IIPM BBA Institute BBA Courses IIPM Bachelor of Business Administration College

Learn basics of new business from its foundation...

2012-01-25T16:24:00.002+05:30

Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri Dean Business School IIPM

MR. CHARUL MADAN, MANAGING PARTNER, EXECUTIVE ACCESS
BATCH: 19985-1997

SHARES HIS SUCCESS SAGA WITH ARCHANA SHARMA

As we met Mr. Charul Madan, one is easily impressed by the swanky office located in the heart of the city, Saket, New Delhi, It was indeed a pleasure to get to know him as a person, going back to his student life and then taking in his future plans. His composed & charming personality leaves you awestruck. His intellectual appraoch, verbosity, focus and sophistication separate Mr. Madan from his contemporaries. He also happens to be an excellent orator and his ability to connect with people has helped him reach new heights in his corporate career. Right from his college days to the present, he was weaved his learning in the best fashion as per the latest trends in the global market. He always dreamt of being the best and this relentless pursuit of excellence has lead him to carve a niche for himself in this competitive world. After a 3 year tenure with Planman consulting in the Training & Development division, he switched to an executive search and consulting firm, Executive Access, a global boutique, established in the year 1988. Understanding the solution from the client's perspective is one of his key strength and this also happens to be a part of his company's philosophy. Mr. Madan has also been a co-founder and Director of Pro-P technology and an angel investor in “Mama's little donut”. Mama's little donuts is a store that appeals to mothers who are in search of the best quality toys for their kids. It's an attractive store located in one of the post areas of Delhi and is now building an online platform. Mr. Madan has varied interests and passions, he lives his life to the fullest, he loves to spend time with daughter, he plays squash and goes for horse-riding. He is keen on travelling and has been to a large number of countries across the globe and has picked up the culture and trends unique to the regions that he has traveled to. Apart from being a thorough professional who is dependable, quality conscious and extremely high on integrity and ethics, he is also an all-rounder who gives equal weightage to the other 'Fun' dimensions of life.

Mr. Charul Madan a alumnus of the Indian Institute of Planning and Management, belongs to the Batch of 1997 and comes across as one of those rare individuals who have a great combination of ambition and humility. In our conversation with him, Mr. Madan revealed to us his spectacular journey in the corporate world and IIPM's significant contribution to his achievements.

Mr. Madan belongs to Dehradun and arrived in Delhi to pursue his MBA at IIPM. A completely different city as compared to Dehradun, Delhi's big city environment was very new to him. However he feels it gave him immense exposure, something he would have missed out completely in the sleepy town of Dehradun. It has been close to 16 years now and he has not moved out of the city and has fallen in love with it!

Mr. Madan maintains that Delhi and IIPM gave him just the right exposure not only in terms of National issues but also International perspectives. IIPM is very close to him and he still has a strong bond with the institute and its faculties. He fondly recollects the classes conducted by Arindam Sir and reminisces most of his teachings. He also found his soul-mate at IIPM and very emphatically maintains that a lot of what he is today is because of IIPM.

He shares that those days, the classes at IIPM were held at Lodhi road campus and there were about 60 students only in his batch! Back then when the institute was just in its 20^th year, the campus was not very large. Mr. Madan feels that the bond one builds with a small or a evolving institute is always strong. He initially worked for Planman Consulting and was one of the first employees. His shift to Executive Access was initiated with the help of a colleague who was an employee there. Executive Access, is one of the region's largest and most successful Executive Search firm with a big focus on financial services apart from other successful practice appears, with over 25 years experience in recruiting senior executives across the globe. They are headquartered in London with multiple office in USA, Canada and Asia.

However in the period between Planman and Executive Access, Mr. Madan also co-founded his own entrepreneurial venture. It was a joint venture with a Swiss company and primarily catered to the Railways in India.

They diversified and expanded their business with 120-150 odd customers and then sold it off. Mr. Madan shares that in spite of him having close to 5 years of corporate exposure, he began his career at EA as a research associate. He believes that this decision was spurred by his attitude that he wanted to learn the basics of this new business from it very foundation. And today after eleven promotions, he currently serves the company in the position of Managing Partner.

A managing partner, responsibility is to continuously build the equity of the firm apart from practice development. They have twenty eight partners world-wide. Even though they are global in nature they are very 'boutique' at heart. They carry a lot of nimbleness on how they provide solutions, build relationship with clients, and deal with the clients. This is the sole reason why he started off as a research associate as Executive Access is globally research focused.

As a Managing Partner of the firm, Mr. Madan is responsible for drawing overall vision of the company along side the Country MD not only from the Indian perspective but also from the global perspective. The major part of his role demands him to see that there is consistent profitable growth for the shareholders as well as the other partners. He also has to ensure that each practice area develops enough knowledge, information, and client solutions so as to remain on the top and then there is the issue of people management..' On asking about how classrooms are different from workstations he says that there is a vast difference between the two. At first, they both cannot be compared as a classroom involves theoretical study of subjects nowadays IIPM has evolved a lot in case-study based classes like Harvard and other B-Schools does. It does help a student prepare for the corporate world but workstations are something completely different as a person entering a Sales job does not even have a workstation. He feels that people should look at their role in a larger perspective of how the company operates and constantly look at avenues to contribute.

“What are the success factors of the organization? How are you contributing to those success factors and how passionately you are building that business? How driven are you and how goal oriented are you?

