A Life. 

Taking advantage of the situation, Rukmini Devi decided to set 

a new norm. “It is a well‐known fact that the ʻnattuvanarsʼ (persons 

who direct a Bharatanatyam performance) had never believed 

that it was possible for anybody else but them to set a new 

norm. I have always believed that this will change. They also believed 

that except for a usual class of people, no one else would 

be able to dance. I am happy that on Vijayadashami Day, I am 

able to prove that we can do without them,” Samson quotes 

Rukmini Devi as saying in the book. 

History was created when a young student of the academy, A. 

Book: Rukmini Devi ̶ A Life; Author: Leela Samson; 

Publisher: Penguin‐Viking; Price: Rs.500 

Sarada, was initiated by Rukmini Devi and her musicians on 

Vijayadashami Day. “The year was 1945, only 10 years since she 

herself had learnt to dance. Rukmini Deviʼs endeavour to train a 

new brand of nattuvanars from outside the professional circle 

broke the unwarranted monopoly of men from this august tradition. 

She took it upon herself to teach and encourage Kamalarani, 

probably the first woman nattuvanar,” says Samson in her book. 

Rukmini Devi believed that “women have everything to do with 

bringing culture into everyday life with the expression of it, with 

the helping and influencing of a nation, not only because they 

are mothers, but also because they are an example as individuals,” 

writes Samson. “Thousands of women are not really free... 

There is a place for women in the new age. Do not let us ask for 

it. No one has to give you what is rightfully yours. Merely take it 

and you shall have it. The three things I should like to see as an 

Legendary Bharatanatyam danseuse Rukmini Devi 

expression of culture are that kindness should become a part of 

the lives of all, women should have a real voice in every department 

of the nation and that we should be truly Indian in heart, 

mind and soul,” Rukmini Devi said about the role of Indian 

women in culture. The idea to set up Kalakshetra at Adyar, the 

headquarters of the International Theosophical Society, came 

after one of Rukmini Deviʼs early Bharatanatyam performances 

in Chennai, says Samson. A small group of friends pressed upon 

Rukmini Devi the “desirability of creating such an academy”. 

On January 6, 1936, Rukmini Devi established the International 

Academy of Arts in Adyar. The founding members were 

united “by their common enthusiasm for the cause of Indiaʼs art 

which they were convinced was a treasure that belonged not 

only to India but to the world”. 

In 1937, a large studio cottage was built, which for a long time 

remained the only studio that the academy ever had. Many years 

down the line, Rukmini Devi would say: “I started the academy 

with one tree, one pupil and one teacher.” The first music teacher 

of the academy was the great Papanasam Sivan, says Samson. 

Meenakshisundaram Pillai was assisted in the dance department 

by Chokkalingam Pillai. The book traces the many lives of 

Rukmini Devi, as a celebrated artiste, dancer, theosophist, educationist, 

animal welfare and child rights activist and a nominated 

member of the Rajya Sabha. “In the summer of 1992, I 

took a sabbatical from work in Delhi to spend a year in Madras 

(Chennai) researching the life of my guru. My notes were drawn 

from a collection of Rukmini Deviʼs own papers, speeches, writings, 

diaries, theosophical journals and books,” says Samson. 

NEW RELEASES 

His Words: The Preaching and Parables of 

Ramakrishna Paramahamsa 

By Amiya P. Sen 

Ramakrishna Paramahamsa occupied an important 

place in the cultural life of late nineteenthcentury 

Bengal. Amiya P. Senʼs lucid 

introductions and fluent translations of the interactions 

between Ramakrishna and his followers 

in His Words... make for an engaging and 

illuminating account of Ramakrishnaʼs teachings. Compiled 

from a variety of contemporary and near‐contemporary 

sources, this book brings out the dramatic simplicity of Ramakrishnaʼs 

incisive commentaries on profound religious ideas. 

We, the Children of India: The Preamble to Our Constitution 

By Leila Seth 

Former Chief Justice Leila Seth makes the words 

of the Preamble to the Constitution understandable 

to even the youngest reader. What is a 

democratic republic, why are we secular, what is 

sovereignty She tackles these concepts and explains 

them in a manner everyone can grasp 

and enjoy. Accompanied by numerous photographs, 

captivating and inspiring illustrations by acclaimed illustrator 

Bindia Thapar, it is essential reading for every young citizen. 

Tibet in Exile 

By Raghu Rai 

Tibet has been a land shrouded in medievalism 

and mysticism for centuries, ruled from the 

fabled Potala palace by the reincarnation of a 

god‐king, the Dalai Lama. This new edition of 

Tibet in Exile is a photographic record of life of 

the Dalai Lama and his people in exile. It begins 

with a new foreword by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, followed 

by an updated introduction, illustrated with valuable historic 

photographs, tracing the history and development of Tibet. 

