Fresh strokes

Today trained art restorers work their magic to give ancient pieces of art a new lease of life. Art infuses our lives – from the banal to the exalted. Not everyone can have a statue of Michelangelo’s David in his or her living room but it is there, in Florence, awaiting your visit.

Closer to home, most people eat off delicate ceramic and porcelain tableware, yet its utilitarianism does not detract one from its inherent beauty. Art’s vast and stimulating terrain encompasses all – metal work, pottery, sculpture, woodwork and paintings. Paintings, on the other hand, will always be talked about in more authoritarian tones. Experts will critique the latest star on the firmament; art gallery curators will push yet another talent and eager buyers will queue up for a slice of the new colourful palette. How do paintings evolve and culminate as a finished piece of expression? In many cases, this is a labour of love and many hours of toil locks a secret, which only an intimate will be able to uncover.

Robert Browning put it succinctly in a poem called, The Last Duchess: “Fra Pandolf chanced to say, “Her mantle laps over my lady’s wrist too much” or “Paint must never hope to reproduce the faint half-flush that dies along her throat.” The above lines are evocative of the perfection of the duchess’ beauty and the skill of the painter.

In the poem, a duke is showing a guest this painting of his wife done by a friar, Fra Pandolf. The monk has recreated the curve of her cheeks with just the right tinge of blush gracing her throat. The duke speculates that the lovely flush of her skin, may be due to a comment by the chaste monk on her mantle lapping her “wrist too much”.

Here, the duke insinuates that an austere monk may have dared to flirt with his beautiful wife and she may have been glad to receive his attentions. Thus, the painting reveals both the duke’s suspicions and the sheer talent of the painter. The painting became for the duke, a living memory of his wife’s youth, beauty and suspected infidelity.

The painter had done her justice. The painting immortalised the duchess’ beauty for posterity to admire, while in reality the duke had her killed in a fit of possessive rage. With so much art gracing so many homes, it is inevitable that it needs taking care of. If only the usual phadka (swipe) with a dust cloth would do! But priceless investments need time and sometimes professional care.

So what do you do, if you see paint chipping off from your Hussains, Aras or Vaikunthams? There is no need to panic and call your insurance company to see if it is a fake. It would be best to take it to an art restorer. Paintings are now purchased as much for their investment value as for their intrinsic visual appeal. They add value to the écor of a home and require as much upkeep as the family silver. This is when art restorers come into the picture.

A restorer’s sure and steady hand scrapes, peels and retouches paintings. Colours are brought back to life and grime is peeled away from the surface of paintings. Any normal wear and tear is also taken care of by their able hands. A painting may deteriorate owing to many reasons, the chief ones being: fungus, which spreads over its surface, grows through surface layers and breaks pigment particles. A more concerted invasion of the painting causes a powdering of the weakened paint.

The second is the environment, where a sudden change in conditions can harm a painting. Water seepage through walls also damages paintings because microbes in water attack the binding media. Every restorer has a particular technique that he/she prefers and perfects. It is almost akin to leaving your signature on the renewed work of art. The only thing in common restorers have is the fundamental process. Art restorers by and large follow the same guidelines.

All paintings have definite structure, layer upon layer, which finally gives birth to a masterpiece. For instance, an oil painting has:

1. Auxiliary support: It is usually the stretcher or strainer made of wood.
2. Primary support: Material on which the painting is done. Generally it is canvas made of cotton, linen, jute, paper or board.
3. Ground: Usually the glue or glue pigment with inert material.
4. Priming: A layer of colour is applied before a painting is executed.
5. Paint layer: Includes layer of paint, drawing or under painting.
6. Protective coating: Generally this is a final layer of varnish over the painted surface

Here are some sure-fire tips towards restoring art:

1. Condition: The first thing to determine is the condition of the
painting and what surface it has been painted on. It could be cloth, wood (even plywood) or jute canvas. Then, the medium needs to be checked – whether it is oil (also called royal medium), water or acrylic. Acrylic paints are soluble in water, and after drying turn to plastic. This provides durability as well as the same effect as oil paint.
2. Clean the surface: This is the risky bit because chemicals are used to clean out the dust and fungus collected on the surface of the painting. It is also time consuming, where every part of the painting has to be cleaned very minutely – sometimes a square inch at a time for a badly damaged work. Paintings coloured over
by amateurs pose a far greater problem. These additional layers have to be removed to get down to the original colours. If not done correctly and carefully, the base surface could get destroyed.
3. Retouching: This is where the play of light and colour comes into its own. To figure out the artist’s original shades and tones and to duplicate them is almost like creating the painting afresh. This is all about the skill of those magical fingers. Some restorers trust their intuition and others let the paintings speak to them and guide them.

‘Western’ colours (these colours are unique to a specific brand of paints, especially a foreign brand like Winsor & Newton, and may be almost impossible to duplicate) are the hardest to figure out. Even if a painter were to be observed at work, it would be hard to tell just how much of this and that colour has gone into making a third shade.

So imagine going at it blindfolded! To get just the exact colour is a mark of excellence. A poor restoration job will show blotches that are more prominent than the painting itself. The weaves of the new canvas should exactly match the original or else it will disturb the visual continuity after retouching is done.

4. Varnish: This comes in two types – matt lacquer and glossy finish. The restored painting is varnished to protect it from the weather and to preserve the colours. Then the painting is waxed. Wax is melted and applied to the back of the painting. This prevents moisture from seeping in from behind and ruining the painting. Kashinath Salve, painter and former professor at JJ School of Fine Arts has just restored a Laxman Shreshta.

His expert advice for those interested in preserving art is: “Pencil drawings, charcoal sketches and even oil and acrylic paintings are easier to restore while watercolours are the most difficult.” Salve is the person most people in the know go to, to rescue their paintings. For instance, recently, he was asked to work his magic on a Jehangir Sabhavala. So, his is the expertise you would need to bring your paintings back to life.

Every restorer has a particular technique that he/she prefers and perfects.It is almost akin to leaving your signature on the renewed work of art

In India, one of the premier restoration institutions is The Indian National Trust for Arts and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) in New Delhi–the umbrella body looking into the preservation of art. INTACH has 11 conservation institutes all over India, which preserve priceless artefacts for generations to come.

In 1998, INTACH’s Delhi Conservation Centre in collaboration with NGMA restored some Raja Ravi Verma and Amrita Sher-Gil paintings, which are now in private collections. The results are there for all to see – in glorious technicolour detail. Western art restorers have begun and possibly perfected a new technique, which may catch up here in India.

The surface of the painting is coated with a chemical, which adheres to the painting so it can be copied backwards onto another surface. This is then lifted and mounted on to a new base. Apparently, using a similar technique, sometimes a painting is copied on to glass as well. All restorers keep updating their skills. Some have specialised in restoration from art schools in England and USA. Some are painters who are called in to gauge the right colours. The brush once taken up can become
quite addictive. The instinctive nature of art calls out to myriad souls, to help it when in distress. Paintings are no exception. They obsess those who possess them.!

Information:
INTACH, 71, Lodhi Estate, New
Delhi – 110003. Tel no: 011-4641304/
011-4645482. Fax: 011-4611290

INTACH’s Mumbai chapter may be
starting courses in art conservation
shortly. For further information call:
022-22843644 or e-mail:intach1@vsnl.com

Kashinath Salve, an accomplished restorer who is a painter at heart can be contacted at: Robert Money Vocational Institute, Academy of Fine Arts, Next to Queen Mary School, Grant Road, Mumbai. Tel no: 022-23812043. He also conducts courses in pottery, minakari work on copper and painting in all mediums at the Academy. Art materials are given to those who enroll. Open from Monday to Saturday, 11 am to 7 pm.

Sources for this article: Examination & Conservation of Wall Paintings, edited by OP Agrawal, Published by Sandeep Prakashan. ICCI Newsletter No. 31, Sept 2002.
Photos courtesy catalogue: Raja Ravi Varma, Amrita Sher-Gil Restored by Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) in collaboration with National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA).

Written for Jetwings - Jet Airways' in-flight magazine

Crisis management: Put on six thinking hats instead of one

Six hats, each a different colour. Each colour signifies a different skill and is assigned to individuals. Collectively, a group of corporate executives will be able to sit together and solve the trickiest business problems, using the colour coded hats as their guide to analyse the company’s problems.

A little creativity can add just the right spark in solving corporate problems, according to Dr Edward Bono, an expert on creativity in management. “Thinking is a skill and like any skill, it can be developed and improved, if one knew how,” says Dr Edward de Bono. In a series of workshops held for Tata Steel executives, Dr Bono highlighted a new technique, ideal for meetings and a collective approach to problem solving.

Dr Bono was invited to speak at the Tata Steel Management Development Centre in Jamshedpur recently. The company had initiated the “Mindset Management” programme in September 1998 to inculcate a new way of thinking in every person in the company. The aim was to expose at least 4,000 people to these concepts. Dr Bono was invited to speak as part of the ‘Mindset Management’ programme. According to Tata Steel Management Development Centre assistant general manager DR Mody, “There is a constant need for each of us to understand ourselves better. The advantage right now for the company is that the people are ready to change.”

The ‘Six Thinking Hats’ approach is designed to move thinking away from the normal argument style. This makes thinking a two-step process. The first step is to make the map. If the map is good enough, the best route will become obvious. The second step is to allot six thinking hats to people. These individuals assign themselves roles as designated by the colour of their hats. The colour of each hat determines how a person should think.