This is what makes the difference and matters the most,” comments. Mr. Madan draws inspiration from his former Chairman Mr. Rajan Marwah. Mr. Madan shares the fact that Mr. Marwah left for Hong Kong with just 300 dollars and built a multi million dollarfirm is a great inspiration for him. An ardent squast lover, he loves playing the game daily. On weekends he spends time with this daughter to go horse-riding. He says, though corporate grooming is largely dependent on the work environment and the role, it is critical to a professional success. Being a strong communicatior is extremely important and how you structure your conversation and how you present your cases will be dependent on your communications skills. His advice to the young professionals is that “to be passionate about your work, be driven, have a sense of goal and never wait for people to motivate”. Three Cheers from Cult to this dynamite.

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IIPM: Exposure beyond the classroom sessions...

2012-01-20T16:12:00.000+05:30

UNIVERSITY EXCHANGE PROGRAMMES CAN NEVER BE CONFINED ONLY TO THE CLASSROOM SESSIONS...ITALIAN STUDENTS ON A RELIGIOUS EXCURSION.

Students from various Universities across the globe visit IIPM every year as a part of very interesting concept, the 'Exchange Programme'. The concept of such education exposure is an effort to understand management in one of the world's fastest growing economy. One such group of ecstatic Italian students from the University of Brescia and University of Torino, came to IIPM New Delhi in the month of August. After conveying a cheerful welcome, these students were taken for a religious tour. Such exchange programmes are enhanced through exclusive excursions to the beautiful cities of Delhi, Amritsar and Agra.

At the onset of the gorgeous religious tour, the students where taken to Bangla Sahib Gurdwara, followed by a visit to the holy St. James Church. The location of a Gurdwara just opposite the church in the heart of the capital of a country highlights how harmony is at it's helm in India. From there we moved on to the impressive Jama Masjid & Lotus Temple and all of these places were being described by a group of students from IIPM. These brilliant students branded the concept of divinity in all of these places in an exclusive way to the European students. For example at the end of the journey we went to the elegant Isckon temple, where one of the student from Winter-Batch of IIPM, extensively explained the fanatic & fantasy behind the flute & freedom with God. The Greatness of religion was paid heed in this trip and we looked forward to historical intellectuality , our next journey.

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IIPM DELH INDUSTRY VISIT, HINDWARE

2012-01-16T11:28:00.001+05:30

IIPM: What is E-PAT?

Hindware is a renowned company in India and a visit to such an organizations really gives the student an opportunity to understand management from very close quartes. IIPM students were taken on a visit to Hindware and it was a great learning experience for the group. Students learnt a lot about the products of the company including sanitary accessories, tiles, kitchen appliances and faucets. Students were able to observe closely the manufacturing processes and the efforts to keep quality in check. They also understood the issues of raw material sourcing and inventory management. Students got to see how by simply boiling calcium sulphate and using mud moulds, one could create such beautiful products.

The Manager at the Plant took time out to share in-depth details on the processes and answered the questions. The entire visit was truly a knowledge able one.

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IIPM DELHI: STUDENTS EXPOSED TO PRODUCTION & EXPORT DIVISION ON VISIT TO PARLE

2012-01-14T14:14:00.001+05:30

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Benjamin Franklin once rightly quoted, “Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement and success have no meaning.” Parle Biscuits Pvt.Ltd. Is one indian company that lives by the same credo. Students at IIPM learnt more about this path-breaking company when they visited them on 5th of November 2011, The management students look forward to these industrial visits as they play a vital role in understanding the workings of large scale organizations.

Once the students reached the Parle premises which was fully decorated and promoted with its own products hoarding, everybody could instantly identify it's famous and all time favorite Baby Mascot. They were then shown a wonderful documentary on Parle products followed by a visit to the production area. These activities gave the students a whole lot of important information about Parle Biscuits, a brand they have loved, and grown up with!

Since 1929, Parle has been India's largest manufacturer of biscuits & confectionery. It has been the maker of the words largest selling biscuits “Parle-G” and a host of other very important brands. Over the years the 'Parle' name has come to symbolize quality, nutrition and great taste. Parle has also been awarded with the Monde Selection Award. Parle also takes due care about its Hygiene by sanitizing its employees on fixed intervals and students were able to get a very clear understanding of these processes. “Parle-G” being the core brand of the company fetches 50% of the profits for the company all alone and this is due to its high brand loyalty and remarkable brand equity. Parle products are highly demanded in case of natural calamities especially Parle-G. The only threat for the company is its “own products demand and production capacity mismatch ” rather than its competitors and students were made to understand the importance of production scheduling.
Also the visit allowed the students to understand the recent focus of the company on Automation which will ultimately increase its production. Currently this is about 200 tonnes per day per factory.

The students were also exposed to the export division of the company. They were briefed on the fact that the highest exports were done to Africa. Also, they were briefed on the strategy Parle adopted to start its own plants in Nigeria and Cameroon to reduce high trade taxes and maintain market cost leadership. The students were thus completely briefed on pricing strategies, marketing strategies, order processing, inventory control, distribution processes and other processes of Parle Biscuits Pvt Ltd.

In the end, visiting Parle gave students the real understanding of how brands function and the efforts taken behind the stage to ensure that it stays on the top at all times, And, this exposure truly counts a lot!

