February 2016 Woman At Work Digital

VOL 2/ISSUE 2/FEBRUARY 2016/`50
WOMAN AT WORK
www.womanatwork.in
In Conversation
Raising The Bar
Archana Sasan, ED, Dell India
Special Feature
Taking Charge, Digitally
Ritu Gorai, Founder of JAMM’s
SDM/142/FEBUARY 2016
The Indian Urban Worker is Rediscovering
the ‘Success’ Troika of Mind, Body and Spirit

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FROM THE EDITOR
t is hardly a surprise to anyone that stress is the number
one lifestyle risk factor, ranking above physical inactivity and
Iobesity, according to the inaugural Asia Pacific edition of the
Staying@Work survey conducted by global professional services
company Towers Watson. What is striking is that while Indian
employers lead their regional counterparts in developing strategies
to manage work-related stress, only 38 percent identified improving
the emotional/mental health of employees (i.e. lessening the stress
and anxiety) as a top priority of their health and productivity
programs.
A study by NIMHANS shows that 72 per cent of students in
India are unaware of how to deal with stress and its ill-effects.
Close to 11 per cent of college students and 7-8 per cent of high
school students have attempted suicide. And it is not just students
but employees or those in businesses who are burning out. 27.6
per cent of IT professionals in the country are addicted to narcotic
drugs, says the study. High expectations from family and children,
peer pressure, ambition and social media visibility are all factors
that contribute to the stress quotient.
While India has long been an exporter of wellness programs to
the world, Indians are waking up now to the reality that success
and happiness are beyond materialistic achievements. Inner peace
and harmony are necessary for a sense of fulfilment. Spiritual
wellness and self realization is now an integral part of holistic
living. Many of them, young achievers and global citizens, have
now realised that it is indeed lonely at the top. The happiness they
had anticipated to experience, on hitting the proverbial pot of
gold, is a myth.
The positive side of this awakening is that urban workers,
young and old, are increasingly making spiritual wellness programs
a part of their daily regimen. They have realised that they need to
recharge and rejuvenate their body and mind to continue on their
life pursuits. They need to stop, relax and refuel their life car to
keep driving on the road to success. In this edition, we look at a
few organizations, that are household names and are making holistic
wellness a reality for millions of followers.
As Laurette Gagnon Beaulieu rightly said,"Wellness
encompasses a healthy body, a sound mind and a tranquil spirit.
Enjoy the journey as you strive for wellness."
Poornima
Parameswaran
Batish
Editor-in-Chief
Happy Reading !
P.S We would be delighted to hear your
December 2015 | 3

CONTENTS
Cover Story
16
Spiritual Recharge
The Indian Urban Worker is rediscovering the
‘Success’ troika of Mind, Body and Spirit.
The urban Indian worker is now focused on a better
quality of life. She has now realised that to pursue or
achieve her life goals, holistic wellness is key and the
time for it is now.
SIMPLY SUCESSFUL
Passion.Talent. Success
By Megha Johari
This monthly series endeavours to showcase and celebrate
the accomplishments of competent women leaders from
diverse professions.
IN CONVERSATION
Raising The Bar
Woman at Work speaks with Archana Sasan, Executive
Director and Head of the Legal and Ethics team at Dell
India, on her seamless journey from the Chambers of law
to the C-Suite.
SPECIAL FEATURE
Taking Charge, Digitally
By Megha Johari
Meet Ritu Gorai, founder of JAMM’s, a women’s digital group that
is spearheading a revolution in the way dynamic women network,
collaborate and create a helpline for themselves.
TRENDSETTERS
Recycl-E
26
10
23
34
Dr. Deepali Sinha Khetriwal, Managing Director of Sofies India, is
one of those rare professionals who has forayed into e-waste or
electronic waste management.
4
| February 2016

MaisonsDeluxe

37
14
09
40
25
07
08
46
45
SOCIETY
An Oasis of Growth:Payod Industries
BY INVITATION
Understanding Your Work Style:
The Key to Peak Performance
By Sayali Shende
BRAND ‘YOU’
Your Gravitas
By Ruchi Suneja
STARTUP SMART
PROTECTING INDUSTRIAL DESIGNS
By Anand Mahurkar
OCCUPATIONAL HAZARDS
OF A WORKING MOTHER
By Manoj Wad
HEALTH AT WORK
By Shilpa Bhoskar & Sudha Thakur
TECH AT WORK
WHEELS AT WORK
NETSETTERS
WOMEN IN THE NEWS
EDITOR IN CHIEF
: Poornima Parameswaran Batish
CONSULTING EDITOR
: Suchismita Pai
COVER PAGE & GRAPHIC DESIGN : P i x a m a t i c C o m m u n i c a t i o n s
PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY
: Sanjiivv B Batish on behalf of Woman at Work Media
PUBLISHED AT : 5, Ganga Plaza, Off NIBM Road, Kondhwa, Pune – 411048
PRINTED AT
: Neha Creations, off Sinhagad Road, Pune
For your feedback, ideas and suggestions, write to info@womanatwork.in
Website : www.womanatwork.in
Note to the Reader
All images/photos have been given credit for as 'Courtesy xxx' from where they have been downloaded and checked for being royalty
free based on details available publicly. Any omission is unintentional. For any queries or issues, please contact on info@womanatwork.in
*All rights reserved. Reproduction in any manner without prior permission is prohibited. The views expressed in the articles are of the authors and not
necessarily of the magazine. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy of information in the magazine. But neither the editors nor the publisher
can take responsibility arising out of errors or omissions in the information provided.

SmartBulb and a Speaker
TECH AT WORK
Featuring Toshiba's LED lighting tech, the Multifunctional Light can connect to your
smartphone or Wi-Fi and can be scheduled to turn on as per your convenience. It also
comes equipped with motion, temperature, humidity, and luminance sensors. It can sense
when a user enters the room, and can automatically control the light as well as the TV or an
air conditioner. The Multifunctional Light also doubles as a 5W speaker and a microphone.
Courtesy: gadgets.ndtv.com
Reliance Jio's First 4G Smartphone
Reliance Jio has announced details of its first smartphone. The 4G smartphone will be
available under the Lyf brand. Called the Lyf Earth 1, it runs Android 5.1.1 Lollipop.
Courtesy: gadgets.ndtv.com
Courtesy: gadgets.in
Portronics Digital Cordless Skipping Rope
Portronics launches wireless Skip, the new age cordless jump rope that gives you the opportunity
to do short time-saving work outs, whenever and wherever. Wireless skip is a perfect
integration of technology and utility giving you an ideal gadget to exercise effectively. It
features a Digital Panel that measures the numbers of skips, effective workout time and
calories burnt. It also allows you to preset the work out time as per your requirements and
beeps you accordingly.
Zoook ZB-Bullet Bluetooth Headset
It claims to be the world’s smallest Bluetooth headset and is completely wireless. Featuring
a multi-function button, now answer or end a call with just a tap. The LED indicator light
allows for easy set up. No app is required. Connect to any of your Apple, Android or
Window devices using the Bluetooth technology.
Courtesy: gadgets360.com
February 2016 | 7

WHEELS AT WORK
2016 Chevrolet Beat
Price: INR 4.28 LACS
ONWARDS
Noteworthy
Equipped with a host of new on-board safety features,
improved interiors and passenger conveniences, 2016
Chevrolet Beat gets two new colors of Pull Me
Over Red and Satin Steel Grey.
Mahindra Gusto 125
Price: NA
Noteworthy
The new derivative shares its platform with the 110
cc model. Visually, the Gusto 125 carries forward
its smaller engined siblings’s primary design
elements but features enhancements like
dual-tone color themes, contrast colored
wheels and grab rail, new air vents on the
front apron and unmissable Gusto
125 badges on the engine
cover.
Mahindra KUV100
Price: INR 4.42 LACS
ONWARDS
Noteworthy
Powered by a 1.2-litre mFalcon G80 petrol and a
1.2-litre mFalcon D75 diesel, the new Mahindra
KUV100 has been officially launched in India.
Mahindra KUV100 is the company’s first
mini SUV, first petrol SUV and also
their cheapest offering yet.
@rushlane

BRAND ‘YOU’
Your
GRAVITAS
In this monthly series, Ruchi Suneja, founder of Ikon
Image Consulting and one of the leading Image Coaches
in Western India talks to us about how to build one’s
personal brand to standout in the crowd and carve a
space for ourselves in our professions of choice.
W
hen I was a teenager,
one day I was standing
in front of the mirror
and adoring myself, I heard the
wavering voice of my grandmother
whisper into my ears, “Soorat ke saath
saath seerat bhi acchi honi zaroori hai
(Your behaviour has to be as beautiful
as your outward appearance).”
Since then, that statement of hers
has stuck with me and made me
cautious of my behaviour. We always
remember the behaviours of people
more than their name, qualification,
experience, profession or pedigree.
Try to recollect a few instances and
am sure you would be reminded of
umpteen such occasions, both
pleasant and otherwise. And if the
above is true, then the same holds for
us as well. People will remember our
behaviours more than the
qualifications we bring to the table.
So it is important to be conscious of
our behaviours because this is one of
the key building blocks of Brand
‘You’ along with confidence, self
belief, verbal and non verbal
communication which we have
written about in the previous articles
of this series.
What exactly do we mean by
behaviour? It means showing right
etiquettes or mannerisms towards others
when we interact and meet with them.
Behaviours are social survival skills. The
way you want to be treated by others is
the way you should treat them. The way
a person or an interaction “makes you
feel” is what we call behaviour. Yes,
there are written norms and standards for
etiquettes, but how “I make the person
feel” sets me apart from others and
leaves a good or a bad taste.
Remember your school teacher or
parents telling you about 5 golden
words- Sorry, Thank You, Please, May I
and Excuse Me. Is that it? Someone
might apologise to you with all the right
words but her tone does not reflect that
apology. Does that make us feel good? I
bet not!
Your behaviours also establish the
levels of trust and comfort in a group.
Termed Gravitas, this is voted by experts
as the number one dimension that
determines an employee’s Executive
Presence in the company.
“Your brand is what people say about
you when you’re not in the room,” said
Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon.
Behaviour is an integral part of your
brand and you have the power to build it
the way you want it!
February 2016 | 9

Raising The Bar.
A tenacious focus towards her goals, an ability to adapt to a
changing environment and readiness to face challenges has
earned her a name among the coveted senior legal counsel
leaders in India. Woman at Work speaks with Archana
Sasan, Executive Director and Head of the Legal and Ethics
team at Dell India, on her seamless journey from the
chambers of law to the C-Suite.