A white hat offers facts and figures objectively. It denotes discipline and direction. The white also indicates neutrality.

A red hat legitimises emotions as an important part of thinking. Feelings become an integral part of the thinking process. It allows the red hat wearer to explore and channelise the feelings of other people in the right direction. There should be no attempt to justify the feelings or to provide a logical basis for them.

A black hat wearer is concerned with negative assessment. The black hat thinker points out what is inconsistent with the facts. This thinker has the responsibility to bring up the risks of a new strategy and faults in a design. He can ask “negative questions” as well as point out why something will not work.

The yellow hat denotes positive and constructive thinking. The colour symbolises brightness and optimism. This thinking is concerned with positive assessment. It covers positive perspectives ranging from logical thinking at one end to dreams, visions and hopes at the other. The yellow hat thinker explores for values and benefits and then attempts to find practical support for this benefit. This kind of thinking is constructive and can be speculative.

The green hat signifies creativity. Ideally, both thinkers and listeners should be wearing green hats. The colour symbolises growth and fertility. The thinker moves beyond accepted boundaries looking for alternatives. He provokes people out of complacency.

The blue hat is the control hat. This thinker defines parameters, lays ground rules, decides who wears which hat. He is responsible for overview and summaries. He encourages the “map” kind of thinking, ends disputes and enforces discipline.

Logical thinking is a process of selection and elimination of ideas. Words with negative connotations — like ‘no’ and ‘not’— should be replaced with a term coined by Dr Bono called ‘PO’. It stands for “provocative operation” and can be used as an “insight restructuring tool”. It also aids in lateral thinking — ie moving tangentially off-the-mark to get at an entirely new idea, instead of using the typical “horizontal” thinking approach.

For instance, the PO technique was successfully applied at the Shell Oil Company, where Dr Bono suggested that they should drill oil wells horizontally instead of vertically and the drill head should be powered hydraulically. Shell implemented this idea and reported a fourfold increase in oil yields. In this case, the provocation directly became the idea. In most cases, it helps to think out of the hat, literally!

Organisations planning to do more than lip service to use creativity productively have in-house consultants. British Airways chief Sir Colin Marshall says he realised that “unless there was a ‘nominated champion’ who was given responsibility for making something happen, nothing ever did happen”. This fact was also realised by Du Pont, which appointed David Tanner as its “process champion” for creativity.

The need for a PO crusader is felt only during the time of crisis. But it should be a designation built into the corporate fabric. The PO officer keeps creativity on everyone’s agenda, Dr Bono says.

Written for The Financial Express

Indian Manufacturing: How To Profit From It

An IIM-A report highlights the strengths and missed opportunities

MANALI ROHINESH

The economy underwent drastic changes, structural and otherwise, in 1991. The renaissance saw many sectors of the economy open up to global markets’ influences. But with the manufacturing sector continuing to be in the doldrums, the problems afflicting this segment needed to be looked at. An Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad report entitled ‘Competitiveness of Indian Manufacturing’ based on a survey of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and large manufacturing companies has done just that.

The organised manufacturing sector that was considered in the survey comprised 0.8 per cent of a total of 14,618,623 firms in India. The remaining constituted the unorganised sector as classified by the NSS. This organised sector employs 19.1 per cent of industrial workers in the country and contributes to 74.6 per cent of gross value-added in the economy. Manufacturing firms are facing problems on all the fronts in the current scenario-a global slowdown, reduced investments and price-sensitive demand and consumption of finished goods.

China has aggressively consolidated its position as one of the leading manufacturing locations in the world. The Survey states that researchers are already starting to talk about three key hubs around the world-the knowledge hub of North America, Europe and Japan, the manufacturing hub of China, Korea and Vietnam and the data hub of India, Israel and Ireland. China has graduated from being a global supplier of plastic moulded $1 toys to white goods, bicycles and sophisticated electronic gadgets. Its foray into semiconductor manufacturing is late by 3 years by global standards but is strategic from a long-term perspective.

This Survey was conducted in 2001 and a comparative study was done vis-a-vis a survey done earlier in 1997 using the same parameters. The 2001 Survey highlights strategies adopted by Indian firms to improve their competitiveness. These strategies were divided into: the priorities of the firms and the programmes implemented to achieve these priorities. These have been evaluated on a scale of 1-7, where 1 represents the lowest value in terms of importance or strengths etc and 7 represents the highest value.

Priorities and Strengths
Four issues were highlighted in the two surveys. Quality remains the number one priority of Indian firms. The priority for Quality and Structural Change (which includes ability to change product-mix, fast delivery capabilities etc) has gone up since 1997. This indicates that industry is recognising the importance of bringing about basic changes in manufacturing systems. The priority for R&D has gone down since 1997. The same is true for operations-related changes.

The top three priorities for 2001 have been: improving conformance quality, product reliability and fast delivery as opposed to conformance quality, broad distribution with product reliability in 1997. The replacement of broad distribution with fast delivery reflects a shrinking of distribution network, maybe as a measure of cost control by firms. Product customisation and broad product line has been downgraded in 2001. Emphasis on R&D has declined as well.

But perceived strengths on most factors like product reliability, performance quality, conformance quality etc have gone up in the 2001 Survey. This suggests that manufacturing might have actually improved. The competitive gap between perceived strength and importance was higher in 2001 for factors like low price, design changes, product durability and after sales service. This indicates a shift in competition due to cheaper imports.

The present perceptions of top management about their own operations vis-a-vis their foreign competitors is as follows:

The sample firms rate their operations on an average, “about equal” or “even slightly better” than their global competitors. The average score was 4.9 on service dimension, 4.8 on delivery, 4.7 on flexibility, 4.7 on quality, 4.2 on price and 4.1 on product capability. On a scale of 1-7 firms reported 1 if their operations were “much weaker” than their global peers, 4 if they are “about equal” and 7 if their operations were “much stronger”. About 11% of sample firms claimed they were stronger than their overseas competitors on the flexibility criteria. The scores on some other factors were: price - 6%, quality - 6%, delivery - 5% and product design capability - 6%

This could mean that firms in the Survey were doing well after any restructuring that may have happened in their industry, or that firms may have a good idea about their capabilities but have a poor assessment of the strengths of their international counterparts.

Misplaced Priorities and Lost Opportunities
The Survey also states that the cost of manufacturing still constitutes about 70% of sales while physical distribution costs account for about 10% of sales. Material costs comprises about 65% of the total cost, direct labour accounts for about 9% and the other costs account for the remaining 26%. This implies that efforts to reduce manufacturing costs need to be targeted on material-related costs as well as overheads. Investment in material costs could be reduced by looking at long-term contracts with vendors, reducing rejects and reworks. Currently, the cost of warranty is around 1% of sales, on a average, which is quite high. The issue of labour on the other hand, is not of containing costs but of not having adequate management systems in place to take care of a large workforce.

Investment in tools for conducting basic research internally and rate of acquisition of technology was low in 1997, it has further deteriorated in 2001. Most firms felt that downturn in the global economy will not support any efforts to expand markets - domestic as well as overseas.

Industry also seemed to have given up on labour costs. Also, most firms no longer considered for shortening production cycle times, even though some firms were active in the past.

The Survey states this could be due to firms having fewer people with advanced degrees, so the corresponding drop in innovation was evident. On an average, firms employ about 7 PhDs and 43 with a Masters degree. They spent 3% of sales on R&D and 1% on training for new technology. Between 2000 and 2002, on an average, only 42 new products were launched.

Programmes and Execution
Firms have been investing in various improvement programmes aimed at enhancing their productivity and effectiveness of decision-making. Past initiatives have focussed on employee training but the absence of a common information network has also led to sub-optimal decision-making. However, it does appear that firms would like to integrate information systems with manufacturing in the future. Another future initiative is the focus on improving the quality of work-life. A noticeable absence in this list of top initiatives is workers’ training.

Initiatives that have been ranked as the “bottom ten” in terms of emphasis are: computer-aided manufacturing (CAM), computer-aided design (CAD), computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM), design for manufacture (DFM), computer-aided engineering (CAE), flexible manufacturing cells (FMC), closing or relocating plants, taking back products from customers to restore or recycle, simple pick and place robots and complex robotic systems.

Overall, the 2001 Survey points to a decrease in the areas of manufacturing and order fulfilment as compared to the 1996-97 survey. However, there has been an improvement in supply processes and products development processes in 2001. The rate of growth of overall business unit performance is also lower than in 1999.

The maximum decline (across all parameters) has been found in firms in the process industry, followed by the automotive sector, textiles, consumer goods and electronics. Deterioration in operational performance is a sign of loss of competitiveness of these firms.

Written for The Financial Express

PwC ranking of most-respected corporates puts GE, Microsoft on top

PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has released its report titled the ‘The World’s Most Respected Companies in 2004’. The report clearly shows that visionary leaders of companies who are able to put their shareholders and investors’ interest on top and at the same time maintain corporate governance and other regulatory norms in order.

Chairman, PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP, Kieran Poynter said, “As our rankings confirm once again, the most respected companies are those that combine an outstanding track record of value creation with the culture and strategy to sustain that value creation into the future.”

He added, “But a closer look shows many of them have something else in common. Within the past few years, a large proportion have effectively bet their company on a ground-breaking idea or transformation. Some have done this more than once, and some are in the process of making such a leap right now.”