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ANY SURGERY PROMISING TO INCREASE SIZE

2011-10-14T10:52:00.002+05:30

'Thorns to Competition' - You can order your copy online from here

"ANY SURGERY PROMISING TO INCREASE SIZE – ENILE ENHANCEMENT SURGERY OR CELLOPLASTY – THE RESULTS ARE NOT VERY ENCOURAGING. NOT UNTIL ONE HAS CLEARED ALL DOUBT, AND UNLESS THERE IS GENUINE NEED, ONE SHOULD NOT GO FOR IT. IT SHOULD BE THE LAST RESORT" – DR PRAKASH KOTHARI

You know what they say about men with big feet?” wondered Julia Roberts aloud to Hugh Grant in that sunny sweet romantic comedy, Notting Hill. She of course chickened out of the actual rhyme and playfully offered “big feet… large shoes” for the answer.

Whether the size of feet is any indication of the third foot is for the myths department to clarify, but whether meat well hung is indeed a criterion to trigger off those pleasured moans has as many answers as there are members. Size is to man what weight is to a woman. As if getting sex wasn’t enough of a challenge by itself – what with all the grooming to be done and pick-up lines to be rehearsed – parking woes too prove to be quite a bit of stress for a guy and his pony. Though women are usually known to be far too polite to diss a man squarely on his face for his underwhelming assets – we know this because the blogosphere and online groups are filled with pent-up frustration of some 'O-not-so-happy womenfolk' – most men do fret about their insufficient trunks becoming subjects of ‘small’ talk at a party.

Says leading sexologist of Asia, author, and Founder Member of Advisory Committee, World Association for Sexual Heath (WAS), Dr Prakash Kothari, “For sexual gratification, there is a minimum length which is required. But sexual pleasure is not a performance to be gauged; it is pleasure to be shared between two individuals… An archer, as you know, is known by his aim and not by the length of his arrow.

Size of the erect penis anywhere above of two inches is good enough. I believe “the longer the better” is Godzilla logic. What is important is satisfaction of the partner. If a man is unable to satisfy, due to being unable to perform or if he reaches climax too soon, or whatever be the reason, then Vatsyayana mentioned 1600 years ago, that the man should use one of oral sex, masturbation or artificial penis, or what are now known as vibrators or dildos. What’s important is satisfaction, and not the act per se.”

Length of a woman’s piece of real estate doesn’t really come close to long schlong concerns, but even if there were such a thing, Anna Arrowsmith (See ‘Up, Close and Personal’) assures us, “I remember reading The Female Eunuch where Germane Greer says no woman likes to think of herself as having a large vagina, and that was back in the 70s. Women do worry about this, but for us at least there are pelvic floor exercises that help an awful lot and pretty quickly too, which is more help than men get.”

Men can probably take heart in the fact that ultimately what lies between the ears, than that between the legs, is found more covetable by the fairer sex, though the skill to make the gong strike the G-spot certainly doesn’t go unappreciated. In any case, the XL fellows have their own set of problems to contend with, something like a Hummer with mileage issues/in city traffic. At the end of the day (not necessarily), emotional propositioning and decent positioning will go a long way for little Johns to make bragworthy bedroom conquests too.

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Anna Arrowsmith shares her perspective on size concerns

2011-10-11T10:35:00.000+05:30

Managing director of adult entertainment firm Easy on the Eye, and female porn film director for over 12 years.

Apart from size, what other elements is pleasure a function of?

Pleasure comes from the understanding that sex is different from other things in life; it is a game with its own rules. Of course, respect and consent are key, but after that all else is about pleasure. For instance, dominatrixes' dungeons are full of professional men who are very demanding in the rest of their lives/jobs. Yet they pay large amounts to be spanked and spoken down to. Sex often acts as a counterbalance to the stresses and expectations of the rest of life. Don't engage the head (or the morals) too much. It follows that what happens in the bedroom stays there too.

Does porn serve to raise expectations and thus leads to increased feelings of inadequacies inside the bedroom?

Only if people already think negatively about porn, but those people will always be looking for reasons to add to their list of negative beliefs about the industry. It is unfair to blame the industry for raising expectations when other forms of film are not blamed in the same way. Imagine complaining to comedians that they set an example of life that is far funnier than reality, and thus we are all depressed with our real lives as a result. Porn directors don't prefer to show real sex, we show sexual entertainment. I think porn also does a good thing if it causes people to ask questions about how fulfilling their sex lives are, to a point. Why not try something new? The biggest killers of relationships are boredom and over-familiarity, not overactive sexual imaginations.

Anna Arrowsmith’s tips to enhance pleasure between the sheets...

My only tip would be to assume that your partner has more pent up sexual desires than polite society lets them voice (after all, don't you?). Sex becomes alive after this threshold has been surpassed. The trouble is, even in a world where sexual pleasure is being spoken about more and more, it can still be very difficult to overcome embarrassment and fear in your own relationship. Communication is key, as is having an open mind whilst respecting both yourself and your partner. In my experience too, women have a wider (and often more politically incorrect!) set of fantasies than men.

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THE VIAGRA REVOLUTION HAS CAUGHT THE IMAGINATION OF INDIANS BUT LOCAL APHRODISIACS STILL RETAIN THEIR USES

2011-10-08T10:17:00.000+05:30

IIPM: What is E-PAT?

There are only but a few things that fetch instant unanimity. Sex, for instance. Doctors the world over agree one of the drivers of good health is good sex every day, no doubt. But for those living amidst the din and bustle of urban metropolises, where the routine and drudgery of office and professional life is enough to slow down, if not actually finish off sexual appetites when getting into bed itself becomes an ordeal, people are turning to aphrodisiac-fired Viagra to heighten their libidos.

