Hasta la vista

12 Indian foods that cut fat

2012-02-01T17:47:00.003+05:30

You don't have to acquire a taste for olive oil, seaweed or soya to maintain a low-fat, healthy diet. Indian cuisine can be healthy too, if it's cooked with oil and ingredients that take care of your heart and health.Ayurveda suggests you include all tastes - sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter and astringent - in at least one meal each day, to help balance unnatural cravings. Here are 12 foods that can help you lose weight and gain health:

Turmeric : Curcumin, the active component of turmeric, is an object of research owing to its properties that suggest they may help to turn off certain genes that cause

scarring and enlargement of the heart. Regular intake may help reduce low-density lipoprotein (LDL) or bad cholesterol and high blood pressure, increase blood circulation and prevent blood clotting, helping to prevent heart attack.

Cardamom : This is a thermogenic herb that increases metabolism and helps burn body fat. Cardamom is considered one of the best digestive aids and is believed to soothe the digestive system and help the body process other foods more efficiently.

Chillies : Foods containing chillies are said to be as foods that burn fat. Chillies contain capsaicin that helps in increasing the metabolism. Capsaicin is a thermogenic food, so it causes the body to burn calories for 20 minutes after you eat the chillies.

Curry leaves : Incorporating curry leaves into your daily diet can help you lose weight. These leaves flush out fat and toxins, reducing fat deposits that are stored in the body, as well as reducing bad cholesterol levels. If you are overweight, incorporate eight to 10 curry leaves into your diet daily. Chop them finely and mix them into a drink, or sprinkle them over a meal.Garlic : An effective fat-burning food, garlic contains the sulphur compound allicin which has anti-bacterial effects and helps reduce cholesterol and unhealthy fats.

Mustard oil : This has low saturated fat compared to other cooking oils. It has fatty acid, oleic acid, erucic acid and linoleic acid. It contains antioxidants, essential vitamins and reduces cholesterol, which is good for the heart.

Cabbage : Raw or cooked cabbage inhibits the conversion of sugar and other carbohydrates into fat. Hence, it is of great value in weight reduction.

Moong dal : The bean sprouts are rich in Vitamin A, B, C and E and many minerals, such as calcium, iron and potassium. It is recommended as a food replacement in many slimming programmes, as it has a very low fat content. It is a rich source of protein and fibre, which helps lower blood cholesterol level. The high fibre content yields complex carbohydrates, which aid digestion, are effective in stabilising blood sugar and prevent its rapid rise after meal consumption.

Honey : It is a home remedy for obesity. It mobilises the extra fat deposits in the body allowing it to be utilised as energy for normal functions. One should start with about 10 grams or a tablespoon, taken with hot water early in the morning.

Buttermilk : It is the somewhat sour, residual fluid that is left after butter is churned. The probiotic food contains just 2.2 grams of fat and about 99 calories, as compared to whole milk that contains 8.9 grams fat and 157 calories. Regular intake provides the body with all essential nutrients and does not add fats and calories to the body. It is thus helpful in weight loss.

Millets : Fibre-rich foods such as millets - jowar, bajra, ragi, etc - absorb cholesterol and help increase the secretion of the bile that emulsifies fats.Cinnamon and cloves: Used extensively in Indian cooking, the spices have been found to improve the function of insulin and to lower glucose, total cholesterol, LDL and triglycerides in people with type 2 diabetes.

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Kepler 22b, new planet or super Earth

2011-12-12T16:48:00.000+05:30

scientists have discovered Kepler 22b, a new planet or super earth. But do we have means to ascertain or make a definite claim about it asks M Sundaram?

NASA’s new finding, Kepler 22b has made people sit up and take notice. This is a planet that NASA says may support the life and vegetation. Though it may take decades or centuries in making things more clear about Kepler 22b as many analysts have said that saying something definite about

some planet as far away as 600 light years away is well nigh impossible, people are overjoyed with the finding.

For many of us, the distance of 600 light years may be very difficult to comprehend. One light year away if measured in our kilometer term is at least 10 trillion kilometers away from our earth. So you can ‘easily’ calculate as to how many years it may take to actually take you to that super planet that NASA scientists are talking about.

A reader has sent this sarcastic response, “Interesting discovery! What did it cost the American taxpayer for NASA to make this discovery? What do they really expect to learn from their telescopic observations? Think about this: The planet is 600 light years away (folks, that is 3,526,800,000,000,000 miles); it is reported that it would take 20 million years to reach the planet, which would indicate a required sustained average of 22,315 mph to get there. Sorry, but the whole space exploration operation begs the question: What have we really learned that will benefit us, and ad what cost?

But most of the people seem very happy to know that the planet looks like earth and may be the first planet to support vegetation.

With the new finding, NASA may silence many a voices that were seeking further slashing of its funding. Kepler mission has reportedly discovered as many as more than 1200 planets, but this is the first one that it claims may support vegetation. Kepler Mission or NASA Discovery mission number 10, is specifically designed to survey our region of the Milky Way galaxy to discover hundreds of Earth-size and smaller planets in or near the habitable zone and determine the fraction of the hundreds of billions of stars in our galaxy that might have such planets.

Kepler has been very intricately designed to detect stars millions of kilometers away. When a planet crosses in front of its star as viewed by an observer, the event is called a transit. Transits by terrestrial planets produce a small change in a star’s brightness of about 1/10,000 (100 parts per million, ppm), lasting for 2 to 16 hours. This change must be absolutely periodic if it is caused by a planet. In addition, all transits produced by the same planet must be of the same change in brightness and last the same amount of time, thus providing a highly repeatable signal and robust detection method.

A NASA report says, “Once detected, the planet’s orbital size can be calculated from the period (how long it takes the planet to orbit once around the star) and the mass of the star using Kepler’s Third Law of planetary motion. The size of the planet is found from the depth of the transit (how much the brightness of the star drops) and the size of the star”.

But it is clear that most of the findings of such missions are speculative and there is a whole lot of assumptions playing into it. So don’t be very ecstatic. It is just an assumption that there is some planet that may support human life. We are sooooooooo far away from having right technology to find anything worthwhile about it.

Baby girl for Abhi-Ash

2011-11-17T14:56:00.002+05:30

A girl was born to star couple Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan at a private hospital here Wednesday morning.

The baby, their first child, was born at the Seven Hills Hospital. Mother and daughter were both doing fine.

'IT'S A GIRL!!,' Abhishek, 35, posted on micro-blogging site Twitter.com. He had recently said he wanted a daughter who looked

like Aishwarya.

Proud grandfather Amitabh Bachchan too couldn't control his happiness and tweeted: 'I AM DADA to the cutest baby girl, A dada ji ... Ecstatic.'

Hospital sources said the delivery was normal and came a few minutes before 10 a.m. The Bachchan and Rai families were present for the momentous occasion.

Aishwarya, 38, developed labour pains around 4 a.m. and was taken to the labour room where the delivery took place after nearly six hours.

The actress is on the fifth floor of the luxury private hospital in Andheri east.

The hospital had booked three rooms on the floor -- one for Aishwarya, the other for the Bachchan family and the third for the Rai family. The entire floor was kept out of bounds for all except the two families.

The hospital has been under tight security for the past three days in expectation of the youngest member of the Bachchan family.

Aishwarya was admitted to the hospital Monday night, according to her spokesperson.

The Bachchan family had been waiting for the baby's arrival for a few days and preparing for the child's welcome.

The girl is Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan's third grandchild, after Agastya and Navya Naveli -- children of his daughter Shweta and son-in-law Nikhil Nanda.

Aishwarya tied the knot with Abhishek in April 2007 and rumours about her pregnancy had been doing the rounds ever since.

In June this year, when Amitabh announced her pregnancy through Twitter, it grabbed the headlines.

A 10-point advisory by the Broadcast Editor's Association (BEA) reportedly asked TV channel heads to curtail media coverage regarding the high-profile delivery.

Invasion of the South Indian Hotties

2011-10-05T23:42:00.008+05:30

South India, which gave us faces like Aishwarya Rai, Asin, Tabu, Vidya Balan has opened it's bountiful coffers of beauty once again.

Taapsee Pannu
Taapsee Pannu recently scored a two-film deal with Viacom Entertainment. Her first, 'Chashme Baddoor', a David Dhawan film will hit theaters in November.

In the let one-one-and-a-half years, Taapsee has starred in 8 films. “All the films that I’ve worked on gave me a lot of scope to perform. There were days when I felt exhausted and worn out, but I guess it’s the love of movies that made me push all my boundaries. I hope to be part of more such films in the future,”

Taapsee once even refused a film with Amitabh Bachchan due to date issues.

Nidhi Subbaiah
Nidhi is rumored to have been approached for the female lead role in Jazz, making her Bollywood debut, along with another Sandalwood (Karnataka film industry) actor, Diganth Manchale.

She got this role after Prachi Desai, originally finalized for the role walked out of the project.

She stated: "It's true that I've been approached for the project. The makers have asked me to block my dates till November and are to send me the script soon. I haven't signed a contract yet, but I can confirm that serious discussions have taken place and it does look like I might do the film," says Nidhi.

She has received other offers as well, many of which she has refused."...I wanted the perfect Bollywood launchpad. This film with Diganth seems just right. The producers had seen Pancharangi, in which Diganth and I co-starred, and noticed that we share a great onscreen chemistry. We'd recently done a look test and the producers found our pairing interesting," says Nidhi.

Piaa Bajpai
Piaa Bajpai isn't speaking about her Bollywood debut. "Yes, it's true that I am doing a Bollywood movie. But I am not allowed to talk about it until the announcement is made by the producers…all I can say is it involves one of the big production houses in Bollywood."

Priya Anand
Priya Anand will debut with director Balki of 'Cheeni Kum' and 'Paa' fame.

The untitled project will be shot in the US - perfect for a a US raised Priya.

According to a source: "Priya has been approached to star in director Balki's next. She will be leaving to New York with the unit by the end of this month. There's enough meat to her character, which made Priya jump at the offer…. Balki had taken some time to decide on his next film after Paa and it was reported that he would work with Amitabh Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan again.

However, he had confirmed that he's going ahead with a film that will star Junior Bachchan in the lead before doing a flick with Big B. It's for this film that Priya might have been signed on." In both Cheeni Kum and Paa, the women characters were very strong and were pivotal to the film. This film could also be woman-centric where the leading lady is crucial to the story.

Madhu Shalini
The model-turned-actress has worked in Telugu and Tamil language films. Her Bollywood debut is Ram Gopal Varma's upcoming Department, in which she playsa female gangster. The movie also stars with Amitabh Bachchan,Sanjay Dutt and Rana Daggubati.

India temple holds $22B treasures

2011-07-05T14:43:00.004+05:30

A vast treasure trove of gold coins, jewels and precious stones unearthed at a lightly guarded Hindu temple in India was expected to grow further in value Monday as the last two secret vaults sealed for nearly 150 years are

opened.

The government has increased security

since the treasure's discovery in recent days, which has instantly turned the 16th-century Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple into one of the wealthiest religious institutions in the country.

Four vaults recently opened at the temple in Trivandrum, the capital of the southern state of Kerala, held a vast bounty that unofficial estimates peg at $22 billion.

The treasures unearthed so far include statues of gods and goddesses made of solid gold and studded with diamonds, rubies, emeralds and other precious stones, crowns and necklaces, all given as gifts to the temple over the centuries.

The volume of gold and silver coins was so enormous that the investigators weighed the coins by the sackful, rather than counting them, officials said.

The temple, built by the maharajas who ruled the then-kingdom of Travancore, remained under the control of the erstwhile royal family after India's independence in 1947.

India's Supreme Court ordered the inspection of the vaults after a lawyer petitioned a local court asking the state government to take over the temple, citing inadequate security. The current Maharaja of Travancore had appealed to the Supreme Court against the petition.

The inventory began last week and the final vaults were to be unlocked Monday afternoon. The public knew the temple had treasures but not the quantum.

Before the trove was uncovered, there was almost no visible security at the temple, save for a few local security guards patrolling the complex with batons, mainly for crowd control.

Kerala's police chief, Jacob Punnoose, said he sent extra police officers to guard the temple and is planning a high-tech security system to protect the treasure.

"We plan to enhance security in a manner which will not interfere with the activities of the temple or devotees," Punnoose said.

The security plans include the installation of digital electronic networks, closed circuit cameras and metal detectors at the entrance and exits of the temple.

Manoj Abraham, city police commissioner, said two battalions of special armed police would provide security outside the temple complex.

"Later, we will discuss with temple authorities and members of the former royal family what kind of permanent security system should be put in place," Abraham said.

Every year, devout Hindus donate millions of rupees worth of cash, gold and silver to temples. Some temples in India are so wealthy, they have formed trusts which run schools, colleges and hospitals that offer free treatment to the poor.

The discovery has sparked a debate over the future of the treasure trove.

Vellappally Nateshan, a Hindu leader, said the wealth should remain with the temple authorities.

Some social activists in Kerala have demanded the treasure be handed to a national trust to help the poor.

Kerala's top elected official, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, however, assured the people that the wealth would remain with the temple.

"It is the property of the temple. The government will protect the wealth at the temple."

Chandy said the government would bear the cost of stepping up security at the temple and ensure that worshippers were not inconvenienced.

Supporters of India's yoga guru Swami Ramdev carry his portrait before raising it in the Ramlila ground

2011-06-03T13:21:00.002+05:30

It was a sea of saffron at the historic Ramlila Maidan here this morning as a large number of supporters of Baba Ramdev started pouring in from across the country carrying flags and festoons to join the yoga guru''s proposed indefinite hunger strike against corruption

from tomorrow.

A huge 2.5 lakh square ft tent has been erected here for the demonstrators while tight security arrangements are in place for preventing any untoward incident.

The Baba''s followers, including a large number of women, were seen entering the site carrying their luggage. The organisers have put up state-wise counters for registering the supporters who are being provided identity cards.

A battery of mediapersons are at the ground. Decorators were giving the finishing touches to the saffron-and-white pandals. It was saffron all around with flags and festoons aplenty and the bearded face of the Baba on every poster and banner put up at the site.

Some people were seen sleeping on the mattresses while some were taking bath in the open. More than 5,000 ceiling fans and coolers, 1,300 toilets and bathrooms have been installed at the site.

An eight ft long stage has been set up for the yoga guru from where he will instruct his followers. Large screens alongside the stage have also been installed.

The sitting area near the stage is being divided into three parts -- one for those who will sit for fast for a single day, one for those who will sit for the entire duration and one more for daily visitors.

Osama bin Laden betrayed by Zawahiri

2011-05-06T17:15:00.006+05:30

Al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden was betrayed by his deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri who led US forces to his hideout as the two were involved in an intense power struggle, a Saudi newspaper

has reported.

The two top al-Qaida men had differences and the courier who led US forces to bin Laden was working and had more loyalties for Zawahiri, al Watan newspaper reported quoting Arab sources.

"The Egyptian faction of al-Qaida led by Zawahiri was de facto running the militant group, after bin Laden was taken ill in 2004 and they were trying to take full control," the paper said.

The courier was

a Pakistani national and not a Kuwaiti as the US suspected and the man knew he was being followed but disguised the fact.

The paper claimed it was Zawahiri's faction which had persuaded Osama to leave tribal areas close to Afghanistan-Pakistan border to take shelter instead in Abbottabad, where he was finally killed by US Seals on Monday.

The plan to dispose off bin Laden had been hatched by a prominent al-Qaida commander Saif al Adel of Egyptian descent, who returned to Pakistan from Iran, last autumn.

'Dead alien' found in Siberian snow

2011-04-20T18:33:00.002+05:30

It may just be an elaborate hoax, but a video has surfaced showing the body of an alien found dead in snow in Siberia.

The slender, badly damaged corpse was found lying on a bed of snow with its head to one side and mouth slightly open, the Daily Mail reported.

The video, posted on April 17 on YouTube, has already had over 100,000 views and showed the body of the unidentified "creature".

Irkutsk, Russia is apparently a known UFO hotspot, and UFO believers think the body was left behind by alien visitors after an accident, or was missed in a clean-up by the Russian government as part of some sort of alien cover-up.

Dozens of UFO sightings are reported every year in the area, and only last month there were reports of an unidentified object hurtling into the nearby Irkutsk region of Siberia.

"We couldn't believe it when we saw it. And what was spooky is that there was no sign of the spaceship. Perhaps that was taken away and the body overlooked," said Igor Molovic, one of the pair that uploaded the video.

However, not everyone is a true believer.

Some believe it is actually a carefully crafted model of an alien's body, and not the real deal.

However, many UFO lovers still believe.

"It's so lame how people always get thrilled by having another excuse to shout 'Fake! fake!' every time something weird shows up. Unless proven otherwise, this is in fact plausible," posted one user.
Another said; "If this is fake - then they are masters at models/puppets. I think it's real - one of the very few, great vid."

Sleeping with your boss 'can boost your career'

2010-08-29T19:16:00.003+05:30

London, Aug 28 (ANI): Sleeping with your boss can do wonders to your career, especially if you are a woman, new research shows.

In the study, some 37 per cent of office workers said that from their experience those who slept with their superiors were rewarded with a career boost.

The research for the U.S. Centre for Work-Life Policy found that no matter how high achieving, female executives will not reach the very top of their profession unless they find a 'sponsor' who will speak out on their behalf, reports the Daily Mail.ome 34 per cent of women in executive positions said they knew a female colleague who had slept with their boss.

Even at director level or above, 15 per cent of women admitted to having had an office fling.

In terms of morale, 61 per cent of men and 70 per cent of women lose respect for a leader involved in an affair.

The study also showed that 60 per cent of male executives and 65 per cent of female executives suspect that salary hikes and plum assignments are being traded for sexual favours.ome 48 per cent of men and 56 per cent of women feel animosity towards the involved couple, and 39 per cent of men and 37 per cent of women see a fall off in productivity as the team splinters.

Relationships expert Jean Hannah Edelstein said: "Office affairs are a bad idea. Your boss already has a lot of power of you so once your start sleeping with him, how do you know that he's going to fulfil his end of the bargain?

"Even if it happens in the short term, everyone will know what's going on and you'll lose their respect.

"It poisons the atmosphere and in the long run it is not worth it and will follow you around the industry."

Jackson's Death Sparks Hotel Frenzy

2009-07-01T19:26:00.004+05:30

The list of people who stand to make a profit off the death of Michael Jackson is endless -- and now you can add a few local hotels to the mix.

We spoke with the Fess Parker Wine Country Inn in Los Olivos, Calif. -- which is located less than a mile from Neverland Ranch. They tell us that once news hit Jackson's body might be coming to Neverland, they sold out in just 20 minutes! They are booked up solid from Thursday until Saturday.

HOLLYWOOD BOLLYWOOD & MORE

2009-01-21T13:52:00.010+05:30

The best Bond babe!
Halle Berry is Ireland’s favourite Bond girl with 27% of the respondents choosing Berry over others. However, the sexy mum feels that Kate Winslet is more comfortable in her body and wishes she could be like that. According to Berry, her nude scene in Swordfish, though unnecessary, helped her overcome her inhibitions about on-screen nudity. Having topped many Sexiest Women lists, Berry's easily more than just Ireland's fav Bond gal...