1 

2 

3 

4 

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1 

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5 

FICTION 

And Thereby 

Hangs a Tale 

Author: Jeffrey Archer 

Publisher: Pan Books 

Price: Rs. 253 

One Amazing Thing 

Author: Chitra Banerjee 

Divakaruni 

Publisher: Penguin Books 


Beatrice and 

Virgil 

Author: Yann Martel 

Publisher: Penguin 


The Immortals 

of Meluha 

Author: Amish 

Publisher: Tara Press 


Deliver Us 

from Evil 

Author: David Baldacci 

Publisher: Macmillan 


TOP 10 BESTSELLERS 

Songs of Blood 

and Sword 

Author: Fatima Bhutto 

Publisher: Penguin Viking 


Gandhi: 

Naked Ambition 

Author: ad Adams 

Publisher: Quercus 


The Big 

Short 

Author: Michael Lewis 

Publisher: Allen Lane 


The Tryst 

Betrayed 

Author: Jagat Mehta 

Publisher: Penguin Viking 


The Difficulty 

of Being Good 

Author: Gurcharan Das 

Publisher: Penguin/Allen 

Lane Price: Rs. 699 

NON-FICTION 



diaspora newsmakers 

Historic 

moment for 

Vijay Gandhi 

Raju Kucherlapati (middle) at the 29th annual UNC Lineberger 

Comprehensive Cancer Center scientific symposium, North Carolina 

Raju Kucherlapati’s new 

bioethical role 

India‐born Harvard geneticist Raju Kucherlapati is 

set to play a new role. Named to the newly created 

Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues, 

Kucherlapati, with nine other scholars, will advise 

U.S. President Barack Obama on bioethical issues 

that may emerge from advances in biomedicine and 

related areas of science and technology. 

Kucherlapati, 67, is Director Emeritus and Paul C. 

Cabot Professor at the Harvard Medical School, Department 

of Genetics. He was the first Scientific Director 

of the Harvard Medical School‐Partners 

Healthcare Center for Genetics and 

Genomics. From 1989‐2001, Kucherlapati was the 

Lola and Saul Kramer Professor of Molecular Genetics 

and Chairman of the Department at the Yeshiva 

University Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He 

began his research as an assistant professor in the 

Department of Biochemical Sciences at Princeton 

University. He received his B.S. and M.S. in Biology 

from universities in India, and his Ph.D from the 

University of Illinois. He also conducted 

post‐doctoral work at Yale University. 

From Yahoo! to 

White House 

Yahoo! co‐founder Srinija Srinivasan 

has achieved another milestone as U.S. 

President Barack Obama has appointed 

the Chandigarh‐born Indian American as 

a member of the White House Commission 

on Presidential Scholars. 

In naming Srinivasan and 11 others to 

the Commission, Obama said: “The Commission 

on Presidential Scholars is 

charged with recognising the future leaders 

of our country and honouring them 

for their outstanding achievements. I am 

grateful that these impressive men and 

women have agreed to serve on this commission 

and help a new generation realise 

their potential and pursue their dreams.” 

Prior to joining Yahoo!, Srinivasan was 

involved with the Cyc Project, a ten‐year 

artificial intelligence effort to build an immense 

database of human commonsense 

knowledge. She chairs the Board of 

Trustees for SFJAZZ, a non‐profit organisation 

dedicated to jazz creation, 

presentation, and education. 

She holds a B.S. with distinction in Symbolic 

Systems from Stanford University. 

TECH AND ENGINEERING COMPANIES FOUNDED FROM 1995-2005 

25.3% nationwide had an immigrant as a key founder | 52.4% of Silicon Valley startups founded by immigrants | 

Indians founded 26% of these — more than the next 4 groups (from Britain, China, Taiwan and Japan) combined 

INDIAN AMERICANS ARE ‘A+’ 

It was indeed a moment to 

remember for Vijay “Jay” 

C. Gandhi, the new 

United States Magistrate 

Judge. Gandhi has become 

the first Indian 

American federal judge in 

the Central District of California 

and the second 

community member to 

become federal judge in 

the history of the U.S. 

Gandhi, 38, sworn in as 

a Magistrate Judge for 

the US District Court for 

the Central District of California 

in April, is also one 

of the youngest federal 

judges currently serving 

in the Central District. 

Gandhi was formerly a 

litigation partner at Paul, 

Hastings, Janofsky & 

Walker LLP. He practised 

law for nearly 12 years at 

the firm, as an associate 

from 1998 to 2006. 

Gandhi has been 

repeatedly recognised as 

a “Rising Star Lawyer” in 

the “Super Lawyers” 

edition of Law & Politics 

magazine. 

Courtesy: Dr. Vivek Wadhwa, Duke University 

Making investment in India easier for overseas Indians. 

For details contact: 

Shefali Chaturvedi 

Chief Executive Officer, OIFC 

& Director, CII 

249-F, Sector 18, Udyog Vihar, Phase IV 

Gurgaon - 122 015, Haryana, INDIA 

Tel: +91-124-4014060-67 / 4014071 

Fax: +91-124-4014070 

Website: www.oifc.in 

Itʼs not only in the fields of medicine, engineering and finance that the Indian 

community has carved a niche, but politics is another area where the community has 

done an “A+ job”, feels recipient of this yearʼs prestigious Ellis Island Medal of Honour, 

Indian American business leader Rao S. Anumolu. “In politics, the second generation 

is catching on and they are much more in tune as participants, be it (Louisiana governor) 

Bobby Jindal or others, but not to the extent you expect,” says Anumolu, president 

and CEO of Long Island (New York)‐based ASR International Corporation. 

“Indians are excelling worldwide. They can excel anywhere because they inherently 

have good talent and they work hard,” he adds. 

lR;eso t;rs 

Ministry of Overseas 

Indian Affairs 

Confederation of 

Indian Industry 


— PB Desk

lR;eso t;rs 


www.moia.gov.in 

www.overseasindian.in

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