IN CONVERSATION
WW
AS
WW
AS
WW
AS
WW
AS
WW
AS
WW
AS
During the years of your education, not many women would have looked
at a career in law as an option. What inspired you to do so?
My mother had always harboured a dream of being a lawyer. During her years,
women were not accepted as professionals, so being a lawyer for her was
impossible. I wanted to fulfil her dream and that motivated me to study law.
That was the inspiration for me as I grew up. After graduating from Lady
Shriram College (LSR) in English Honours, I decided to study law
from Delhi University.
How were the first few years as a lawyer?
Right after I secured a degree in Law, I joined a private law firm. The initial
years were more of settling down, where our seniors let us get acclimatized to
the legal fraternity. Over a period of time, I realised that my inclination was
more towards corporate law. With a lot of hard work and guidance from seniors,
my career was moving in the right direction.
How was it to take a sabbatical after a tenure of being professionally active
and successful?
I took a 5-year sabbatical to take care of my two children. Of course now
they are grown up and are musicians by profession. Though I have the most
beautiful memories of my life during this time, I must confess that I missed
going to work. I loved spending time with my children, but I also wanted to
be a part of the workforce sooner or later.
When did you move back to an active career?
It was in 1996 when I joined a law firm. I spent ten years with the organization.
While it was a fulfilling experience to be back in professional action, the
comeback had its own challenges. In those days, a career break meant that one
would need to start afresh. One’s prior experience was not considered relevant.
Though the top management was very supportive, transitioning into professional
life wasn’t easy.
Could you tell us about your shift towards a Corporate role?
Yes, it was a big leap of faith. I am a person who likes taking up challenges,
and knew that my prior work experience had laid a strong foundation for me.
I wanted to pursue something new and explore how it is to be on the other side
of the fence i.e. from being a private counsel to an in-house counsel. Thus I
moved into my first corporate role as General Counsel with GE Money Financial
Services. Post that, I moved to Airtel and then finally joined Dell India.
Could you tell us about your current role and responsibilities at Dell India?
I lead the Legal and Ethics team for Dell in India and am also the lead for the
Asia Pacific Japan (APJ) region Employment Counsel. I have additional
responsibility as the APJ Regional leader for WISE (Women in Search of
Excellence) - an Employee Resource Group for women at Dell and a member
of the APJ Diversity & Inclusion Council. Dell has a huge focus on gender
balance at work and my role is help enhance that.
February 2016 | 11

IN CONVERSATION
WW
AS
WW
AS
How are the two roles, that of a private counsel and a corporate legal role,
different?
As a private counsel, an opinion is provided with disclaimers. As an in-house
counsel, you are on the spot and have to provide the decision which is in the
best interest of the company. You may take advice from private practice lawyers
but ultimately the final opinion has to be yours. It is both a huge responsibility
and a great opportunity that pushes you to perform better.
Who have been your pillars of strength?
I would say my mother and my husband. My mother was always my inspiration
for pursuing a career in law. I am lucky to have an absolutely remarkable spouse,
who has always shared responsibilities. He has been around to help raise
kids, juggling responsibilities at home and work.
WW
AS
WW
AS
WW
AS
WW
AS
What keeps you motivated?
I am quite clear about my goals and responsibilities and I try my best to work
towards them. When I look back, I am happy with the decisions I took, whether
it was choosing my career or taking a break. I like to take up new challenges
and it gives me immense satisfaction to be able to deliver on them.
What is ‘me’ time for you?
I practice yoga, watch movies, read books, and travel with family and friends.
This helps me unwind and reconnect with myself.
Can you share your leadership mantra?
I draw my leadership skills from the basics of management. Be a team player;
your team is often the key to your success. Secondly, be pragmatic and solution
seeking. As an individual, you should figure out what you want, and then want it
enough. You should set an achievable plan and a small time frame for it. There are
some who want to achieve things far too quickly, which is when it usually results
in failure. I would say that one should be balanced enough to know what can be
achieved, and then go about trying to achieve it.
What would be your advice to women who aspire to build successful careers?
In my opinion, it is the perception that others have of you and most importantly
your perception about yourself that bogs you down. Also, a lot of women have
an inclination to prioritise family and child rearing over professional goals. It is
okay to take a break for family reasons but if you are career-oriented, you must
find ways to come back. If you miss a couple of years, it doesn’t matter, because
ultimately you reach where you have to. The entry for second careers might not be
the easiest but you can make up for it with your talent and passion over the years.
12
| February 2016

BY INVITATION
Understanding Your Work Style:
The Key to Peak Performance
Sayali Shende is a Corporate Trainer and Founder of
Crackerjack, a training & development solutions company. She
has rich and diverse experience with corporate and academia
in USA and India. She is a professional brand strategist, a
prolific writer and a blogger. She likes to write and blog on a
variety of subjects right from branding to emotional
intelligence to women empowerment.
t work and in the business
world, we come across
different people with varied Aideas and perspectives. People deal
with their work with different
attitudes and approach. Some take
swift decisions, some stew in the
pros and cons; some are reserved
and others mingle effortlessly; some
are big picture, some are micro and
yet some may be both or neither!
These differences can be
refreshing, bring semblance, open
our world to new ideas and make
work better. But all too often these
differences in ‘work styles’ can
cause misunderstandings, gripes,
mistrust and frustration. This leads
to lower productivity, poor team
dynamics and eventually poor
performance. In many training
workshops, the objective is to enable
participants to understand one’s
interpersonal and work styles and
learn to adapt this style to match
the team members’ styles.
Based on the popular Social
Styles Inventory, one can determine
what one’s interpersonal and work
styles are. These are based on 3
dimensions:
Assertiveness
This measures the extent to which
others perceive you to be persuasive
and convincing of your point of view.
Are you a good persuader and influence
others directly or use other means to
achieve your objectives? A person with
less assertiveness could adopt other
means like rolling out new initiatives to
complete a task, get supportive data,
mostly to justify their stand and present
their arguments with people to achieve
her objective. According to this model,
more assertive people speak and
respond quickly, have emphatic
gestures and can convince others easily.
People with low assertiveness express
by first investigating others’ opinions,
are generally reserved and have
controlled gestures.
Responsiveness:
This is the level at which others
perceive you to either control or express
your emotions. Highly responsive
people are easy to decipher and their
body language resonates with their
emotions. Low responsive people are
more difficult to read and their gestures
and facial expressions don’t give a clue
of what‘s on their mind. They are more
focused on facts rather than on emotions.
14
| February 2016

BY INVITATION
www.metaburbia.com
Based on these two dimensions of
Assertiveness and Responsiveness,
4 types of style emerge.
Courtesy: www.metaburbia.com
Versatility/ Flexing:
This third dimension is the ultimate
aim of Social Styles training.
Understanding one’s style and
adapting it to suit a colleague’s style
to enrich the interaction and thereby
the performance, is what versatility is
all about. Acute understanding of one’s
work style and keen observation of
others can enable one to do this with
some practice and efforts. But once
versatility is achieved, it’s a
fascinating tool to extract peak
performance from self and others.
There is no right or wrong style, but
higher versatility is always a bonus.
This tool by itself is very versatile.
Through training, this tool can be used
by sales people to adapt their sales
pitch according to their potential
customer’s style, for managers to build
trust and confidence in the team and
for leaders to focus on style based
strengths of employees rather than
their weaknesses.
Driver: High on assertiveness, low on
responsiveness, Drivers are quick to
take decisions, move fast and get short
with people who can’t keep up with
them; have aggressive gestures and a
booming voice. Practical, focussed
and demanding, they are hard to miss.
Could be your boss!
Expressive: High on assertiveness
and on responsiveness, Expressive
people talk freely and assertively
about their ideas, are full of energy
and are risk takers. They bring in a lot
of perspective but sometimes are
perceived as vague.
Analytical: Low on assertiveness
and responsiveness, these are micro
in approach and cautious. All
decisions and actions are taken
after a lot of thinking.Precision,
quality focussed and detached are
the hallmarks of an analytical
person.
Amiable: Low on assertive and high
on responsiveness, amiable people
are people focused. They are
considerate and supportive. They
like to get everyone on board and
then move ahead. They invest time
in building rapport and nurturing
relationships. A terrific customer
service resource, an amiable
employee is friendly and warm.
www.crackerjack.in
| February 2016
15

Spiritual Rechargewww.womanatwork.in
The Indian Urban Worker is Rediscovering
the ‘Success’ Troika of Mind, Body and Spirit

COVER STORY
In the middle of my little mess,
I forget how big I'm blessed...
-Francesca Battistelli
When the popular
American singer
crooned these lyrics
she had penned, it struck a chord
with millions of listeners across
generations. She had just stated
the obvious. As everything around
us becomes faster and smarter and
life is going past almost at the
speed of light, there are days when
one feels overwhelmed by it all. In
an achievement oriented society,
where designations, money,
luxury holidays are all metrics of
success, the race for the top starts
early.
The "Aarogya Bharat" report by the
Healthcare Federation of India
(NATHEALTH) states, “With one in
every five person in India suffering
from some form of mental disorder,
mental health-related costs would
account for 20 percent of economic
loss from non-communicable
diseases (NCDs) between 2012 and
2030. Management consulting firm
Bain & Company estimated an
economic loss of $6.2 trillion due to
NCDs between 2012 and 2030 as
reported in a Business Standard
column.
Mental illness or stress has
not yet been given the status of a
disease or an ailment. Hence most of
the actions are reactive rather than
preventive. But given the magnitude
of the problem and its ramifications,
it is now hard to ignore this malaise
plaguing the urban worker. Working
February 2016 | 17