This report has been culled from responses from over 1,000 opinions across 25 countries. The survey seeks to identify those companies and business leaders globally, who are most respected by their peers and the reasons for their choices.

CEOs were asked to nominate three companies in the world they most respect. They were asked to select three companies they most respect in their industry sector, in the world. Each CEO was also asked to identify three business leaders they most respect in the world. CEOs were also asked to identify the three best global companies that demonstrate the best product or service innovation. Another important question they were asked was the one historic or current day individual they would nominate or ask to join their board.

To contrast their responses, 150 fund managers worldwide and 150 media commentators and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) were also asked their opinions on some of the questions.

Here is a synopsis of the report.

The World’s Most Respected Companies
* At no.1 was General Electric holding that position since 1999 (when this survey was first conducted).
* Second place was Microsoft, again holding that place since 1999.
* Third came Toyota, which was in 10th place in 1999 and then progressively moved to 6 (in 2000), held 6th place in 2001, 5 (in 2002) and 3 (in 2003).
* The sole Indian company, Infosys is a lowly 62. This is up from zero in 1999, 2000 and 2001, it came to 85 in 2002 but again disappeared to zero in 2003!

World’s Most Respected Companies by Sector
Consumer Goods
* Sony Ericsson, it was placed zero in all the previous years.
* Second was 3M, this company started at 1(in 1999), 3 (in 2000), 3 (in 2001), dipped to zero in 2002 and was again 3 (in 2003).
* Nike was third, after being zero for three years, then making it to 5 (in 2002) and 2 (in 2003).

Electrical/ Electronics Companies
* First place went to GE, which it has retained since 1999 and lost only once in 2000.
* Second place went to Siemens which has climbed up from 4 (in 1999 & 2000) and remained at no.2 since 2001.
* Samsung came third after remaining at zero for three years, it was 3 (in 2002) and 5 (in 2003).

Energy/Chemicals Companies
* DuPont at first place throughout except once when it was 3 (in 2000).
* BP came second for the past three years but started at 6 (in 1999), 5 (in 2000) and 3 (in 2001).
* Dow Chemical was third and started at 8 (in 1999), came up to 1 (in 2000), 7 (in 2001-02) and was 4 (in 2003).

Engineering Companies
* First place to Toyota all the way.
* Second to BMW, which started at zero in 1999, 9 (in 2000), 3 (in 2001), 6 (in 2002), and 4 (in 2003).
* Nissan came in third, it was ranked zero until 2002 and then came in at 5 (in 2003).

Financial Companies
* Citigroup is on top throughout.
* HSBC was second, from 5 (in 1999 & 2000), 4 (in 2001), again slipping to 5 (in 2002 & 2003).
* American Express came in third, it started at zero in 1999 & 2000, was 19 (in 2001) and then again was at zero in 2002 & ’03.

Food/Beverages Companies
* Coca-Cola topped, was at 1(in 1999), 4 (in 2000), 4 (2001), 7 (in 2002) and 1 (in 2003).
* Nestle shared the no.1 spot with Coca-Cola, was at 1 (in 1999), 2 (in 2000), 1 (in 2001), 4 (in 2002) and 2 (in 2003).
* Unilever was at no.3; it was 7 (in 1999), 6 (in 2000), 5 (in 2001), 1 (in 2002) and 4 (in 2003).

Healthcare Companies
* Pfizer is at no.1 throughout except in 2002, where it came in second.
* Novartis was second, it was at 3 (in 1999), zero in 2000, at 6 (in 2001), 4 (in 2002) and 3 (in 2003).
* J&J was third, but it was at 5 (in 1999), 3 (in 2000), 3 (in 2001), 1(in 2002) and 4 (in 2003).

Utilities Companies
* Electricite de France (EDF) topped; it came in 2 (in 1999), 4 (in 2000), 1 (in 2001), 2 (in 2002) and again 1 (in 2003).

Recruitment Companies
* Adeco topped in 2003 & ’04; it ranked zero from 1999-’02.
* Manpower came in second; it too had been at zero from 1999-0’3.

Resource Companies
* Stora Enso was no.1, it had been at zero from 1999-’01, came up to 1 (in 2002) and 3 (in 2003)
* Alcoa was second, it had been no.1 since 1999 till 2001, it slipped to 9 in 2002 and came back to 1 in 2003.
* BHP Billiton was third, it had been at zero in 1999 and 2000, went to 1 (in 2001), 4 (in 2002) and 2 (in 2003).

Retail Companies
* Wal-Mart was at no,1 throughout except in 2002, when it slipped to no.2.
* Carrefour was second, it was 4 (in 1999), 3 (in 2000), 2 (in 2001), 3 (in 2002) and 4 (in 2003).
* Home Depot was third, it was 5 (in 1999), 2 (in 2000), 3 (in 2001), 8 (in 2002) and zero in 2003.

Telecom Companies
* Deutsche Telekom came first, while it was zero from 1999-’03.
* Vodafone came in second, it had been at 2 from 1999 to 2002 and was at zero in 2003.
* Pirelli Telecom Italia TIM was third after sticking at zero from 1999 to 2003.

Transport Companies
* UPS topped, it was 2 (in 1999), 5 (in 2000), 1 (in 2001), 2 (in 2002), and 4 (in 2003)
* DHL came in second, it had been at zero since 1999 to 2003.
* FedEx was third, it was at zero in 1999, 5 (in 2000), 2 (in 2001), and 1 (in 2002 &’03)

IT Companies
* H-P topped, it was at 2 (in 1999), 5 (in 2000), 1 (in 2001), 7 (in 2002) and 2 (in 2003).
* IBM came second, it was 6 (in 1999), 2 (in 2000 & ’01), 1 (in 2002) and 3 (in 2003).
* Dell was third, it was 5 (in 1999), at zero in 2000, at 4 (in 2001), 3 (in 2002) and 1 (in 2003).
* Infosys was at 9, it had been at zero in all the earlier years.

Media/Leisure Companies
* McDonald’s topped, it was 2 (in 1999), 1 (in 2000), 2 (in 2001), at zero in 2002 and 2 (in 2003).
* Four Seasons Hotel and Resorts came second, it had been at zero in all through except in 2001, when it was at no.7.
* Financial Times was third, it too had been at zero throughout except in 2002, when it was ranked at no.6.

Property/Construction Companies
* Skanska was at the top, it had been at zero in 1999 & 2000, 1 (in 2001), 5 (in 2002), and 2 (in 2003).
* Lafarge was second, it was at zero in 1999, 1 (in 2000), 2 (in 2001), 7 (in 2002) and 4 (in 2003).
* Halliburton was in the third place, after being consistently ranked at zero in the previous years.

The World’s Most Respected Business Leaders
Bill Gates came in first and has been there since 2002, after being at no.2 from 1999-2001.
* Jack Welch was at second place, after being no. 1 from 1999 to 2001, was 2 (in 2002) and 3 (in 2003).
* Carlos Ghosn came in third, after being at zero position in 1999-2000, 20 (in 2001), 7 (in 2002) and 4 (in 2003).
* NR Murthy was at 36, from being at zero in the earlier years.
* Mukesh Ambani came in at 42, from being at zero from 1999 to 2001, climbing to 33 (in 2002) and slipping to 40 (in 2003).
* Ratan Tata was at 46, he was at zero from 1999 to 2001, at 50 (in 2002) and back to zero in 2003.
* Azim Premji was 57 on the list after being at zero all through.

Individual chosen from history or modern times to join a company board/leadership
* Jack Welch
* Bill Gates
* Winston Churchill
* Jesus Christ came in fifth place!
* Julius Caesar at 15 and Leonardo Da Vinci at 16.
* Mahatma Gandhi and Charles de Gaulle tied at 33.
* NR Murthy was in 36 place just before Alexander the Great!
* Mother Theresa at 39 with Mukesh Ambani at 41.
* Azim Premji was at 52 and Ratan Tata was next at 53.

Companies that create the most value for their shareholders
* Microsoft all through except when it was no.2 in 2001.
* GE was second throughout but was no.1 in 2001.
* Toyota came in third, it was 10 (in 2001), 4 (in 2002) and 5 (in 2003).
* Infosys was 37, from zero in 2001, 43 (in 2002), and again zero in 2003.
* Reliance Industries was at 45, but was at zero in 2001, 36 (in 2002) and 32 (in 2003).
* Wipro was at 51 after remaining at zero from 2001-’03.

Fund Managers rated the companies on the above criteria
* First place went to Microsoft, which was no.1 in 2002 and no.4 in 2003.
* Second was GE, which was at no.2 in 2002 and no.1 in 2003.
* Berkshire Hathaway which was at zero in 2002 and came up to no.2 in 2003.

CEOs rated companies that best demonstrate their commitment to corporate social responsibility.
* Microsoft topped the list in 2003 & ‘04
* Similarly Toyota was second in both the years.
* BP was third after being 5 (in 2003).
* Tata Group Industries was at 36 and was at 34 in 2003.
* Infosys was at 40 and at zero in 2003.

NGOs rated the same criteria
* Microsoft again came out on top IN 2003 & ‘04.
* IBM came second in both the years.
* BP came in third after being at zero in 2003.

CEOs rated companies that have the most effective corporate governance
* GE was first in 2003 &’04.
* IBM came second in both years.
* Toyota came third in both years.
* Infosys came in at 35, it was at zero in 2003.
* Tata Group were at 46 and were also at zero in 2003.