Hollywood’s latest hottie!
Teenage heartthrob, Zac Efron is tired of dealing with crazy fans. Recently, a gal followed him all the way to the men’s washroom just to get an autograph, and she was not one bit embarrassed to be there either! Another 15-year-old gave him a big hug while he was shopping for DVDs, then kissed him on his lips and left poor Zac pretty uncomfortable! His fan following doesn’t stop there as even pop superstar, Michael Jackson, is a fan of Efron. Oh boy, now that's one fan this PYT (Pretty Young Thing) better be wary of!

Success mantras…High on the success of her film Fashion, Priyanka Chopra has no time to either celebrate its success or mourn for her other failures at the box office. For, with six releases this year, as soon as one film releases, she is out promoting the other! But the gal says that she was heartbroken when her movies Drona and Love Story 2050 flopped. Well, with Fashion being a hit, she is finally on cloud nine.

Living up to her Dad's name!
Deepika Padukone is learning quite a few things from her forthcoming film Chandni Chowk to China's co-star Akshay Kumar. For one, the dusky beauty is learning martial arts for the movie. But while doing a stunt she twisted her left ankle, which will now remain sprained for life, and she is unable to sit cross-legged and put weight on her left leg. But now this daughter of a sports-person wants to do a sports-based film, which would require her to go for rigorous training. That’s what we call a good sport!

Take a chill pill!
Kangana Ranaut's recent mention of her detesting and having no respect for Bollywood commercial cinema has garnered shocked reactions. The damsel with curly locks admits that hard-core Bollywood commercial flicks tend to have stupidities, which ought to be made fun of, whereas her own projects are on eye-opening subjects. It disturbs her mentally and emotionally when people disrespect characters and films. Looks like Ms Ranaut is taking her films way too seriously!

I am Gay?!
All you ladies, don't let this piece of news weaken your faith in super-sexy straight men as no one knows the 'real' thing yet. Grapevine has it that the I am Legend star Will Smith enjoys best of both the worlds. According to a Hollywood Madame, the actor at various occasions has requested for male prostitutes for sexual services! Will's wife though seems to be the least affected as the hunk is more a man than many out there!

Queen of hearts
Well it seems there's no stopping Katrina Kaif in Bollywood, who after delivering consecutive blockbusters and forging a hit pair with the reigning king of tinsel town Akshay Kumar, is now brushing aside the competition like common house flies! Now comes the news that she's been given the top billing in the posters of Yuvvraaj – Subhash Ghai's return to direction. Mind you, the movie stars the likes of Salman Khan and Mithunda. Maybe Sallu's thinking from his heart rather than his brain?

Queen of Snakes!
Bollywood bombshell Mallika Sherawat, who turned 27 (or was it 37? No one really knows her real age!), on October 24, will be seen in another international project to be directed by Jennifer Lynch. Usually, Mallika leaves everyone else speechless, but this time around the director has left her tongue-tied, quite literally. In her upcoming movie, Mallika plays a snake, and as snakes do not know the human language, in the whole movie Mallika will stay mum! However, she herself was taken aback by the offer but accepted it as a challenge and hopes to prove her mettle in the international arena.

Solutions from Portman
Natalie Portman is quite concerned about world affairs. For one, she has shot a video for YouTube where she pushes the young people supporting Obama to ensure that their parents support him as well, and warns them that they might need more than one conversation for persuading them and hence they should begin on it right away! She has also taken us all by surprise by joining Rashida Jones in jumping about on a bed cuddling pooches and recommending puppies as the solution for the global financial crisis! Let's just say, saving the world is not everyone's forte!

Beauty with brains?
Quick, what's the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of Bond girls? Well, hot bods, amazing drop-dead gorgeous looks… great intellectually stimulating conversation?? Naah! Well, the latest Bond girl Olga Kurylenko would like to change your views… Apparently, this Ukraninian beauty is tired of people stereotyping her as a beauty without brains. She wants people to discover her intellectual side as well. Well Miss Kurylenko, becoming a Bond girl might not be the best way to go about it!

Princess' diaries
Recently, Aamir Khan went on a date with Victoria. No, not Victoria Beckham but the Crown Princess of Sweden. Apparently, Princess Victoria had seen Taare Zammen Par and liked the movie so much that on her recent visit to India she invited the superstar for dinner. Aamir was obviously honoured by this gesture and as a token of thanks, he gifted Princess Victoria an antique lithograph (sketches of India during the colonial period) and she in return gifted a DVD collection of Ingmar Bergman's films. Guess after Shabana Azmi, Jaaved Akhtar and Shilpa Shetty, it's Aamir's turn to court international audiences…

A Letter to Prime Minister

2008-12-30T14:04:00.004+05:30

Dear Mr. Prime Minister,

I am a typical mouse from Mumbai. In the local train compartment which has capacity of 100 persons, I travel with 500 more mouse. Mouse at least squeak but we don't even do that.
Today I heard your speech. In which you said 'NO BODY WOULD BE SPARED'. I would like to remind you that fourteen years has passed since serial bomb blast in Mumbai took place. Dawood was the main conspirator. Till today he is not caught. All our bollywood actors, our builders, our Gutka king meets him but your Government can not catch him. Reason is simple; all your ministers are hand in glove with him. If any attempt is made to catch him everybody will be exposed. Your statement 'NOBODY WOULD BE SPARED' is nothing but a cruel joke on this unfortunate people of India.
Enough is enough. As such after seeing terrorist attack carried out by about a dozen young boys I realize that if same thing continues days are not away when terrorist will attack by air, destroy our nuclear reactor and there will be one more Hiroshima.
We the people are left with only one mantra. Womb to Bomb to Tomb. You promised Mumbaikar Shanghai what you have given us is Jalianwala Baug.
Today only your home minister resigned. What took you so long to kick out this joker? Only reason was that he was loyal to Gandhi family. Loyalty to Gandhi family is more important than blood of innocent people, isn't it?
I am born and bought up in Mumbai for last fifty eight years. Believe me corruption in Maharashtra is worse than that in Bihar. Look at all the politician, Sharad Pawar, Chagan Bhujbal, Narayan Rane, Bal Thackray , Gopinath Munde, Raj Thackray, Vilasrao Deshmukh all are rolling in money. Vilasrao Deshmukh is one of the worst Chief minister I have seen. His only business is to increase the FSI every other day, make money and send it to Delhi so Congress can fight next election. Now the clown has found new way and will increase FSI for fisherman so they can build concrete house right on sea shore. Next time terrorist can comfortably live in those house , enjoy the beauty of sea and then attack the Mumbai at their will.
Recently I had to purchase house in Mumbai. I met about two dozen builders. Everybody wanted about 30% in black. A common person like me knows this and with all your intelligent agency & CBI you and your finance minister are not aware of it. Where all the black money goes? To the underworld isn't it? Our politicians take help of these goondas to vacate people by force. I myself was victim of it. If you have time please come to me, I will tell you everything.
If this has been land of fools, idiots then I would not have ever cared to write you this letter. Just see the tragedy, on one side we are reaching moon, people are so intelligent and on other side you politician has converted nectar into deadly poison. I am everything Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Schedule caste, OBC, Muslim OBC, Christian Schedule caste, Creamy Schedule caste only what I am not is INDIAN. You politician have raped every part of mother India by your policy of divide and rule.
Take example of former president Abdul Kalam. Such a intelligent person, such a fine human being. You politician didn't even spare him. Your party along with opposition joined the hands, because politician feels they are supreme and there is no place for good person.
Dear Mr. Prime minister you are one of the most intelligent person, most learned person. Just wake up, be a real SARDAR. First and foremost expose all selfish politician. Ask Swiss bank to give name of all Indian account holder. Give reins of CBI to independent agency. Let them find wolf among us. There will be political upheaval but that will better than dance of death which we are witnessing every day. Just give us ambient where we can work honestly and without fear. Let there be rule of law. Everything else will be taken care of.
Choice is yours Mr. Prime Minister. Do you want to be lead by one person or you want to lead the nation of 100 Crore people?

A Citizen of India

Professor Arindam Chaudhuri

2008-12-06T10:08:00.000+05:30

1. A brief on his professional experience and seminars & workshops conducted.

Professor Chaudhuri is the Dean, Centre for Economic Research & Advanced Studies at IIPM (The Indian Institute of Planning & Management, New Delhi). In numerous surveys IIPM has been ranked amongst the top 10 B-schools in India, under Professor Chaudhuri's guidance. IIPM is typically ranked specifically high in the industry interface category of B-school rankings in India. In the year 1996 Professor Chaudhuri founded Planman Consulting. Planman Consulting today has more than 1000 self motivated MBAs contributing to its ever increasing growth making it one of the fastest growing Management Consulting Firms in Asia and the largest Indian multinational management consulting firm. With branches in Asia, Europe and America, it provides consulting solutions to leading corporates like G.E., ICICI, Standard Chartered, HSBC, PWC, Hewitt Associates, McKinsey & Co., Amway, Ranbaxy, Electrolux, Sony, Samsung, Hewlett Packard, etc. In 2001 he launched Planman Motion Pictures : A fully dedicated production and communications venture. Planman Motion Pictures' first film, a Bengali venture called Saanjhbathir Roopkathara (Strokes & Silhouettes) received numerous awards and got selected in more than 12 International Film Festival worldwide including being selected as one of the 7 outstanding international movies of the year at London Film Festival 2002. He also directed a Hindi feature film ‘Rok Sako To Rok Lo’ in the year 2004. In the year 2007 Planman Motion Pictures 'Dosor' got selected at the prestigious CANNES FILM FESTIVAL & 'The Last Lear' starring the legendary Amitabh Bachchan & Priety Zinta got selected for the GALA section - the red carpet center-piece event of the Toronto Film Festival. The Last Lear also got selected at the prestigeous ROME & LONDON Film festivals. In the year 2002 Prof. Chaudhuri started The Great Indian Dream Foundation in memory of his brother Aurobindo Chaudhuri. With focus on education, health and employment, today, GIDF supports developmental activities in 18,000 villages across various states in India wherein it runs primary schools, medical camps and medical vans, supports low cost open heart surgeries, does developmental and employment generation work through varied activities like donating sewing machines to building of check water dams, toilets, schools etc. Cricketing Icon Sachin Tendulkar has supported GIDF activities by lending his endorsement in GIDF ads and campaigns. In the year 2004 Prof. Chaudhuri diversified into IT enabled services through Planman Technologies which now has over 1000 people working in Delhi, serving more than 20 international clients. In 2005 June Prof. Chaudhuri started Planman’s media arm through two best selling magazines : Business & Economy and 4Ps Business & Marketing. In 2006 he launched The Sunday Indian, a news weekly. Today The Sunday Indian comes out in 13 languages - making it the world's largest edition news weekly.

His book 'Count Your Chickens Before They Hatch' fetched him the highest ever advance for a non-fiction work in India and created a new benchmark in India by selling more than 1,00,000 copies in record time! It has been in all national best seller lists from the first week of inception, till date. He broke his own record for the highest advance with his last book "The Great Indian Dream", published by Macmillan India. It also went on to become a #1 best seller.

As a management consultant he specializes in the areas of Strategic Vision, Leadership, Social Sector Consulting, Comparative Management Techniques and Global Opportunities & Threat Analysis. His contribution to the field of management studies can be found in the iconoclastic "Theory 'i' Management" which he has developed for India Inc. "Theory 'i' Management" is about India centric management ideas with global applicability. For the last few years he has been conducting workshops on Leadership and Strategic Vision exclusively for CEOs, MDs, Directors and Presidents from the corporate sector. From the Managing Director of Hero Motors to the President of Tata Chemicals, from the Executive President of A.V. Birla Group to the CEO of Ernst & Young. have all taken LEADERSHIP TRAINING WORKSHOPS from him.

As a celebrated speaker he is regularly invited to speak at various annual conferences and national conventions. He also happens to be highest paid speaker in the country. An economist by passion and education, during Bill Clinton's historic visit to India in 2001 he launched his ‘Great Indian Dream -: India can beat America’, a series of seminars for every Indian. Held in all the metros of India, these seminars had thousands of people pouring in from all walks of life. In these seminar's he not only highlights the inherent strengths of the Indian culture but also talks about an alternative resource mobilization and allocation package for an Indian turnaround. It is to facilitate social activities based on these thoughts of his that he started The Great Indian Dream Foundation.

His original contribution to the field of economics can be found in the three theories that he coins in his book "The Great Indian Dream". They are the theory of 'Survival of the Weakest', 'The Trickle-up Theory' & 'The Law of Increasing Marginal Utility'. His concept of an ideal economy is what he calls 'Happy Capitalism' in his book.

Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri has also been conducting workshops, seminars and lecture tours on Comparative Management Techniques worldwide. His talks have always had a spell binding effect internationally.

2. Professor Arindam Chaudhuri's competitive edge.

Professor Chaudhuri's outstanding ability is his strength to integrate macro and micro economic concepts with both strategic management techniques as well as personnel management techniques employed in organizations. At a macro level, his thoughts focus on the growing degeneration of the American socio-economic setup, the dangers of mindless imitation of the free market system and the innate strength of the Indian society. He does not agree with economists who have blind faith in the market system and feels the market needs to be constantly monitored and it is dangerous and harmful to allow the market to rule the human race, thus, he says 'the market system is a wonderful slave but a dangerous master'. His original research work is an attempt to explain how the levels of satisfaction and happiness in any country depends upon the kinds of economic systems prevalent there. In his new book "The Great Indian Dream" he clearly explains that "survival of the fittest" is an animalistic term and vouches for "Survival of the Weakest" as the guiding force for the next millennium and calls it a human way of living. He strongly condemns the attempts wherein some countries are trying to become the neo Zamindars (a term used for typical Indian fuedal landlords) of todays world in the name of making this world a global village. He feels developing countries worldwide as well as India can only adopt these principles once their internal industries become globally competitive. He doesn't believe in the current way of functioning of the Indian government and feels the whole style of functioning seems to be following the principle of privatization of all profits and nationalization of all losses. He strongly believes that a double digit growth rate is not a dream for Indians provided that the right policies are implemented with honesty. This he feels can be achieved by following policies of trickle-up rather than trickle-down, like in the case of China.

3. Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri's Educational Background, Achievements & Awards

Professor Chaudhuri did his B.A. with Honours in Economics, Honours Diploma in Industrial Engineering, M.A with Honours in Economics, Post Graduate Diploma in Planning and Management (MBA) and Fellowship of I.I.P.M.

Professor Chaudhuri has been amongst the toppers during his B.A. Economics, M.A. Economics and MBA. He was the recipient of the Academic Gold Medal while completing his Post Graduate Diploma in Planning and Management from IIPM.

At the age of 28, in the year 2000, Prof. Chaudhuri was awarded "Management Guru 2000 Award" by Chennai based Om Venkatesa Society which annually honours management experts.

In the year 2001 at the age of 29 he was selected amongst one of the 50 leading thinkers under the age of 40 to represent South Asia at Wilton Park (an organisation supported by the European Commission and British foreign office) where he was invited as a special speaker.

In May 2003 Prof. Chaudhuri was awarded the "Personality of the Decade Award" by K.G.Foundation, Coimbatore. This prestigious award had been received in the past by Dr. A.P.J.Abdul Kalam, Mrs. Sudha Murthy & Dr. Chritian Bernard.

On 14th February 2004 he was awarded the ‘Example to the Youth Award’ by the Rotaract Council in Chennai.

In 2004 at the age of 32 he was selected as an advisor to the consultative committee to the Planning Commission of India in the areas of education and social sector.

On 15th January 2005 he was awarded the ‘Centennial Service Award for Professional Excellence in Recognition of his significant achievement in the field of Education and Management’ by the Rotary International during its Centennial celebrations in Mumbai.

On 19th september 2006 Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri was awarded the Priyadarshini Academy's Biennial Global Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Field of Management. He was honored along with NR Narayana Murthy & Subir Raha by Kamal Nath, the Union Minister for Commerce & Industry.

On 23th September 2007 Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri was awarded the Life Positive Reader's Award in the category of 'Change Agent' by the Chief Minister of Delhi Smt Sheila Dixit in recognition and deep appreciation of his pioneering achievement in bringing about significant attitudinal change in society.

On 28th September 2007 Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri & Dr Malay Chaudhuri were awarded the "JJ IRANI AWARD" for the Best Group of Management Institute by the PN Singh Foundation, Mumbai.

On 15th Dec. 2007, Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri was awarded the prestigeous LOUIS MARCHESI FELLOWSHIP by the Round Table India Foundation - the Indian arm of The World Round Table. The honor in past had been given to Mother Teressa and Deepak Chopra amongst others.

On 10th Aug. ‘08 Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri was awarded the Best B-School Teacher (North), at the Best B-Schools Awards organised by the Deccan Herald Group.

His Articles & Thoughts

Ggetting Dippyabout Deepika

2008-11-21T11:56:00.001+05:30

Deepika Padukone is a veritable buzz factory. Possessing a face that has launched dozens of advertising campaigns, along with a monster blockbuster movie, this 22-year -old seems destined to rule Bollywood. TSI’s Gauri Pratap Singh caught up with the latest teen sex symbol (see survey) to talk about love, life and cinema.

Did you ever imagine that you would get a chance to make your debut opposite SRK?
Honestly, I did not think it would be with SRK…as a matter of fact, I thought I would never do movies. I just wanted to make it big in modelling and maybe do some interior designing. However, I started to get offers to act, and then Farah offered me OSO. On a whim I decided to give it a shot. I could have not asked for anything better than to have Farah direct me and for SRK to be my co-star.
Your dad belongs to a sports background and you were a state level badminton player. Tell us how did modelling happen? How supportive was your family?
I had a friend whose mother was a modeling coordinator and she used to come to school often to drop her off. It was there that she saw me and suggested to my mother that I should do few campaigns. I was in high school and my parents, after some initial hesitation, were also okay with it.
They believe that it’s really important to do what one enjoys doing. They never forced me to play badminton or even to take it up professionally. I was always given the freedom to pick the career of my choosing.
You have modelled for the Kingfisher Calendar, which is a little risqué. How did your family react?
My parents have given me good morals and values and apart from that, they trust me that I would do the right kind of work. Also, I did the swimsuit shoot because I was very fit at that time and I blindly trusted Atul Kasbekar (the photographer). Moreover, I think that the calendar was shot in a very classy manner.
You are one of those few ladies in tinseltown who has a perfect figure. How much effort does it take to maintain your body? Do you enjoy working out?
Honestly, I don’t work out at all. However, I need to start working out because I am putting on a little weight. Chocolates are my weakness, this is something I’ll never be able to give up.
Tell us about your first shot with SRK? You must have been very nervous.
I was very nervous initially, but it was very nice of Farah to have introduced me to Shahrukh and the others, before we started shooting. Farah made sure that I met Sharukh a lot of times so that I get comfortable with him...they all have so much experience and I’ve got to learn a lot from both of them. Farah also spaced out my scenes and shots in a way that I had less dialogues initially, the tougher scenes where left for later.
Tell us what was your first dialogue?
“Kutte kamine, bhagwan ke liye mujhe chhodh de.” (laughs)
Controversies always follow a public figure. How much do they disturb you?
Frankly, it doesn’t bother me at all. Enough tamasha has been made out of my personal life. Beyond a point, you just stop reading these things. You get used to it. The way I look at it, media has been nice enough to write good things about me as far as my work is concerned. So it’s okay. Talking about your link ups with Dhoni, Yuvraj and Ranbir Kapoor...which one is true? These things are bound to happen. If two famous people are seen together more than twice, they are linked. In Dhoni’s case, I don’t see how if I am his favourite actress or if he has a crush on me, can give the media the wrong ideas. With respect to Yuvraj, a lot of things have been said. All I want to say is that I have moved on and am happy where I am today and don’t want to talk about it anymore.
Now you’re in a relationship with Ranbir; how did that happen?
We got to know each other during a movie shoot We spent a lot of time together getting to know each other. Ultimately it blossomed into a relationship. It was beautiful, because we were friends first and then we fell in love.Almost every model dreams of entering the beauty pageants. We’ve had quite a few examples in our country. What are your thoughts on that?
For me, I always wanted to be India’s supermodel with out being a part of any beauty pageant, and I think to some extent I have managed to achieve it.
You have had an experience with modelling and acting. Which field do you prefer more? What advice would you like to give to those girls who plan to enter this field?
Both the industries are very different. If you are a part of a movie, you are living a character for minimum six months or a year. In a modelling campaign however, there is no such connection, you walk a ramp and it gets over in one day and for an advertisement it’s about two days and then you move on. Movies require a lot more time and effort and they stay with you for the rest of your life. From the outside, this world looks very glamorous and rosy, but it’s very challenging mentally, emotionally and physically. Therefore, enter this field if you think you’re ready for all that.
How do your parents react to the Deepika Padukone phenomenon? It’s certainly a new scheme of things for them.
They are very proud and happy. It’s new for them, and for me as well. Moreover, I always consult with them and try to keep them well informed.
You had entered the glamour world at a very young age. Were there any instances when you were taken for granted or maybe someone tried to take advantage of you, considering that you were a novice?
Never. I think this whole ‘casting couch’ thing, or whatever it is that you are talking about, depends on the way you carry yourself and how much are you willing to compromise. If you carry yourself in a dignified way and set boundaries early, there is no way that someone will get any wrong ideas.