While the local sex stimulator has always come handy – with an abundance of sex clinics willing to impart education and technique – the emergence of the blue magic pill has radically altered the scenario.

Launched in the US market in April 1988, Viagra has become all the rage with more than three million prescriptions written for it. The oral medication has been hugely successful in not only treating impotence but also enhancing sexual performance to a great extent. Launched to control high blood pressure, Viagra's efficiency to treat impotence was discovered only later, and that too by accident.

Since then, the magical pill has given the local aphrodisiacs where ever they may be, a run for their money. India's tryst with Viagra began in 2005 when it was launched locally. To begin with, the availability of the pill was a problem, but no longer. Over a period of time it has become the magic word for close to 100 million Indians suffering from erectile dysfunction. The 50 mg tablet priced at Rs 463 is now easily available at the local shops while markets are flushed with about 15 versions of the Viagra, priced for as little as Rs 22. It is because of its low price value that many Indians – though still a minuscule minority of the population – have started using it at the cost of traditional therapies. For example: Rajesh Tripathi, who once regularly used Unani aphrodisiacs to impress his partner, has now turned to Viagra.

"There is no substitute for Viagra as it gives instant results. I have used Unani and other desi approaches, but I like the blue pill as it does not take time. With this pill I can also go on for a longer time." This is not to suggest that the arrival of Viagra has completely finished the local vaid and hakim. They continue to have their own loyal following, particularly in rural areas and amongst those who fear the Viagra because of its supposed side effects. Plus, there are many who are willing to pitch in their lot with Unani and Ayurveda medicines as a safer bet. Hakim Syed Obaid-us-Salam, who runs a dispensary in Ghaziabad, concedes that there is no alternative to Viagra in the Unani stream of medicine because of the different approaches to treatment.

"We go to the root of the disease and try to nip the aliment whereas Viagra is different as it only increases blood circulation locally, enhancing sexual performance. Its excessive use can lead to headache, bleeding and heart attack." Dr SV Kotwal, who heads the urologist department at Sitaram Bhartia, says the arrival of Viagra has opened an avenue never available earlier. "Many clones are easily available in India. I have prescribed it to many patients as it is effective," he points out.

With the rush of this sexual adrenaline, even Homeopathy claims it has a solution for the low libido. According to Homeopathy practitioner Jawed Ahmed, there are medicines available in his stream that can treat impotency and other problems. "Our way of treatment is different from Allopathy. There is no instant relief in Homeopathy, a patient has to go through the treatment for a long period of time." Some known Homeopathy brands of aphrodisiacs include Damiana and Salimum. Yoga too, traditionally, has asanas that help improve the libido. But these treatments take time. The realty is that none of them may come close to Viagra as far as improvement in sexual prowess is concerned.

Viagra's biggest asset is its price when compared to local sex-enhancing medicines. For about Rs 300, there could be a dramatic improvement in their performance as compared to Unani and Auyrvedic medicines which are expensive. Besides, the treatment methodology in traditional techniques is also time-consuming. Tripathi, who has at some or the other time used all the local brands, says their best results can be obtained in months, if not years. Too long a time to wait.

He also points out that desi medicines are no longer cheap; a month's treatment may cost anywhere between Rs 5,000 and Rs 10,000 depending on the hakim or the Ayurveda. Happily for all concerned, there is space for everyone. The Viagra craze has not blinded traditional visitors from haunting their favourite hakims and vaids. Add to it the ever-mushrooming sex clinics, like the legendary New Delhi-based Sablok Clinic, and it would tell us why India is the land of the Kamasutra.

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Traditional places like GB Road, which once boasted of a select clientele, stare at ruin as customers discover new hot spots

2011-10-05T10:08:00.001+05:30

IIPM Mumbai Campus

In inky darkness we climb up a worn set of stairs. The building should be about 100 years old. It reeks of history. The walls on both sides are plastered with paan and gutkha stains. They make it impossible to guess when the walls were last painted. The climb resembles the entry into a cave – a cave without an exit.

This is a world which thrives because the 'civilised' society needs it. Yet the same society zealously guards against this spilling over to its safe, well protected world. There are no U-turns in the world of sex trade. Here, there are no destinations, just the daily grind of offering your body for a few rupees. GB road is a short distance away from the Ajmeri Gate entrance to New Delhi’s bustling railway station.

It is the city’s most famous – or shall we say the most notorious – red light area and a name whose recall value is legendary. “GB” is a name it got from the British. Independent India christened it Swami Shradhanand Marg, but somehow, the old name has stuck. The street has 95 brothels which house some 1,500 sex workers. The one we have chosen to enter lies at the head of the road. A weak light greets us at the top of the stairs. Voices, suggesting an argument, waft down. They get shriller and then there is silence. Later we learn it was a customer refusing to pay up after sex, fairly common in this part of the world.

There is nothing about Umrao Jaan or Pakeezah in the building. The air is musty and smelly while the sex workers present a picture of helplessness and despair. All their worldly possessions are stored in boxes set against the walls. On the other side of the wall are pictures of favourite gods, goddesses and other presiding deities. Children of different ages have a run of that dilapidated building, unmindful that at that very moment, their mothers are servicing clients not far from where they joke and wrestle with each other. They have become used to their surroundings and their eyes mirror the mischievousness of children anywhere else.