NGOs rated on the above criteria
* Microsoft at 1 and was at no.2 in 2003.
* GE came in second from fifth place in 2003.
* Toyota came in third, up from zero in 2003.

CEOs rated companies that demonstrated the most innovation
* Microsoft
* Sony Ericsson
* Toyota
* Infosys came in 53 followed by Reliance Industries at 54.

Fund Managers rated companies for the same factor
* Microsoft
* Dell
* Nokia

The World’s Most Respected Companies within Countries
In India:

* Infosys
* Tata Group which was at no.3 in 2003.
* Reliance Industries which slipped from second place in 2003.
* Hindustan Lever which also slipped from third place in 2003.
* Ranbaxy climbed up from no.6.
* ITC tied with Ranbaxy for the fifth spot but ITC had been at zero in 2003.
* Maruti Udyog was at 7 from zero.
* Hero Honda came in at 8 from zero.
* HDFC Bank came in at 9 from zero.

In USA:

* GE topped in 2003 & ‘04
* Microsoft came in at no.2 both the years.
* IBM was at no.3, again both the years.
* Hewlett-Packard was up from no.11 in 2003.
* Wal-Mart tied with H-P at no.4, Wal-Mart had been at the same spot in 2003.
* Dell came sixth, where it had been in 2003.
* Coca-Cola and Southwest Airlines tied for the seventh place; both had been at zero in 2003.

In the UK:

* BP was on top while it had been at no.3 in 2003.
* Tesco was at no.2, where it had been in 2003.
* Royal Bank of Scotland was at no.3 from 5 in 2003.
* HSBC was up from 10 in 2003
* BT Group was at 5, it was at zero in ’03.
* easyJet and Virgin were both at no.6 from no.8 in 2003.
* GSK was at no.8 from no.13 in 2003.
* Vodafone tied with GSK at no. 8; GSK had been at zero in 2003.

This kind of detailed ranking has been done for 22 other countries. Get your hands on a copy of the report to see them all.

Safeguarding the validity of business innovations

Patents are being sought after like never before. But patenting “business methods” are a relatively new phenomenon and many patent offices have limited experience in dealing with them.

Their relevance to the current global business environment is clear in the following hypothetical situation. Assume there is a bank called Sing Bank, which is introducing a new multi-million dollar instant cheque clearance service on the Internet. All legal, contractual and other requirements for the introduction of this wonderful new service has been resolved. With this, cheques get cleared within seconds.

This new service is introduced in a blaze of publicity and is successful, with thousands of new clients signing up for the service. Later, Sing Bank receives a notice that an ex-parte injunction has been granted to another bank requiring immediate closure of their Internet cheque clearance service, on the basis of patent infringement. The closure will represent a loss of billions of dollars.

Sing Bank goes into damage-control overdrive. It fires in-house lawyers and calls their indemnity insurers for support in case they are sued. Later, they realise, they failed to alert their lawyers to alert them to the opportunity to obtain a patent position for themselves. This demonstrates that companies which have traditionally operated in non-patent areas, such as financial services, must consider their patent and intellectual property position if they are to take their services onto a network, such as the Internet.

On the other hand, patenting business methods is an exception rather than the norm, therefore, databases may not include much literature on them. It is, therefore, in the applicant’s interest to declare known prior art and to supply copies if required. To achieve a patent grant, the application must satisfy a number of requirements:

#It must clearly specify and describe the invention, how it works, how you make it work and end with a series of claims that define the monopoly granted to the owner.

#The invention claimed must be patentable subject matter. In Europe, business methods are not patentable under the European Patent Convention (Article 52). This is being amended so that computer software is patentable, but business methods are still excluded. Therefore if it is intended to file a patent application in Europe for a business method, the specification must disclose the underlying technology so that the European application can be directed to that underlying technology.

#The invention must be novel. Mere automation is not considered as an inventive step. In addition, the invention must be industrially applicable.
Patents granted protect a business’ interest in an international scenario where there is a deluge of similar products being hawked. Business methods, which are easily duplicated, can be used against the original company. However, some steps can be taken to pre-empt such a move.

To minimise risk:

# Defensively publish any secret processes you have been using to prevent anyone being able to validly obtain a patent grant. The best form is, of course, defensive patent.
# Routinely monitor the patent activities of a competitor. It will alert you to potential risks, provide you intelligence as to what your competitors are doing or about to do, and provide new information on what new ideas are around.

To maximise benefits:

#Integrate the patent development into the business method development process.
#Investigate filing patent applications covering new business methods early and establish the business value of that patent.
#Treat all business methods as having patent potential.
#Create a position within the company having accountability for patent issues. i.e, an Intellectual Property Rights manager.
#Staff needs to be kept informed on potential opportunities and risks that patents on business methods provide, when any innovations are developed.

Written this for The Financial Express - a business newspaper.

Uran: My sunshine land!

Your weary nerves are screaming for respite and you have been ignoring them so far. You just cannot get around to doing any reservations because the mere thought of going away from a routine, creates an anxiety of its own.

There are places close to home and hearth that are waiting to be explored. Uran is one of them. It is one of many islands that circle Mumbai, so there is a regular ferry service to Uran. Commuting back and forth from Uran to mainland Mumbai is a matter of habit for many residents of Uran, who live there but come everyday to Mumbai to work or study. So to get there you have to hop onto a ferry from the Gateway of India or from Mazgaon docks. The trip takes about 45 minutes to an hour over mostly placid waters.

As you move away from the shores, the water gets deeper and cleaner. If you are on the deck, you can actually see shoals of fish goofing off for your attention. Most of the other people on board were Koli (fisherfolk) who lived in Uran. They caught fresh fish everyday and came to Mumbai to sell their catch.

I started out at 11.00 am and I was in Uran before 12.00 noon. The ferry was almost empty because most of the regulars had travelled to Mumbai and were already going about their business while I was going the other way. So my friends and I were the exclusive guests on board this yacht! We sat on the deck under the shade of a canopy on some nets that were spread out to dry. And we chugged along over the waves with just the seagulls for company. They skimmed on the waves and bowed over your head and then went into a free dive at the food you threw into the water for them. They truly are a marvel of aerodynamics - they swooped down on the crumbs in mid air and never let it hit the water!

When we got to Uran, we walked off the stone pier which the seawater hadn't been able to corrode and walked along a bridge straight into the heart of a placid village. The change of pace was noticeable and we loosened up considerably. We opted to walk a little, even though there are autorickshaws available. But the only other mode of transport seemed to be two wheelers. Atleast I didn't see any buses belching smoke in my face.

Uran village is all about little pathways leading down to someone's front garden or just overgrown trails that are a pleasure to explore. I went in the summer season but it felt cool in the woods because sunlight just barely peeked through the jumble of trees over our heads. Then since we began to feel hungry, we made our way to Hotel Uran Plaza, a landmark by itself. Everyone who's been to Uran and ofcourse the locals know about this place, just like all of Mumbai knows the Taj Hotel in Colaba.

This is a property set in a lush coconut grove with cottages as well as rooms to give out. The cottages can be rented on a last minute basis, depending on its availability. A lot of theatre and TV celebs have chilled out here. The cottages have an open verandah fronting onto a clean beach, which is not exclusive to the property but is secluded. The locals have their own patch of sand and don't feel the need to intrude. The cottages are strategically situated around a garden that is dotted with tables, chairs and hammocks and in a stroke of vivid imagination - a canopied bed! People chose to have their lunch in the garden and then snooze in the hammocks or the bed.

Apparently this place is happening on New Year's day. The garden is bedecked in lights and the booze flows. The adventurous even take their action to that strategically placed bed! It may be ideal to revive a flagging marriage but a bad idea when you have kids along. But rest of the year, this is an oasis of calm.

This place is owned by a retired vice admiral, Mr Pereira, who is a navy officer of the old school. He looked almost British, was still spry and had that erect posture that separates armed forces' personnel from us - slouchy civilians. He was in his eighties, tall, fair complexioned and blue eyed - a charming devil who can out-drink a lot of the younger crowd. He must have been a heartbreaker when he was young.

He walks around making sure his guests are comfortable and then sits down for a nostalgia-laced talk with a frequent visitor or a local who comes calling. His Man Friday, Dilip (who does the cooking for the guests as per their request) whips up some delicious chicken sandwiches and cold beer for us. I think there is harder liquor available but lots of people just bring their own booze and even food, if they wish. We munch on the sandwiches and pass the beer around. The weather was just perfect but we were sitting at umbrella-draped tables so the heat was not going to bother us anyway.

Dilip came to ask us what we would like for lunch and said he had some fresh catch that day. We opted for masala prawns and pomfret fish curry. He is such a gem of a person and an extremely good cook. He's the one who buys the fresh seafood every morning, stocks up on beer for the guests and generally runs the show for Mr Pereira. He lays out lunch for us under shady trees and it will always rate among the most scrumptious meals I've eaten. The prawns were plump and juicy and the coconut based masala was yum. The fish tasted of the sea, cooked in gravy of tamarind, chillies and a hint of tomatoes. He had even fried some pomfret for us, which was mind blowing.

After such a lunch, we went for a walk in the coconut groves and spotted a tennis court too. So guests who stayed overnight could have their game of tennis before they sat down to a hearty breakfast. Some visitors were frolicking on the beach where the gentle waves lapped on the shore. A few of them were already dozing on the hammocks around the garden. I claimed the bed and went off for my nap. It was a superb location to sleep in. Picture this: a shady garden that leads down to the beach, with birds chirping everywhere and the sun hidden above the canopy. This just could be my home away from home!