COVER STORY
women are now at a higher risk of
cardiovascular diseases, infertility
problems, depression and many such
modern era ailments, most of which
are attributable to high levels of
stress.
The challenge with mental illness
or stress is that the ability to cope
with it naturally, is based on the
individual’s genetic and psychological
makeup. Those with lower levels of
emotional intelligence or poor
adversity quotients are the first to
succumb to this mind epidemic. But
the good news is that these can be
spiritual wellness. Women and men
are now focused on a better quality
of life. They have realised that to
pursue or achieve their life goals,
holistic wellness is key and the time
for it is now. They have now woken
up to the fact that it cannot be
procrastinated to later years simply
because one might not live to see
them.
India, as the world’s spiritual
wellness capital, is coming of age
on home turf. Birthplace of some of
the world’s most popular wellness
organizations, India is repackaging
For Kirti Ugraonkar, who has
been a part of one such organisation
for 15 years, this is a way to
replenish her soul and recharge her
mind. “I am somewhat of an
information seeker, so going inside
and allowing myself to turn off the
inflow has let things settle, given me
time to reflect and make decisions.”
Most of the popular organisations are
modelled around a core belief and
key principles. Many of them base
themselves on the Eastern world’s
proven methods of meditation,
chanting, breathing or yoga. To give
developed. Research has affirmed
that greater self realization is key
to resilience and that people can
develop this over a period of time
with practice and focus. Also a sound
wellness regime is a constant source
of recharging and replenishing one’s
energies to be able to pursue life and
work goals.
So it is no surprise that 21st
century India has rediscovered its
spiritual roots. Be it the ancient
system of yoga, medicinal prowess of
ayurveda, breathing techniques or
wellness sciences, modern India is
cosying up to the modern avatar of
its ancient wisdom to the stressed
worker who wants to lead a ‘happy
and peaceful’ life. And this time, it
is the Indian who is the customer.
Over the past couple of decades,
many organisations and movements
that have embarked on the mission
to make people ‘happy’ and ‘well’
are seeing greater acceptance in
India. These organizations are
offering the right blend of
physiological, psychological and
spiritual wellness so as to spread
positive energy and inner harmony
to their followers. And the urban
educated worker is not complaining.
it the rigour and discipline it
warrants, these organizations have
well defined structures and processes.
Given that their members are
tech-smart, almost all of the
organizations have a strong digital
presence. The ease of access,
credibility and transparency, enabled
by technology is making these
organizations appealing to the urban
worker. In this column, we take a
look at a few of these foundations or
organizations which have earned a
strong reputation over the years and
helped millions of women and men
lead happier and peaceful lives.
18
| February 2016

COVER STORY
Soka Gakkai International (SGI)
A great human revolution in just a single individual will help
achieve a change in the destiny of a nation and, further, will
enable a change in the destiny of all humankind.
- President Daisaku Ikeda
Popularly known as SGI, it was
founded in 1975 but the
movement has its roots in the
Japan of 1930s and the struggle against
the thought-control of the Japanese
militarist government of that time. The
Buddhism practiced by SGI members is
based on the teachings of the 13thcentury
Japanese priest Nichiren and his
interpretation of the Lotus Sutra.
The Lotus Sutra is considered by
many in the Mahayana Buddhist
tradition to be the fullest expression of
the teachings of Shakyamuni, the
historical Buddha who was born in
present-day Nepal some 2,500 years
ago. It is revered for its embracing
message that all people, men and
women, possess the Buddha nature. The
image of the pure lotus flower growing
in a muddy pond symbolizes how
people can develop this enlightened
state of life in the midst of their daily
problems and struggles. The members
embrace the fundamental aim of
contributing to peace, culture and
education. The practice is based on the
ideal of world citizenship and protects
the freedom of religion and religious
expression.
The core Buddhist practice of SGI
members is chanting Nam-myoho
-renge-kyo and reciting portions of the
Lotus Sutra (referred to as gongyo), and
sharing the teachings of Buddhism with
others in order to help them overcome
their problems. SGI discussion meetings
are usually held on a monthly basis and
the vast majority are held in the homes
of members who make them available
for this purpose. They give people the
opportunity to develop the kind of
relationships that are increasingly rare in
contemporary urban environments
where people may live for years as
neighbours without developing any
personal connections.
The organisation has followers across
continents, with more than 12 million
members across 192 countries. In India,
they have a following of a 100,000 plus
members across cities and states. There
is hardly a city where SGI members
have not made their presence felt yet.
Radhika Budhwar, a leading
behavioural trainer, has been with the
practice for the last 17 years and is one
of the leading members of the Pune
Chapter. "As a working woman
straddling many roles, this practice set
me on a journey of self-empowerment -
a way to overcome obstacles in life and
tap inner hope, confidence, courage and
wisdom. It's ideals of equality and
respect for all life have encouraged me
to create value in my life, live and work
in society and integrate it in my daily
life,” says Radhika.
For thousands of working women
across India and the world, SGI’s
practice and chants of ‘Nam-myoho..’
have given sharing, positivity and
happiness a greater and holistic
meaning.
Courtesy: bharatsokagakkai.org
February 2016 | 19

COVER STORY
The Art of Living
Unless we have a stress-free mind and a violence-free society,
we cannot achieve world peace.
- Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, also known
as Gurudev to his followers,
founded this organization in
1981 and started it as a humanitarian
movement to alleviate stress and serve
humankind. While the primary focus
is to help women and men get rid of
stress and achieve inner peace, the
organization has spread it wings over
the years. Today the foundation does
diverse projects related to sustainable
development, women empowerment,
education, disaster relief and many
others.
meditation and offered them in a form
that was and is relevant to the 21st
century. Beyond reviving ancient
wisdom, he created new techniques for
personal and social transformation
which include the Sudarshan Kriya,
which has helped millions of people to
find relief from stress and discover inner
reservoirs of energy and peace in daily
life.
The Art of Living operates globally
in 155 countries and has touched the
lives of over 370 million people. It is an
organisation with one of the largest
space of health or education or conflict
management, is run exclusively for
women.
The core practice of the Art of Living is
the Sudharshan Kriya, which is a breathing
technique and has tremendous benefits for
mind and body. They also have programs
on yoga and meditation which can be
practised at home after due training. A
practitioner of the Art of Living, Shampa
Basu’s life changed after she was
introduced to the practice in 2009. “Most
Indian women are conditioned to give their
hundred percent both at home and at work,
Courtesy: artofliving.org
Born in 1956 in Southern India, Sri
Sri Ravishankar was a gifted child. By
the age of four, he was able to recite
parts of the Bhagvad Gita, an ancient
Sanskrit scripture and was often found
in meditation. His first teacher was
Sudhakar Chaturvedi, who had a long
association with Mahatma Gandhi. He
holds degrees in Vedic literature and
physics. It is said that he entered a
ten-day period of silence in Shimoga
located in the Indian state of
Karnataka and during this period, the
Sudarshan Kriya, a powerful breathing
technique, was born.
As a spiritual teacher, Gurudev
rekindled the tradition of yoga and
volunteer bases in the world. The
international headquarters is located in
Bangalore, India. Globally, the
organisation operates as The Art of
Living Foundation formed in 1989 in the
United States of America and in
Germany. Since then, local centres have
been established across the world. In
1997, he also founded the International
Association for Human Values (IAHV)
to coordinate sustainable development
projects, nurture human values and
coordinate conflict resolution in
association with The Art of Living.
The Foundation does extensive work
in the space of women empowerment.
Many of their programs, be it in the
and this pressure sometimes creates a
feeling of guilt in them. The Art of Living
program gave me awareness about who I
am, what I feel and what I want. Sudarshan
Kriya gave me lightness and I started to
wear a smile daily."
The Art of Living organises workshops
and programs across most cities in India
regularly. Participants who also would like
to give back, get trained as teachers and
spread the reach of the programs far and
- Brahma Kumaris
wide.
As The Art of Living celebrates 35
years in 2016, for Shampa and millions
like her, the organization and its teachings
have brought spiritual and mental wellness
and positivity, literally to their doorsteps.
20
| February 2016

COVER STORY
Brahma Kumaris
Repetition of positive thoughts leads to powerful thoughts.
- Brahma Kumaris
Prajapita Brahma Kumaris
Ishwariya Vishwa Vidyalaya,
(commonly known as Brahma
Kumaris) was founded by Dada
Lekhraj in the early 20th century after
he experienced a series of visions. In
October 1937, the organization was
formally established. A spiritual trust
was constituted with a committee of
nine young women to administer it.
Dada gave away all his wealth and
property to the trust. It was probably a
first in history that a man surrendered
all his wealth to a trust administered
by women.
The primary teaching at Brahma
Kumaris is Raj Yoga meditation. Raj
Yoga meditation is one of the most
effective forms of meditation to help
replenish mental and emotional
energies enabling individuals to create
new attitudes and responses to life. It
empowers individuals with a clear
spiritual understanding of self and
connection with the Supreme Soul.
They also offer a multitude of courses
for dealing with issues such as stress,
failure in relationships, work-life
imbalance and more.
In 1952, Brahma Baba, as Dada
Lekhraj had become known, being
aware of the devastating scars the
troubled independence process and
partition had left on peoples’ lives,
felt that it was time to share the
knowledge that he had received, with
the rest of India. He therefore sent a
few young women members to
Bombay and Delhi to establish study
centres where the knowledge of Raja
Yoga could be taught.
Dada entrusted all the institution’s
affairs to the dedicated women.
Although primarily administered by
women, it is an organisation in which
both women and men participate
equally. As Administrative Head of
the Brahma Kumaris, Dadi Janki
provides a working leadership model
for all women and men who are
seeking to integrate both male and
female qualities into their personal
and professional lives.
Headquartered at Mount Abu in
Rajasthan, Brahma Kumaris’ two
institutions, Rajyoga Education and
Research Foundation and Brahma
Kumaris Academy for a Better
World, are dedicated to the goal of
establishing a value-based society.
They focus on development of human
potential, bringing harmony into
human relationships and changing the
attitudes and outlook of people to
promote the spirit of brotherhood,
love and co-operation. The institution
is open to all irrespective of caste,
creed, age and social, economic or
political status. The institution
recognizes the intrinsic spirituality of
every human being and helps people
rediscover the goodness within them,
thus encouraging and facilitating the
development of spiritual awareness
through a process of lifelong learning.
Since the fifties, the organisation has
progressed leaps and bounds. In 1971,
permanent centres were established in
the UK and Hong Kong, which soon
led to worldwide expansion and
consistent growth, both geographically
and in overall membership. The BKs
consist of individuals of all ages and
backgrounds who regularly attend
classes at more than 8,500 centres of
the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual
University located in 115 countries.
One of the participants said this of a
workshop she attended, “The
workshop helped me to know more
about myself and helped change my
perspective in life. It helped me to
strengthen my ability to deal with
different people, accept things,
understand the value of everything and
learn the consequences of our actions.”
Courtesy: babamurlis.wordpress.com
February 2016 | 21