My Village in Uttaranchal (Uttarakhand)

2008-11-19T14:03:00.005+05:30

Village:- Khala Gaon,Post Office:- Malli Chandoli, Dist:- Pauri (Uttarakhand)PIN:- 246276

My Sweet Home(My Birth Place)

Teen pregnancies tied to tastes for sexy TV shows

2008-11-08T10:15:00.001+05:30

GROUNDBREAKING RESEARCH suggests that pregnancy rates are much higher among teens who watch a lot of TV with sexual dialogue and behaviour compared with those who have tamer viewing tastes. Sex and the City, anyone? That was one of the shows used in the research. The new study is the first to link those viewing habits with teen pregnancy, said lead author Anita Chandra, a Rand Corp. Behavioural scientist. Teens who watched the raciest shows were twice as likely to become pregnant over the next three years as those who watched few such programmes. Previous research by some of the same scientists had already found that watching lots of sex on TV can influence teens to have sex at earlier ages. Shows that only highlight the positive aspects of sexual behaviour without the risks can lead teens to have unprotected sex "before they're ready to make responsible and informed decisions," Chandra said. The study was released in the November issue of Pediatrics. It involved 2,003 12- to 17-year-old girls and boys nationwide questioned by telephone about their TV viewing habits in 2001. Teens were re-interviewed twice, the last time in 2004, and asked about pregnancy Among girls, 58 became pregnant during the follow-up, and among boys, 33 said they had gotten a girl pregnant. Participants were asked how often they watched any of more than 20 TV shows popular among teens at the time or which were found to have lots of sexual content. These included Sex and the City, That 70s Show and Friends

Katrina Kaif

2008-11-06T18:16:00.000+05:30

Biography

Kartina was born and brought up in London to an NRI Father and a British Mother. Her father is originally from Kashmir. When she was doing modeling in London, she came to the notice of filmmaker Kaizad Gustad and snapped an important role in his film ‘Boom’. Katrina then decided to take acting as her full-fledged career and shifted her base to Mumbai.With her gorgeous face and hourglass figure, Katrina was flooded with modeling assignments in Mumbai. However, filmmakers were hesitant to sign her because of her linguistic shortcomings. She was even signed for Vikram Bhatt’s ‘Saaya’ but later dropped from the project due to her poor Hindi.
Katrina Kaif Filmography

De Dhana Dhan ( Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif)
New York ( John Abraham, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Katrina Kaif)
Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani ( Ranbir Kapoor, Katrina Kaif)
Blue ( Akshay Kumar, Sanjay Dutt, Lara Dutta, Zayed Khan, Katrina Kaif)
Yuvvraaj ( Katrina Kaif, Salman Khan, Anil Kapoor)
Hello ( Sohail Khan, Sharman Joshi, Isha Koppikar, Gul Panag, Amrita Arora, Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif)
Singh Is Kinng ( Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif, Sonu Sood, Om Puri, Neha Dhupia, Javed Jaffrey)Race ( Saif Ali Khan, Akshaye Khanna, Katrina Kaif, Bipasha Basu, Anil Kapoor, Sameera Reddy)
Welcome ( Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif, Paresh Rawal, Nana Patekar, Anil Kapoor, Mallika Sherawat, Feroz Khan)
Partner ( Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, Govinda, Lara Dutta)
Apne ( Bobby Deol, Sunny Deol, Dharmendra, Katrina Kaif, Shilpa Shetty, Kiron Kher)
Namastey London ( Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif, Rishi Kapoor, Upen Patel, Javed Sheikh)
Balram Vs Tara Das ( Mammootty, Katrina Kaif)
Humko Deewana Kar Gaye ( Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif, Salman Khan, Bipasha Basu, Bhagyashree)
Sarkar ( Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, Kay Kay, Katrina Kaif)
Maine Pyar Kyon Kiya ( Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, Sushmita Sen, Arshad Warsi)
Boom ( Amitabh Bachchan, Jackie Shroff, Katrina Kaif, Padma Lakshmi, Madhu Sapre, Gulshan Grover)

Professor Arindam Chaudhuri's India Today Tomorrow Article

2008-11-06T10:28:00.000+05:30

More Articles>>>>>

Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri's The Sunday Indian Articles

2008-11-06T10:17:00.000+05:30

1 . The media-politician anti-Hindu nexus has to stop immediately, if we really don’t want another 26/11The Sunday Indian - [07/12/2008]...

2 . Why The Times of India Group rules! And it’s not marketing, silly!The Sunday Indian - [30/11/2008]...

3 . The BRT corridor in Delhi is not that bad after all! The Sunday Indian - [23/11/2008]...

4 . Thank you Barack… Uncle Tom’s soul will finally rest in peace! The Sunday Indian - [16/11/2008]...

5 . Ownership through paper (shares) has always been and will always remain the biggest illusion of ownership. Real ownership comes through sweat and hard work and never diminishes in value!!!The Sunday Indian - [09/11/2008]...

6 . It is indeed commendable that we have successfully hit space; but then, there is a lot that needs to be done on the ground!!! The Sunday Indian - [02/11/2008]...

7 . The day Sachin gifted Rs.12 crores for The Great Indian Dream! The Sunday Indian - [26/10/2008]...

8 . Saving capitalism… from the stupid capitalists!The Sunday Indian - [12/10/2008]...

9 . Religious Terrorism: No ifs, buts, or alienation rubbish. It’s the highest form of condemnable inhumanity.The Sunday Indian - [05/10/2008]...

10 . It is just not an American crisis but a global crisis, which might see a tectonic shift of power from the West!!!The Sunday Indian - [28/09/2008]...

More Articles >>>>

Khana Sutra - FOOD FOR LOVE

2008-10-22T10:51:00.000+05:30

THERE’S NOTHING like sex to beat the recession blues. So here’s something that goes straight to the heart (rather groin) of the matter — Khana Sutra: An Aphrodisiac Cookbook by chef-turnedcookbook author Zubin D’Souza — through the gut. Collecting recipes from ayurveds, doctors, housewives, palace cooks, even sleazy street-side hakims, the book is peppered with sexual innuendos and ways of ‘making love, and not war’. For instance, the banana. Zubin says this potassium and vitamin-B-rich fruit is absolutely necessary for producing sexual hormones. Or, the pedestrian mustard seeds that spice up bedroom capers. Among the exotic stuff, there’s tomato-pineapple rasam, a double aphrodisiac as both tomato and pineapple possess ‘performance’ enhancing properties, and ghanne ka murgh (sugarcane, it seems, rejuvenates and energizes) to ‘mend a parched love life’. So indulge your hormones this weekend. Plan a repast to ‘solve all problems’ — bharwan gucchi for starters, murgh badaami kali mirch and dhoodhwala biryani for the main course, and ending with beriyon ka thal. How about that for some Saturday night lovin’?

Bill Gates-Live & Exclusive

2008-10-21T14:41:00.001+05:30

“The biggest change for me – and it’s a major change – will be to think about how to improve the lives of the poorest people on the planet, whether they need education, to increase their harvest, or to find better medical treatment...”

On June 27, Bill Gates relinquished his full-time responsibilities at Microsoft, the US software company he co-founded with Paul Allen in 1975, to help guide the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation that focuses on global health and education issues. In this most recent interview, Gates, 52, discusses his years at Microsoft, his new part-time role at the company and what he hopes to accomplish in the world of philanthropy.

Q: When you look back on the last 30 or so years, how do you assess your accomplishments?

A: What’s happened seems a little magical to me. We dreamed of an industry for software and tools that would give people more power. The personal computer has become that. Today we have a giant software industry that didn’t exist 30 years ago. We have 1 billion people who use a PC regularly and the variety of uses is phenomenal.

Q: When people talk about PCs, they think especially about productivity.

A: Maybe, but I think about the blind who used to have to wait for texts to be printed in Braille, and who can now surf the Internet for the most recent information. In schools, children are learning more easily, thanks to the computer. At work, designing a document is no longer a chore, but a service for the customer. We’re seeing products produced digitally, and the cost and production time are totally different now. And Microsoft is at the centre of this revolution that’s seen software installed in PCs and now in cell phones, televisions and cars. Microsoft has helped tens of thousands of companies in this industry grow on the platform we created.

Q: And you don’t regret anything?

A: Of course I can look back and think about some people I recruited, about certain times I acted naive, about acquisitions we made, or about things we could have launched sooner. But I wouldn’t change anything, because it’s a dream come true to have been able to play such an important role. We learned as we went along, including from our mistakes, because we were the first company to believe in the personal computer. The entire industry has expanded around our Basic operating system, then MS-DOS and, finally, Windows. ..Continue

Media marauders

2008-09-29T12:11:00.001+05:30

The newsmakers are the news

Frequent assaults on scribes covering the Sri Lanka-LTTE conflict have triggered outrage among both local and international media rights groups. On March 14 morning a miscreant, wielding an iron club, ambushed Anurasiri Hettige as he waited for a bus in a Colombo suburb. Hettige became the fifth employee of the state television corporation Rupavahini to be attacked or threatened in the last three months.

Media rights groups say the attacks are linked to the December 27 incident that saw government minister Mervyn Silva storming into Rupavahini and abusing senior staff. Silva, who was upset by a news programme, had then allegedly been assaulted and daubed in paint by angry Rupavahini employees....Continue

ONE YEAR FULL-TIME GLOBAL PROGRAMME

2008-09-25T11:33:00.000+05:30

PROGRAMME DETAILS

Widely acknowledged as the leader in providing global exposure to students, the 2008 ZEE Business survey of India’s Best B-Schools ranked
IIPM as the 7th Best B-School in India and ranked it the No.1 B-School in India in Global Exposure. At the first ever 2008 Best B-School
Awards in India organised by Deccan Herald, IIPM was awarded ‘India’s Most Innovative B-School Award for Its Unique Course Contents
and Global Exposure’.
In its endeavour to break new grounds in education in India, IIPM is proud to announce its first Global Executive Programme in Planning and
Entrepreneurship. The programme participants will undergo a unique programme spread over 1,400 contact hours in the space of twelve
months, making it the most rigorous and superior Executive Programme taught anywhere. The programme will have a phenomenal focus
on Economics, Entrepreneurship, Leadership & Personality Development, along with a compulsory specialisation in Marketing. A unique
combination of major electives in Finance and HR coupled with super specialisations in Investment Banking, International Marketing, Supply
Chain Management, MIS and IT etc. make up for the rest of the programme.

INTERNATIONAL RESIDENCY PROGRAMME AT CHICAGO GSB

THE WORLD’S No.1 RANKED B-SCHOOL

What makes the programme perhaps most unique and distinct from any other similar programme in India is the compulsory International
Residency Programme on Advanced Global Management that the students will undergo at The Graduate School of Business, University
of Chicago. Chicago GSB is currently ranked as the No. 1 B-School in the world by Business Week as well as the Economist. It is the only
business school in the world to have as many as six Nobel prize winners from its faculty - two of whom are currently teaching as well. At
the end of the programme, all the students will be eligible for a certificate in Advanced Global Management from Chicago GSB.
Inclusive of the programme at Chicago GSB, students undertaking this programme will be spending four weeks in the US. THE ENTIRE
COST OF TRAVEL, BOARDING, LODGING AND TEACHING IS A PART OF THE PROGRAMME FEES. In India, the programme participants
will be taught by a mix of IIPM’s world-class faculty and faculty from leading global B-Schools. All students will go through a special course
on Strategic Marketing imparted by faculty from the Haas School of Business. The super specialisation on Investment Banking is conducted
along with faculty from NUS.
GLOBAL CERTIFICATION: Thus apart from IIPM’s certification and becoming eligible for an MBA degree from IMI, Brussels, students
doing this programme will get a certificate in Advanced Global Management from Chicago GSB, the World’s No. 1 Ranked B-School, and
a certificate in Strategic Marketing from Haas School of Business, the World’s No. 6 Ranked B-School. Additionally, the students who get
selected for the Investment Banking elective will get an additional Professional Certificate in Investment Banking from NUS, Singapore.
ADMISSIONS: The programme will be delivered only at the New Delhi campus of IIPM and commences in January ‘09. Admissions will
be based upon a written test cum group discussion and personal interview. The candidate’s current experience will be of crucial importance
since the programme requires high levels of the understanding of how global businesses work. Over and above that, a high emphasis will
be given on the personality of the student and his emotional quotient. THE NUMBER OF SEATS IN THE PROGRAMME IS STRICTLY LIMITED
TO 80 ONLY.

ALL SELECTED STUDENTS CAN AVAIL BANK LOANS FROM IIPM’S BANKING PARTNERS

COLLECT YOUR FREE PROSPECTUS (IN PERSON OR BY POST) FROM IIPM OFFICE TODAY ITSELF
ADMISSIONS OFFICE: IIPM, NBCC Plaza, Sector 5, Pushpa Vihar, SAKET, New Delhi-110017
IIPM Campus, Satbari, Chattarpur Road, New Delhi-110074; E-mail : info@iipm.edu

“Wow!!!”, isn’t she?!?!

2008-05-05T14:59:00.001+05:30

Rangita pritish NANDY... is a dexterous go-getter, with no ‘side-effects’ whatsoever!

As Creative Director, Pritish Nandy Communications, Rangita has received rave reviews for some of her acclaimed films like Jhankaar beats, Chameli, Shabd and Pyaar Ke Side Effects. Speaking to 4Ps B&M, Pritish Nandy fondly enumerated his daughter’s contribution to the company. “Rangita was barely in her teens when she joined us, but she brought a new generation perspective to the company. She has changed the way we run our business and has strengthened the youth element in our corporate structure, made it more vibrant. This is vital for a company like ours.”

And with 9 years of experience under her belt, what is her mantra for success today? “Rangita is creatively sound, so she has the ability to discover new ideas. Besides, she is excellent at team-building and management, which are very important,” says Pritish. With such allround qualities, how could one go wrong?!

IIPM's New Campus in Saket(New Delhi)

2008-03-08T12:27:00.000+05:30

¤ IIPM ¤

NEW DELHI

≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈

IIPM's NEW WORLD CLASS CAMPUS IN SAKET, THE HEART OF DELHI

ADMISSION OFFICE:

IIPM Tower, NBCC Plaza, Sector 5, Pushpa Vihar, SAKET

NEW DELHI-110017

Email your address for free Prospectus at:-

info@iipm.edu

Hollywood - Bollywood ! ! !

2008-03-03T12:21:00.001+05:30

What’s Mallika up to now?

Mallika Sherawat never fails to amaze us, does she? After making sure the audiences feel her ‘presence’ on screen, she’s now bent on making herself known behind the curtain as well. The sultry babe has plans to team up with her brother, Vikram, to start a production house called Blue Velvet. While big-brother will handle the finances, Mallika will handle the men! And by the look of things, she’s already doing a great job; she’s got filmmakers lined up to get their scripts across to her!

Sallu, being human

Salman Khan’s at it again! Always the one to bare himself on screen, he’s now also into exposing his charitable side. He’s decided to start a non-profit organisation that he calls Being Human, to help under-privileged children. He’s even decided how the big bucks will come in! He’ll be raising money by hook or by crook, whether it’s by selling his very own art works that have been unnecessarily piling up in his house, or by ‘extracting’ money from people (as he jokingly states). But, as long as it’s for a good cause, we don’t mind, do we?

Jessica’s serious about humour!

Who would have thought that the ravishing Jessica Biel would have a funny side to her as well! In fact, she’s so wound up in it, that she only plans to date a guy, who’s got the ‘funny bone’. While most girls would choose the stereotypical ‘tall, dark and handsome’ lad as their match, Jessica’s prince-charming would be more of a ‘funny and silly’ type. Even for her forthcoming roles, Biel thinks that sexy is not fun unless there’s the funny element to it! Wonder if she’s the head of her local laughter club!

Love life not ‘Bloom’ing!

Orlando Bloom seems to be finding it very hard to find his way back into love these days. After breaking up with Kate Bosworth last year, he’s been pretty unsteady in his following relationships. The actor was reportedly trying to warm up to a British actress at the launch of his first theatre production – Celebration – but was sadly unsuccessful as the Cinderella coolly walked away when the clock struck 12! Looks like after all the swordswishing classes, Orlando needs some lessons in ‘matters of the heart’!

Paula’s ‘Rush’ for love!

Paula’s finally been bitten by the love bug, and this time it might just be for good. For as long as one can remember, her love life has appeared to be quite like a horror movie, but it seems as though it might just turn into a fairytale, and one with a happy ending too! Although refusing to let out on any details on her current relationship (probably to keep it from getting jinxed), Paula did reveal that her beau JT Torregiani, a restaurateur, was a ‘nice guy’ and that she is looking forward to a life with him. Well at least she is getting her basics right this time... following the better late than never mantra?

All in a day’s work!

Being an actress is no cake-walk. Apart from all the glamour and glory, there’s a whole lot of grit and grind involved as well, and Bollywood’s Neha Dhupia recently got a good dose of the latter. After a strenuous shooting schedule for her upcoming film I Think I Am 24, Neha got dizzy and collapsed on the sets. And before you know it, she had everyone on the sets fussing over her. However, Neha scored brownie-points with her director because after a short break of two hours, Neha was back in action! Attagirl!

Gisele’s bundles of money!

Gisele Bundchen’s proved that she’s the best model on the catwalk, and not just because of her dropdead gorgeous looks. Not only does the 26-year-old Brazilian beauty defeat all competition while on the ramp, she even finds herself raking in the most moolah! Forbes labelled her as the World’s Richest Model after discovering that she was earning a figure that was as breathtaking as her own, and that was still way ahead of her next two immediate competitors’ earnings combined! The magic number? A whopping US$33 million in the past year!