I saw distinctly the merit of owning a place like this. Mr Pereira lives in a bungalow with huge French windows on the right side of the garden. From his first floor, the view is even more dazzling. He has extended a wing from the left side of his home and these are the single rooms that he rents out. As you enter the property, you will see the cottages first, with Mr Pereira's house on the other side. So he had a nice business going and the guests provided him with company. I think he lives by himself with his children living elsewhere. Talk about having your cake and eating it too.

After my nap, I went in search of my friends and we decided we didn't want anything for tea. But Dilip being Mr Jeeves personified does things the right way! He served tea in a tea service - complete with a kettle covered in tea cosy - and put a plate of biscuits for us to chomp on. Mr Pereira came out and chatted with us while we ate and the man has good stories to tell from a time most of us pretend never existed. After all who has the time for old people and their stories. But they have a lot to tell us and I, personally love listening to them. Especially the ones who have had exciting careers or travelled a lot.

I know from experience what I was talking about because my school friend's grandpa was someone I would always run into on Worli Seaface. People watching us would probably think he was grumbling about his arthritis or giving me unwanted advice. But he would talk of a time my generation doesn't even read about anymore. He was a chemical engineering student who went on a scholarship to England. He was there all through the Second World War. So he had memories of blackouts, air raids, bombs falling, people dying, figher jets tearing up the skies but the mind only retains the good out of all the bad things that happens to them. So this man, (a grandpa I never had), told me that the World War was a nightmare come true but he still remembered going down to the basement bomb shelter of the house he lived in, with his French landlady. She was the one who taught him to make the best soufflé in the world! So talking to older men is really my style. They have depth of character and their lives are burnished with experiences that just can not be bought for love or money.

Mr Pereira was no different. I'm not going to let people in on the stories he told us. If anyone wants to know more about harrowing war machines or hear battlefield stories told with relish or just talk about an era gone by, then you know where to go. The food is also a very good excuse!

Written for www.dancewithshadows.com

Shake off that passivism!

Speak and be heard. That's what people are waking up to these days. Almost everyone has the chance to get in front of a camera and emote, sing, parade themselves and speak their minds.

But very few shows actually let the audience really vent steam. Now that kind of show would be popular. Imagine going on air and saying, 'This country would be better off without xyz politicians' or 'Fardeen Khan and Bobby Deol wouldn't have made it past the first round of a talent contest, even if they had volunteered add-on services to Shakti Kapoor!'

Some of the few candid moments I saw on TV was when Shobha De appeared on 'Koffee with Karan' and commented on Aishwarya Rai's ability to make it in Hollywood. She said, "Hollywood is full of light-eyed women with great figures who're more talented than her." Oops, that must have pinched the fair maiden. Aishwarya very magnanimously said people were entitled to their opinions.

The point is, people should make their opinions known more often. There is no substitute for saying what's wrong is wrong, loud and clear. Everybody may not be a Medha Patkar or an Arundhati Roy. But there are surely several who do care about issues but don't want to talk aloud about it, but would rather do something about it. Ideally, that's the way I like it too.

In the last two months, I participated in two SMS-based campaigns of protest. Since I receive a Greenpeace newsletter, I subscribe to some of the issues mentioned in it as well. But still, there are lot among us who still turn their backs on the problems before them. For them, even armchair activism is too much of a bother.

This kind of apathy will just not do. Don't people get it, that they get the leaders and the quality of services that they deserve? If you speak up for yourself, you're less likely to be taken for granted.

Saying what's on your mind is not a crime. I'm not advocating courting arrest and having your face blackened by any political party's foot soldiers. Just do simple things like write that letter of protest for cleaning up a beach, write acidic letters to editors of newspapers and magazines and then join cleanliness drives, if possible. If you want to begin somewhere, then look at the letter below, written to the Andhra Pradesh chief minister and EU ministers to stop polluting the Kakinada beach in Andhra Pradesh, where the state government intends to build a shipbreaking yard.

Here is the standard letter that volunteers were asked to send with their personal comments in the end.

To Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister:
I understand that the East Godavari district is currently under threat of plans to establish shipbreaking yards on the beaches near Kakinada. Alang shipbreaking yards show us the horrible reality of the breaking of end-of-life-vessels in India: a heavily polluted environment and many workers who are wounded or even killed.

I urge you to do everything you can to stop these plans. Please support the opposition of the fishermen's families against the shipbreaking yards. They should not pay the price for the dismantling of toxic ships of rich countries and the shipping industry. That would be a violation of the Basel Convention.

I am also sending this e-mail to the transport ministers of the European Union. The EU decision to ban single hull oil tankers without providing clean and safe shipbreaking facilities is irresponsible. 2,200 scrap ships will enter the shipbreaking market before 2010, thus promoting the establishment of shipbreaking yards like the ones planned in Kakinada.

To the European Council of Transport:
The European Union (EU) decided to ban dangerous single hull oil tankers, to prevent oil disasters such as the Erika and the Prestige. But now the EU should also ensure the clean and safe dismantling of these ships. Otherwise they will end their sailing lives on the shipbreaking beaches of Asia, where they pollute the environment and cause death and illness among the workers.

The scrap market has significantly grown because of the ban on 2,200 single hull oil tankers. New polluting and dangerous shipbreaking yards like the ones in Kakinada will continue to be established as long as the EU doesn't take full responsibility.

Please help the environment and the people of Kakinada. Solve the problem of shipbreaking once and for all. Prevent the creation of new shipbreaking beaches in Asia by planning clean and safe shipbreaking facilities. Make sure the EU enforces the Basel Convention and the European Waste Shipment Regulation.

Personal Comment:
A personal concern is that a way of life, which is fishing, may just be washed away and this is almost on the back off the tsunami, which wrecked havoc across South East Asia and South India. Shouldn't that natural disaster be an obvious lesson in not tempting the fates, once too often?

Also, if shipbreaking is being outsourced to India, please bear in mind that it should be done in a manner that subscribes to the fact that human life doesn't come cheap in third world countries, only human labour does. For instance, I don't think a Bhopal Gas Tragedy would have been so conveniently put on the backburner, had it happened in the US or a European country. Yes, we do need our share of photogenic Erin Brokovichs to make our very valid points and I think this is good way to start!

So do what you can from the convenience of your home. Do make a noise when it matters. As actress Nandita Das said on the unveiling of the new diaspora channel South Asia World (SAW), "I've travelled all over the world and have not wanted to live anywhere else. But we as Indians are a passive lot. We don't praise something that is good. We don't protest over something that's bad. We just go on with our lives, which is a dangerous thing." So true!

Written for www.dancewithshadows.com

Wah, Taj!

You drive out of Delhi and it takes about 6 hours to reach Agra. This is where the Taj Mahal stands, waiting in sheer majesty to greet its visitors. But since we had reached Agra on a Friday, the monument is closed for public viewing. So we have lunch and then walk around Agra.

Agra also has its own Red Fort and Meena Bazaar. You see, before Akbar shifted his capital to Delhi, he had made Agra his seat of power. But because of water shortage and the fact that Delhi seemed more strategically situated to rule his vast empire, he moved base. Today, the Indian armed forces uses the Agra Fort to house soldiers.

But en route to Agra, we stop by Mathura, the birthplace of Lord Krishna. Here, the Brindavan temple is a pilgrim spot as one particular place in the vast temple complex is reportedly the exact spot where Lord Krishna was born. ISKON also has a beautiful temple constructed right next door. Mathura has a museum too, where people if they so wish, can get replicas made of some of the things that are on view there. But since all these places are almost in the heart of tiny villages, make sure to take along an extremely experienced driver.

Your first view of the Taj Mahal – that universally known monument built in remembrance of a beloved queen is such a stunner. Well, just as you step up the steps of the east gate, it's just suddenly there, as if it has always been waiting for you …. and you alone. The perfect symmetry of the Taj, framed in that gateway is mind-boggling. This was done, when architects were seers – extremely gifted and farsighted – who knew they were building monuments for the ages and not just as a passing trend.

Then you step down from the gate and walk through the Mughal gardens in front of the Taj. The gardens are flanked by four gates, as are all monuments that the Mughals built. But for security purposes, only the East gate is opened for admitting tourists. There are also rooms along the entire length and breadth of the complex, where earlier the workers who toiled on the Taj lived. It took 20,000 workers and 22 years to build the Taj and contrary to common knowledge, their hands were not cut off. It was more along the lines of the modern day contract. They promised the emperor Shah Jahan that they would never build another monument like this, ever, for anyone else.

As we get to the Taj, one realizes why the emperor wanted this to be one of its kind. The inlay work cut into the marble is so intricate, it astounds the mind. That explains the long years of work it took to build this tomb. All the inscriptions from the Quran are cut into marble and then filled in with coloured stones. These were originally precious and semi-precious stones, until the British stripped it clean. They clearly have a lot on their conscience!

These stones were shaved into extremely fine slivers and put into the carving with the help of thick glue. This glue was made of coal and various other substances, which only the descendants of those workers, who worked on the Taj know and pass on from generation to generation. It looks like green putty and yes, their descendants are still practising this art, but only on exquisitely divine Makhrana marble tables, counter tops, elephants, lamp stands, jewellery boxes, even eggs, along the line of Faberge eggs. The bigger pieces begin to retail at prices starting at Rs 1 lakh and above!