COVER STORY
Patanjali Yogpeeth
There should be firmness, not stubbornness; bravery, not
rashness; compassion, not weakness
- Baba Ramdev
The Kripalu Bagh Ashram on the
banks of the holy Ganges was
built in 1932 by Swami Kripalu
Dev Maharaj. He, alongwith another
spiritualist Swami Shraddhanand,
organized a renaissance of sorts where
they sought to revive India’s history
and rich spiritual heritage. It
was Swami Ramdev, popularly
known as Baba Ramdev who
made the organization famous
and reached out to millions of
commoners across the country
and outside and established the
Patanjali Yogpeeth as a
spiritual movement to reckon
with.
Baba Ramdev had spiritual
leanings from his early years.
At the age of 14, he studied
Sanskrit and Yoga. Patanjali, as
an exponent of Yoga, Sanskrit
Grammar and Ayurveda
continued to exert its influence on him.
He then met Swami Balkrishna, who
was a schoolmate and shared his
ideologies. Together, the two of them
embarked on the task of demystifying
and popularizing Patanjali’s Yoga and
restoring people’s faith in the efficacy
of ayurvedic medicine.
Patanjali Yogpeeth can be credited
with the wider acceptance of yoga as
countless people realized that their
serious ailments were getting cured with
the practice of Pranayam. Their ‘shivir’
or camps are attended by thousands of
people across the country. Today
people of every age, section, caste and
religion have made yoga part of their
daily routine. As you go for your
morning walk, it is hard to miss groups
of people - young and old, men and
women- in society gardens and
community parks, practising Pranayam
which is the core practice of the
organization.
"Several years ago I got a stroke and
had multiple problems due to high
blood pressure. I got introduced to
Pranayama about 4 years ago through
my neighbour. Within months of
practising Pranayama daily, I was
completely off all my medication for
blood pressure, depression and sleeping
disorders. Even my doctor could not
believe the results and was surprised to
see that everything was magically back
to normal. Pranayama has been a
miracle for me and my family. I
continue to practice it daily and
looking to get certified so I can help
others get the benefit that I was able to
receive,” says Babita Pardeshi who
owns an IT Company. She says that it
helped her not only to
recover from her
ailments but also calmed
her down mentally.
According to her, '“You
see, it’s just not my BP,
it helped me to cope up
with my busy schedules
too.”
Baba Ramdev and his
team has ensured that
yoga and ayurveda get a
complete makeover for
modern day living and
are flagbearers of sorts of
‘Make in India’. They
have democratized yoga and ensured
that it is within the reach of all people,
rich or poor. For millions of
youngsters and middle aged working
men and women, saddled with modern
day illnesses, Baba Ramdev’s brand of
yoga has been the Ram-baan (magic
cure) they have been looking for.
Courtesy: wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoga
22
| February 2016

Taking Charge,
SPECIAL FEATURE
When the telephone directories have become obsolete, ‘yellow pages’ have dried grey,
and traditional landlines have become a fixture of the past, then the best way to find
people, places and products is through your smart phone. Using digital platforms and
mobile apps, this women’s group is spearheading a revolution in the way dynamic women
network, collaborate and create a helpline for themselves. Ritu Gorai, a mother and founder
of this venture takes us through the journey of JAMM’s.
by Megha Johari
Journey About Mast Moms or
JAMM’s, as it is called, is a
support group for networking
of Mumbai based mothers who want to
be full time mothers or activate their
dormant career graph. The core team of
JAMM’s is a group of enthusiastic and
dynamic mothers, managing over 6000
JAMMies across social media platforms
and apps like Facebook and WhatsApp.
The founder of JAMM’s, Ritu
Gorai, is a Mumbai based mother who
conceptualised and rolled out JAMM’s
in April 2014 purely to seek support for
herself. “It was when I shifted back to
Mumbai, this time as a mother, I
realised I don’t have a support group to
fall on. I found myself grappling with
half baked information from unreliable
sources. That is when I started
networking in a small way among 25
mothers, being one myself.”
When a new mother joins JAMM’s
she is added to the most suitable group,
classified on the basis of the child’s age
group. This makes it easier for the team
to provide advice, solution and services
for different needs of working or stay at
home mothers based on their child’s
stage. JAMM’s also uses the popular
Facebook platform but is a by-invitation
-only group where members get access
only after joining through a referral
process. This is important to keep the
group clean, safe and secure.
Ritu, who calls herself the Chief
Connecting Officer (CCO) of JAMM’s
is a pedigreed lady doing full justice to
her lineage. Born to engineer parents, a
doctor brother and wife of a celebrity
chef Saby (Sabyasachi Gorai), Ritu
brings freshness of talent to the endowed
family. Besides being an NLP
practitioner and corporate trainer, Ritu is
a passionate Bharatnatyam dancer and a
mystery shopper. She has been a
performing artist and an instructor with
some famous dance troupes in the
country. She is also an expert advisor for
a start up panel.
Just like the founder, the philosophy
of JAMM’s is discipline and tenacious
focus towards the quality of services
provided. To prevent digressing from the
purpose, the group completely bans any
kind of forwarding of jokes, images,
videos or self promotion content for
businesses. The group takes pride in its
rules and rightly so. To respect privacy
and appreciate families and their
individuality, interaction on these groups
are maintained within a 12 hour time
frame for 6 days a week, 8am-11pm
(Monday-Saturday).
There are separate groups categorized
based on the age group of the child like
infants, toddlers, , a special group for
single moms, professional groups for
doctors, lawyers, HR & trainers,
entrepreneurs, interest based groups
like movie club, book lovers club and
more. There is also a group for to-be
mothers and grandmothers (senior
citizens). JAMM’s is all about sharing
best practices and initiating a thought
process that allows mothers to think
beyond ‘just being a mother’. From
providing DIY tips, to kid friendly
venues, health queries, career tips,
school feedback, fun family events,
one stop shops, vacation hotspots,
recipes, maid issues, JAMM’s does it
all.
JAMM’s organizes weekday based
themes. They invite experts,
preferably moms, to speak on specific
topics and answer online queries with
respect to the themes. Some of the
themes are Makeup shake up Monday,
Guruwaar Gyaan, Full- on Friday and
so on.
In addition to this, the unique
offerings of JAMM’s are its
workshops and drive towards social
causes. The team organizes workshops
on various topics of interest to the
group members. These workshops are
usually complimentary and conducted
in the vicinity, subject to availability
February 2016 | 23

of space. The workshops are organized
on a wide gamut of topics, led by
experts in those fields. Parenting Skills,
Cyber Crime, Finance, Grooming,
Food Safety, Health & Nutrition,
Pranic Healing etc. are some of the
highly appreciated sessions they have
done so far.
JAMM’s is very active on social
causes. They received a lot of
recognition for their exemplary work in
collecting a huge sum of money for the
Nepal Earthquake victims. Ritu
emphasizes that the purpose of the
group is not only networking on
common grounds on women related
issues but also to facilitate social
service. The group undertakes a social
service mission every 6 months.
Recently the JAMMies rolled a drive
named “Happy New Hair”, where they
collected money from their members,
which was then used to give haircuts to
365 underprivileged children in a
locality of Mumbai. Through
JAMM’s, Ritu is trying to mobilize
educated women in providing and
aiding empowerment of the society in
small but effective ways. As a part of
another impactful and compassionate
social cause, JAMM’s partnered with
IContribute and rolled out an I-Light
campaign to donate white canes and
dark glasses and complimentary eye
checkups for 550 visually impaired
persons.
JAMM’s has completed a year and
a half and is poised for greater
heights. The leaders at JAMM’s use
social media as their eyes and ears,
believe that it is individuals, who
have the power to turn the media to
be a boon or bane. A champion of
work life balance, good quality of
life, productive use of time and power
of networking, Ritu Gorai has
radicalized the way people view
women’s groups on social
platforms.
JAMM’s was nominated for the
‘Manthan Award’ in recognition of
their impact and effort as digital
innovators for social empowerment.
The group has been gaining name
and fame for its exemplary work.
For those who thought that social
media and apps were just for
vacuous forwards and repeated
jokes, here is a lady who has turned
this into a positive platform and
made a difference to the lives of
thousands of mothers.
jammsnetwork@gmail.com
24
| February 2016
19

HEALTH AT WORK
Fighting off the Calories
Shilpa Bhoskar is a certified nutritionist and
founder of Saundarya Nutrition with a
mission to make millions of people happier,
healthier, prosperous and positive.
Obesity’ has become a reason
of concern in recent years
especially for working who
don’t find the time for proper work out
and follow proper diet schedules. As we
all know that genetics, irresistible junk
foods, certain medications, stress,
increased sugar intake through tea and
coffee or cold drinks and misinformation
about health and nutrition are some of
the main reasons which contribute to our
weight gain.
One of the biggest reasons for
weight gain is poor nutrition. Indians eat
carbohydrates all through the day,
starting our breakfast with poha, upma,
idli, dosa, paratha; then for lunch again
we carry only roti-subji, for evening
snacks we have samosa with tea and
again for dinner we have dal-rice or roti
– subji, or pasta or pizza and so on.
There is very little amount of protein and
too less fibre, vitamins or minerals in
our diet. An average adult is
expected to have at least 60 grams
of protein everyday but we hardly
consume 5-10 grams!
So ladies, eat protein rich food
in all your meals, include fibrous
food and fruits in your daily diet
and don’t forget to do some kind of
cardio and weight training activities
each day and see the kilos shedding
off.
A Naturopathy weight
loss tip for you
Mix
1 cup warm water
1 tsp cinnamon powder
1 tsp organic honey
1 tsp lemon juice (optional)
Drink in the morning on
empty stomach.
Bust the Stress
Research claims that Indian
women are one of the most
stressed on Earth.
Over 85% of female population is
struggling & squirming and most are
discomfited to speak. While stress has
seen a tremendous increase, so has
societal pressure Women in general
have a stronger genetic disposition to
depression and stress. There could be
multiple reasons like work pressure,
trying to balance home and work,
personal problems, hormonal
fluctuations, PMS, Menopause or
PCOS. Certain foods and drinks aid to
bump up our happy hormones termed
“serotonin” and lower the stress
hormones “cortisol & adrenaline”.
A good meal helps you pep up
and makes you more energetic.
Indulge in your favourites every once
in a while keeping in mind any
medical complexities. Keep yourself
hydrated. It’s an all time antidote.
Most of us forget to drink the right
amount of water. It’s a natural
booster.
Love wearing fragrance? Did
you know wearing your favourite
perfume can uplift your mood
tremendously? Try wearing it over
your pulse points to intensify the
effect. A scented candle helps you to
unwind in the comfort of your home.
Soothing scents bring in the
tranquillity you need.
Sudha Thakur (MISMA, NLP)
is the Director of RIBDA, UK
and specialises in Anxiety &
Stress management .
February 2016 | 19 25