With time, GB road has lost it shine and sheen. Time was when the moneyed and the cultured were faithful patrons of the sex workers here. Not any more. Shabnam has been in the business for 20 years. She belongs to Andhra Pradesh. Her eyes light up as she shows us a picture of her daughter. The girl is pretty. “Far prettier than me,” beams Shabnam before her face darkens. For the last 20 years she has lived a lie. Her family knows she works in Delhi. Just that no one back home knows the exact nature of her work, which is just as well for her and her child's future.

“So much has changed in the last two decades. The customers have dwindled. Those who come belong to the lower strata of society – rickshaw pullers, auto drivers, labourers and the like. They don’t want to spend much. There is nothing else that we can do. We have to live on whatever money we earn here,” she says, resigned to her fate.

Pushpa from Karnataka answers our query on this change. “Today you can find girls offering sex in every area. School and college-going girls are just a phone call away. Why should anyone bother coming here,” she shrugs, bitterness reflects in her voice. There was a time when the going rate at GB Road was Rs 120. Of this, Rs 70 would go to the brothel owner. The sex worker would get the remainder.

“Now we get customers who do not even have Rs 120 in their pockets. We agree to sleep with them for Rs 70-75. There are about three to four customers in a day. You can guess what we make,” Shabnam tells us grimly, her voice barely suppressing a choke. GB road-like places in other cities have moved along similar trajectories. Jamuna is from Banguluru where she was part of the sex trade. She says, “We do not have any professional contacts. We need to get our customers ourselves. We roam around bus stops, markets and streets in search of clients. If we get one, we negotiate the rate and catch an auto with him. We have to haggle a lot for money. The ideal situation would be if we could get a client to pay Rs 300 for a couple of hours.

But the usual rate is Rs 100. On a good day we get four or five customers. There are days when we don’t even get one. Then there are customers who want sex but do not want to pay.” Wheels within wheels. What is it which gets a girl into the sex trade? Sudha at GB road answers the question. “A relative lured me with the offer of a job. I tried to escape a number of times. But then realised that there was nowhere or no one to go to. No one becomes a sex worker out of choice. Poverty drives one to do this.” Reasons Sapna at Sonagachi, Kolkata's very own red light district, “My family was very poor. I was forced to enter this trade and have been part of it for 15 years. I make Rs 500 a night. Time was when even Rs 100 was a luxury.”

Does she dream? Like everyone else, yes. There are dreams of a respectable life, an escape from the sex trade, a life elsewhere, a better future for the children. But above all, a simple dream to be recognised as a human being. But in this dark grimy netherworld, even that seems a dream too far fetched.

With inputs from Smitha Rangnath

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Sex is a candy

2011-10-02T11:04:00.002+05:30

IIPM: What is E-PAT?

While it is difficult to put an exact worth tag on the value of the sex trade in Delhi and NCR, it is safe to assume that the amount runs into crores of rupees. As night falls, business picks up. It may be difficult to find a STD booth at night, but you will never be too far from finding sex. Deals are struck in subways, or the girls simply wave down a car and get inside.

Elsewhere on central Delhi's Mandir Marg, muscular boys carrying red handkerchiefs in their hands roam with ease while Moolchand flyover is practically taken over by transvestites. To sum it up, there is no such specific area in the city that can be labelled as a 'red light area'. And the one that is labelled, that is GB Road, is no longer the place it used to be.

We look up a website suggested by a college girl and come across a list of 56,000 girls and boys, the majority of whom are studying in one of Delhi university’s many colleges. We call a number listed on the website (971718****). The first call is made from a land line and goes unanswered. The second from a mobile is taken.

An angry male voice asks, “What do you want?” We ask for Aditi and are again asked, “But what do you want?” We say we want to meet her. In return, we are told if we want to meet Aditi, we would have to book a hotel room. The charges would be about Rs 8,000 for an hour to Rs 15,000 for a night. As a parting shot, we are told that we should not bother calling until a room is booked.

Next we dial a gigolo at (931230****). This belongs to Raj Shrey. He tells us he charges Rs 2,000 but that he would talk to us only if there is a girl to interact with. We offer more money and ask him who his clients are. The usual suspects, group of working women and housewives, are thrown up. In a typical night's work, Raj Shrey has to satisfy three to four women. If the clients are happy, in addition to Raj Shrey’s charges, they also give him coupons to shop with in malls. Unsurprisingly, Raj Shrey refuses to share any phone numbers.

The advent of mobile phone has helped sex rackets. They just get their numbers registered with a telephonic assistance service such as Just Dial in the garb of massage parlours, and half the work is done. We dial the massage parlour (958293****) and a female voice informs us that in addition to a massage and bath, we can get “real fun” for Rs 2,500. We could pick a girl from a Greater Kailash address. We get 10 phone calls through Just Dial and of these eight are of a similar nature. People in the flesh trade operate in the garb of friendship clubs, escort services and massage parlours.

While for professional sex workers, it's a full time occupation, there is an emerging tribe that indulges in the flesh trade occasionally, usually to meet their extra expenses, and without quite knowing the ramifications. Most of these youngsters are outsiders who are in the city to study, but want to enjoy the glitz of the metro.

When we approach as potential customers we are welcomed. But reveal your identity and out you go. Many phone calls later, we win the trust of a woman who agrees to talk to us on the condition that we do not carry a camera or a recorder. We agree. She meets us at the metro station of Kailash colony but only after ascertaining that we are clean. Swathed in brands and smelling of money, this is a very attractive woman. She begins talking to us and laughs at the thought that it is the first time in recent memory that she is meeting men without haggling for sex.