Everyone loves BRITNEY!

2008-02-28T11:08:00.001+05:30

Britney Spears’ mental meltdown has sent her to the psychiatric ward twice. It has also left her long-divorced parents, her brother, and a SWAT team of lawyers and accountants grappling with how to protect her from predatory hangers-on, from the paparazzi who dog her every move and from her own erratic behaviour.

But beyond the psychodrama is another serious subject for the Spears family: How to protect the millions of dollars that Spears, 26, has amassed over a decade as one of America’s biggest pop music, merchandise and endorsement engines? One of her former financial advisers, speaking on the condition of anonymity, because of his relationship with his client, estimated her current fortune at around $50 million. That’s an enormous amount, but being a wealthy cultural phenomenon doesn’t make one impervious to financial disaster.

Spears will not run out of money anytime soon, but her longer-term prospects have suffered in the last year, because of bizarre behaviour and her tortured personal life after her divorce from Kevin Federline, formerly one of her backup dancers.

According to court documents, her everyday finances seem to have fallen into disrepair as well. A February 14, court filing put it starkly, “Members of Britney’s household have been paying for her basic necessities, including medicine, food, and other day-to-day needs.” What little light has been shed on Spears’ finances came in May last year, when part of an income statement surfaced during her divorce case, putting her average monthly earnings at more than $730,000, mainly from royalties, but said she earned only $13,000 a month from investments. (Her spending, including $102,000 a month for entertainment, gifts and vacation and $16,000 for clothes, was more eye-catching).

If Spears regains her health – and her desire to tour – will there still be an opportunity? A return would require corporate sponsors, who for the moment would be likely to shun Spears, but who might come around, said Steve Lunt, a vice president at Spears’ label, until 2006. “People will still want to be associated with her,” he said. “You could mention her name in Afghanistan, Israel, Greece or South Africa, and everyone knows who she is.”

GUL’S NEW LOOK

2008-02-01T17:53:00.001+05:30

Ok guys. Gul Panag is no longer gul and is back on the circuit after a short hiatus. But this time, it’s her sexy hot avatar – a makeover of sorts – that is making news everywhere. Gone are those casual jeans and tees, rather nowadays, she’s wearing more of tight, revealing outfits. Why this sudden change of attires, Gul? Does any director out there have a role for this sexy young lass?

Benazir Bhutto

2007-12-28T14:09:00.001+05:30

Benazir Bhutto was born in Karachi, Pakistan to a prominent political family. At age 16 she left her homeland to study at Harvard's Radcliffe College. After completing her undergraduate degree at Radcliffe she studied at England's Oxford University, where she was awarded a second degree in 1977.

Later that year she returned to Pakistan where her father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, had been elected prime minister, but days after her arrival, the military seized power and her father was imprisoned. In 1979 he was hanged by the military government of General Zia Ul Haq.
Bhutto herself was also arrested many times over the following years, and was detained for three years before being permitted to leave the country in 1984. She settled in London, but along with her two brothers, she founded an underground organization to resist the military dictatorship. When her brother died in 1985, she returned to Pakistan for his burial, and was again arrested for participating in anti-government rallies.

She returned to London after her release, and martial law was lifted in Pakistan at the end of the year. Anti-Zia demonstrations resumed and Benazir Bhutto returned to Pakistan in April 1986. The public response to her return was tumultuous, and she publicly called for the resignation of Zia Ul Haq, whose government had executed her father.

She was elected co-chairwoman of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) along with her mother, and when free elections were finally held in 1988, she herself became Prime Minister. At 35, she was one of the youngest chief executives in the world, and the first woman to serve as prime minister in an Islamic country.

Only two years into her first term, President Ghulam Ishaq Khan dismissed Bhutto from office. She initiated an anti-corruption campaign, and in 1993 was re-elected as Prime Minister. While in office, she brought electricity to the countryside and built schools all over the country. She made hunger, housing and health care her top priorities, and looked forward to continuing to modernize Pakistan.

At the same time, Bhutto faced constant opposition from the Islamic fundamentalist movement. Her brother Mir Murtaza, who had been estranged from Benazir since their father's death, returned from abroad and leveled charges of corruption at Benazir's husband, Asif Ali Zardari. Mir Murtaza died when his bodyguard became involved in a gunfight with police in Karachi. The Pakistani public was shocked by this turn of events and PPP supporters were divided over the charges against Zardari.

In 1996 President Leghari of Pakistan dismissed Benazir Bhutto from office, alleging mismanagement, and dissolved the National Assembly. A Bhutto re-election bid failed in 1997, and the next elected government, headed by the more conservative Nawaz Sharif, was overthrown by the military. Bhutto's husband was imprisoned, and once again, she was forced to leave her homeland. For nine years, she and her children lived in exile in London, where she continued to advocate the restoration of democracy in Pakistan. In the autumn of 2007, in the face of death threats from radical Islamists, and the hostility of the government, she returned to her native country.

Although she was greeted by enthusiastic crowds, within hours of her arrival, her motorcade was attacked by a suicide bomber. She survived this first assassination attempt, although more than 100 bystanders died in the attack. With national elections scheduled for January 2008, her Pakistan People's Party was poised for a victory that would make Bhutto prime minister once again. Only a few weeks before the election, the extremists struck again. After a campaign rally in Rawalpindi, a gunman fired at her car, fatally wounding her. The assassin then detonated a bomb, killing himself and a number of bystanders. Bhutto was rushed to the hospital, but soon succumbed to her wounds. In the wake of her death, rioting erupted throughout the country. The loss of the country's most popular democratic leader has plunged Pakistan into turmoil, intensifying the dangerous instability of a nuclear-armed nation in a highly volatile region.

Travolta’s revolt!

2007-12-18T11:28:00.001+05:30

Here’s another one to have just lost it with media. John Travolta is the latest one to feel the media is apparently stepping on his toes. The Face Off actor defended fellow actor and believer of Scientology, Tom Cruise, who was criticized for his comments in a talk show. Refusing to accept that being a celebrity denied one of his rights and privacy, John seconded Tom’s right to speak his mind, and did he speak his mind too! John has kept his bathroom and bedroom right off limits for the paparazzi! Now, how deprived are we going to be?!

Abhi is daddy’s boy!
The ideal son, that’s what Abhishek Bachchan is bent on proving! He totally adores his dad and almost always has a wistfully twinkling glint in his eyes every time he speaks of dad. Attributing perfection to Big B, he generously rates him a 100 on 100 for his overall personality! Extolling his father’s performances, some of which were scheduled to be screened at the renowned BAFTA awards, he’s hoping with all his heart to someday grow up to be like his dad. Wonder what happened to Jaya mama’s boy?

Believe it? Or not?
Looks like folks out in the West just can’t get enough of the blue eyed beauty. After Provoked and The Last Legion, Aishwarya Rai has been reportedly chosen for a popular television science fiction series in the United States. Titled Heroes, it’ll have Ash play the role of a character named ‘Shanti’, who possesses supernatural powers. Her contract is believed to last eight entire episodes, but the busy actress’ business manager kept up with denying any such plans, dismissing all of it as gossip. Oh well, only time will tell…

Sporty is a good sport!
Melanie Chisholm popularly known as Mel C or ‘Sporty Spice’ of the British girl group of yesteryears, Spice Girls, has finally agreed to the reunion. Still wanting to keep intact the magic they created, Mel C earlier initially opposed the idea, but now she’s prepared herself for it. After the group witnessed weak sales and split, leaving each to pursue respective solo careers, Mel now feels that the group owed the world a last ‘thank you’ and ‘good bye’ and this ‘get-together’ was the ideal way to show that gratitude. Whatever your reasons Mel, we couldn’t be happier!

Bips has had enough
Bipasha Basu has had a lot on her mind since the past few days. She’s waiting for boyfriend John Abraham to return from his shoot in Hyderabad to settle matters once and for all. Rumours have it that their relationship has been sailing stormy waters lately, and the gossip mills working overtime weren’t helping. Meanwhile, media is happy to play matchmaker for Bips, linking her to a whole lot of potential suitors, right from Saif to Dino Morea. But for love’s sake, let’s hope this love story meets a happy ending...

No son for Aniston!
It seems that Jennifer Aniston’s not ready to tie on an apron and get her manicured nails dirty in baby poo yet. Everyone was taken by surprise when OK! Magazine proclaimed that Jen was all set to adopt in the wake of Sheryl Crow’s union with her adopted son Wyatt. In fact, they even stated that the adoption process for a boy was ‘100 percent’ on track. However, sources close to the Hollywood star claims the statements aren’t true at all. Somebody’s loss, somebody’s gain, we believe...

Pamela – Forty and flirty!
Baywatch babe Pamela Anderson may be pushing forty and but she still knows how to party! PETA held an advance bash to celebrate her fortieth birthday which is to be on July 1 at a Florida hotspot. And boy, did she party?! To top it all, she stunned them all in her breathtaking red satin off -shoulder drape proving that 40 is the new 20! However, after making the shutterbugs happy with the ritual cake-cutting photo-ops, she went back to work on her upcoming film. Pam’s sure got her priorities in order this year!

Top Garhwali (Uttaranchal) Songs by Narendra Singh Negi

2007-12-10T14:03:00.006+05:30

Download Paili Yanu Ta Kabi Ne Hwe (Beti Bwaari)

Download: Min Loku Ma Suniyaali(Beti Bwaari)

Download: Ghungroo Parie Yani(Chham Ghungroo)

Download: Chham Ghungroo(Title Songs)

Download: Nochami Naraina (Title Songs)

Download: Oye Lachhi Ghor

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The dragon flight!

2007-12-07T12:47:00.002+05:30

The civil aviation reforms commenced in China long before India had even conceived that something like this was essentially required. Right from inception, the Chinese objective was to engineer a complete separation of the general administration from the management of airlines. Post 2000, the primary focus shifted towards consolidation and creation of professionally managed companies. Subsequently, three of the largest Chinese airlines at present were formed – Air China, China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines. Their fleets are almost comparable to the entire aviation industry of India. The Chinese industry, too, is registering losses, but it continues to grow, due to government vision and solid backing. It is this support which will take them ahead in the times to come.

Every dog has its day

2007-11-26T11:52:00.001+05:30

Have we not heard of jailbird Paris making headlines just about everywhere? Wrong reasons et al. But we were rather shocked to come to know that her furry companion is a big hit with the folks as well. If the latest grapevine is anything to go by, the empty gourmet can of her Chihuahua named Tinkerbell has fetched, take a deep breath, a whopping $1.5 million on Ebay. And who is having the best time? CEO of Party Animal Inc., the organisation that markets animal organic gourmet dog food, because orders can’t stop pouring in!

Sex, lies and videotape!

Former front-man of the hit boy band 98 Degrees, Nick Lachey, is busy waving his finger at tabloids at their attempt to publish highly explicit photos of the hunk and his sweetheart, Vanessa Minnillo, in the act. The latest issue of Life & Style has featured real steamy photographs of the celebrity couple, which got them flustered. Their attorney has stated that the photos were a malicious act and were taken illegally. But the question here is, why do celebrities always get down and dirty in the most vulnerable of places? Food for thought, eh?

Third time lucky?

The past years have seen the prodigious actor Leonardo DiCaprio, come within inches of bagging the coveted Best Actor Oscar, only to be left clapping in the crowds as the real winner holds the gold statuette. But this time, Leonardo is determined to bring home the Academy Award as he has signed a thriller movie, along with Russell Crowe, called Body of Lies. It has been scripted by, William Manohan (He bagged an Oscar for The Departed) and promises to be a complete thrill ride. We are keeping our fingers crossed, Leo.

The big fish is set to leave the water

The legendary Australian swimmer and Olympic champion, Ian Thorpe do Thorpe is set to pull the plug on his career by retiring early. He is taking this step at the height of his career to help people know the perils of climate change. He stated that the coral reefs were becoming over bleached and the forests in Tasmania were becoming of old growth. In a documentary called Fish Out Of Water, Thorpe takes the viewer on a tour around the Australian landscape where the effects of climate change were very obvious. Surely, Thorpe would set records here too.

Hermione ending her magic spell?

2007-11-26T11:33:00.002+05:30

The pretty damsel, who can create havoc with a wave of her wand on-screen, is flustered with the way the show was run during the making of The Order of the Phoenix and threatened to walk out of the seven movie contract. Emma Watson, who is better known as miss-know-it-all Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter series, was reported to have asked the Director David Yates, whether there was a need to take each shot at least 30 times. To which the Director replied, “Yes”. We bet even she doesn’t have a magic spell to get out of this.

Sunny will have the last laugh

The old-timer from Bollywood is all set to take the road less travelled. The eldest of the band of brothers will be soon seen in a comedy movie trying to tickle the funny bone of the audiences. Being directed by the king of comedy, David Dhawan, this laugh riot will also star Salman Khan besides Sunny Deol himself. Since it will be an in-house production, fans of the yesteryear’s angry young man can be assured that the film will be nothing short of extravagant. Keep it up boy! Hope all have the last laugh with the movie and not at it.

Tony & Eva’s eve of fun!

It’s a matter of days before the sexy diva, ahem, Eva Longoria takes vows with her long time beau Tony Parker this weekend in a romantic French castle. The Desperate Housewives star was recently overheard in a very exclusive his and her bachelor party that she feels she dreamt of the big day all her life. The star couple has planned a very private affair for the most important day of their lives, with only 30 couples invited and, interestingly, the list doesn’t include the couple’s parents. So if you have not made it to the list, don’t feel that bad!

The Himalayan bouquet! - Uttarakhand

2007-11-16T12:21:00.001+05:30

As you walk past the flowery trails on to this bed of blossoms and start feeling that you’re trespassing some supernatural abode that doesn’t belong to this world, know that you are in the Valley of Flowers! Set approximately at 3,700 metres from sea level in the Himalayan range of the Garhwal Hills in Uttarakhand, the fascinating valley has a world of exoticism and mystique hidden in its heart, not to mention the hundreds of flowering plant species playing magic on mind and sight…

The Valley of Flowers was discovered in 1932, when an English mountaineer, author and botanist, Frank Sydney Smythe (or Smith) when he lost his way back after successfully completing his expedition at Mount Kamat and stumbled onto this Eden! So enchanted was he with the mesmerising beauty of the place that he camped there for several weeks, exploring the flora, fauna and the natural splendour he’d never seen before… and captured his experience in the book, The Valley of Flowers that he authored some years later and made this magnificent meadow known to the world. Reinstating world’s penchant for the enigmatic flower dale was when a known botanist from Edinburgh, Joan Margaret Legge, was deputed into the Valley of Flowers, not very long after. Unfortunately, she lost balance from the slopes and lost her life, but the Psalm 121 inscribed on a marble stone on her grave, states, “I shall lift my eyes up to Himalayas from whence cometh my help”, has become one of the highlights, apart from the buds and blossoms… Legend also has it that it is the same region from where Lord Hanuman collected the revitalizing ‘Sanjeevani’ herbs for Lakshman…

Teeming with life, a glistening stream flowing in close proximity to the shining, silvery mountain peaks, each blade of grass covered in dew and every flower emanating a balmy scent in the chilly weather… And even though it all sounds divine, the verdant jewel so unveils its magic every summer (June – August), making it an astounding and extraordinary abode to get away from the everyday hustle-bustle of civilisation!

ANANDA IN THE HIMALAYAS

Nestled away in the quaint and serene foothills of the Himalayas in Uttarakhand, Ananda – In the Himalayas, makes for one of the most exquisite destination for spa resorts both in India and abroad. With its sole commitment to reinstate balance and harmony of the mind, body and soul combine, this lap of ultimate luxury is sure to revitalise each of your senses, offering an experience that is bound to be remembered for a lifetime!

THE VIEW: Situated in 100 acres of virgin forests, around 260 kms from New Delhi, the rejuvenating resort duly provides breathtaking views of the Ganga and the lush mountains . . .

ARCHI TYPE: Built around a maharaja’s palace estate, the spa cum resort is a restored palace of the viceroy. Replete with deluxe rooms, suites and villas, 21,000 square foot of spa, treatment rooms and a plethora of beauty and rejuvenation therapy centres to name only a few, add to the grandeur of the place.

BON APPÉTIT: Where the very purpose of the abode is to invigorate, how can food be left behind? And the choices are immense. You can dine at The Restaurant and get your taste buds come alive with the appropriately named Ananda Rejuvenation Cuisine, or at the Pavilion, the Winter Garden, the Palace Lounge or the Hill Theatre.

AROUND THE CORNER: Located close to the holy town of Rishikesh, in the palace confines in the small town of Narendra Nagar, not very far from Delhi, the place provides ample opportunities for adventure sports like trekking, white water rafting and elephant photo safari at the Chilla National Park, located close by.

FROM UNDER THE CARPET: If a chartered helicopter ride is too steep for your purse, getting there can be a bit of trouble.

IN ESSENCE: Rejuvenation revisited!

Beauty for the beasts!

2007-10-03T12:36:00.001+05:30

When a Playmate gets serious about saving the Bunnies...

Pamela Anderson has perhaps been the world’s ‘biggest’ babe ever since C.J. arrived on Baywatch and began running, in slow motion. Where in the past year we saw a Kazakhstani – Borat – fall in love with Pam and travel across the United States for her, this year we will see her reprising the role of a blonde, in Blonde and Blonder. But in between her professional commitments, Pamela Anderson has spared precious time for a cause she truly believes in. From promoting vegetarianism to fi ghting for her furry friends, this PETA activist’s messages have reached out to audiences worldwide. Th e sexy Playmate talks of her crusade in this B&E Special.

When and why did you join PETA?

I have been active with PETA since the early ’90s. Because of the popularity of Baywatch, I knew that I could use my fame to draw attention to – and help stop – cruelty to animals. So I bombarded them with letters until they took me on board!

What was the one incident that made you sit up and take notice of animal rights?
My crusade started when I was 10 years old and I walked into the shed behind our house on Vancouver Island, Canada, right aft er my dad had returned from a hunting trip. I opened the door, looked up, and there, hanging upside down, was a once-beautiful deer, her fur and body drenched in blood. I remember shrieking and running as fast as I could. I made a vow then to try to stop the needless suff ering of animals. I knew that I had a mission, and I wanted to make a diff erence.

What have been your eff orts to further the cause both in your daily personal life and to make others aware?
For starters, I never eat meat. And I don’t buy leather shoes or fur-trimmed jackets or buy lipstick that was tested by blinding rabbits. It’s not hard, it just means being aware of what I’m buying and supporting, learning which cosmetics brands are cruelty-free, and reading labels to fi nd pleather – not leather – boots and bags. I really believe in teaching by example: If others can look at me and see how easy it is to take simple steps to reduce suff ering, they’ll be inspired to make kind choices too.

How is it possible for you to make a style statement without contributing to animal ill treatment?
My friend Stella McCartney doesn’t use a stitch of fur, leather, or merino wool in her designs. Th at’s the trend: Th e most innovative designers are refusing to work with animal skins, and they’re proving that it’s easy to create a look that kills without killing animals.

Do you plan to visit India to campaign for PETA?
Not currently but you never know!