SIMPLY SUCCESSFUL
Passion.Talent.Success
This monthly series endeavours to showcase and celebrate the accomplishments of
competent women leaders from diverse professions. These women achievers have
flourishing careers along with fulfilling personal lives. Meet these three fantastic
women who are simply successful.
by Megha Johari
Malti Bhojwani
Speaker.Coach.Author.
When you enter a room and
see senior executives rapt in
attention listening to the
speaker oblivious of their surroundings,
you could be sure that the person on the
other side would be Malti Bhojwani. A
gifted speaker, professional coach, a
facilitator and an author, Malti is
amongst those people who surrender to
their inner yearning and realise the
higher purpose of their life and enable
others reach higher levels.
Malti is part of the South East
Asian team of Aberkyn, a partnership
of change leadership facilitators,
co-founded by McKinsey & Co. She is
trained in ontological coaching and is
an expert in Neuro Linguistic
Programming (NLP) which is like a
software manual for the brain.
But life was not a bed of roses
always for her. A confluence of the best
qualities of Indian parents born across
the borders of India and a Singaporean
birth and education, Malti grew up with
an uncommon sense of survival and a
drive to change her circumstances for the
26
| February 2016

We affect our surroundings
in a much bigger way than
we can imagine
better. After breaking out of a
disempowering relationship,
Malti was in a state of emotional
upheaval. All she knew about her
strengths was her art to connect
deeply with people and her love
for speaking. Making these
strings an anchor, she strode in
the direction of finding the beads
to complete the rosary of life.
For a lady who had never
read a self help book, to charter a
career in coaching was almost
serendipity. “I attended a
workshop by Tony Robbins and
a Large Group Awareness
Training in Asia, and this opened
the doorway towards conscious
transformation that I embarked
upon,” recalls Malti. And that
was the proverbial beginning to
the career as a facilitator, coach
and author.
Facilitating masterfully is an
art and Malti is a flawless artist.
She believes facilitating is a
pleasure and a privilege. The
lineage of ancient wisdom
supports us as we get our own
egos out of the way and allow
the magic to flow in the room of
participants and in the space that
we help create. She believes that
circumstances often turn out the
way we expect them to.Talking
about one of her personal
experiences at an experiential
learning program that she had
been a part of, she recalls “I had
to climb up a ten meter telephone
pole. The circumference of the
pole was just 30cm. Sure, I was
fully harnessed and it was in a
perfectly safe zone with safety
nets in place. But when I got up
there and had to stabilize before
jumping off, I felt that my world
was shaking. The pole was
shaking and I was petrified.
Later, I realized that it was my
own fear that caused me to
February 2016 | 27

SIMPLY SUCCESSFUL
tremble and shake, which in turn
caused the pole to shake. We affect
our surroundings in a much bigger
way than we can imagine.”
With fifteen years of
experience in coaching and
facilitating, it has been an
extensive journey for Malti. A
personal mentor, a dynamic
leader, a patient listener and a
focused guide, Malti feels
coaching is an incredible
experience. It is an empowering
feeling to be so trusted. “As a
coach I have no answers. I just
have some questions to support
them in getting to their truths and
help them understand themselves
and their roadblocks better,”
explains Malti. Describing the role
and professional life of a coach,
she says one needs to be prepared
to attract a lot of steel wool when
you pursue your goal. Like steel
wool makes your pots and pans
shine again, these are the people
who will come into your life and
challenge you to polish you.
Sharing one such experience, Malti
says candidly, “I had this
experience with the HR head of a
company I was doing workshops
and coaching for I felt like a kid
being smacked on her wrist for not
doing her homework and being
sent back to the drawing board.
But that was exactly what I
needed. Don’t let them get to you,
on the contrary, be grateful.
Constructive criticism is useful, it
helps to polish up your own act in
order to improve and achieve
more.”
As a personal coach and
facilitator having control over your
own emotions and keeping
yourself inspired and motivated
may not be an easy task. But daily
mediation and tapping into the
universal consciousness is the key
to keep your individuality and
objectivity intact.Malti, a devout
yoga and Transcendental
Meditation practitioner says,
“Spirituality and discipline help
me to become a better observer of
my thoughts, reactions and beliefs.
I feel I am able to see myself and
choose empowering responses
rather than react impulsively to
stimuli.” She is also deeply
inspired by authors and books like
Mike Dooley’s Infinite
Possibilities, Viktor Frankl’s
Man’s Search for Meaning, Echart
Tolle’s Power of Now and the
words of Abraham and Esther
Hicks.
Some people write books to
chronicle their lives and
achievements, while some others
write as a reference material for
their work. But Malti became an
author to leave a legacy of joy
when she is gone. And what better
than books to outlive her message
of compassion and joy in the
minds of the readers. She is an
acclaimed author of many books -
Thankfulness, Appreciation
Gratitude, Don't Think of a Blue
Ball and The Mind Spa – Ignite
Your Inner Life Coach.
Having lived in many countries
like Australia, Spain, Indonesia,
India and Singapore, Malti has
seen a multi cultural spectrum of
clients and organizations as a
coach. While coaching and
mentoring had become a part of
leadership curriculum across many
countries, it has picked pace in
India in the recent past. She
observes that there is a clear need
for well tailored coaching and
facilitating programs in India Inc
but people are often looking for
cheap and quick fixes. “The real
stuff takes years of commitment
and humility to learn and to
become good. It also requires
extensive training. Trying
to find shorthand to leadership gets
the soul out of coaching,” she rues.
At the same time she is excited and
hopeful with the changing mindset
of millennial India. She sees a
commitment towards transformational
leadership and executive mentoring
in India and this could be a good
breakthrough, Malti foresees.
Celebrating her achievements
and professional accomplishments
with Malti is her author-daughter,
Drishti. A strong supporter of
working flexibly, from home or
from anywhere that helps your
creative juices flow, Maltiis a firm
believer that to get the desired
output out of work, one needs to
enjoy it. A strong champion of
equality, Malti advocates a
growing family system that would
benefit men and especially women
in their professional pursuits.
Growing families would benefit
from having parents who can be
around more. Men as well as
women would evolve quicker if
they weren’t boxed in and could
both take on active roles equally in
bringing up kids. She outlines her
views on flexibility and efficiency
as, “remaining firm to your values
but flexible in how you embody
them and how you get there.”
Just like a manuscript changes
multiple times by the time it
goes to final print, Malti believes
she outgrows herself with every
experience and evolves to better
insights. Looking forward to
the journey ahead, she plans to
facilitate smaller retreats for
entrepreneurs and young
Presidents. She wants to design
programs and retreats where,“a
default setting of joy will create
organizations and communities
which smile more than they frown
and express gratitude more than
they complain.” A perennial
optimist at work!
28
| February 2016

Kavita Jain
Needlewoman.Entrepreneur
My soul is fed
with needle
and thread
Roaming on the streets
of London, a devout of
Lord Krishna, Kavita
carried his idol with her
everywhere. Nestled
comfortably in a stylish bag,
swaying in her arms, the adobe
of the lord earned Kavita many
appreciative glances and some
very encouraging remarks on
the bag. This bag was designed,
crafted and stitched by Kavita
herself.
When love and skill work
together, expect a masterpiece.
And in Kavita’s studio in
Bangalore, the masterpieces
are the handcrafted bags made
of cotton, jute and minimal
synthetic leather. The designer
turned entrepreneur, Kavita
Jain is the face, spirit and
colour behind her own venture,
Needle Doodle. With a sewing
machine, colourful fabrics,
carefully chosen
embellishments and of course
needles, she creates visually
stunning bags. And what adds
to the appeal of the bags is
their attention to detail and the
unique blend of colour, fabric,
interesting shapes and the
intricate dance of the needle
around the bag.
Born and bought up in the
scenic milieu of Meghalaya,
Kavita was blessed with
golden fingers, a gene she
inherited from her mother. “I
have grown up seeing my
mother doing creative things.
And my childhood was also
filled with art, craft, colour and
music.” As a child she had
been taught to sew, and often
February 2016 | 29

SIMPLY SUCCESSFUL
found herself creating beautiful
apparels for herself. A carefree
childhood filled with lot of
outdoor activities gave Kavita a
chance to explore many talents.
While an expert in all forms of
art, she is also an ace swimmer
and a tennis player. “If I had not
gravitated to being a designer, I
would have probably been
playing tennis,” says Kavita, with
a bountiful smile.
An alumnus of NIFT
Bangalore, Kavita has trained
under John Lewis in UK, worked
on bespoke products, designer
patterns, and state of the art
sewing machines. The talented
Kavita along with her two
colleagues was featured on the
cover page of the John Lewis
Magazine ‘Chronicle’ for their
creative work on the Easter
theme. The two year stint in UK
was one of the most professionally
enriching periods for her. She
also pursued a retail course while
at UK. “It is the learnings that I
got during my stint there coupled
with an innate sense of business
and art which has helped me
setup my own enterprise,”
explains the bags expert based
out of Banaglore. What started
as a hobby in her childhood, took
the shape of a successful venture
and for Kavita, it was a dream
come true. “The bags that I made
for myself received tremendous
appreciation wherever I carried
them and that is when my
husband suggested I embark on
an exercise to create hundred
bags and track market response,”
she says recollecting the trigger
to her foray into this field. And
the rest, as they say is history.
One after the other, orders started
pouring in. As the demand
increased so did her range.
Kavita has a huge
catalogue of bags like totes,
laptop bags, watch cases, piggy
banks made of felt, children’s
backpacks, shoe bags, laundry,
and theme based bags for kids.
She has myriad other knickknacks
like hair accessories for
little girls, candies packaged
beautifully in butterfly-shaped
packs, toy-storage bags etc.
The Cherie Blair
Foundation of UK, has selected
Kavita among one of the 27
Indian entrepreneurs for doing
innovative work while pursuing
their passion. The foundation
provides mentors to the budding
women entrepreneurs like
Kavita to help them become
better at their business and meet
their long term and short term
professional goals. Kavita
underwent rigorous selection
criteria before being chosen by
the prestigious foundation. She
has been awarded with a mentor
who is a senior business leader
from Africa.
The initial investment was
not much and most of it was
done by her husband, Mayank,
who is the biggest propeller
behind giving life to her talent.
The high in demand handcrafted
handbags are usually sold on
social media platforms or
exhibitions and word of mouth.
The business runs on minimal
overheads, with no excess
inventory, as the bags are
always made on demand. The
usual suspects which incur
expenses are the raw material,
transportation, labour and
power. Taking the business to
the next level and handling
excess demand, Kavita employs
contractual labour to stitch the
bags, but handwork i.e. the
needle and thread effect is
always done in-house by the
designer herself. Her every
creation has a story to tell, and
Kavita enhances the emotional
and visual appeal of the bags by
adding her touch of finesse and
style by the creative
manoeuvring of the needle. On
publicity and promotion, her
needle and thread leave a trail in
the customer’s mind, thus her
art does its job of reaching
places.
The one woman army,
Kavita puts her heart into every
piece she creates. She believes
she has two other partners and
a few stakeholders in her
business. “My twins, a boy and
a girl of five years are my
partners. They are my fountain
head of creativity.” She recalls
how the children were her
inspiration behind one of the
aeroplane theme based bag she
created for kids. Her husband
and her parents fill in whenever
she needs them. Their stake is in
the form of faith and support.
Kavita reminisces herself as
an ambitious girl who wanted to
make a mark for herself.
Motherhood does lovely things
to people, just like it did to her
when she had her twins. She
then channelled her ambition
into her venture where she
could pursue her dreams and
also enjoy their childhood. Her
kids help her ideate and test
her bags for strength and
detailing. “A lot of times, I have
created a bag and made my
kids use it to understand the
detailing and utility angle
before putting it up for sale,”
says the proud mother.
Kavita is a sum of passion,
dedication, creativity and
needle doodling. “My soul
is fed with needle and thread,”
says the needle woman.
30
| February 2016