We sit down to have mango shake at a juice corner. She tells us that she is a graduate from the Delhi university in the batch of 2006. She was tired of hostel life where night would fall premature at 8 pm, a bore. So, along with three others, she rented a two bedroom flat in Kamla Nagar.

Living out of hostel meant the expenses got hiked many times over. One of the girls got an offer for sex during the 2004 DUSU elections after which she began getting back late every night. One evening she took the others out for a lavish treat and divulged the source of her newly-found wealth. Her pimp would send her to upscale hotels where she got Rs 5,000 per client. She was paid Rs 15,000 the first time after which it came down to Rs 5,000.

Of the four friends who walked down that path, three are now married. Their overriding fear: no one should recognise them when they are with their husbands. In the 20 days we spent on researching this story we found that sex is available everywhere in Delhi and the NCR. Also, that college going girls and boys are the freshest baits. They are lured by easy money and once in, they find it difficult to break free.

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM ranks No 1 in International Exposure in the 'Third Mail Today B-School Survey'
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri Dean Business School IIPM
IIPM Excom Prof Rajita Chaudhuri
Kapil Sibal’s voters want Jan Lokpal, not Government-proposed Lokpal Bill

"Thorns to Competition" amongst the top 10 best sellers of the week.
IIPM RANKED NO.1 in MAIL TODAY B-SCHOOL RANKINGS
'Thorns to Competition' - You can order your copy online from here
IIPM Mumbai Campus

Sexual longevity is on the wane. While sexual openness is on the rise, the dream of a long sexual life is proving to be just that – a dream

2011-09-29T11:35:00.000+05:30

"Thorns to Competition" amongst the top 10 best sellers of the week.

The recent years have seen a sea change in societal attitudes and sexual norms. The taboos have been left behind and sexual mores are more liberal. To wait for sex till marriage seems to be a thing of the past. Sex is not difficult to get...it is easily available and abundant. Not only men, women also want fulfilment. Condoms and birth control pills have found their way into school bags. The bedroom is a laboratory for experimentation. And this is not just limited to the metros. The heat is being turned on in small towns and villages, traditionally considered the bastions of morality. The society seems to be embracing this change.

This, however is just one side of the picture. The other side is quite the opposite. Sexual longevity is on the wane. While sexual openness is on the rise, the dream of a long sexual life is proving to be just that – a dream. Earlier the ardour would start waning at 40, now the drop starts at the age of 30. Earlier the sexual prowess of men at the age of 60 would also be a given, work stress and a hectic life mean more and more men are putting sex on the back burner. Matters become worse when both partners have jobs.

Daily life caught in the rut of shifts, the pressures of performance appraisals, mental stresses caused by financial insecurities, shrinking social spaces and inequalities in close relationships are taking their toll in the bedroom. Take the case of Amit and Gauri. They are media professionals married for two years. Amit has been on the morning shift in his news channel for the last three months. Gauri gets free from her newspaper shift around 1.00 am. By the time she gets home, Amit is in deep sleep. When Amit leaves, Gauri is catching up on sleep. “If we ever make love it is hurried and awkward. It seems I will have to take leave from work to enjoy sex,” rues Gauri.

Suresh Majumdar, former clinical psychologist of the Ahmedabad based DM Institute of Mental Health says, “Hectic schedules are the death knell of life. Mobiles and computers have changed lives completely. While they have made our life easy, they have also increased the pressures. People work for 17-18 hours and often carry work home. People get up and get right to work. They have no time for themselves and are tired both mentally and physically. Tolerance levels are falling, people are easily irritable. All this impacts one’s sex life. Often people seek help in alcohol but this only compounds the problem,” he says.

Sexual initiation starts at a younger age. The easy availability of porn means children are sexually hyper active. This early start also means a premature death to one’s sexual life. Dr Amresh Kumar Singh of the Devraj Ars Medical College, Kolar, says, “If you are not suffering from any sexual abnormality, there is no age limit to which you can enjoy sex although individuals differ in their limits and abilities. When sexual initiation happens at a young age, sexual desires begin to wane early. Priorities also change with age.”

A healthy sexual life demands a fit body and a peaceful mind. Dr KK Agarwal of the Heart Care Foundation, New Delhi, lays the blame for waning sexual desire on lifestyle related diseases. “A careless attitude towards oneself can have disastrous consequences. A love for the easy life is making the road ahead difficult. Increasingly diabetes and heart diseases are taking hold of younger people. All this affects one’s sexual life.”

After a long career in a nationalised bank, Srawan Verma opted for voluntary retirement and now lives at Noida where he helps his son in his business. “The period between the ages of 30 and 40 is marked by an inability to accept the days of one’s youth are a thing of the past. The body refuses to comply with the mind. The tuning goes off key and sexual life bears the brunt of this.”

Rajkishore Prasad, an HR professional in an MNC, disagrees. “The body listens to the mind when it comes to sex. If your personality is colourful you will enjoy sex all your life. Mental preparation is a must to enjoy sex. But what happens is that sex just becomes a chore. The pleasure is thrown out of the equation.”

GK Thakur, a 43-year-old academician living in Greater Noida reasons, “The problem lies with those who consider sex a mechanical process whereas it is the emotional content which ranks higher. Emotions and feelings cannot be overlooked. These are like foreplay to the
actual act, much like appetisers before the actual meal. Not only do they pique the hunger, they make its fulfilment more satisfying. Every below par performance in the bedroom punches a hole in the male ego. This can eat away into one’s sex life.”