What’s your opinion on the recent boycott of the Indian leather industry by Kenneth Cole and Liz Claiborne?
I applaud these kind companies – both of which are major retailers in the United States – for taking a stand against cruelty, and I predict that others will follow as they learn more about the suff ering caused by India’s leather trade. During PETA’s investigations, they have seen animals transported in suff ocating conditions: Fift een to 20 cows, or more, are crammed into trucks meant to hold only fi ve or six. Many animals die en route. Animals who are too sick or injured to walk are dragged and beaten. At municipal slaughterhouses, animals are slaughtered in full view of each other, which is illegal, and cows look helplessly on as their companions slowly bleed to death.

Unless the industry takes immediate steps to reduce this suffering, I’m sure that other retailers and designers – as well as caring consumers around the world – will also stop buying leather from India. We have so many other choices these days. Th ere was a time when animal abuse in the skin trade, and other industries for that matter, went unchallenged, but more and more people are willing to take a stand and boycott cruelly produced products.

How do you manage your career while battling hepatitis?
I feel great – thanks to my healthy lifestyle and vegetarian diet. But animal rights is my passion, so I’d like to keep the focus on animals and what people can do to help them. I do hope that your readers will learn more about these issues and how small changes, like buying non-leather shoes or eating more vegetarian meals, can make a world of diff erence to animals. I think we all have the responsibility to choose on the side of compassion whenever possible, because the animals don’t have a choice.

How long have you been a vegetarian? How has it benefi ted you? People find it tough to reconcile that a sexy actor like you sports a vegetarian lifestyle! Comment.
I’ve been a vegetarian since I was a teenager. Being a vegetarian is what keeps me feeling sexy! A meat-based diet is loaded with saturated fat and cholesterol, which packs on pounds and makes you feel sluggish, but a vegetarian diet is healthy and slimming, and of course humane.

One of the most controversial things you’ve done is posing nude in Stella McCartney’s boutique window. What was it like? Did you feel weird being stared at, or was it worth it? How did the organisation benefi t?
If a cause is important to me, I’ll do whatever it takes to make a diff erence. And I think that actions like posing nude in Stella’s store window, where we re-created PETA’s “We’d Rather Bare Skin Th an Wear Skin” ad campaign, are very powerful. Th ey make people take notice, and that’s what’s needed – to get people to look, think, and take action. Posing nude can sometimes be uncomfortable, but it’s nothing compared to what the animals killed for their fur go through.

What do you feel about celebrities wearing fur?
It’s terrible when stars like J Lo and Beyoncé wear fur – I worry that their young fans will see them and not think about the cruelty that goes into every fur coat or piece of fur trim.

Fortunately, thanks to groups like PETA, more and more people are thinking about these issues. Most of us now know that animals killed for fur suff er horribly – they are skinned alive, clubbed to death, crushed in steel-jaw traps, and genitally electrocuted, sometimes just for a little trim on a coat collar. In China, even cats and dogs are routinely bludgeoned, hanged, or strangled with wire nooses, so that their fur can beturned into trim and trinkets.

Th ese days, with so many choices available to us, there’s just no excuse for wearing real fur. If you don’t wear fur, please talk to others, so they’ll know why you made your compassionate decision. We all have to do our part to put this cruel industry out of business.

What do you think is the biggest learning you’ve had from your lifestyle? Do your children understand your philosophy? How important is it for children to know this?
I’ve learned that one person can make a huge diff erence for animals just by forgoing meat, leather, and other animal products. My boys understand this because I’ve taught them kindness and respect for animals and have raised them to make compassionate choices. I think that it’s important to teach kids empathy for animals, because kids naturally love animals and if they knew how they suff ered before they were turned into burgers or a belt, they’d never eat meat or wear leather again.

In what other ways can you spread the message?
Well, as you know, I’ve done numerous actions with PETA to help get the word out. I traded in my red Baywatch swimsuit for a lettuce-leaf bikini for an ad promoting vegetarianism. I’ve narrated exposés of the leather trade in India and the meat industry in the US. Earlier this year, I spearheaded a petition drive against the annual seal hunt in Canada, where baby seals are still beaten bloody on the ice for their fur. I’ve fi red off letters, posed for posters, called on designers to create animal-friendly fashions, and even written an opinion piece for Th e Wall Street Journal, urging advertising executives to stop using unwilling animal actors to sell products.

Everyone can do their part – whether it’s something as bold as attending a demonstration or as simple as making a vegetarian meal for a loved one. Every little bit helps – the important thing is to just do something.

Jolie’s looking for a bachelorette pad?

2007-08-17T12:18:00.001+05:30

Angelina Jolie has fuelled speculation that a split from beau Brad Pitt is on the cards after she was spotted house hunting for a ‘bachelorette pad’ in Los Angeles.

The Oscar winner dropped in alone to view a one million pounds, Mediterranean-style villa in the Laurel Canyon enclave after dropping her older kids off at pre-school. Owner Wolfgang Wind admitted that it was strange that Jolie had come to see the place all by herself. “It was very strange because it was just her; no bodyguard, no assistant, no nanny, no kids – and no Brad,” a website quoted a source as saying. “I had no idea who the potential buyer was until I saw her. She was driving a black SUV with blacked-out windows. She looked quite frail and extremely thin. She was very flattering and said the house was extremely nice and I’m hoping she’ll make an offer,” he added. The newly remodelled, quarter-acre villa set on a 2,000 sq ft property, is located high in the rustic Hollywood Hills on Laurel Canyon Boulevard. The pad comes equipped with an outdoor rock pool, but, inside, it has only three bedrooms – a master suite and two smaller ones.

Scary Spice’s hubby is in trouble again

Cops in New Jersey are looking for Scary Spice Melanie Brown’s new hubby Stephen Belafonte for bludgeoning a duck to death. The 32-year-old admitted to killing the duck, a mallard, with a brick outside his house in Point Pleasant, but instead of paying the 300 pounds court fine, he fled to Los Angeles. An Ocean County court spokeswoman revealed that a warrant has now been issued in the name of Belafonte, and if he enters the state again, he will be arrested. “A warrant has been issued over unpaid fines and costs relating to an animal control offense. He will be arrested if he returns to the area,” a website quoted her as saying. The revelation comes just days after it was revealed that Belafonte once beat up the mother of his three-year old daughter on a “drunk, retarded night.” He was arrested but escaped during the jail time when the judge ordered him to undergo a domestic violence programme.

Timberlake and Biel to live-in?

Justin Timberlake has reportedly asked ladylove Jessica Biel to move in with him.The couple has been dating for the past eight months, and a source revealed to a magazine that Timberlake is now ready to have his girlfriend living with him. According to the insider, Jessica and Justin will start living together as soon as he finishes with his tour in September. “They think it’s the next logical step,” the mag quoted the insider, as saying. However, the one thing they can’t seem to agree on, is where they will be staying, for while Justin wants to relocate to NY, Jessica wants him to move in with her into her LA home so that they can be close to the ocean.

Men don’t ask me out: Dannii

Australian singer, the 36-year-old Dannii Minogue insists that being single is the only thing that annoys her. The singer-fashion designer, who was married to Julian McMahon in 1994-1995, said that men do not ask her out “Men don’t ask me out! I wish they did, but they don’t. I’m probably a little bit more of a stay-at-home person than I should be. I’ve got too comfortable because I can easily be in my own company,” a newspaper quoted her, as saying. “I would love to find the one. Really and truly, for the past two years I’ve been thinking, there’s one thing missing in my life, and I would love someone to be there to share stuff with. I just wish he’d fall out of the sky next to me. Can you order the perfect man?” she asked. As regarding to her ideal match, the younger sister of pop icon Kylie Minogue prefers a gentleman with sensibility and old-fashioned style. “I do absolutely love a gentleman, someone with an old-fashioned style and sensibility and someone I can really talk to,” she said. “It would be a nice time to meet someone. It would upset me if I met someone much later in life and thought, ‘Oh God, I’ve missed out on spending all those years with you.’ I want to share my life and my family with someone,” she added. Dannii also said that she was devastated when her marriage did not work out. She said that she has never thought about having children. “But I’m running out of time,” she said.

Ramu accommodates Mrs. Thakur

2007-08-07T16:24:00.001+05:30

Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa star and Shekhar Kapur’s ex-wife Suchitra Krishnamoorthy will return to the silver screen in Ram Gopal Varma’s version of yesteryears hit Sholay, titled Ram Gopal Varma ke Sholay, where she would be playing Thakur’s wife. Interestingly, the original version did not have this character and it sure will be a Chunauti for this damsel to portray the role so as to make it just as legendary as the rest of its cast. With Suchitra choosing a mature role for a comeback, all we can hope is that, like wine, time has only benefitted this lass too.

Amping up the ramp!
To many, it might sound as an extension of their job, but if the man in the thick of it – Pataudi Jr. – is to be believed, then he is quite nervous about his maiden walk down the ramp. Saif is due to debut on the ramp, for endorsing a fashion brand, in a show to be choreographed by Mehr Jessia. Though Saif couldn’t make it as a cricketer, he could still learn a few tricks from Pataudi Sr., for Mansoor Ali in his heydays did carry a fair bit of panache on and off the ramp, easily overshadowing the current crop of cricketers and actors.

Dunst is no Miss Muffet!
Whether Spider-Man 3 left you thrilled or simply bored, the third installment of this most-loved super-hero flick did set cash registers ringing with over $140 million in its first weekend collection. Now, we’re unaware whether Tobey or Ms. Dunst are up for the next one, but if the leading lady of the movie had her way, then the next version of the movie would be more of a horror flick that would have the couple having eight children, symbolic of the number of spider legs! While the cast for the next movie remains a mystery as yet, let’s hope Sam Raimi is not listening to Mary Jane harp about her maternal dreams!

Meet Ms. ‘Sen’sible

With a promising line-up of films like Laaga Chunari Mein Daag, Planman Motion Pictures’ Sunglass and Life in a... Metro, things are looking pretty buoyant for Konkona Sen Sharma, especially after missing out on Mira Nair’s The Namesake. Quiz her on her choice of films and she quips on how it depends on the director, his vision and his financial backup to transform his vision into reality that gets a nod or a nay from the lady. Well, here’s one lady who knows how to play her cards...

The Game continues!

Curtis Jackson, better known as 50 Cent, insists there is no ‘Game’ going on between him and the The Documentary rapper. According to reports, the rapper was furious with Compton rapper, The Game, when he didn’t give 50 Cent due credits on his album, for which he claimed to have penned six songs. The rift emerged in 2005 and much has transpired since, but now 50 Cent says that the fallout is a one-way deal and has nothing to do with him, for he has his own commercial interests in mind. For The Game works for him and the more his albums sell the mo’ money 50 Cent makes!

Pregnant with hope
British supermodel Kate Moss is anxious to start a family with beau Pete Doherty. The dainty lady already has a four-year-old child from her previous liaison with Jefferson Hack – editor and co-founder of Dazed & Confused – while Pete Doherty – member of the band Babyshambles, known for his drug dalliances and frequent visits to rehabs – has a son from his previous love Lisa Moorish. Back on track, professionally and even cocaine free, Moss sure seems ready to go down the path of motherhood once again.

Christina does a favour

From essaying roles as a child artist in movies Casper, Now and Then, Stand by Me, to playing roles as an adult actress in movies such as Sleepy Hollow, The Ice Storm or The Opposite of Sex, Christina Ricci has played her characters impeccably! Whilst other Hollywood beauties sign handsome deals with reputed product makers to represent them as their brand ambassadors, Ricci is set to represent the Abuse, Incest and Rape network by meeting members from the United States Congress and discuss issues related to sexual abuse and victimisation of women. Considering her proclivity for precision, we are certain Christina would essay this new role to perfection too!

‘No porn roles for Jes,’ says dad

2007-07-31T16:47:00.001+05:30

Jessica Simpson might be having one of the sexiest bodies in Hollywood, but her dad is firm that she will not bare all for the camera. Joe Simpson, Jessica’s father and manager, revealed that his daughter turned down a film role recently because it required her to play a porn star. “The last script that came to us was for Jessica to be a porn star,” a magazine quoted him, as saying. “We were promised we would win an Oscar with that. I was like, ‘Eh, we’ll just buy a statue of a little man and keep our clothes on,’” he added. Joe also divulged that the Dukes of Hazzard actress has been receiving quirky TV-show proposals “everyday.” “We’re pitched those a lot. There are a lot of cool ones, and a lot of really strange ones,” he said.

Jenna Jameson turns comic strip heroine

The Queen of Porn actress Jenna Jameson is set to become the star of a ‘no nudity’ comic strip Shadow Hunter. The American actress, who has appeared in more than 200 X-rated films will portray a superheroine fighting with the villains in a comic-book series. The magazines bosses claim that there won’t be a skin show except the actress’ knuckles and a bit of cleavage. However, it looks like Jameson’s plans are a bit different. “Working with comics is creatively liberating – everything is possible. My character is sultry, sexy and kicks everyone,” a website quoted 30-year-old Jameson, as saying. Publisher Sharad Devarajan believes that Jameson is “an entrepreneur who is taking the taboo to the mainstream and has built an industry around her brand.” The 144-page book will hit the market in June next year. Jameson, however, is extremely excited to play the new role, which would possibly change her ‘image’.

Salman: Wanted dead or alive in Bangkok

After making us roll with laughter in Partner, Salman Khan we hear has landed in the Thai capital after a show in Kenya to shoot for Boney Kapoor’s remake of the hit South movie Pokhri, which we heard is called Wanted: Dead And Alive. No prizes for guessing who is playing the lead role! Salman, we hear is excited about the role. His friends informed that Sallu had seen some excerpts of the film Pokhri and was keen to play a role in it. “Besides, Salman is very fond of Bangkok and he has numerous fans in the Thai city,” added the source.

HEY, LAY OFF MY MAN!

2007-07-30T11:34:00.002+05:30

Howdee doo hoo my mittheymitthus! It's my third mugga Ethiopian kawah but it's not yet helping me feel up and about this morning. I so wanna zzleep a coupla hours more and now this phone is ringing endlessly Excuse me while I answer this and I hope its worth my while. Hmm, so it does turn out to be well worth the effort and surprisingly, it has also stirred me from my laziness. My jasoos tells me that Aishwarya Rai, oooopsiedoo, I mean Bachchan, can't see eye- to-eye with Lara Dutta. Oooh la la la, I just looove such garam gossu, as one bitchy ac- tress I know, often remarks. Anyway, I'm told the war of the beauties started when Ash dropped in on the sets of Jhoom Barabar Jhoom where her man Abhishek was shooting with the sexy Dutta. And the former Ms Universe was getting too close to AB Junior for Ash's comfort or rather discomfort.

And later on, when the cast and crew got together to party after packing up the day's work, Dutta apparently continued her close proximity to Bachchan. Not one to take things lying down, the possessive Ash is said to have showered verbal stings at Dutta, resulting in a tu tu main main between the two. Although the men worked hard to bring about a peace of sorts, the two women are jaani dushmans today Haai daiyya but I must admit, I'm curious to know where this vishwa sundari- yon ka yuddh is headed. What say?

The Abhi-Ash Bash… krazy kiya re!!

2007-06-30T13:26:00.001+05:30

It was truly the (Grand) mother of all events! From the time India’s most “eligible bachelor” turned his sexy gaze on the “most beautiful woman in the world” it’s been hype hoopla and hungama all the way. Today Abhishek Bachchan and Ash Rai – oops, Bachchan – are man and wife, but you seriously think you’ve heard the last of them? Visit your friendly neighbourhood shrink people, because you ain’t heard – or seen – nothin’yet! Act II is about to begin with the feedbacks, reactions, observations, and most importantly, speculations! Can the gorgeous free-spirited super-star ever hope to fit into (allegedly) “Mama’s boys” life with confidence... into the (now-traditional, now new-age) Bachchan sansar with the required orthodox, lowkey, persona desired? While marketers are busy toting up a figure to gauge the collective worth of the brand Bachchan – last estimated at Rs.7 billion – the moot question is: Has the media finally lost it, in its self-appointed role as stalker & paparazzi on an over-drive?

Lowe’s Priti Nair believes that the frenzy has as much to do with the over-hyped times we live in as the significance of the event itself. “It’s tragic to see the depth Breaking News has nosedived to. A while ago – I am not kidding – it proudly trumpetted the price of onions. Imagine!” All the sickening and boring details, flashed & printed ad nauseam, Nair believes, is the new disease – the celebration of trivia and it has as much to do with the dumbing down of the media as fierce competition blitzes the media space. This results in mass frenzy, making mountains of molehills and some really “creative” spins designed to grab eyeballs & get a leg-up in rat race.

One of the Mumbai’s most celebrated theatre directors (No, not the one ‘n’ only AP, for chrissake!) offers his take. “There can be no greater icon in the history of Bollywood than AB, right? When his son – today a rising star in his own right – decides to marry the most beautiful, glamorous and hot-ticket star in Bollywood, c’mon, it’s a pre-sold knock-out event! Naturally, the media would go ga-ga. Instead of a blanket ban (causing them to go ballistic), wouldn’t it have been so much better if they were allocated some time to shoot their pictures and clear out?” he reasons.

True! By excluding the media and using security to take care of the VIP guests – and inadvertently rough them up! – the Bachchans mucked it up. Interestingly, it was this very same Mr. Bachchan who, a few months ago, went to the media with a full page ad endorsing his son’s Guru to the skies. “Close friends and family are all very well as are cute speeches about the rationale that defined his actions in the media. I think selective memory and exploiting the media, when required, is also not a great act. I am very disappointed,” he adds.

Brunch – has difficulty breathing when the issue is brought up! When we eventually manage to tear her away from watching POGO Channel, she somewhat recovers and begins to talk. “Guys, we are all up to our ears with the AbhiAsh thing and have decided, in principle, to shove any news related to the golden couple in the deep freeze for at least a couple of months. Which is why, I am staying away from all news channels and concentrating on POGO! Bas, bahut ho gaya, yaar!”

Poonam – a hard-core showbiz journo of many years – admits that it’s big stuff, but genuinely feels that the channels and publications overestimated the news value of the event and went insane flashing it 24X7. “It’s like this. After a point, even the most curious and excited fan gets fed-up of seeing the same boring visuals, flashed repeatedly across all channels. Why this madness? I guess it has to do with the insecurity of channels... This is hot stuff and they don’t want to miss a beat, in case another channel gets that sudden, unexpected and winning dramatic visual of the Big B, Jaya or the newly-wedded couple that instantly allows them to surge ahead. Scary huh?”

So, at the end of the day, what gives? It’s a tricky question. Traditionally, worldwide, the celeb-media face-off has always been combustible, a love-hate relationship with each feeding off the other. Increasingly, the thin line between private (no entry) and public (welcome) are blurring with the media, insisting that the celebs owe them one. While the Bachchans maintain that they have every right to hold a “small private wedding” to which the me- dia is not invited, critics aver that their pre-historic and regressive antics – temple-hopping, tree-wedding, astro-craze on one hand, and limited edition, starry designer functions with the newly-wedded couple rocking to the chartbusting Kajra-re on the other, makes a mockery of the whole thing. The simple truth is that celebrities are public property created, promoted, and in some fashion, owned by the media. Today, media has assumed the proportion of a Frankenstein and when towering mega-stars (who live in the public eye) suddenly decide to play coy and shut them off in an event that has swept most local, national and international news... Baby, you’re asking for trouble!

Read more Articles:-

Blah-Blah!