As much as words dissolve
perimeters, I always believe
deadlines are sacrosanct
Shilpi Kakkar-
Madan
Writer.Model.Fashionista
When her pen meets paper,
the letters turn magical.
The cauldron of the lady
with the magic pen is filled with rich
insights, enchanting words,
captivating phrases, incisive
observations and impeccable
articulation; all this dressed up in
words which directly connect with
the mind of the reader. A superlative
and prolific wordsmith, Shilpi
Kakkar-Madan believes she was born
to write.
Growing up among heaps of
books and the smell of printed paper,
Shilpi descends from a family of
voracious readers who run the British
Book Depot, the oldest and most
exhaustive store of literature in the
heart of Lucknow. A writer with over
a decade of experience in shaping
the written word, Shilpi started
penning articles for The Pioneer and
Hindustan Times in her first year of
college. Having lived a relatively
sheltered life in Lucknow, it was her
arrival in Mumbai and subsequent
post graduation in Social
Communications & Media from
Sophia Polytechnic that formed her
training ground. She recalls, “My
faculty (at Sophia) Jerry Pinto's,
constant objective criticism
functioned as a timely surgical
correction.” Shilpi explains how she
had to unlearn her style of writing,
making a departure from long
subjective runs, to brevity and the art
of precluding discursive information
that shrouds the core of issues. That
was the bedrock of her training of
newspaper reportage. Growing from
strength to strength, Shilpi kept
honing her writing under the able
mentorship of icons including
February 2016 | 31

SIMPLY SUCCESSFUL
Anil Thakraney, P.Sainath, Sonal
Shah and many other individuals and
organizations where she has worked
over the years.
A dreamer and an observer,
Shilpi thrives on drama. She enjoys
categorizing her thoughts, which later
act as a fuel to her creativity and in
certain cases breathe life into a great
piece of writing. An incorrigible eye
for mistakes, and agog to inhale every
bit of literature worth reading, Shilpi
has strode her way to eloquence, with
determination and an uncanny ability
to adhere to deadlines. “As much as
words dissolve perimeters, I always
believe deadlines are sacrosanct,”
says the lady with the golden nib. The
ability to ferret out details while
making insightful observations and
conducting exhaustive interviews
have made Shilpi a stellar performer
in her career.
In the capacity of a journalist, she
has worked with Behram “Busybee”
Contractor at Afternoon D&C and
says, “I consider myself extremely
lucky to have trained in print
reportage under his hawkful eye.”
She has written number-crunching
cover stories for Mid day's ad world
specific, erstwhile publication “The
Brief”, been a columnist with Mumbai
Mirror, tracked the shifts in the ad
world for xchange4media.com and
more.
Before she began establishing
herself as a journalist, a writer, a
philologist and a curator of articles
worth a million emotions, she was
also perfecting her poise in the world
of modelling. Shilpi finished as first
runner up at the Gladrags Supermodel
Contest in 1996, and subsequently
worked on various Indian and
international modelling assignments
for two years. She feels it is her stint
as a model that has gifted her a degree
of finesse and panache, an intrinsic
part of her persona. Her time in the
modelling circuit gave her a natural
inclination towards lifestyle and
fashion. As a part of the industry both
from the pavilion as well as the field,
Shilpi developed a keen eye for detail
and leaning towards the lifestyle beat
was a natural progression. Her work
as a fashion and luxury journalist
involves a great degree of interaction
with celebrities, visiting new places
and telescoping trends.
Having worked with many
publishing houses in the lifestyle
space, including Living Media, Ogaan
Publications and currently, Burda
International, Shilpi brings with her a
wealth of expertise. Her repertoire
spans exclusive one-on-one with
achievers, the latest trends in the field
of luxury, travel, gourmet gospels,
health and fitness and cutting edge
fashion, playing compere at stylish,
celebrity studded literary gatherings,
ghost writing for filmstars on their
endorsed products, and innovative
articles laced with pivotal keywords
targeted at bang-on search engine
rankings for online biggies.
From anchoring the release of
maestro Zubin Mehta's biography for
a handpicked audience, gliding in as
the face of the account at JWT-IPAN
Knowles for the debut season of
Lakme Fashion Week in Mumbai, to
conversing with motorcycle brand
ambassadors like filmstar John
Abraham and luminaries like actress
Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan, authoring
the “Top 100 Restaurants & Cafes in
Mumbai 2007-08” with Living
Media, playing the crusader columnist
for Mumbai Mirror, plugging in solo
with international haute brands as
senior executive producer for luxury
television channel Voice of India
(Triveni Media), fuelling the lifestyle
segment of internet majors including
msn.com and yahoo.com, liaising
with and spotlighting stellar
non-celebrity achievers for the
Accenture powered vaahini.com to
crafting corporate
brochures for Embarq, JnNurm,
Pidilite, Tanaaz, Leela Kempenski
and more, Shilpi has been immersed
in the world of glamour and
journalism, literature and luxury, up
and close.
Shilpi is associated as
Contributing Editor with Travel +
Leisure India & South Asia, Better
Homes & Gardens, Child and
Discover India and also works on
independent projects. A cosmopolitan
traveller, an avid reader and a keen
observer, it is her stimulating sense of
humour that acts as a magical
leveller, especially when work gets
crazy. “It is the quintessential
mommy act, struggling to balance
work and family, working at crazy
hours, fitting in social niceties, and
then some,” she smiles. Does she
encounter what we famously call 'the
writer's block'? “Of course! There
are insane moments when you feel
burnt out, and that's when a beatific
weekend getaway breathes in a balm.
A complete therapy in itself, with no
cell phones and iPads,” says the
radiant powerhouse of knowledge,
words, articulation and experience.
“It is a double-edged sword. Though
when I am off social media for a day
or two, I start getting withdrawal
symptoms,” admits Shilpi.
Having shaped stepping stones
out of stumbling blocks, the
inveterate achiever and dreamer
hopes to go on air with a personal
chat show on the television soon.
What we also await is a riveting book
from the emphatic writer, which she
reveals will be ‘part real, part fiction’.
Shilpi is the perfect example of a
successful life shaped on the
foundation of hardwork,
determination and oodles of talent.
Her's is a dream carved out of a
hobby and the power of perseverance.
A compulsive writer, as she calls
herself, Shilpi Madan is an epitome`
of word and worth in her work.
32
| February 2016

TRENDSETTERS
RECYCL-E
What do
you do when
you need to
dispose off your old
mobile phone, TV, laptop or
such electronic and electrical
gadgets? Dump them in a dark corner
of the closet or abandon them to the
neighbourhood scrap collector? While it may be
the most convenient way of getting rid of the old
machines, it certainly is not the best way of doing www.website.com
so.
Woman at Work speaks with Dr. Deepali Sinha Khetriwal,
Doctorate in Economics, Research Associate at the United
Nations University and the Managing Director of Sofies
India, who is one of those rare professionals who has
forayed into e-waste or electronic waste management.

TRENDSETTERS
WW: Could you tell us what e-waste
means? And what items or products
qualify as e-waste?
DK: E-waste is a popular, informal
name for electronic products nearing
the end of their ‘useful life’. Though it
is often imagined as only old
computers and mobile phones, they are
only the ‘poster boys’ of e-waste. In
fact, things like broken or unused
electronic toothbrushes and razors,
battery operated toys, toasters,
washing machines, air conditioners,
TVs, microwaves, servers, UPS and all
kinds of things that work on electric
view to do my master thesis on the
topic, and ever since, it has also
become my profession. Of course, the
economics background still helps in
understanding the market dynamics of
e-waste, economic instruments for
improving e-waste management,
volatility in commodity prices and
more. What is interesting about the
e-waste as a topic is that it is so
interdisciplinary in nature.
WW: How does e-waste affect us?
DK: The electronic and electrical
equipments (EEE) are manufactured
environment. These toxic metals get
absorbed by the air or soil at the
treating site and enter our ecosystem
in an unstable and unhealthy way.
WW: Where does Sofies come into
the picture?
DK: Sofies is a boutique consultancy
working on a range of sustainability
topics including e-waste, alternative
fuels, cleaner production and
sustainable planning and
development. We are headquartered
in Geneva, with offices in France and
India. We work with international
power are e-waste.
WW: How did an economics
doctorate student enter this niche
field of e-waste management?
DK: Totally by co-incidence! I was
doing a Masters in International
Management, and wanted to do my
thesis related to sustainability. Just
then, there was an opportunity for an
internship on a Swiss funded project
supporting e-waste management in
several countries, including India. I
applied for the internship with the
with a complex mix of materials. Their
components contain precious metals
like gold, silver and copper, as well as
hazardous substances such as cadmium
and mercury. The problem arises due
to the inefficient recycling of the EEEs
to recover the precious metals. The
informal or local scrap recyclers use
basic processes such as open burning
of the equipment to recover targeted
metals like copper, aluminium, iron
and steel. This leaves hazardous
residues at the processing sites, causing
an explosion of pollutants in the
organisations, governments,
companies and foundations among
others in providing technical
expertise, doing training and capacity
building, technology transfer,
supporting innovation and process
improvements and more. In India,
we are very strong in the
e-wastesegment and sustainable
planning and development,
especially in the urban development
context.
February 2016 | 35

