Tungnath – the kingdom of Lord Shiva

Tungnath, a stately and serene temple dedicated to Lord Shiva, is the second of the five Kedars, the others being Kedarnath, Madhyamaheshwar, Kalpeshwar and Rudranath. The legend behind the temples is rooted in the Mahabharata. It is said that the Pandavas, after the Great War at Kurukshetra, wished to atone for the sins of fratricide and the killing of Brahmins. They were directed to seek the blessings of Lord Shiva. The Lord, however, was in no mood to pardon them as he was angry at the magnitude of their sins. Taking the form of a bull, the Lord hid from the Pandavas at Guptkashi in the Garhwal Himalaya.


The Pandavas caught up with Shiva. Bhima, the second of the brothers, spied a large bull grazing and recognized it as Shiva. He grabbed the bull by its tail and hind legs, but it disappeared into the ground. Later, various parts of the bull reappeared at different locations in the Himalaya.


The sacred bull’s  hump appeared in Kedarnath, the arms at Tungnath, the navel and stomach at Madhyamaheshwar, the face at Rudranath and the hair and head at Kalpeshwar. In gratitude, the Pandavas, who were then in the Himalayas en route to their passage to heaven, built temples at each of these locations. It is also believed that some of the bull’s fore portions materialized at the Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu, Nepal.

Terraced fields overlook the valley at Ukhimath. The seat of the Omkareshwara Temple, this town is where the idol of Tungnath is worshipped after winter snowfall renders the mountains inaccessible. On clear days the town offers a breathtaking view of the snowcapped Kedarnath peak. The Mandakini River, a tributary of the Ganga, roars in the valley below. Eventually, it joins the Alakananda at Rudraprayag.

A short drive from Ukhimath is Deoriya Tal, a picturesque mountain lake surrounded by forests of oak and chir pine. A heart-stopping view of the four-pronged peak, Chaukhamba, is reflected in the placid waters of the lake. To get to the lake, which occupies a small plateau at about 8,000 feet, trekkers must walk a 2-km uphill trail from Sari.



The major rivers rising in the Himalaya are snow-fed, but heavy monsoon rain from June to early September leads to a large number of modest springs and cascades on the hillsides.


Before motorable roads made these hill shrines accessible within a day from Haridwar, pilgrims traveled on foot from the roadhead at Rudraprayag. Tired of many years of the government turning a deaf ear to their demands for a motorable road, the people of the region went on a hunger strike. The move paid off. Buses were introduced to connect Rudraprayag with the district headquarters at Gopeshwar through Chopta, a picturesque route that skirts the Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary where the five temples are located. As a reminder of the protest, these buses are inscribed with the legend “Bhookh Hartal”, Hindi for Hunger Strike.


After visiting Deoriya  Tal the previous day, we reached Chopta by the “Bhook Hartal” bus from Ukhimath. The tiny hillside village was cloaked in mist and we were hungry. Unable to see much further we followed our noses to a shack where parathas and instant noodles were cooking. The sign on the modest little eatery promised lots more, but we made do with warmth and passable food.

It looks quiet and peaceful in Chopta but one look at this sleeping Bhotia dog told us another story. Notice the spiked metal collar around its neck – this is intended to prevent leopards from killing it. Leopards are opportunistic hunters and frequently prey on dogs with a bite to the throat. The tough metal collars may be uncomfortable for the dogs but its spiky edges have protected them from many a marauding leopard.

Misty mountains  tower over Chopta. After breakfast, we begin the 4 km-climb to Tungnath. The paved trail winds through a tract of dense forest interspersed with alpine meadows, known as bugyals in the Garhwali dialect. Ahead of us, walking in leather slippers and a thin saffron robe was a sadhu. How he defended himself against the punishing elements we do not know. But then again, centuries ago a young saint from Kerala, Adi Sankara, walked these very paths.


Through veils of mist we looked back at the road we had travelled. The oak trees wore shaggy coats of moss and fern. In the peak of winter, the trees will be bare.

Only the hardy,  fragrant deodar trees will resist the snow. Their leaves are modified into hard, tough needles and their barks secrete resin that prevents the snow from freezing the sap.

Finally, we hear bells peal in the distance. And we see the spire of the temple poke out over a sea of mist.

It is the end of the  season and most of the shops are deserted, but one teashop offers piping hot ginger chai. It is still early in the morning. As we stood there catching our breath and sipping tea, a red fox appeared out of the hillside and slunk away into the forest before we could bring out our cameras.

A milestone  informs us that we have reached our destination.
Most tourists choose to ride mules to the top but a few nature buffs, like us, prefer to walk the entire distance. However, people like this porter transporting a gas cylinder on his back have no choice.

These are literally the foggy ruins of time. The stone structures here, weathered by the elements, appear much older than they are.

Here in the main street leading up to the temple, time takes a backseat. It’s like being back in the Stone Age. The huts have roofs of solid slate, weighed down with rocks. Only the waterproof plastic sheets are a reminder of modern times.

Shops selling materials for puja do brisk business. The flowers, coconuts and incense are brought on muleback from Chopta, where they have arrived after a long journey from the plains.

The priest’s chair is placed invitingly outside the temple but we choose to sit on the cool stones in the small courtyard. The priests of the Tungnath temple are local Brahmins from the village of Maku, a few thousand feet below. In all the other Kedar temples, including Kedarnath, the priests are from Udupi or Kerala, a tradition dating back to Adi Sankara’s reforms.

China, India: Difference in the details

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.

Got my mojo working, aha!!!

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

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!

A Call to Honour...

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!