2007-06-21T11:52:00.001+05:30

Sheryl Crow’s toilet talk

One person, really struggling hard for environment’s sake, is songstress Sheryl Crow. In her latest blog entry, she made a peculiar plea to the readers – to use a ‘fabric sleeve’ as a pseudonapkin (designed by her – in case you were thinking of purchasing some) and to also utilise just one square of toilet paper per rest room visit! While Crow did retract the latter part of her statement later and claimed to have said that only to make people take notice of her cause – global warming – the damage was done. For as of now, Sheryl Crow’s image of a sane woman has officially been flushed down the drain!

Daddy’s home!

Well yes, ill health has its benefits too! For after his beloved Rosa brokeup with him and his heart-ache landed him in hospital, the dapper star got to stay at home for quite a while, which resulted in getting him some quality time with his children Sarah and Ibrahim. And as he endured lengthy shootings in New York for Ta Ra Rum Pum, the two child actors, Angelina Idnani and Haji Ali, kept reminding him of his own kids back home. Intending to maintain such strong bonds with his kids, Saif ’s now seriously planning out his time...

Of love, handles and Lovely Singh!

Kick-ass Kareena has lately been setting the silver-screen afire with her hot number in the film Kya Love Story Hai… And news is that she did the number as a friendly gesture for director Lovely Singh (who happens to be a close pal), though she did refuse to wear revealing clothes for the same. Well, at least there’s someone who knows how to handle love-handles!

No kidding, this time!

After her recent visit to an orphanage in Russia, the former Baywatch star, Pamela Anderson obliged her online diary by chronicling the same… Apparently, she was touched and inspired to meet kids as old as her own two boys, Brandon and Dylan, but unlike them, they had nothing to really call their own. Although her entries indicate a very humane face of the star, it also perhaps portends yet another celebrity adoption. You know… it’s the ‘in thing’.

Conspiracy 2350: Destroy all intelligent life forms!

2007-06-11T12:40:00.001+05:30

Yes, technology has helped make life easier in more ways than one. Or has it? Think again. It could ultimately prove to be the biggest curse on mankind...

It’s 2025 and Marie’s 3-year-old has been into a bad accident. An already vexed Marie’s worry is compounded when all she has for assistance is her domesticated robot – who dials the automated ambulance service. Marie also realises that when she reaches the hi-tech hospital in the neighborhood, she’ll be greeted by a bunch of machines again, and one of them will operate upon her son. Her precious son in the hands of merciless machines that albeit assiduously programmed, will nevertheless lack the human touch. Is this for real?

Well, the way technology moves forward, one cannot discount this possibilitiy. Millions of cleaning robots and myriad tactical robots are already being used all over the world today. By the end of this year, they could be manning some airport lounges & traffic monitoring. Even humanoid robots are a reality; they would even demand rights, according to the British government, years later. And who knows, these marvels of technology could wreak havoc with civilisation. Are we sounding too alarmist? Look around you, and you will realise that technology has already managed to enslave humans. Imagine life today without cars, television, radio, computers, gaming consoles, printers, washing machines, email, Internet, PDAs, cell phones, iPods, credit cards, ATMs & GPS devices. Especially when these concepts were unimaginable a few decades ago. Consider what happened in North America just a few weeks ago, when the BlackBerry wireless e-mail service from Research In Motion suffered an 8-hour outage. Millions of hapless ‘humans’ had their schedules thrown off gear as they could not access their emails on the go.

In fact, things are getting more and more complicated and amusing at the same time. For instance, TV programmes are available on television (naturally!), mobile as well as on the computer via IPTV. That too when the busy, stressful lifestyles of people means they spend less and less time on the idiot box. Music is on the iPod, on the music system in your home & car, on your mobile and again, on your computer! It’s almost like they want us to stay wired to our machines always, whether or not we spend any time at all with our families.

And if that’s this generation, think of the generations to follow – ‘blessed’ by the wonders of technology and living lives that are starved of relationships. It’s a scenario similar to that in the Hollywood blockbuster The Matrix, which is as perilous as it is fascinating. And Morpheus sums up the plight of the people in the Matrix aptly thus tells Neo, “... these people are still a part of that system... And many of them are so inured, so hopelessly dependent on the system, that they will fight to protect it.” And the way we are going, we already seem to be part of a Matrix, that seeks to take over. Can we stop its endemic, or are we indeed doomed to be swept away?

Girls uninterrupted!

2007-06-05T17:15:00.001+05:30

Angie and Uma go ‘beyond borders’ in love, life and acting

When goddesses placed their ethereal feet on Earth and mingled with mortals in epic times, their devastating beauty and power destroyed nations (remember the golden Apple of Discord?). Once again, two goddesses, who have no golden apple but who rule the silver screen nonetheless, are mesmerizing audiences. Racing towards legendary Hollywood status, Uma Th urman and Angelina Jolie have married femininity with athleticism, and spirituality with the material. Emblematizing the American melting pot, Angelina, born on June 4th 1975, inherited her enviable genes from French-Canadian model/actress Marcheline Bertrand and the Academy Award winning actor Jon Voight. Uma, born on April 29th, 1970, also grew up in a multi-cultural milieu with a Swedish model as a mother and a father who is a professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies. Besides their privileged and culturally diverse upbringing, the Uma-Angelina story has been running a parallel course for years.

Frequently topping various ‘Most Beautiful’ lists, Angelina and Uma fi rst cracked into showbiz by modeling at the young ages of 16 and 15. At 24, both proved their mettle as actresses and were nominated for the Best Supporting Actress Oscar. Whereas Angelina took home the Oscar in 1999 for her role in Girl, Interrupted, Uma lost out and did not bag the prestigious award for her 1994 fi lm Pulp Fiction. Uncannily, both were fi rst married to British actors, Johnny Lee Miller (married to Angelina for 3 years) and Gary Oldman (married to Uma for 2 years). They both married American actors the second time, meeting their (now ex) husbands, Billy Bob Th ornton and Ethan Hawke, on the sets of Pushing Tin and Gattaca respectively. Rather than ruining men, Uma and Angelina use their fame to advance philanthropic causes. While Uma actively supports peace initiatives in the Middle East and is a fi rm advocate of gun control laws in the US, Angelina has shamed many a celebrity by donating one third of her income to charity, being a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador and adopting two children. Th e spiritual education of the two is startlingly similar; because of her desire that her adopted son, Maddox, know about his Cambodian heritage, Angelina has immersed herself in Buddhist culture in order to teach him. Uma, too, has a life-long tie with Buddhism: her father’s deep-rooted interest in Buddhism meant that not only were Uma and her three brothers given Buddhist names (a tradition that she followed by naming her fi rstborn ‘Maya Ray’), but they were also brought up as Buddhists and spent a considerable portion of their younger years in the Indo-Tibet region.

Bringing their individuality to their work, they’ve ventured off the beaten track and portrayed characters such as a sociopath, a Roman goddess, a ditzy model, and a femme fatale between them. Depicting a proclivity for strong characters and a visible aggression in both personal and professional lives, Uma and Angelina have acted in volumes of Kill Bill and Lara Croft , making both thespians a household name, and popularizing the idea of tough-yet-sexy women.

With their acting prowess and incomparable allure, it’s no wonder that these divas have bonded as friends. Setting the screen alight this year are Uma in My Super Ex-Girlfriend and Angelina in Th e Good Shepherd. Here’s to these gorgeous, gumptious gals!

Don’t pay for your calls...

2007-05-09T10:39:00.001+05:30

... but rest assured you will pay for SMS, video, mCommerce, et al! VAS is the new emerging segment

It’s tough to charge you premiums for making calls nowadays with the cutthroat battle for market shares in the Indian telecom sector. As a logical follow through, companies are looking for attractive avenues to improve their ARPUS, and it is here that mobile VAS services come to the rescue. According to a recent report by the Internet & Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), the VAS industry in India is estimated at Rs.28.5 billion and is expected to grow by 60% to touch Rs.45.6 billion by the end of 2007.

It’s the right time to exploit all emerging opportunities in the mobile communications space. Sanjiv Mittal, CEO, Bharti Telesoft (VAS division of Bharti Enterprises Group), elucidates, “Th e main opportunity is the vast amount of content that can be delivered via mobile. The key is to collect that broad range of content and ensure it can be packaged and delivered in a meaningful & appealing way to individual subscribers and subscriber segments.”

Telecom companies, marketers, content providers and aggregators alike have realized this and are trying to reach out to conquer this relatively new terrain, but the road is tough. Anupam Mittal, CMD of People Group – Mauj Telecom, observes that as his company reaches the next level, “operational excellence, disruptive innovation and an unflinching focus on discovering customer needs is what we (Mauj Telecom) will need to distinguish ourselves.”

Entertainment hogs the limelight in the VAS space with P2P applications & ringtones attracting 75% of revenues. There are new, promising areas like mCommerce, which are yet to gain momentum. The low level of awareness, coupled with apprehensions of conducting transactions on mobile are the key reasons for the sluggish growth. The other prominent challenge that faces the industry at the moment is the revenue sharing mechanism in the industry between aggregator, copyright owner & operator. In fact, the discrepancy in revenue sharing is deterring lots of VCs from investing. With operators retaining the biggest chunk of revenues, the proposition of investing in content companies from the point of view of investors, becomes less & less lucrative.

This is a real concern, according to Rajiv Hiranandani of Mobile2win, one of the biggest players in the segment. “A lot of investments and resources go into creating and developing regional content. This can only be covered if telecom carriers give us a higher revenue share,” he said. Resolving issues like this, quickly, will benefit the sector.

With rapid mobile penetration, the VAS industry in India is standing at the vanguard of ocean of opportunities. Domestic and international remittances, cash-in and cash-out services and many other financial services on mobiles can become highly profitable stars in the near future, since there’s a rising need for speedy transactions. VAS will be the key differentiator for players in this competitive environment, as they will be able to profitably tap various customer segments for their services. As they say, companies always know how to make their customers ‘pay’!

THE BLASTOFF

2006-10-10T13:37:00.002+05:30

THE BLASTOFF: Those who believed that the industry is moving towards the executive & premium segment, and that the economy segment is losing its shine, need to necessarily shift to euro 10 norms, pretty fast! Kalpesh Parekh, AVP, Equity Research, rejoins, “Companies can’t afford to neglect the economy segment. They need to have a dual model strategy. They should work on the economy segment for rural India and executive, premium segment bikes for the urban India.” Furthermore, in this rolling fiscal, Indian two wheeler space, especially the urban markets, will be driven by a technology revolution. Not counting the new bike launches, which occur faster than how ‘KK’ serials change on Rupert Murdoch’s cable channels. Evidently, two-wheeler gods & kings will be battling for the technological edge, even in the new launches. Hero Honda has already launched a fuel-injection model with 125-cc Glamour F1. The technology will be a brand new experience for Indian consumers. Closely on the heels of Hero Honda, Bajaj too is gearing up to launch the 200 (plus)-cc Pulsar armed with the world beater DTS-Fi (digital twin spark-fuel injection) technology (as opposed to the DTSi). Being successful with these truly innovative products will be the real test of mettle for both the emperors. Indian bikes for sure were due for a major electronic and technical overhaul, more than just mere cosmetic makeovers. But the biggest worry for both these companies would be, are Indian consumers getting so rich that they might just skip buying bikes (and shift to, say the Tata Rs.1 lakh car)? Well, all we know is that the scooter industry’s already dead... Long live

Christening your next new handset

2006-10-06T11:44:00.001+05:30

Numbering game’s passé; it’s time for the ‘naming’ game, and then some more!

What’s in a name? Everything! Ask cellular handset makers in India, and the answer’s bound to be just that! And not without reason. The eye-popping success of the Moto RAZR series in India that is pulling up the sagging fortunes of the American handset-maker in the country, is a case in point. Lloyd Mathias, Director (Marketing), Motorola (India) believes that: “People do not understand confusing numbers and fundamentally, names arouse more response from target audiences.” The rave response to Motorola’s Moto RAZR, Moto PEBL, Moto SLVR, and the more recent, Moto ROKR series is reportedly also inspiring other handset makers to abandon their penchant with boring numbers and alphabets to name their snazzy models.

Till date, Nokia with a 79% share of the Indian market had in real terms exploited the Indian cellular handset freaks that could not resist its 3310, 3315, 1100, 2300, 6610, 6600, 7610 and other numbing numbered series. But perhaps today, think-tanks at the Finnish major are asking a question to themselves – can we fight competition better if we ‘name’ our handsets, instead of using plain vanilla digits for classifying the handsets? The answer is obvious by their announcement of naming their brands hereon.

Says Keith Pardy, Marketing Head (Global), Nokia, “What you will see coming from us in the future is not just a numbering system, you are going to start seeing names that carry a meaning and are important to consumers.” Call it piggy-backing on the innovative branding moves of their competitors or simply being copy-cats, the company has certainly realized that customers all around the world identify themselves with and respond well to product names that carry some connotation.

So have they already given shape to this plan with the Nokia 8800 Sirocco Edition launched recently? Or maybe they now believe that numbering their handsets make them unique, and hence have settled for a judicious mix of a name and a number to begin with! And come to think of it, there is an emotional connect when it comes to names and it’s more fun. There also comes a sense of ownership and style declaration with names. Digitally advanced all right, but ‘names’ unquestionably make the whole affair more palatable.

But then, why have strange sounding four-letter names... SLVR instead of Silver, RAZR instead of Razor and ROKR and COCKR in places of God knows what! “Consumers don’t look at these names in an abstract manner and therefore our four letter names are worked out accordingly to convey a message to consumers,” explains Mathias. Seems those guys out there did get the message. Or else why would Moto rave about its resounding success? Or why would other handset-makers latch on to the bandwagon? Why indeed!

We’re choking on the emissions!

2006-10-04T14:15:00.001+05:30

The sunny state of California isn’t feeling particularly kind these days. The state has announced that it is going to sue six US and Japanese automakers (it’s a first of its kind legal battle in the US). And why? Because these six were contributing to global warming, that’s why. The offending parties are: Chrysler Motors Corporation (an arm of the Germany-based DaimlerChrysler); General Motors Corporation; Ford Motor Company; and the North American subsidiaries of Japanese carmakers Honda Motor, Nissan Motor and Toyota Motor.

These companies, charged the suit, are “among the world’s largest contributors to global warming and the adverse impacts on California.” The state’s Attorney General Bill Lockyer said that “global warming is causing significant harm to California’s environment, economy, agriculture and public health” and that the impacts are already costing the state millions of dollars and the price tag is increasing every passing day. If you jog your memory cells, you will remember that the state is led by Republican actor-turned-Governor ‘Terminator’ Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is at loggerheads with US President George W. Bush over environmental issues.

China, India: Difference in the details

2006-09-23T11:20:00.001+05:30

China and India are among the fastest growing economies in the world, with growth rates much admired by developing countries desperately struggling to crawl out of the poverty trap. Their abundance of relatively skilled labor at low cost has turned them into "factories of the world", and their huge populations in turn offer lucrative consumer markets for multinationals. These two Asian giants are tipped to become the world's next economic superpowers.

Nonetheless, a closer examination reveals that they offer competing models of development, though they became modern nations at about the same time, India in 1947, China in 1949. They launched reforms from different starting points: China embarked on market reforms in 1979 - a decade earlier than India - from a centrally planned, economically backward, agrarian economy; India initiated its reforms in the early 1990s and is today a semi-socialist economy in a fledging democracy ridden with problems of corruption and bureaucratic inefficiency. Today, China is seen to be ahead of India; but there is much speculation on their respective growth trajectories.

What do the numbers tell us?

China's economic growth thus far is certainly more impressive than its South Asian cousin. China's gross domestic product (GDP) grew by an average of 9.7 percent during 1982-92, and by 9 percent during 1992-02. On the other hand, India grew by 5.6 percent and 6 percent in the same respective periods, though still impressive by most developing countries' standards. India's lagging is due to a number of reasons. The Chinese save twice as much as Indians: for every US$1 earned, the Chinese save 44 cents, compared with 24 cents by Indians. As a result, the Chinese invest more in their economy than do the Indians. The share of gross domestic investment in GDP is 41 percent in China, compared to 22.8 percent in India. The Chinese economy is also more opened to international trade, and therefore gains from greater specialization in areas where China excels. China's export share of GDP is twice that of India's.

A more compelling reason to account for India's slower growth is the flows of foreign direct investment (FDI). As shown in the diagram below, the amount of FDI into India is only a small fraction of that into China. Of course, any statistics, especially those reported by communist cadres who are rewarded for economic performance of their localities, should be taken with a grain of salt. As frequently pointed out, China's FDI figures are likely to be exaggerated by "round-tripping" - domestic capital disguised as foreign investment (passed through Hong Kong) to qualify for special investment incentives reserved for foreigners. India's FDI figures, however, may be understated because they exclude foreigners' reinvested profits, the proceeds of foreign stock market listings, intra-company loans, and so forth. This may not be a simple issue of whether India is able to attract foreign investment, since it may have as much to do with New Delhi's policy or practice for years of keep foreign investors out of the country.

Foreign vs private companies

China may boast impressive records in courting foreign investors, but it has few successful indigenous private companies on which it can pride itself. China's private companies are systematically discriminated against by the capital market and the legal system. Private property rights have only recently been recognized by the central government and given legal recognition and protection. The state-owned banking system is notorious for molly-coddling the inefficient and debt-laden state-owned enterprises, while shying away from the vibrant private sector.
The stock markets are also largely reserved for those enterprises with state backing. Ironically, foreign companies in China are granted better recognition, legal protection and market access than indigenous private companies. The internationally better known Chinese firms, such as China Telecom, and the white goods, or major appliance, maker Haier, were formerly nurtured in the state cradle. China Telecom is a state-owned enterprise, and Haier was formerly a collectively owned township and village enterprise (TVE).

In stark contrast, India's brand of internationally well-known companies, such as software giants Infosys Technologies and Wipro, and pharmaceutical and biotech start-ups Ranbaxy and Dr Reddy's Labs, are born and bred locally. "Indeed, by relying primarily on organic growth, India is making fuller use of its resources and has chosen a path that may well deliver more sustainable progress than China's FDI-driven approach," write Huang Yasheng and Tarun Khanna, dons from the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT, and the Harvard Business School, in an article published in Foreign Policy in August, 2003.

"China's export-led manufacturing boom is largely a creation of foreign direct investment, which effectively serves as a substitute for domestic entrepreneurship," they argue.

The point about India's better use of resources is worth noting, as the numbers seem to lend support to this hypothesis. China's GDP growth rate (8 percent in 2002) is about double that of India (4.6 percent); however, China's savings ($542 billion) are four times higher than India's ($122 billion), not to mention that its FDI inflows are more than 10 times greater ($52 billion compared with $3.5 billion).

Not just markets - institutions matter

Why is entrepreneurship able to flourish in India but not in China? "Blossoming entrepreneurship in India is due in part to a liberalizing financial market, which provides capital access previously exclusive to certain caste groups to the budding entrepreneurs. Capital is now available to private start-ups, through venture capitalists, the banking system, and the stock markets," says Vijay Kelkar, an advisor to the Indian Ministry of Finance, at a speech recently delivered at the Australian National University in Canberra.

Aside from a financial market that allocates resources more efficiently, India seems to have in place the institutions - democracy, a functioning judiciary, property rights and so on - conducive to economic development. Huang and Khanna, from MIT and Harvard, argue: "Democracy, a tradition of entrepreneurship, and a decent legal system have given India the underpinnings necessary for free enterprise to flourish." Of the world's top 200 small-sized companies listed by Forbes in 2002, 13 were from India; while four were China's - all of them based in Hong Kong.