Is there a way out? Vishal Chabbra, consultant psychiatrist at the Vimhans Hospital says, “One needs to be physically and mentally fit to enjoy sex. Try to find time for yourself in the daily business of living. Keep your weekends for yourself and enjoy them fully. This will keep you energised and fresh. Find time for your hobbies. Social interactions and activities are extremely important. As far as preparing yourself for sex is concerned, change the atmosphere in the bedroom. Use fragrances of your choice. Try new positions and techniques. Be experimental. This will bring change. Sexual desire is like a perpetual flame. It doesn’t die out though it may decrease in intensity.” To keep the flame burning is a key ingredient of a happy and fulfilling life.

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
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IIPM: What is E-PAT?
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'Thorns to Competition' - You can order your copy online from here
IIPM Mumbai Campus

As many as 60% of the respondents of an online sex survey have had multiple sex partners. Maybe, the times are changing

2011-09-26T15:20:00.004+05:30

IIPM RANKED NO.1 in MAIL TODAY B-SCHOOL RANKINGS

You don't need to smuggle in that dog eared, muchthumbed soft -porn magazine any more. If you want some good ol' titillation, there are a myriad other avenues to choose from. But move over second-hand fun. Now you can get the real-life experience with just about no fuss... Ask for sex. Or about it. That's what The Sunday Indian Online did: Quiz people about their sex lives. The survey, by www.thesundayindian.com, was simpler, and had less inquisitive questions compared to the one for the main story. The answers were candid too, with the respondents coming from all walks of sex life. There were homosexuals, heterosexuals, bisexuals, and a good 26 per cent who were 'undecided about their orientation'. There were only a handful of female respondents. But the few of them who did field questions, went for it full throttle.

So let's start with tracking how the mind is wired when the body is at play. It might be unfair to judge the loyalty quotient of the respondents from the survey, but evidently more than 61 per cent of them fantasise about actors, friends, colleagues and porn stars when they are in bed with a partner. The gender break up on this is intriguing too. None of the females (in the survey) fancy their husbands/boyfriends when they have sex. So who is the hero of their prurient dramain- the-head? Predictably, for a majority of them, it is a movie star. Then there is another lot of women who imagine they are making out with their probably-more-attainable colleagues while in bed with their husband/boyfriend. Men too take off on flights of fancy. More than actresses and colleagues, when it comes to intimate communion, porn stars rule the imagination of 20 per cent of the males surveyed. A minuscule percentage have lascivious thoughts about their house maids too. But it's refreshing to note that a majority of them would rather stick to fantasising about their wife/girlfriend, when it comes to matters concerning the birds and the bees. Variety rules, though. Settling for the usual doesn't seem to be the norm, as more than 60 per cent of the respondents have had multiple sex partners. Of them, there are 20 per cent who claim to have had more than five partners, and 41 per cent who could count it on their fingers. But, like most things in life, quantity and quality oft en don't go hand in hand. So, though 60 per cent of them claim to be completely satisfied with their partners, 53 per cent of the very same respondents contradicted themselves when they admitted that action between the sheets could be better still.

Of course, everyone enjoys a good time. While in the throes of passion, most of these respondents say they like it sensuous and romantic. At times, wild and adventurous. Normal? No thanks. These amorous encounters take place every single day of the week for a good 21 per cent. For 50 per cent, it is up to four times a week. Another 15 per cent find occasion for it five times a week. And then, eight per cent say they don't manage it even once a week. We wouldn't venture to tell this eight per cent that they tried and failed....perhaps they prefer being celibate, for a while. Reasons for why sex does not happen vary. It could be exhaustion aft er a hard day's work (36 per cent), joint family compulsions (11.4 per cent), or just plain lack of time. Nevertheless, more than a quarter of those surveyed get what they really need, against all odds. There are diff erent avenues for “getting it” too. Sex has grown far more symbolic and vicarious in the last decade. Our survey says 14 per cent of the respondents enjoy sex on the web/phone. We guess hormones can now read digital codes. A whole new chemistry is brewing.

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
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"Thorns to Competition" amongst the top 10 best sellers of the week.
'Thorns to Competition' - You can order your copy online from here
IIPM Mumbai Campus

SEX ISN'T A FOUR-LETTER WORD

2011-09-26T14:45:00.007+05:30

IIPM Mumbai Campus

Sex is... what happens between the sheets. But it is just as much what happens betwixt the ears. The mind is the key. But are our minds free and uncluttered enough to either draw sustenance from or feed the pleasures of the flesh, guilty or otherwise?

We live in times in which sexually loaded images and ideas jump out at us day in and day out from our television sets and movie screens. But for the uppity loony fringe peopled by the moral police, we are completely blase about this unstoppable sensory overload.

Sex talk is cheap in India. The entire nation seems to go into paroxysms of collective vicarious delight when Munni's badnaami and Sheela's jawani are put on show in our multiplexes and living rooms, with Bollywood divas and starlets inveigling us with miles of well-toned bare midriff.

We live in a country where even an advert for a mango drink cannot refrain from alluding to the Kamasutra. Sex is all pretty aam in this land of 1.2 billion humans.

The question is: how much of the action that we Indians are supposed to be getting is worth all the reams of newsprint and all the spools of videotape that are frenetically expended on it? We can't tell for sure, no matter what the stress is really on – quantity or quality.