TRENDSETTERS
WW: What is your role at Sofies?
DK: As the Managing Director of the
India office, I am responsible for its
operational and strategic direction.
My key role is to manage sales and
marketing in addition to client
interaction and ongoing project
deliveries. I also provide oversight to
operational aspects.
WW: Could you tell us a little about
your educational background?
DK: I did a Masters in Economics
from Pune university, post which I did
a Masters in International Management
from University of St. Gallen in
Switzerland. I have a Doctorate in
Economics, with specialization in
Diffusion, Obsolescence and Disposal
of Consumer Durables.
WW: Does this sector attract
women professionals?
DK: There are very few women in this
space world over. It would be less
than 5% in most countries. The ratio is
probably even more skewed in India.
It could be because a career in e-waste
management in not so well known or
well received here.
WW: What are the attributes for a
person to decide to take e-waste
management as a career of choice?
DK: It is very much like any research
or consulting job in many ways. You
need to read up a lot and have an
analytical bent. It is important to
highlight that it is far less glamorous -
you have to have the heart and
stomach to visit some fairly grim
areas where e-waste is disposed and
interact with informal recyclers and
scrap collectors.
WW: Is India a mature market in
e-waste awareness?
DK: I think there is a big scope for
improvement. Though there is a
specific legislation on e-waste
management and guidelines issued by
CPCB (Central Pollution Control
Board) in handling hazardous e-waste,
yet most of the e-waste recycling is
done by informal recyclers. If the
e-waste is recycled in an environment
friendly and technically correct way,
recovery of metals like aluminium,
copper, steel and iron will save a lot
of energy and reduce carbon
emissions compared to the process of
mining those from fresh sources. This
will help reduce India’s import bill as
well as preserve natural resources.
There is lots of work yet to be done in
Indian sub continent, which is what
makes it an exciting time and place to
be in here.
WW: Does the industry have
potential for employment
generation?
DK: Lots, in fact there is a possibility
of multimillion dollar businesses in
setting up units for treatment and
recovery of e- waste. In fact even
before treatment, presently e-waste
engages enormous unskilled manpower
for the collection, segregation, manual
dismantling, packaging, transportation
of e-waste. So for today and the future,
there would be a huge demand of all
kind of manpower if e-waste management
is organized professionally in the
country. It has the potential to employ
unskilled and semi skilled workforce
from rural places as well as skilled
workforce like engineers and scientists,
auditors and environmentalists. It is
amazing to note that this sector is so
focused in process yet so wide in
impact socially, environmentally and
economically.
WW: What is your advice to women
who want to pursue a career in
e-waste management?
DK: One should look at this career as a
resource management field and e-waste
is just another resource of our times.
And the best thing about this area is that
concepts and expertise from e-waste
management are very transferable to
other disciplines. Hence this career
gives you a lot of fluidity in terms of
multi-functionality and opportunities to
work in divergent fields and is an
excellent career for those aspiring to
work in the development sector.
36
| February 2016
19 27

SOCIETY
An Oasis of
GROWTH
In most parts of the rural India, women are denied the right to education and earning
opportunities. The rural belt around Sangli District in Maharashtra is one such area where
there was a large population of women without opportunities to earn and take control of their
future. Payod Industries took it upon themselves to put an end to their plight and take these
rural women out of financial and social doldrums. Megha Johari talks to Snehal Londhe,
co-founder of Payod Industries to understand more about their socio-commercial venture and
impact.
here was a time when
Hingangaon village, near Sangli
district was an unknown barren
land on the map of Maharashtra. Before
2008, the village was entrenched with
all kinds of social vices like
discrimination based on scheduled and
backward caste practices, oppression of
women and denial of rights to the girl
child. The only source of paltry income
of the villagers was the agricultural
activities, which was seasonal and
cyclic. But after the setting up of a
glove making factory, Payod Industries,
the village has found its place under the
sun.The gloves production unit has
changed the life and aspirations of the
village otherwise crumbling under its
own scarcities. All this has been brought
about by the incessant efforts and
determination of Devanand and Snehal
Londhe, the couple who founded this
socio-commercial enterprise.
When Snehal Londhe and her
husband decided to give up their cushy
jobs and become social entrepreneurs,
they were aghast at the state of the
democratic and secular India. Snehal
recalls, “When we decided to set up the
factory in Hingangaon, we had to
encounter a lot of resistance from
villagers, men and women alike because
they had never imagined working in a
factory environment. The women had
never stepped out of the house to do
more than fetch the basic necessities or
become a farmhand.” To make matters
worse was the foreboding of the caste
barriers and acute poverty. Bracing
such stiff resistance and lack of skills
among villagers what pushed the
Londhe couple to start a makeover
February 2016 | 37

SOCIETY
of the region was their commitment to
their soil. “When we left our village to
get educated and employed, we had
vowed to come back some day and create
employment opportunities here,”explains
Snehal Londhe, Managing Director of
Payod Industries. Hingagaon and the
neighbouring villages are drought prone
areas with negligible agricultural
activities. The men left the village in
search of work, leaving behind their
wives, mothers and children. Most of
them became drivers and many died in
road accidents, hence leaving young
uneducated dependent widows to live at
the mercy of the family.
Fully cognizant of these problems,
the duo embarked on the journey of
providing employment opportunities and
skillset development for sustained
livelihood, especially of the women of
this region. Recalling their impediments,
Snehal explains, “There was no transport,
no internet, and no nationalised or private
bank ready to gamble on our faith. They
did not think we will be able to run an
international standard production unit
right here.”
But as they say, fortune favours the
brave. Payod Industries is the only
manufacturer and market leader in
industrial safety gloves with 100% export
and employing 95% women workers
from the local villages in and around
Hingagaon. They make polyester
seamless gloves, cotton knitted seamless
gloves, seamless cotton gloves with PVC
dotted on palms and bleached white
gloves. And all of their production is
carried out at international standards on
high end sewing machines and packaging
machines, under strict quality control.
Payod Industies was set up with the
core idea of empowering the women of
Sangli district and the adjoining rural
clusters. The factory provides training on
knitting, sewing, packaging, dye cutting
and many other processes involved in
process of glove making. For those
women who cannot come to the factory
compound due to domestic pressures
or other exigencies, Payod provides them
with decentralized working space- soft
loans for stitching machines and
renovation of houses, so that they could
earn their livelihood working from
home. Since the strict quality parameters
demand cleanliness and personal and
community hygiene, the economic
incentive has pushed this behavioural
change.
Snehal shares the past saying,
“There was a time when we had to urge
women to get trained and we would
incentivise them with an honorarium
amount that they would have earned in
the fields. These women expected to earn
INR 20-50 a day. And now they earn
INR 6000 to 7000 a month depending on
how much work they turn around.”
Payod Industries has not only led to
an economic empowerment, but also set
the stage for a social and behavioural
transformation in these rural areas.
About 95% of the employees are
women from socially disadvantaged
families, widows, women family heads,
BPL families and economicallybackward
families. Regular income has meant that
many of the children of these poor
families are able to remain in schools.
There has been an increase in enrolment
of children in the schools and reduction
of drop outs because of access to
livelihood opportunities for their parents.
Payod has walked a step further by
engaging in village development
initiatives. The industry has adopted the
local government school and provides
global classroom facilities. The school
going children are provided with
educational aid as well as shoes and
books whenever required. The village
also boasts of a free library, ‘Hingagaon
Village Knowledge Centre’ which has
3000 books, 15 magazines and holds
seminars on topics like agriculture and
technology, women health, child
nutrition etc. All of this is aided and
maintained by Payod Industries as part
of its corporate social responsibility.
Payod has earned awards and accolades
for its exemplary work from many
national level agencies and platforms
like the Officers Forum of Maharashtra,
DICCI 2011, Sankalp 2014, Perarna
Puraskar – IBN Lokmat and World Rural
Entrepreneur forum.
Kajal Karpe, a victim of fate has
become a hero of her destiny after
getting trained and absorbed by Payod.
The young widow is an expert tailor
spinning thousands of gloves a month
and earning enough money for her
family to live a comfortable life. Kajal is
getting her younger sister educated,
footing expenses for her father’s medical
care and has installed a water filter in her
house. A perfect example of positive
economic and behavioural progress,
Kajal believes in the importance of
sanitation and hygiene. The change in
perspective has been brought about by
the economic liberation and financial
independence which she has gained by
getting skilled at Payod Industries. 180
clusters of villages, 850 women employees,
200 machines and a new generation of
economically and socially liberated
women is the turnover of Payod Industries.
Snehal, Devanand and their team have
truly proven to be the oasis in the drought
prone villages in and around Sangli.
38
| February 2016

BOOKSHELF
Chess Not Checkers:
Elevate your Leadership
Game
Author: Mark Miller
As organizations grow in volume and complexity, the demands on leadership
change. The same old moves may not change the desired output. In Chess Not
Checkers, Mark Miller tells the story of Blake Brown, newly appointed CEO of a
company troubled by poor performance and low morale. The book is a guide on
how Blake changes his game to revive the company. A gripping narrative,
imparting interesting and applicable leadership lessons, it is full of wisdom about
the different kind of leadership that it takes to create a high performance
organization when complexity changes the game.
It's My Pleasure:
The Impact of Extraordinary
Talent and a Compelling
Culture
Author: Dee Ann Turner
Based on her more than thirty years at Chick-fil-A, as Vice President, Corporate Talent,
Dee Ann Turner shares how Chick-fil-A has built a devoted talent and fan base that
spans generations. It's My Pleasure tells powerful stories and provides practical
applications on how to develop extraordinary talent to build and stimulate a company's
culture. The book is divided into four basic sections: The Essence of a Compelling
Culture, Building a Team that Creates a Compelling Culture, Growing a Compelling
Culture within the Team, and Engaging Guests in a Compelling Culture.
February 2016 | 39

STARTUP SMART
THIS SECTION FEATURES INFORMATION, ADVICE AND BEST
PRACTICES FOR THOSE VENTURERS AND ENTREPRENEURS
WHO HAVE TAKEN THE ROAD LESS TRAVELLED