Nonetheless, China's greater openness to the outside world and its ability to benefit from foreign trade and investment can be attributable to a "stronger state" (albeit authoritarian), one that is able to advocate and implement policies in the country's interests, rather than being held hostage by any vested interest groups. By contrast, India's burgeoning but unruly democracy means that in order to gain power, the Indian policy makers are often trapped in myopic vested interests and are sometimes held hostage by protectionist voices.

Asian Paints. Har ghar kuch kehta hai.”

2006-09-22T12:20:00.001+05:30

Asian Paints adds a splash of colour to the telly, yet again!

“Life is a great big canvas, and you should throw all the paint you can on it,” said the late Danny Kaye, one of America’s leading comedians. The masterminds behind the Asian Paints commercials seems to have taken his words to heart. Asian Paints, the country’s Numero Uno player in the paints market, has always been able to forge an emotional connect with the audience at large right from the days when the adorable Gattu served as their mascot to the more recent “Har Rang Kuch Kehta hai” campaign.

The latest campaign from their stable takes the ‘Har Rang Kuch Kehta hai’ plank forward to ‘Har Ghar Kuch Kehta hai’. Abhijit Avasthi, Group Creative Director, Ogilvy & Mather sheds light on the thought process behind the commercial: “The brief was to build upon the ‘Har Rang Kuch Kehta Hai’ campaign, which brings alive the role of colour in home decor. The aim is to tell people how colour fires the imagination.” Of course, crafting a creative for Asian Paints will forever remain a challenge for the creative brains, as “the tone and manner of the message must always remain intact, yet the communication must keep refreshing itself for the audiences each time…” points out Awasthi. More so, when the brand already has a long heritage of great advertising in its kitty.

The latest commercial sets out by focusing on two kids devising a plan to get hold of chocolates from their grandmother. The girl points towards a purple wall in the house and tells her grandmom that it’sher mom’s favourite wall: “Kyun ki mummy ko jamun bahut pasand hai!” The girl next drags the hapless octogenarian to a green wall and claims that her dad loves that wall: “Kyun ki papa ko matar bahut pasand hai.” The girl then points toward a brown wall and hopefully prods, “Yeh Chintu aur meri favorite wall hai.” The grandmother ponders the question; “brown?” to which the tot seiz- es her opportunity, “Brown nahin nani, chocolate…. Kyun ki humein chocolate bahut pasand hai!” The visibly enlightened grandmother hugs the children and the VO encapsulates: “Har rang mein chhupi ek kahani hai. Asian Paints. Har ghar kuch kehta hai.”

Shot at Kamala Mills Compound in Mumbai by Prashant Issar from Corcoise Films, the cinematographer for the commercial was Ravi K. Chandran. Abhijit also makes a quick mention of Shekhar Jha and Suresh Babu, who worked on the ad-film along with him in the creatives. Shooting with kids can be quite taxing as they are prone to travelling on their own flights of fancy and thus difficult to rein in. But Abhijit quickly pointed out that since “we had shot with both these kids earlier, and so getting them to do the right things was easier this time.”

“Strangely enough, the previous film on this campaign (the Cutting- Shutting ad) was shot just after July 26th last year and we waded through water to the sets. This year as well it poured like crazy and we all literally waded into the sets. Next year, when we finalize the shoot dates for the next ad we will inform the Meteorological department... it seems to be a more accurate way of predicting floods in Mumbai!” jokes Abhijeet. Yet another gem in Ogilvy’s stunning tiara, this tongue-in cheek ad stands out for its easy & poignant appeal. But then using cute kids to convey a brand message always does pay, right?

Donald to roll the wheels

2006-09-12T11:32:00.001+05:30

Motorcycle giant Harley-Davidson Inc. has agreed to acquire a major portion of the assets of Australia-based Castalloy. Castalloy has been the sole supplier of cast motorcycle wheels and hubs to Harley- Davidson for the past 20 years. Post the acquisition of assets, a new wing will be formed in Adelaide called New Castalloy. This new wing will be a wholly owned operation of Harley- Davidson and will primarily focus on manufacturing. Donald Gogan, who has been with the Milwaukee- based motorcycle manufacturer since 1992, has been appointed as the Managing Director of this new venture.

‘Park’ your savings!

2006-09-11T12:12:00.001+05:30

“...cue blue birdsa-tweeting and turtledoves a-cooing!!”

Cape Town capers
Capetonians form an enviable lot. Peopling one of the most likeable cities of Africa, they most certainly had divine decree going for them to have been placed in the midst of some of the most panoramic precincts in the world. And a walk inside the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden in Cape Town is just what you need to find that out for yourself. Lush landscapes lolling in the shadows of the eastern slopes of the Table Mountain, the 528-hectare spread of Kirstenbosch is an awesome microcosm of indigenous South African flora, typically the fynbos and the proteas. While exotic bird calls enrapture, find your way to the Fragrance Garden, Medicine Garden, Society Conservatory etc. or simply marvel at the 346-year old Van Riebeeck’s Hedge! A hiker’s paradise, the cobbled walkways meandering as though leading right into the ever-beckoning Table Mountain are perfect for that introspective retreat when you’ve tired yourself out with Cape Town beach-hopping or Waterfront shopping. Go, find peace... under the Table!

A fun Danish den!
In the Tivoli Gardens of Copenhagen, there is nothing that remotely brings to mind the terror tradition of the Vikings of medieval Denmark, once the Nordic nemesis feared for their fierce sea raids along the European coastline. Open for just five months in a year (April to September), Tivoli nevertheless remains one of the most popular parks of the world, and founded in 1843, also one of the oldest. A centrally located unique park littered with amazing miniature theme gardens, it can be reached by a short bike ride from any part of a city that doesn’t consider cyclists a nuisance! It’s also an amusement park; one you could walk in to without necessarily escorting a kid. Apart from old(est) and new rides – in fact even supposed to have been inspiration to Walt Disney’s amusement arcade – the Gardens are also constantly abuzz with activity around its scenic flower gardens, pantomime theatre, concert hall, and then with some incredible pyrotechnics at night! Feel like a part of a fairytale…

Bliss in bloom
They look like what we might’ve regarded were there no idol worship, they feel like that reassuring touch when despairing with all-is-lost, they smell like that first breath after a stint underwater… flowers represent a sublime confluence of divinity and love. For those who stopped to smell the roses as a matter of ritual, Buchart Gardens is one place not to be missed. A lush 50-acre spread in Victoria, Canada, the place, in no corner, reminds of the cement quarry site that it was before it was taken over in 1904 by the Butcharts, who transformed it into the paradise that it is now. Though any season is the right season to behold the fl oral flourish here, it makes real good sense to wade through roses, tulips, dahlias, azaleas, rhododendrons and a whole burst of blossoms now. Will turn on the poet in you…

‘Still’ in Singapore...?
The land looks no bigger than the arrow tip pointing to its location at the tip of the Malay Peninsula on political world maps. And yet there isn’t a greater draw in the region of South East Asia to meet every criterion in the travel book so exhaustively that one could claim to have gone Around the World in a lot lesser number of days than Jules Verne took about it! Roads so clean you could lick off dropped jelly (and you better – pick, if not lick – or you’ll be fined!), malls so plush you could shop yourself poor and food so great you’d pause the calorie count... it’s a joy anywhere in Singapore! But a 52-hectare delight awaits nature fiends in the Singapore Botanic Gardens, a magnificent expanse of green that transports you closest to a walk in the woods, short of the perils of predators. Divided into the Tanglin, Central and Bukit Timah cores, the Gardens’ biggest attraction besides the Swan Lake, Swiss Ball Fountain, Sun Rockery, Ginger Garden etc is the National Orchid Garden with some of those splendid blooms named after dignitaries like Princess Di and Nelson Mandela. Not that you’d miss any but there are even music concerts at the Symphony Lake. Sounds like Rhythm Divine already…

An outdoor opera
Into the Great Outdoors, that’s where a trip Down Under leads you. And like a continental précis, there comes alive in the oldest city of Sydney all imaginable elements of recreation from this grand landmass in the Southern Hemisphere. Now, even if your ideas of the same were a private chat with a flower or making friends with squirrels, there are enough venues for vent. The Royal Botanic Gardens, cheek by jowl with the Sydney Harbor, provide in its many theme gardens of rose, begonia, palm, succulents etc, an exquisite haven for flying foxes and Pearl White butterflies apart from thousands of other species of flora and fauna. Bushwalk around some beautiful sculptures and statues, or simply sit back on the grass to behold the mosaic of colours behind the Harbour at sundown.

THE TOWERS OF POWER

2006-09-08T13:05:00.001+05:30

Venezuela holds tremendous potential to possess a highly developed power sector, thanks to its proven oil and mineral reserves. What is making things better is the fact that it has been privatized after 1998. After that, there has been a gamut of foreign companies that have tried to tap this potential. Besides this, a long list of rivers and upcoming hydro power plants within the country also provide resources for alternative sources of electricity, contributing around 68% of the total power generation. It’s no wonder that Venezuela has capacity to produce 21.5 gigawatts (GW) of power, which is one of the highest in the Latin American region.

Charles Babbage and Ada Lovelace

2006-09-06T11:04:00.001+05:30

He was the father of computing. And she was his devoted assistant. Charles Babbage, born to a London banker on December 26, 1791 met Ada Lovelace (nee Bryon) when she was just 17. Both of them shared a passion for mathematics that defied normal. Babbage as a young scholar worked on Newton’s mathematical concepts, toyed with calculus, even founded the Royal Astronomical Society. But by 1820, he was involved in engineering a calculating machine – the Difference Engine – that would change history. The machine compiled multiplication tables – marking him the world’s first programmer. His thoughts then struck upon on what is based the modern day computer – the Analytical Engine – which could perform several numerical functions. Unfortunately, few believed in it enough to invest, and it exceeded the technological prowess required then.

Ada Lovelace had, however, become a dear friend over the years. Born in 1815, she was the daughter of a romantic poet Lord Bryon, who left his wife Anne Isabelle Milbanke within a year of marriage to bring up Ada alone. Anne fought deliriously to ensure the young girl didn’t become a poet and pushed her into mathematics. Her inborn creativity, however, was hard to contain and burst in the form of a design for flying machine in 1828. However, such pursuits by women in her age weren’t welcome, but her friendship with Babbage gave her the much needed intellectual stimuli. Married to the Earl of Lovelace, Ada understood Babbage’s work intimately.

When an Italian mathematician wrote about Babbage’s Analytical Engine, she was entrusted by Babbage to translate and fine tune it. She articulated Charles Babbage’s work better than anyone else, and saw it as an everyday computer. She described “the engine [is] the material expression of any indefinite function of any degree of generality and complexity” and even foresaw digital music! The disciple died of cancer at a ripe age of 37, much before Charles, but his work lived through and her notes founded the computing era.

One for the King and cheers for the Countess!

Got my mojo working, aha!!!

2006-09-05T10:45:00.001+05:30

With all eyes set on her, Nooyi should focus her efforts at getting more fruitful acquisitions

So what if Indra Nooyi earned derision from the Americans after her (in)famous ‘Long Middle Finger’ speech at the Columbia Business School? She could still boast about the unstinted support she has received from the top brass at PepsiCo. No wonder she is now the new CEO at Pepsi. That’s quite a journey for the lady from Madras Christian College who is now set to become arguably the most powerful woman CEO in the world. After all, she will lead a company that tops the list (in revenues) among 11 Fortune 500 companies led by women CEOs. And yet, the accolades also conceal challenges that Nooyi faces. The most significant would be matching the track record set by her predecessor Steve Reinumund, who led the $32.6 billion conglomerate since the year 2001. Reinumund has masterminded a net earnings growth of 70% and an 80% rise in Earnings Per Share (EPS) since 2001, not to forget an m-cap crossing the magic mark of $100 billion. His enduring legacy will be the fact that Pepsi’s market capitalisation raced ahead of Coke’s once when he was leading the Pepsi troops. Can Nooyi better that?

Having served at global giants like Boston Consulting Group, Johnson & Johnson, Asea Brown Boveri Inc. and Motorola Inc., Nooyi, no doubt, has the pedigree to improve upon Reinumund’s legacy. Reinmund asserted, “Indra’s record of transforming PepsiCo speaks for itself, she’s been an invaluable partner and ally throughout my time as CEO. I am convinced she’s more than qualified and clearly ready for her new role.”

But what about the critics who doubt that her success story will run smoothly for long? Well, she has certainly silenced critics in the past. A typical instance was in 2001, when she successfully reduced the asking price for Quaker Oats. Wall Street applauded the manner in which the then CFO of Pepsi saved ‘billions’ on the $14 billion deal. The icing on the cake was the health drink Gatorade that has helped Pepsi dominate the rapidly growing sports drinks market. Nooyi has engineered over a dozen acquisitions in 12 years at PepsiCo including the $3.3 billion takeover of Tropicana. Nooyi also worked on the restructuring that created YUM, the umbrella brand now controlling KFC, Taco Bell & Pizza Hut.

The task that lies ahead of Nooyi is to ensure that Pepsico’s principal businesses (Frito-Lay, Pepsi-Cola, Gatorade, Tropicana & Quaker foods) perform to potential with a special attention on PepsiCo’s market share of carbonated soft drinks, which has fallen by 0.3% in 2005 to 31.4% (a Beverage Digest survey). She must also spearhead more and more acquisitions for Pepsi to remain ahead. Also, expansion of businesses in African and Asian markets (with revenue growth of 14% & 11% respectively) are the key. And speaking of Asia, Nooyi faces an immediate dilemma with the pesticides controversy in India, resolving which would need more than mere financial wizardry.

Nooyi’s ascent to the upper echelons of power in America Inc. has been through sheer hard work and determination. Although the challenges are enormous, the fact that Nooyi has seen Pepsi through some of its toughest years (as colas have declined in popularity ratings) makes her the right person for the job. Only, pointing fingers is bad manners, a lesson she must not forget.

Airtel

2006-09-01T17:05:00.001+05:30

A single ad can change your destiny. Don’t take our word for it... ask Airtel!

While Reliance may be catching up in the race for number of subscribers, Airtel is clearly far ahead, so far as strong positioning and poignant advertising communication is concerned.

But then Airtel has a legacy of churning out rock-solid advertisements since the very beginning. And April 2006 saw the mother of them all making a debut on your telly tube: The blockbuster ad evoking strong emotions from momentous occasions! The visuals transcend from Mahatma Gandhi’s Quit India Movement to Winston Churchill showing the victory sign after the allied forces defeated the fascist one; from Sachin Tendulkar’s dismissal by umpire Shephard to Martin Luther King delivering his famous ‘I have a dream speech’, and so on... The typed graphics are equally moving – ‘two words can bring down a regime’, ‘two can win a world war’. The ad ends with ‘That’s the power of human expression – Express Yourself.’

“Airtel has long been a clear leader in the telecom business, and has behaved as a leader should,” beams K. S. Chakravarthy, National Creative Director of Rediffusion DY&R, who along with his team created the ad. The commercial evoked a million goosebumps, tugging at heartstrings with the overwhelming images of emotions it showcased. Dubbed the ‘Madras Mozart’, maestro A. R. Rahman composed the distinctive music for Airtel, which is by now a household jingle.

No file footage, mind you!

And if you thought that the creative brains relied only on file footage to produce this masterpiece, you’re dead wrong! “Except for four shots (Sachin, Churchill, Martin Luther King and Lata Mangeshkar), the film painstakingly recreates historic moments that changed the course of history,” says Chakravarthy. Visualise the recreated images of Gandhi’s Salt March, the tranquility of the monastery, the formation of the peace sign with numerous candles, and you realize the painstaking craftsmanship that has gone into this one.

The TVC is years of sweat and blood reaching fruition for Chakravarthy and his team, many of whom were also responsible for the original Express Yourself commercials from Airtel.

Chakravarthy elaborates on the tornado of tangles he had to face while shooting this ad: “The really difficult part was not the actual shoot, which in any case was spread over many days and locations, with stills being shot simultaneously. The tricky part was getting permissions and clear ances from the celebrities,” he explains. Airtel’s Express Yourself plank has really served it well in the past too, and this campaign has managed to elevate its positioning way above other competitors. More power to Mittal!

Next time, don’t even dare to ask someone: “Log Chlor-mint kyon khaate hain?”

2006-08-31T11:11:00.001+05:30

Chlor-mint

“Log Chlor-mint kyon khaate hain?” is the innocuous query posed in general to the entire world and the results are earth-shattering, mildly speaking that is... That’s the concept behind the entire Chlor-mint series from McCann-Erickson. “You see, it is a continuing idea” remarks Prasoon Joshi, the creative m astermind behind the ads.

The latest commercial focuses on the same zany logic, wit h the victim this time being Ms. Pappi. The commercial begins with Miss Pappi who is preoccupied with her looks, engrossed in getting her make-up right and busy admiring her beauty in the mirror while her family calls for her repeatedly. Irritated, she proclaims that her posters will one day be put up in every household.

While preening to herself no end, Pappi is seen humming as she enters the lift where she finds a Chlor-mint wrapper and grumbles, “Log Chlor-mint kyon khaate hain?” It is mayhem unleashed next, as the doors of the elevator pound her into a poster when she tumbles out of the lift!

“We had to suspend the logic as to why someone is having Chlormint, and if you didn’t know the answer you would be punished for it! It is the absurd logic that worked and became the language and grammar of the brand,” offers Prasoon.

Interestingly, the commercial has a background ‘thumri’ score sung by acclaimed thumri singer Shubha Joshi, with hilarious lyrics, “Roop ki dhani hoon main, Prem kali bani hoon main.” Prasoon recalls the initial effect that the combination had on Shubha Joshi. “She went blank when I told her to sing this particular song and gave her the lyrics. She was very uncomfortable in the beginning and I had to convince her to sing it in her inimitable ‘thumri’ style!” he says.

Talking about the truly funny moments during the filming of the commercial, he chuckles, “When we were shooting, some relatives of the actors would come and ask us as to what we were doing? I said that the girl in the commercial would be turned into a poster inside the lift and they would be bewildered, having a ‘What do you mean?!’ look on their faces!”

Prasoon says that from the outset, the image he had in mind for Pappi was someone hopelessly in love with her own self and overstuffed to the core.

“The idea might surely sound absurd, but if we turn around, we witness bizarre incidents. If we see Hindi films, we show people dancing around trees as soon as they fall in love. Now, is there a logic to it?! But it has worked well for film-makers for years now,” he says, adding that products are bought solely on recall value and impulse.”

Yet another master commercial from Chlor-mint! With the incomparable Prasoon Joshi the brains behind it, this one’s turned out to be one of the most recalled ads of this year.

Of Marketing, Relationships and Relationship Marketing!

2006-08-30T12:53:00.002+05:30

Bollywood embraces the 4th P, as films transcend conventional space…

Star power is no longer confined to the realm of the cinema reel. Bollywood’s increasingly aggressive efforts to market its offerings with media blitzkriegs and nifty merchandising, is fast turning these tactics into auxiliary elements of the movie marketing mix.