Tourists can visit these workshops and photograph these people at work. But remember to take a local for a guide along, who will know where to take you. Some of these table tops take two years in the making; so working on the Taj for 22 years is understandable!

Shah Jahan's queen, Mumtaz - whose real name was Arjamand Banu Begum - is buried directly under the famous dome of the Taj. Since her crypt is below ground, there are steps leading to it underground, but people are not allowed to go down, and it is sealed by a grill. But people literally get down on their knees and lift the grill to view the tomb. How appropriate, I thought, after all she was an empress and had we lived in the 18th century, we would have bowed to her royal highness!

It's truly a measure of one man's love for his wife. Being an emperor, he truly has preserved her memory in a time-defying manner. Who needs the West's Romeo and Juliet, when the greatest evidence of undying love lives on in the East.

Tourist tips
Agra is world-famous for its marble work, leather goods and carpets. The government offers subsidies to these industries; so pick up gorgeous stuff from here at much cheaper prices than anywhere else in India. Despite the implementation of VAT, with the export subsidies, these industries are entitled to, the goods still work out cheaper.

Places to shop

For stunningly beautiful marble inlaid pieces: UP Handicrafts Palace, Fatehabad Road, Agra – 282001, India. Tel no: 562- 2232660/61/62/63. Fax: 91- 562-2330193. email: upcrafts@sancharnet.in Website: www.upcraftspalace.com


For intricately hand knotted, lusciously soft carpets. The owner also custom-makes them for you, if you want a particular design!

Java Handicraft Export, Bansal Nagar, Fatehabad Road, Agra – 282001, Uttar Pradesh, India. Telefax: 0091-562-2333716. email: javacarpet@yahoo.com

Written for www.dancewithshadows.com

Mother's Bloodline Endures Eternally

A while back, I was talking with a publisher of a magazine who idolizes Jehangir Ratan Tata, better known as JRD Tata. He seeks to model himself along similar lines, he's not quite a tycoon of that stature but aiming to get there. He does want that kind of recognition. JRD Tata's style was always low-key, this man is not loud but you would spot his name in Bombay Times' Page 3 on occasion, something I doubt Mr Tata would have bothered about. He wouldn't want to be mentioned there, ever.

But the more important thing he has in common with Mr Tata is his race - he's also a Parsi. When he was talking to me and the subject veered around to them both being Parsis and he became visibly, even more moved and proud. He told me, "We are not just another caste, you know, we are a completely different race, as well."

Agreed. The Parsis are such a well-knit community and the ones who have contributed enormously to India, despite being such a small community and with the numbers dwindling as we speak. But this isn't about just race, it's also about purity of a community's bloodline. Which is why, Parsis don't recognise children whose mothers are Parsi but who have married outside the community, as being Parsi.

Well, that got me thinking, because biologically men provide the Y chromosome, which essentially means he's bringing in another element to the woman's gene pool. So it's the man who determines the sex of the baby. But women, by virtue of their xx chromosomes have an unbroken link and it's a scientific fact that women pass the mitochondria down from mother to daughter in a centuries old unbroken chain. So, actually, women have been passing the essence of race and humanity unchanged.

Doesn't this beg the obvious question? So, why are men made responsible for something that was never theirs to begin with. We are the unchanging element, not them. Purity should be judged via women's bloodlines. By the same definition, racial purity should also be something that should be determined with the woman being the fountainhead - the point of genesis. So children should be following the woman's religion, and accepted into the woman's race, if the idea of cultural continuity is linked to DNA exclusivity.

It seems the Jewish race, one of the oldest and most persecuted one at that, have got it right. They recognise their children as being Jews via the mother's bloodline.

Written for www.purpleparka.com. Graphic source: www.pngtree.com

Oscar is round the corner!

Another Oscar ceremony is soon coming up in 2005. At the end of this month, the movie stars will glitter and step out with long-term spouses and short-term arm candy. This year's awards will be hosted by Chris Rock, who is amazing at comedy roles and should be able to make the evening fun for those who attend and those who are watching it at home.

He also has another advantage that poor Billy Crystal didn't have last year, which is that the Iraq war is no longer on anyone's minds. So, there isn't likely to be any awkward moments, when someone comes on stage and slams into US President George W Bush. That's what happened last year, when both Sean Penn and Michael Moore came up and made their acceptance speeches.

Sean Penn, considered Hollywood's rebel child, was expected to make himself heard about his opposition to the President's Iraq policy. He was at his vocal best – he mumbled something to himself rather than the audience and was careful not to jeopardize his moment in front of the mike – after all, he had just been given his first Oscar.

On the other hand, Michael Moore was the 'man' at the awards. He also was there for his first award, but he spoke his mind and loudly at that. When the cameras panned away to the audience, most of the stars looked like they wished the floor had fallen through and they had disappeared. They didn't know whether to applaud the man or just wish him away as nuisance pedagogue.

Michael Moore's 9/11 is a gutsy move to collar an administration hell bent on using muscle power, at all costs. I saw the awards where Michael Moore came on to the stage to accept his prize and made that famous "fictitious president" remark and I applauded. But there was silence in the auditorium itself.

What's gotten into Hollywood? The stars have never been known to be circumspect about things they should be discreet about - like their sex life or private life in general. They have so-called "friends" and publicists gabbing all the time about stuff that the rest of the world doesn't even care about.

All of a sudden, they are given an opportunity to prove that they are more than pretty mannequins and they chicken out! Shame on you for not standing neck to neck with one of your own colleagues. It just goes to show, that the war doesn't affect people like George W Bush or Dick Cheney or any of the Hollywood stars - its not their children dying on foreign soil. They are too busy getting arrested for illegally procuring alcohol (Jenna Bush), dabbling in drugs (Noele Bush, Cameron Douglas, Robert Downey Jr etc) and of course divorcing and philandering.

There is material here for another documentary, Michael. I wish someone gets him to watch Page 3, the movie that parodies the Page 3 people in India, maybe it will inspire him to do something similar for Hollywood – to show how vacuous and hollow Sunset Boulevard really is – no courage and probably no convictions to speak of.

Written for www.dancewithshadows.com

Nay, Nay Captain!

When orders went out in 1946 to barricade Indian officers on board their ships, violence broke out. History sleeps at the Naval Uprising Memorial in Colaba, South Mumbai.

MANALI ROHINESH

Wandering down leafy, shady lanes of a city is an experience that must be repeated ever so often. Especially, the quiet streets of the city one is born or raised in. There is so much on offer and not everything is known even to long-time residents.

Colaba in South Mumbai is one such haven, which continues to delight me after having lived in Mumbai all my life. Walking down its paved roads bordered by well-maintained buildings which speak of a time long gone is a solitary pleasure that I frequently succumb to. The gothic architecture just adds to the atmosphere. These brownstone buildings with their white trims and high spiraled archways always remind me of chocolate cake with layers of white cream and icing!

Food is not the only thing that comes to mind. Around almost at every corner, there is a church with history etched into its stonework. There are schools started by one order or the other with messianic zeal. Some of the best shopping at bargain prices can be done at the Colaba Causeway. A lot of shops sell fine art, handicrafts and antiques. Anyone looking for great gifts or setting up a home should spend a day browsing in this area.

But I went to check out something else. I went to the Naval Uprising Memorial, which is just off the Colaba Causeway, behind Cusrow Baug. This has a beautiful bronze life-like statue of a sailor manning a wheel. Placed on a marble pedestal and with an eternal flame blazing in front of it, this statue was set in a manicured nook.

There are plaques embedded into a wall which recount the history behind the memorial. In February 1946, navy personnel in the Royal Indian Navy (R.I.N), which was then under the command of British rulers, mutinied. They refused to obey the orders and went on strike protesting against discriminatory treatment meted out to them despite rendering yeoman’s service in the Atlantic, the Mediterranean, Persian Gulf and Burma. They had a 22-point list of grievances which they wanted the British to consider.

When that did not cut any ice with the British officers, the sailors took to scrawling messages like “Throw the white dogs out” and “Quit India” on the walls of the ships they were manning. Their commanding officer was Commander King who sadly lost his job for being unable to quell what was the beginning of India’s final surge toward independence.

The British retaliated by a mixture of appeasement and violence. They agreed to meet some of the demands with some half-hearted gestures. This made the sailors more obstinate and an order went out to keep all of them barricaded on board their ships. Thus, violence broke out between the guards and the prisoners and an officer and many crewmen lost their lives.

Newspapers like The Times of India and Free Press Journal, in February 1946, took up the rallying cry of the sailors. A February 21,1946 write-up in The Times of India has a front page headline which screams in huge, bold font “The C-in-C Betrays India”. The Commander –in-Chief was the then Viceroy, Lord Claude Auchinleck who was quoted in the Free Press Journal on February 26, 1946, saying: “To refrain from awarding punishment where such is due is to put a premium on insubordination.”

From then onwards, the rift between the ruled and the rulers began to gather a momentum all its own. Mahatma Gandhi’s “Quit India” call first given on August 9, 1942 was reborn with a vehemence that took the British by surprise. The sailors’ uprising also provided fodder to Subhash Chandra Bose’s Indian National Army (INA) which had made a name for itself, despite having deviated from Mahatma Gandhi’s path of least resistance.