PROTECTING
INDUSTRIAL DESIGNS
Advocate Anand Mahurkar, a Partner at Krishna & Saurastri
Associates, is a techno-legal expert practicing in the field of
Intellectual Property (IP) for more than a decade. He is an engineer
and a lawyer who has been a brand and innovation consultant and
IPR consultant for SMEs and Fortune 500 companies. He has
experience of handling matters pertaining to patents, copyrights,
trademarks, industrial designs and more for his clients across India,
USA, Canada, South Africa, Europe, China, Japan. In this feature, he
talks about the importance of Intellectual Property rights for
start-ups and early stage ventures.
DCooper for the first time in
o you remember your reaction
when you encountered a Mini
your life? I must share mine. I was
blown away! What was your reaction
when you saw the Apple’s ipad? I
could just about utter ‘Insanely
great!’. These are our reactions to the
beauty, creativity and class that is
created by the designers of products.
But what has legal got to do with this?
A lot! Do we have any legal protection
measures against copy or piracy of
such creative designs? The answer is
yes. This is one of the IP (Intellectual
Property) rights legally available in
India. In India we do have The
Designs Act 2000 that gives all such
rights to the creators to protect their
design or ID (Industrial design). This
is also referred as design patent in the
USA. Accordingly, design implies
creating/suggesting/thinking of a
shape or pattern which can be applied
February 2016 | 41

to an article or intended to be applied
by industrial process or means. To
understand this, let’s take an example
of a tissue paper holder. A new design
can imply new appearance, shape or
configuration.
The scope of protection of
Industrial designs varies from
packaging, handicrafts, furnishing,
textiles, jewelry, utility products,
appliances, Graphic symbols and
logos, surface patterns, ornamentation
to furniture. As per the IPO (Indian
Patent Office) the registration of a
design confers upon the registered
proprietor ‘Copyright’ in the design
for the period of registration. Here
‘Copyright’ means the exclusive right
to apply a design to the article
belonging to the class in which it is
registered. A proprietor of an ID
(Industrial Design) can apply for the
registration of that design. The rights
offered by an industrial design can
protect shape, configuration, and
pattern of lines etc. that is applied to
an article. In general, the ID protects
the aesthetics that is visible to the eye
of a viewer. The ID may not be able
to protect an invention or technical
solution or functionality or inventive
concept of a product or technical
features present inside the product.
It is worthwhile to note that the
protection conferred by ID is limited
to the applications of the design.
There are generally 32 classes in
which one can protect an industrial
design. This classification (popularly
referred as Locarno Classification) is
an alphabetical list of goods which
constitute industrial designs, with an
indication of the classes and
subclasses into which they fall.
Generally the proprietor or the lawyer
of the proprietor selects one or more
classes depending upon the nature of
use and application of the design.
For example, suppose a designer
designs a set of gloves with integrated
scrubber (Gloves-Scrubber) for
washing utensils in the gloves. After
registration, the right will be limited
to the shape and configuration of
the product. Another designer may
create a set of ‘Scrubber Gloves’
with a completely different shape
and configuration. Here, one should
note that the owner of the registered
design can only protect the shape
and configuration developed by her.
However, such design neither
provides protection to the
technology of making the glove or
method of fusing scrubber with
gloves. Further, the registered
design may not be able to protect
the technical or functional features
of the product. The owner may
consider patent registration in
addition to design registration to
seek protection for technology
involved with regard to such
product. In this case it is
recommended to protect the design
of the Gloves-Scrubber in the
classes of gloves as well as
scrubbers. The proprietor will have
the protection in the two classes.
The owner of a registered
design has the right to prevent third
parties from making, selling or
importing articles bearing or
embodying a design which is a copy
of the protected design, when such
acts are undertaken for commercial
purposes.
Although the rights conferred by
the patent and design registration
are similar but nature of protection
is different. Let’s understand in
details on the meaning of violation
of rights of a registered design or
piracy of designs. If a registered
design or its imitation is applied to
any article in the same class of
article of registered design without
the written consent of the registered
proprietor for the purpose of selling
or importing that article then such
acts amounts to piracy of the
registered design.
It is to be noted that any artistic
work protectable under copyrights
will not get protection that a
registered design receives. For
example, a painting, a sculpture, a
drawing, a photograph should be
protected by Copyrights and not by
the provisions of ID. So any new
design that is appealing to the eye
and that is new, can be protected
under the provisions of Industrial
Design in India and if required the
protection may be extended beyond
national boundaries in the countries
of interest. We should recommend
creative artists or product designers
around us so as to protect their
creative designs before disclosing
them to public. The owner of the
design may enjoy the exclusivity for
a term of 10 years from the date of
filing which is further extendable by
another five years. And then the
protected designs would be
commercialized by licensing the
rights to use the registered design.
Design registration confers
non-exclusive rights to the owner of
the design. The design registration
should not be confused with the
patent registration.
anand@krishnaandsaurastri.com
42
| February 2016

Occupational Hazards OF a
Working Mother
Mr Manoj Wad is a leading Corporate Lawyer and Partner at J S Wad
& Company. In his career spanning 27 years, he has practised in the
Supreme Court and is on the legal advisory board of leading
Multinational and Indian companies. His firm provides a bouquet of
legal services to assist individual professionals, start ups and
established business entities in their vocational and professional
endeavors.
re you married?”
“Do you have children?”
“Are you planning to Ahave kids?” Ask these questions to an
interviewee in the U.S.A. and the
employer is heavily penalised. The
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission (EEOC) vigilantly acts to
prevent discrimination at every stage
of employment based on factors
ranging from race, religion, age (40 or
older) to sex (including pregnancy). In
stark contrast, these questions form the
basis of hiring and firing a woman
employee in India, with no laws or an
EEOC to safeguard them.
Women employees in India who “dare”
to be pregnant are “duly” punished
February 2016 | 43

y their employers, either through
unlawful termination or forcing them
to resign by altering working
conditions beyond their endurance.A
country that worships married heroes
even in their 50s, 60s and 70s and
conveniently discards a heroine the
moment she is married, is a glaring
example of the popular mindset.It is
these realities that make one
contemplate whether the latest
government proposal to increase
the three month maternity leave to
eight months for working women
under the Maternity Benefits Act,
1961, will truly benefit women
employees or add to the persistent
gender gap disparities further
worsening their already glooming
employment prospects.
Yes, we do have a
comprehensive law. The Maternity
Benefits Act, 1961, enumerates
varied provisions, like employer
can neither dismiss a woman
employee during pregnancy nor
vary any condition of service to
her disadvantage, an aggrieved
woman can file a civil or criminal
suit, offenders can be imprisoned
or fined.
However, the question is how
successfully has the Act been
implemented throughout the
country, especially in the light of
the fact that it addresses women
working only in the organised
sector, while majority of the
female workforce is employed in
the unorganised sector.
Yes, we do have a vigilant
judiciary as well. In 1991, the
Supreme Court ruled in favour of
the pregnant employees in the case
of Neera Mathur vs. Life
Insurance Corporation of India,
while in 2012,when Indrani
Chakraverty brought a criminal
case against her employer the
Idiom Consulting Ltd. for
violating the Maternity Benefits
Act, the Delhi High Court ordered
that she should be paid Rs 7.5 lakh
as settlement if the criminal
proceedings were to be dropped.
However, the question is how
many women are able to actually
take the offenders to court,
especially in the light of the fact
that post delivery, besides health
issues, the woman in India is
already grappling with family
and societal pressures.
The need of the hour is not a
raise in the number of days of the
maternity leave but a rise in the
standards of implementation of
the existing law, in order to
comprehensively safeguard the
female workforce in the
organised and unorganised
sectors alike.
Post pregnancy incentives
should not be limited towards
enabling women to resume work
and barely survive, by engaging
them in less important
endeavours. Rather, efforts
should be proactively directed
towards encouraging them to
take up ambitious roles fully
maximising their expertise and
experience.
manojwad@jswad.in
Tips to Remember:
Be vigilant while entering into service agreements.
Maintain vital records:
Copy of Service Agreement, e-mails, any other relevant correspondence with your employers.
Hire professional help to assist you in exercising your rights under the law.
44
| February 2016

WOMEN IN THE NEWS
Courtesy: ndtv.com Courtesy: ndtv.com Courtesy: ndtv.com
India-born Padmasree Warrior, one of Silicon
Valley's high-profile women executives, has been
appointed as the US CEO of a Chinese firm which
is building an electric car to compete with
American electric car manufacturer Tesla. Ms
Warrior stepped down from the position of Cisco's
Chief Technology and Strategy Officer last year.
Currently she serves on the board of American
clothing giant Gap and Microsoft.
Passengers travelling in trains will now have the
option of enjoying food prepared by some
women self-help groups (SHGs) as Indian
Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation
(IRCTC) is planning to tie up with them to
enhance its e-catering portfolio. The empanelled
self-help groups will be displayed on e-catering
websites with their menu and prices.
A fleet of women driven motorbike taxi service,
by the name ‘ojeks’ has been launched in
Jakarta, the capital city with a large Muslim
population and terrible traffic jams. The bikers
are females with headscarves, running bikes as
taxis only for women passengers. This is a
unique service currently available only through
smart phone apps.
Courtesy: ndtv.com
Courtesy: timesofindia
In order to address the declining birth
rate and give a boost to women’s
careers, South Korean President Park
Geun-hye has made paternity leave a
priority issue. Many companies are
now encouraging more fathers to avail
the equal childcare leave as a part of
the company Courtesy: policy. www.ndtv.com This has given rise
to a new generation of ‘Superdads’
who are actively participating in
childcare by taking paternity leaves.
Tulika Sahu, a student of Arts
College, Lucknow, has become the
first woman in the country to earn a
doctorate in photography, a rare
subject for a doctoral programme.
February 2016 | 43 45

49
NETSETTERS
Flavia Agnes: From victim
to trailblazer
Flavia survived and broke out of
domestic violence back in
1970’s and 80’s, when women
were scared to so much as voice
out their disapproval. In this
moving talk , Flavia talks about
her own tribulations as a victim,
her strength as a women’s right
activist and her liberation as the
founder of Majlis Legal Centre.
She offers hope, support and
sharp legal advice for justice and
empowerment of women.
Courtesy: inktalks.com
Devdutt Pattanaik:
Diversity – a garden
or a forest?
Devdutt Pattanaik is a renowned
author, mythologist, and
leadership consultant, whose
work focuses on deriving
management insights from
mythology to reveal a very
Indian approach to modern
business. In this thought
provoking talk, he questions our
understanding of diversity.
Drawing parallels between how
we embrace diverse languages
and conceive ideologies like
polytheism, liberalism and
fascism, Pattanaik’s perspectives
are eye-opening.

Inspite of martial arts trainings, pepper sprays
on sale, mobile apps & CCTVs, crimes against
women continue unabated.
WONDER WHY?
Most of these are focused on reactive
safety measures.
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an integrated safety solution that includes Preventive &
Responsive management