In the new millennium, it began with the Hrithik-Esha starrer Na Tum Jaano Na Hum and the eminently huggable tote stuffed toy ‘Tutu’, and while the film washed out before you could say ‘Tutu!’, Tutu did not; more than 80,000 units were lapped up by moony-eyed teenagers! Good-spirited affection rose to the fore again, with bands of friendship cementing bonds of love with the Yash Raj production Mujhse Dosti Karoge; whose fresh division Yash Raj Films Merchandise is solely meant to focus on this aspect. From Hum Tum cartoon strips in newspapers preceding the film’s release, as also in popular TV soap Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahin, to bags and caps, their strategy proved as humungous a hit as the film itself! Salaam Namaste promoted the trendy coffee mugs from which Preity and Saif slugged, and later slugged it out, in the film. And as this year’s most anticipated flick hits theatres, pre-launch for Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna, or KANK as the watchword has spread, has invaded news channels to youth music channels, to key-chains, pens and mugs, as the producers left no stone unturned in doing as much as they KANK!

Savoury or not, could leveraging relationships to arouse interest lie far behind in the marketing match? Neither novel nor outmoded, clubbing couples speared by Cupid’s arrow in real life on screen has met with success and failure in equal measure. While real-life twosomes like Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, Richard Gere and Julia Roberts, Johnny Depp and Winona Ryder in Hollywood, and closer home Raj Kapoor and Nargis, Amitabh and Rekha, John and Bipasha have figured in box office wonders, there have been disasters aplenty too – J. Lo and Ben Affleck (Gigli), Aishwarya Rai and Viveik Oberoi (Kyon! Ho Gaya Na), and to an extent Kareena Kapoor and Shahid Kapur (Fida, Chup Chup Ke) – to name a few.

It’s not amour alone though, that can captivate crowds. Take for instance the grapevine hinting of the subtle rivalry between Big B and King Khan. Throw in rumours of disagreements in footage time given to Junior B in KANK, and the launch of its music once for vacationing SRK in London and later for Bachchan at the IIFA weekend in Dubai, these folks sure catered to our appetite for juicy gossips!

So there lie the three golden caveats… one, any publicity is good publicity, two, as far as relationships go, it’s the prospect of thrill rather than the actual story, and finally the universal truth – relationships and marketing may forge the emotional connect but sensible content’s the definitive ingredient for business at the box office!

PUT YOUR COLA IN THE FREEZER

2006-08-29T14:40:00.001+05:30

Colas are being left in the cold... literally. In the latest round of the Cola controversy, the government of Kerala has banned the production and sale of soft drinks marketed by Coca-Cola and Pepsi in the State. The state of Karnataka too has decided to ban the sale of 11 brands of soft drinks (including Pepsi and Coca-Cola), in educational institutions and hospitals from August 14. Rajasthan, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat have already banned the sale of Pepsi and Coca Cola in educational institutions and government offices. This comes days after the Centre for Science and Environment’s (CSE) claim that aerated drinks contain higher levels of pesticide residues than ever before. The Kerala government’s decision came in the wake of a recommendation made by the ruling Left Democratic Front’s state committee, and now the fate of the Coca- Cola plant at Plachimada and the Pepsi unit at Puthussery hangs by a slender thread. Meanwhile, Karnataka has announced that the sale of Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Mirinda, Mountain Dew, Diet Pepsi, Pepsi Blue, Fanta, Limca, Sprite, Thums Up, and 7UP will be banned within 100 metres of all schools, colleges and hospitals across the state. The state has also sought the Centre’s opinion on slapping a total ban on the sale of soft drinks. However, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) has said that banning colas indiscriminately like this is likely to hurt India’s credibility and investment climate.

Smell the smoke, catch the fire...Environment Calendar...

2006-08-26T12:16:00.001+05:30

...so now you’d know what to do next summer!
Dec 26, 2004: Tsunami hits Northern Sumatra killing more than 120,000 people. Aug 29, 2005: New Orleans devastated by hurricane Katrina, washing off almost half the population. Jan 26, 2001: Gujarat earthquake leaves thousands dead and over 1 lac injured. In its World Disasters Report, the International Federation of Red Cross estimated a total of 6342 disasters that killed over 1,009,470 people.

Have you ever wished that there were a mechanism with which you could’ve known of all the retribution that mother nature has in store for us? Fantasy not for long, thanks to the science ministry of Japan which is due to commence a project (making use of the “fastest machine” – the Earth Simulator Supercomputer) next year that would be able to forecast weather severities for a span of thirty years and predict every climatic adversity aeons before it actually happened. So then it won’t come as a surprise if, after a few years, you’d know enough to reschedule your year 2015 trip to Switzerland for fear of an avalanche! But take it easy... by the way predictions have failed miserably in the past, you know better than to take them at face value. Yet, no harm in precaution! Of course, for “... tomorrow belongs to people who prepare for it today,” doesn’t it?

BUZZING PAST

2006-08-25T11:45:00.002+05:30

One major feature of Polish roads is that they showcase an array of cars. And why not? Automobile manufacturing is the star sector of Poland. The low cost high quality characteristic of the Polish auto sector provides enough cars not only for internal consumption, but also for exports. Automobiles and related parts accounted for about 13% of the total Polish exports for the first nine months of 2005. Almost all global auto majors including Toyota, Isuzu, Volkswagen, MAN, Volvo, General Motors, Fiat and Opel are having their manufacturing setups in the country. According to the latest figures by the Department of Analysis & Forecasting, Warsaw, the motor vehicle manufacturing industry saw a pretty healthy 20.5% growth for the quarter ending March 2006.

A Call to Honour...

2006-08-24T11:49:00.001+05:30

But his recent ‘A Call to Honour...’ is what perhaps India would remember him by. For records, the book refers to an official in P. V. Narasimha Rao’s Prime Ministerial Office who leaked secret information about India’s nuclear plans to USA. It’s a serious charge & amounts to treason. PM Manmohan Singh struck back, asking for the name of the mole and evidence to substantiate the allegation. Jaswant had none, neither the name nor the evidence. The meek evidence – a letter also met a similar fate. Both its alleged author Thomas Graham (then a programme officer at Rockfeller Foundation) and recipient Harry Barnes (former US envoy), denied the existence of such a letter, leaving Jaswant red-faced. The development has been a major embarrassment to the BJP with many party leaders demanding his head. “It was an avoidable controversy,” said his Rajya Sabha colleague, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi. Congress leader Jayanti Natrajan went a step further accusing Singh of kicking off the row to sell his book.

So does this controversy portend the demise of this soldier’s future? If such controversies had the power to do that, then perhaps half of India’s parliamentarians might not have existed as on date, eh! The soldier surely continues to plod, and rise with the power of the pen!

CHINKS IN ARMOUR? OR CHUNKS?

2006-08-22T11:45:00.001+05:30

Though Raju might be quite content with the current state of affairs, the most urgent fact is that Satyam suffers an issue, that can cripple it in no time at all. Manpower costs of Satyam for the year ending March 2006 were a mammoth 58.27% of net sales, which is higher than the Big Three. A report by Enkay Research cautions that with salary hikes effective in July 2006, “operating margins are expected to decline further during the second quarter.” Srinivas Vadlamani, CFO, Satyam, counter-claims, “Given that manpower related costs form a major expense portion, our endeavour has been to constantly improve productivity & search for innovative ways to trim overheads to sustain margins.”

Google enchanted by MTV’s sweet music!

2006-08-20T10:59:00.001+05:30

If Shakespeare was to describe the meaning of his statement, ‘If music be the food of love, play on,’ he would perhaps cite Google’s attraction to MTV’s music as an illustration, albeit in the corporate sense. The two giants have entered into an advertisement revenue sharing deal that allows MTV to share its videos with Google and in return share the revenues that come from advertisements. Also, the website owners and bloggers would be allowed to post the MTV videos and will get a share of the revenue every time a person clicks to watch the videos. Through this deal, MTV would be able to expand its online audience and Google, on the other hand would benefit through increase in flow of traffic to its website.

This move is largely appropriate as this would provide a clear edge to the search engine giant as its competition with many other search engines (like Yahoo, MSN and AOL) gets more intense by the day, and will position it better to fight competition in the online video market. But Google still withholds the information regarding the number of websites that will be allowed to host the MTV videos. Taking a broader perspective, the revenue sharing model between Google and MTV is poised to become popular because apart from benefiting the two entities, the new model also provides revenues to small website owners who will post the MTV videos. So if you are a Google maniac, its time to check out some video compilations as well. And if the doctor has prescribed a strict adherence to MTV music, and if you cannot carry your TV set around, don’t you worry – just walk into an internet cafe and watch the videos on Google!

A...Hutchooooo! Essar stays away...

2006-08-19T10:17:00.001+05:30

The wedding season seems long over with the bells ringing for none – and this strictly includes Hutchison Telecom International Ltd. (the Hong-Kong based parent of Hutchison) and Essar Group, both of whom have finalised their divorce agreement. The Essar Group has terminated the BPL Mobile Mumbai circle share purchase agreement and the subsequent merger of BPL Mobile with Hutchison Essar. Hurt by the behaviour shown by its partner Essar, Hutch has knocked the doors of the Bombay High Court seeking for justice. According to Hutchison, the BPL Mumbai vendors are certainly under a legal obligation to complete the share purchase contract and can in no way mull over terminating the contract, legally speaking.

Fed’s relentless printing of paper money sans asset-backing has landed the dollar in a precarious situation

2006-08-17T13:14:00.001+05:30

How about a sneak peak from Pirates of the Caribbean part III? It features Federal Reserve officials as the protagonist pirates, sailing on a battered ship, led by a one-eyed captain, who embark on a serious treasure hunt... a hunt for gold! It may sound like a bad gag, but this could well be what the Feds might be forced to undertake very soon in the near future.

Times, if not changing, are definitely going against the dollar. An increasing number of countries are now cleaning up the greenback from their forex vaults and stuffing it with alternative currencies and assets. Syria recently ended its dollar peg and shift ed its reserves to euro. Similarly, the United Arab Emirates also decided to reallocate its reserves from dollar to euro by as much as 10% of its total reserves. In fact, a summary B&E survey ending July 27th, 2006, considering the share of dollar in the total allocated foreign exchange reserves of all countries, shows that the greenback is now being hastily replaced predominantly by the euro. Since the first quarter of 1999, the total share of dollar has de-escalated from 71.09% to 66.32% by the end of the first quarter of 2006 (preliminary figures). During the same time, the share of euro has increased from 18.13% to 24.79%. Even a comparison of exchange rates (2000 to 2006) shows that the euro has appreciated by a staggering 24% against the dollar.

Crisis leadership – not for the chicken-hearted

2006-08-08T12:27:00.001+05:30

Succession plans would be crucial during a pandemic. Some organizations may want to name co-CEOs or co-presidents. And every CEO will want to build a team of top-notch people to share responsibility for solving the novel, complex problems that will inevitably arise. This team will be better equipped to solve problems, and will provide bench strength, in case the leader becomes ill.

Abraham Lincoln is the great American model for this collaborative approach to crisis leadership. As Doris Kearns Goodwin describes in her biography “Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln” (October 2005), Lincoln draft ed a wartime brain trust of former political rivals. He knew that Edwin M. Stanton had dismissed him as a country bumpkin, but he also believed that Stanton was the secretary of war the nation needed.

Rape/Kill @ $1600!

2006-08-04T11:33:00.001+05:30

For the US administration, it has always made a politico-economic sense to bomb nations, but ironically, it has never made sense to them when it comes to duly compensate them. Their rationality, emanating from geo-politics & neo-con economics, has reduced them to a gang of charlatans, thoroughly obsessed to seek a rent out of every bomb bombed under the guise of restoring peace. And this has had far reaching effects not only on the innocent victims of US war crimes, but also on their own soldiers (those yet not killed in the war).

To measure the magnitude of US administration’s rent seeking appetite, one just needs to view the compensation paid by them to civilians killed in Iraq; and the figures are crying. While the death benefit granted to the family of American soldiers killed in any combat zone is $500,000, the amount paid to innocent civilian war-victims are chicken feed in comparison. In Iraq, the Associated Press, after surveying Iraqi hospitals, contended that in one month of their survey period, the total Iraqi-confirmed civilian deaths were 3,420, which even to them was an extremely conservative estimate. Comparable figures of around 43,000 are reported by the alternate media; but even these figures were not enough to make a blip on the screen of the US administration, as the maximum compensation that has ever been assigned to any Iraqi has been a measly $11,000 (given to an eight month pregnant woman whose husband and three children were gunned down in Baghdad).

Gott; wonder

2006-07-28T11:08:00.001+05:30

An unusual resort with an even more unusual name was to be my next port of call. Most sightseers are pleasantly surprised to see that the little lakeside town of Zellam- See nestled in the mountains is as kindly disposed towards summer as it is towards winter. Leisurely and laidback, this is the archetypal Austrian getaway. The panoramic views on offer make it seem as though picture-perfect postcards have been brought to life, echoed alike by Julian’s informed interjection that came by way, “This is what most holiday-goers tell me, Gott; wonder of the mountains towering over the landscape in the distance and the lake lying the other end.”

Eurocopter hovers over the Indian sky

2006-07-18T13:46:00.001+05:30

Eurocopter, the fully owned subsidiary of European aerospace major EADS, plans to invest more than $1 billion in India over a period of two years. Globally, Eurocopter is the largest manufacturer of civil and military helicopter. The company intends to open a subsidiary, maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) centre as well as a training school for helicopters. It is believed that the company is partnering Hindustan Aeronautical Ltd. to bid for the helicopters for the Army, Navy & Air Force. Eurocopter would also bid for contracts for VIP helicopters.

Apple’s movie download proposal is a world beater; but unless Jobs negotiates well, movie houses won’t budge

2006-07-07T16:23:00.001+05:30

Trust Jobs to keep one guessing. The latest news is that the man at the helm of affairs is going to launch a movie download service on the iPod. Yes, that means that perhaps by the end of this year, from Tom Cruise’s gun totting action, to Catherine Zeta Jones’ alluring oomph, the little few inches worth of screen on the new iPod could be witness to momentous history in the making. But the issues facing Steve Jobs’ download proposal go much beyond the visible.

The major ones being pricing and competition. Movielink, a leading movie download website with equity stakes of various production houses, offers downloads for around $20 to $30. Despite the initial euphoria, the site has got a dismal response because of the pricing, and some studios are actually reconsidering their stakes. But Steve Jobs is reportedly wishing to allow the download of all movies – whether old or new – for only $9.99 per movie! Then again, Hollywood production houses are miff ed with the idea, as at that price, they claim, making profits seems completely infeasible.

Nicholas Piramal flying towards UK

2006-06-30T16:40:00.001+05:30

Indian pharmaceutical major, Nicholas Piramal, has signed a pact to buy global pharma giant Pfi zer’s UK facility. The deal has been signed by Nicholas Piramal’s wholly owned UK subsidiary, NPIL Pharmaceuticals (UK) Ltd. (earlier known as Avecia Pharmaceuticals), which will acquire Pfizer’s Morpeth facility in UK, on an asset purchase basis. This is the third in a string of acquisitions by Nicholas Piramal in UK. Earlier, it had acquired Rhodia’s Inhalation Anaesthetics in December 2004 and Avecia’s Custom Manufacturing, in December 2005. With this acquisition, Nicholas Piramal is targetting an annual turnover of $200 million from custom manufacturing.

You meet the meanest people on a...

2006-06-20T13:48:00.001+05:30

In reality, Honda faces many critical issues in India. And the biggest of them is its lack of presence across segments. According to SIAM, the compact segment (A2) registered a growth rate of 15%, the mid-size segment (A3) grew by 8.14%, the executive segment (A4) declined by a negative 9% and the premium segment (A5) grew by 7%. Honda is currently present only in the least growing segments (A3 & A5), and thus is losing out on volumes. Worse, Honda is now launching the Civic in the A4 segment, the only negative growing segment.

When America discovered its placebo in a racehorse…

2006-06-15T14:44:00.001+05:30

Seabiscuit was a small horse, beaten down, no good to look at or any better on the race-track; he was an underdog and people made sure he was treated like one. This was the racehorse Howard would go on to purchase and then place under the training of Tom Smith, a man whose love for horses transcended their racetrack worthiness. And finally he brought in jockey Red Pollard – who’d been left bruised by the tides of life, and like Seabiscuit, was bitter and angry, caught as he was in a continuous scuffle with the world.

GORBACHEV’S PRECIOUS PERESTROIKA

2006-06-07T15:21:00.001+05:30

When Michael Gorbachev came to power in 1985, USSR was already on its way to collapse. He publicly announced that the Soviet economy was in deep trouble and needed immediate reorganisation. Although the ex-Russian President employed a number of reforms during 1985-91 in order to transform the stagnating, inefficient Russian economy into more decentralized market oriented economy, he could not save USSR from disintegrating. After the August Coup of 1991, his most famous plans of peresetroika and glasnost eclipsed and proved to be a disastrous failure.

Iron Maggie rusts

2006-06-06T14:27:00.001+05:30

When she won her 3rd term, Tory legend Margaret Thatcher became the first British prime minister in more than 160 years to do so. The Labour Party was in tatters, and the Iron Lady had reached heights few could comprehend with a far-right ideology where the state ceded space to the private sector. She was ‘raring to get to work’ to privatise water, electricity, airports, and some said, anything that moved.

PLATFORMS AS BUSINESS MODELS

2006-06-02T12:44:00.001+05:30

The companies we studied approached the challenge of platform focus in remarkably consistent ways. Specifically:

1. They put credible chief growth officers in charge: In every successful case, the head of an NGP unit, or chief growth officer, was a future contender for the CEO position or a unique senior executive with credibility, organisational skill and a deep interest in opportunities beyond the current mix of businesses.

2. They put an organised and empowered team in place to identify and develop new ideas: The NGP team should consist of three or four senior executives, who possess a thorough understanding of the company’s markets and operations and are also entrepreneurial and have experience in building new businesses. They should have the authority to take big decisions quickly on major investments, and they should be able to advise the operating managers they recruit for the businesses created on the platform.
3. They have NGP units that are independent and embedded: They have to be independent, because looking for NGP opportunities requires an ability to step out of an existing business model and culture. While a strong measure of freedom is important an NGP unit must be well embedded in the corporation in order to identify existing knowledge, processes and assets.

4. Th ey guarantee financial independence: Typically, we found that in successful companies, investment capital for the unit was separated from the budget and operated as a discretionary enterprise growth fund of some kind. The fund investments were authorised by the investment committee or a representative group within the executive team office.

5. They systematically defi ne the processes of NGP creation and the roles of various participants: In the successful companies we studied, the CEO framed the challenge, then the executive team selected the chief growth offi cer, created the unit, identifi ed new domains and took stock of core capabilities. Th e NGP team shaped new platforms, identifi ed capabilities to be assembled and noted potential acquisitions. Th is careful attention to articulating the process of platform innovation & related activities builds companywide commitment to the idea of NGPs.

‘Baby Bells’

2006-05-27T15:24:00.001+05:30

Although AT&T is a huge entity today; it will never be the same as the old ‘Ma Bell’ because it doesn’t enjoy the same monopoly power. In fact, the telecommunications industry is witnessing unprecedented competition. The initial break up of AT&T created so called ‘Baby Bells’, which included Nynex in New York and New England; BellSouth and Ameritech in the Midwest; and Southwestern Bell Corporation (SBC), S West and Pacific Telesis in California and Nevada. Over time, these companies went through more corporate changes, including M&As, which have totally changed the dynamics of the telecommunication sector in the US.