The fire had been lit and it was only a matter of time before it engulfed an empire, which had controlled India’s destiny for 290 years. This memorial is an everlasting tribute to sailors “who did not take the path pointed out to them.”

Facts: The memorial is right at the crossroads of John Rodrigues Chowk, opposite Buckley Court in Colaba. If you are on the Causeway, then walk up to Cusrow Baug and take a left (or right depending on which direction your coming from), at Welesley Church.

Written for www.dancewithshadows.com

Homeland tales

Everyone has dreams of achieving great things in life. Moving up the social hierarchy is the natural order of things. There was a generation of people who left their native shores to seek better opportunities, to give their talent the space to flower in a more conducive environment. Some of course, left just to get away from all that was unclean, corrupt and regressive about their homeland. They were searching for asylum of the social kind.

These are the non-resident Indians (NRIs) who have spread across the globe. They are evidence, if any was required, that given the right circumstances, we can scale the highest peaks. We only have to say Kalpana Chawla in New York and we will be understood. The same goes for Manoj Shyamalan in Hollywood. And Salman Rushdie and VS Naipaul in London. And Lord Swraj Paul, Lakshmi Mittal and countless others who run successful businesses, or are in positions of power today but are never in the news. They make us proud of being Indian and we bask in the reflected glory.

They come down to India and the press gets its fill of soundbytes about how much India means to them, how the emotional tugs ensure that they teach their foreign born children to speak Hindi or Punjabi or Bengali, make them appreciate the good life they have as opposed to the poverty back here. And now that Indian food is de rigeur the world over, they can even begin to enjoy eating their dal sabzi, if they didn’t already!

But like with everything else, there is a flip side to all this longing for the Indian way of life. A couple of years ago, I was at a friend’s home where I met her aunt and uncle who’ve lived in the US for nearly 40 years. We got talking and the man said he is a neurosurgeon and lives in Temple, a city in Texas. His wife is a homemaker and has always been one since she married at 16 and went to live abroad. One would think that after marrying so young, this lady would miss India and Gujarat (her native state) with some amount of regret. Let’s face it, India begins to grow even on foreigners who are born in far wealthier countries. The quirkiness, the randomness, the beauty -- all appeal at some level.

But through the years, the lady had carefully nurtured a dislike of everything Indian. She began her conversation with me, a complete stranger to her until then, about how she was visiting a friend for lunch and the friend told her that they would have to have their lunch right away because the maid was expected to turn up anytime to do the dishes. She was angry that her friend chose to live her life on her maid’s terms! As she put it, “Are we supposed to do things in our home according to a maid’s schedule?” Of course you’re not. What she didn’t think about was that her friend had probably made the decision to serve lunch and get it out of the way. She wasn’t trying to tell her how inflexible Indian maids are. But that is what this lady chose to interpret.

Then, she set off on a long rant about how she had wanted to do some shopping in Colaba but the hawkers on the Causeway were so lazy that some of them had still not put out their wares. Whew! Obviously, these guys must have been on their best behaviour for her! She proceeded to complain about the traffic, the rudeness, the lack of pride in what they do (which coming from her sounded hollow). She didn’t have a nice word to say about India or Indians.

I asked her if she had any Indian neighbours in the US. She said, yes, they did, they lived across the street from her home but they never went over to say hello or anything. Not like in India, where according to her, everyone was always in each other’s homes. But when I asked her if she knew where President George Bush’s ranch was and if Crawford was close to their home, she promptly said: “Oh yes, we are neighbours you know, he’s just 20 miles away from us!” This pretentious woman couldn’t be bothered about getting to know her neighbour from across the street but was inferring the US president and her family were close friends. Now that is an Indian trait that she surely hadn’t forgotten – name-dropping and showing off.

Having left India at a young age, she has become completely seduced by the American way of life. Nothing wrong with that but you can imagine how much venom she must be spewing back in Texas about India. I’ve known so many others who have lived as long or far longer than her in the US, but come down to India with grown up kids and happily stay with a brother or sister in a two-bedroom apartment, all the while having to share one loo and bathroom among six or more family members. Whereas, in the US, I’m sure they are accustomed to having their own bedroom with an attached bath.

I don’t think our way or their way of living is better; it is not even a point of contention here -- it’s just different and the way society has evolved. Here, we have always been concerned about inter-personal relationships, where family, relatives, friends, neighbours participate in the joys and sorrows of our lives, unlike in the Western societies, which are more individualistic. The families who stay in touch with their roots are able to incorporate that closeness and warmth even while living thousands of miles away. That, I feel, is essentially the best of both worlds. You get your space (that much maligned term!) and you have a loving family which is a great safety net.

So, I had every reason to pity this woman. She’s probably not given her three children anything to cherish or hold on to. She gloated to me about how her middle child, a daughter, was living by herself and that she was truly independent -- unlike me, because even though I was earning, I had to still live by myself. Obviously, she didn't bother to find out that I help with the bills at home unlike her daughter who chose to move away rather than contribute to the existing household. Of course, I could have told her that to her face, but again, it was the Indian restraint and manners that saved her. I could have been more crude and told her that her daughter chose to move away because she couldn’t bring all those men or women (if she was inclined that way) she wanted to sleep with, over to her parents’ house. Yes, that is a big part of the reason why they value their individuality so much and I’m sure she was aware of that.

After all this, my friend told me that her uncle, who does not share his wife’s rabid anti-India views, actually helped set up their daughter by taking on the mortgage for the apartment and the car (which is another necessity abroad). I’m not sure what this proves. Of course the lady in question didn’t reveal this. It means that the daughter lives by herself at additional expense to the parents and she’s proud of it!

I then decided that I was not going to tolerate this kind of extreme opinions from anyone and I came up with some succinct thoughts on the subject, which I shall employ in future.

Here they are - The Dummies' guide to dealing with boorish NRIs:
# I know we have poverty, slums, congested trains, beggars on the street and in some cases no streets to walk on in the city of Mumbai. But I live in this city and I can afford to complain and make some noise about it. You have come to visit relatives on a 10-day trip, so learn to put up with it or get back on the earliest flight to wherever you came from.
# Don’t trumpet your children’s great carpe diem (seize the day) attitude because there is loads of that here too. It’s not something only found in foreign locales. To make it in India takes a peculiar kind of resistance and endurance, which your kids may not possess. Also, parents in India usually know whether their children are making bombs in their bedrooms or carrying loaded automatic weapons to school, unlike what is happening in the great USA. (This is for the brags. Most people can tell genuine parental pride from the make-believe.)
# We are not subservient to our parents and the society in general, we just respect the order of things. We recognize there is a certain scheme to all the madness. You flout the rules and get your way because you live in the US or the UK but you wouldn’t dare do it here. We dare to do it here in the presence of the people we care about.
# We have accepted a lot from the West (and not just foreign aid), which by the way has not come only from the pockets of NRIs. There are millions of Caucasians, Hispanics and coloured people who also pay taxes. So, don’t come down to India and pretend you have done us a personal favour. We also accepted McDonald’s and MTV and a lot of crappy reality shows that you thrive on, back in the US and the UK. Only MTV has some redeeming qualities. If we can take your trash, then so can you.
# Don’t let living abroad fool you. It only takes something like 9/11 to occur and you suddenly realize you are actually brown skinned, even though you have deluded yourself into thinking you are whiter than the Caucasians. Then don’t expect sympathy from the people back in India because we live through our share of riots, earthquakes and strikes on a periodic basis. So, we understand the meaning of "live-and-let-live." I know and get along with Muslims and am not living in some Hindu or Muslim ghetto in a First World country. That kind of insularity has made you feel superior. But when the going gets tough, you will be the first ones to come back to India.
# Whether you accept it or not, India’s culture overwhelms everyone who comes in contact with it. Don’t undermine it because you went to one place in an AC coach where the AC didn’t work. There are bigger issues that India could use your help with. If you don’t want to help, then stay away but don’t come here and add to the decibel levels.

Luckily, this loud woman is the only one in my experience who bad-mouthed India and Indians. All the others I’ve known are people I’m proud to associate with and are great representatives of our country. Kudos to you guys. But let it be known that just because some of us chose to stay back or continue to want to do things for our country and not an adopted homeland, that does not make us less adventurous and lacking in entrepreneurial spirit or pride. It just means we are who we are, here, in India. We don’t have to put on airs to feel accepted and we don’t have to undermine our heritage and culture to score brownie points. So, take it or leave it.

Written for www.dancewithshadows.com

Work out when it's raining

You’re watching the pounding rain and start thinking about that workout that you won’t have to force yourself through. Visions of fried savouries and hot cocoa keep popping up. Watching your weight may not be a priority but getting some exercise will make you feel good about yourself. Dancewithshadows.com takes a rain check.

MANALI ROHINESH

There is a lot of medical jargon that could explain this inexplicable sense of well-being. You’ve activated endorphins – those feel-good hormones. The gray days begin to have a charm that's all their own. Those deep-fried goodies are delicious in a sinful sort of way. So, how do you fit in working out without the discomfort of stepping out of your home? Here’s how:

1. Invest in a home gym: You don’t need to have a state-of-the-art gym or one that you would rather have guests admire than work out in. Some basic equipment that you plan to use will do. If you enjoy walking, invest in a treadmill. You can gradually increase your pace on the machine as you go along. Your neighbourhood gym may be air-conditioned, but if your personal treadmill is by a window – it’s amazing. You could walk to the rhythm of the falling rain! Even simply stretching and doing sit-ups will make a difference. So pick your space and your mechanical companion.

2. Work around the home: Do all the spring cleaning that you normally reserve for the festival season. You can deal with it one room at a time, but do it thoroughly. Reach for those difficult corners and under that antique dresser. Give the maids the day off. Doing this with your spouse could just turn out to be more fun than you expected!

You could also try minor redecoration while you are at it. Put that table by the window or push the sofa around. All that bending and stretching will be enough exercise. You will also have more time to shop while the others begin their cleaning!

3. Try indoor gardening: If you have a little nook in your home that you nurture with love and care, then try potting different flowering plants. It may seem like a poor cousin to the real thing, but the idea is to move about.

4. Climb stairs: Just walk or run up and down the stairs in your building. If you do ten rounds of this, you have been justified all that food you have binged on.

5. X-treme sport: No, not what you had in mind! Try doing intricate puzzles or crosswords. These are ideal family-time type of games. Your mind does intense workouts -- workout for the brain!

The brain needs all the extra fuel it can get. If you are engrossed in what you are doing, then your fat tissues sustain you even if you haven’t eaten. So bring out those mystifying jigsaw puzzles. Playing chess or a game of bridge is also fine. The beauty of this is that you eventually get to do all of your favourite things simultaneously – eat and play!

6. Learn a new hobby: The thrill of mastering something new is unparalleled. If you take up something strenuous that soothes you, all the better. The very act of learning will keep you occupied with those brain cells furiously burning your calories.

If you take up something like woodworking, sculpting or carpentry, all the better – your body is working without you even realising it. Learning to play an instrument or a piece of music is also rejuvenating.

7. Get down and play: If you have little children, then get down and get dirty with them. Don’t exactly roll in the mud but just playing their kiddie games will keep you on your toes. Believe me, it can get exhausting.

8. Pets for kids: Pets will do just as well to keep you panting. Bathing your puppy will be a chore that you could look forward to.

9. Grab your partner and dance: Just turn on the stereo and let go with abandon. No one’s watching you and you can make a fool of yourself without being laughed at! Dancing can also help keep the blues away. It will encourage you to try stuff that you normally would not give a shot at.

Try all those Beyonce Knowles/Ricky Martin moves and who knows, you might just be able to carry it off! The Workout to the Max series of exercise videos is a recommended mover and shaker.

10. Calorie counter: Weighing machines don’t exactly tell the complete truth. You could have converted all that fat into lean muscle but the needle on the machine may not budge. So don’t get depressed. Continue eating sensibly and enjoy the time spent exercising.

A can-do spirit will see you through the dull rainy days with a refreshing outlook. All that quality time spent indoors will reflect on your health and your family. These might just be a few of your favourite moments. Overall, it is a win-win situation.

Written for First Citizen - Shoppers' Stop magazine for their privileged customers.

Creative Instincts

Pick up a fresh set of skills and make it a hobby that helps you tide over difficult times and which brings you pleasure in the long term. Dancewithshadows.com takes you for a ride on the hobby horse.

MANALI ROHINESH

People have creativity lying dormant and untapped because of work commitments and greater responsibility that comes with family and career. Sometimes, looking at the finer details takes your attention from the big picture. We curb that urge to paint, or to learn singing, or write that novel that is within us. But it doesn't have to be that way..

It is important to take things seriously – where your overall health and personality development is concerned. You don’t let society’s opinions deter you from taking the right steps towards that promotion your eyeing or that spacious office at the end of the corridor. Similarly, when trying to unwind, being a little unmindful helps. For eg: you might be told that learning sculpting at your age is not going to make you millions. But, it might save you money. If you are stressed to the point where your health suffers, then you will start doing the rounds of specialists and doctors. But if some wet clay and the potter’s wheel lets you work the frustration out of your system, then you have just saved on many doctors bills.

Go and get a hobby for yourself. Decide on what suits your interests and bring that childish joie de vivre that you used to take with you to the playground. A lively curiosity will make up for not knowing anything about the hobby you chose to take up. Genuine interest and the willingness to learn will keep your spirits from flagging – especially if you are learning a skill like computers, which kids pick up with amazing ease these days.

While choosing a hobby definitely keep in mind age and your health. You might be too old to begin paragliding but just right for starting a landscaping project. Remember that both John Glenn and George Bush Sr did amazing things in their late seventies. John Glenn became the oldest man to go to space – he was 77. The former US president did some skydiving only when he turned 70. If you enjoy their level of fitness and good health, go for it.

 Pick anything that fits your personality. If you are exuberant and outgoing, join a dance class, do aerobics, take an adult literacy class. Horse riding is another thrilling activity to take up. You enjoy access to superbly bred horses and a vast green space in the midst of a crowded city. If you prefer to do things indoors, call over friends for a game of housie, cards, Scrabble or Pictionary. Keep prizes for the winners. Even adults like to win goodies!

 If you are the nurturing type - then bake and cook for kiddie parties in your spare time. It might not only be for social occasions, you might want to make snacks for a charity event. This will give you that feeling of having done your bit for a good cause. Even thinking up new games for parties can make it enjoyable for you. You may want to babysit hyperactive cherubs. They can give you immense joy. If you like growing things, then create your own Garden of Eden. Plant vegetables, roses and fruit-bearing trees, if you can.

 If cerebral stuff amazes you and you want to dazzle people, you can learn to design crosswords. Make a story book from scratch for your children. Engaging them in your hobby will be a nice way of passing on a creative tradition. If astrology entrances you, then learn how to predict the future. Take a tour of the city you live in – even if you lived in it all your life. A city always opens new doors to its own history. You can document the heritage of your birth place. Plotting your family tree, or putting the family pictures in order can be another time consuming but exhilarating experience. All that reminiscing will be valuable time well spent. Write a book. The research you have to do will keep you pleasantly exhausted.

 There are plenty of things for the adventurous to do. You can try everything from parasailing to white water rafting to mountain climbing. Just make sure you are trim and fit enough to do any of them. Take a doctor’s approval to be on the safe side.

 For those wanting to pick up new skills, you can learn to make your own little coffee table at a carpentry course. Learn to sculpt and you will have beautiful nymphs in your studio! Knitting a sweater or a pair of booties is also a nice skill to learn. Even Hollywood screen goddesses like Julia Roberts and Cameron Diaz do it between shoots on the sets, so you are in stellar company! Learn a foreign language or do some scintillating photography.

Eventually, do anything that will take your mind of your cares for a short period of time, everyday. This will ensure that you have a better quality of life. Another bonus is that after retirement, you won’t be at sea with all that extra time on your hands. Having given yourself a head start, all you have to do is capitalise on it. Making the most of the talents that you have, will bring immense satisfaction. It will seem like a life well lived.

Written for First Citizen - Shoppers' Stop magazine for its privileged customers.

Amazon.com - Access Denied?

The media has done innumerable stories on how e-commerce has finally taken off and Indian shopping portals are raking in profits. True, a combination of factors like convenience, hassle-free and flexible payment options, and wide access does make it a completely innovative experience.

But Amazon.com, the online shopping Mecca which started it all and was one of the first websites to cash in on the game does things differently. For starters, it begins by not shipping to India! We could be high up on a lot of statistical charts but we don’t figure on the list of countries they do business with.

I was looking for a book for a while now - ‘Profiles in Courage’ by John F. Kennedy. I hadn’t been able to find it in the major bookstores, which is why I decided to go online. Only one bookstore’s online webstore had it in stock in Mumbai. But it was priced at Rs 1,300 or $27. So, I took my search to Amazon.com, where there are copies for the book in “new”, “used” “old condition” starting from $0.25 and topping at $15.40. Most looked like good deals to me even with taking into account shipping costs.

I narrowed my search down to a specific vendor and proceeded to the check out counter. The site asked for my address. I didn’t get an item number which confirms your order because Amazon.com does not ship to some countries where it can not ensure guarantee, warranty, security etc. It was only a book, albeit written by a President but one would think I had ordered weapons of mass destruction online!

I emailed my vendor, who has been polite service personified and he checked up for me. He did say that Amazon.com may restrict sales to countries where currency or postal services may be a problem. He couldn’t elaborate because he has never dealt with an Indian customer before. But he did say the US postal service would ship the book to me at $5.95. (Amazon’s original shipping rates had been $10). Overall, I was getting a nice discount. It was his way of smoothening the struggle it has been to buy this book. But to pay him, he suggested I use paypal - an e-payment gateway maintained by e-bay, Amazon’s ‘e-rival’, and that’s where the non-existent item number was needed. So, I couldn’t pay for it via paypal.

When contacted, Amazon.com’s customer service representative Mohit Sharma said, “Using an address in India is perfectly acceptable for most retail purchases made from Amazon.com. However, the Amazon Payments system, which Amazon Marketplace employs to initiate payments, has a more limited scope.”

He added:“Payments currently supports shipping addresses from the following countries: Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hong Kong, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Norway, Portugal, Scotland, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States (please note that this includes US protectorates such as Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa etc.)” “We are unable to extend the Payments Service to your country at this time. However, we’re constantly seeking new ways to serve our customers and we hope to be able to expand our service area for Payments in the future.”

I had to rely on our good old banking system and the demand draft. And yes, the book did finally make a safe journey over to Indian shores, escorted by the US Postal Service.

Written for www.dancewithshadows.com