Is a sexually hyperactive and liberated India for real? Or is it only a media-created myth, constructed almost on an industrial scale to peddle a wide range of products and events from lacy lingerie to salacious sex toys, from appeal-enhancing fragrances to libido-boosting pills, from furtive rave parties in urban nether zones to ayurvedic aphrodisiacs and Ecstasy, both the substance and the state of mind.

Sex is all around us – on advertising hoardings, television commercials, adult websites, pornographic rags and film dialogue and songs. If you believe the hype, we are at it all the time. And loving it.

But that is not what the nationwide TSI-CVoter sex survey indicates. As many as 40 per cent of those polled perceive sex as either just a "physical need" or, worse still, a "mechanical chore". What's more, 27 per cent are dissatified with the quality of their sex life while 35 per cent feel that they could do with a booster shot.

The flip side of life in the fast lane, many Indians appear to have realised, is a loss of a healthy, fulfilling sex life. Well over 50 per cent of the people quizzed in this survey admit that they aren't getting enough owing to overwork, urban stress and shrinking leisure time.

So, where really does the truth lie? Read on for the answer.

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM ranks No 1 in International Exposure in the 'Third Mail Today B-School Survey'
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri Dean Business School IIPM
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Emerging Out Of Cricket's Shadow

2011-09-24T13:24:00.000+05:30

IIPM RANKED NO.1 in MAIL TODAY B-SCHOOL RANKINGS

Having performed impressively at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi and the Asian Games at Guangzhou, Indian sportsmen have perhaps created the perfect platform for other sports to breach the cricket barrier

After India’s recent exploits in New Delhi and Guangzhou, there is collective contentment and belief that Indian sports and more importantly the sportsperson are finally getting the share of attention they deserve. It could be seen as the beginning of a promising sporting era.
India has come a long way since 1900 when Norman Pritchard, a British descendant did his adopted country proud by winning two silver medals in 200m and 200m hurdles respectively and till date remains the only ‘Indian’ to win two Olympic medals.

A century hence, in 2008, Abhinav Bindra made history by becoming the first Indian to win an individual gold medal at the Olympics. Dare I say, his achievement ignited the spark of confidence other athletes solemnly needed. India won more than a hundred medals at CWG this year, 38 of which were gold, a record haul for India. At the Asian Games ’10, India managed a staggering 64 medals, another record. The overall performance of India at the events resulted in an all-time best of second and sixth spots respectively.

Seemingly impressive, especially owing to the numerous gold medals to boast about, any celebration at this point would be premature. At the Olympics, India, a country 1.2 billion people strong, has only one individual gold medal to show for. Also, India trails China 1204 to 128 in the overall gold medal tally at the Asian Games where the competition is said to be mild.

However, it would be treacherous not to applaud and acknowledge the achievements of our labouring athletes. Shooting for instance has been extremely instrumental in accumulating success. Out of the 38 CWG gold medals, our shooters shot 14. Not to forget, the sole silver medal in the Sydney Olympics was won by
a shooter.

Ace shuttler Saina Nehwal deserves plaudits for her hard fought performance to win India the 38th gold after a scintillating performance at CWG. Exactly the stuff heroes are made of and precisely, the example the Indian sporting fraternity needs. The Asian Games too have a remarkable story to tell. The spellbinding display was the performance of the Armyman Bajrang Lal Takhar from Sikar district of Rajasthan who sculled his way to gold. Vijender Singh and the Indian boxing team deserve a special mention, the former in particular, for his resilience and resurgence in clinching gold at the Asian Games after a heart-breaking semifinal loss at the CWG.

Many prominent athletes have voiced their support welcoming the favourable changes in the sports environment. Karnam Malleswari commented “It’s a big honour that Commonwealth Games is being organised in India”. Champion wrestler Sushil Kumar added “our job is to work hard and win medals”, before highlighting the responsibility of the administrative bodies to promote the sports in question.

One particular sport which is steadily generating a strong cult following is football. It has gradually surged into the foray due to the unprecedented fame and support some of the European teams enjoy here in India. Though somewhat tainted for the same, the growing fan base has attracted interest from Arsenal F.C who are planning to open an academy soon, remarking that there is immense potential in India.

To top it all, New Delhi is slated to host the final race
of the upcoming Formula One season in December next year. The event will presumably put India on the sporting calendar, promote Indian sports and provide a much needed break to other as yet anonymous sporting disciplines.

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
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Kapil Sibal’s voters want Jan Lokpal, not Government-proposed Lokpal Bill

IIPM: What is E-PAT?
"Thorns to Competition" amongst the top 10 best sellers of the week.
'Thorns to Competition' - You can order your copy online from here
IIPM, GURGAON

A splash of the sun and sea…

2011-09-22T10:39:00.000+05:30

IIPM Mumbai Campus

The smooth roads along the Western Ghats flushed with flora on both sides and the caressing soft breeze were the first signs that Goa would stand to its reputation, that of being a perfect host. One of the most visited tourist destinations in India, Goa also tops the charts for ‘Best Quality of Life in India.’ A first-time visitor, I was all set to dive headfirst into the experience I’d only heard and read tales about. Right after checking in at the resort, I hopped onto the bike I’d hired for my short jaunt and rode to the beach.

Divided into north and south, the coastline packs in numerous beaches along its 125 kilometer-long coastline. Baga beach in North Goa, which hosted me during my stay, is the most commercial and crowded beach with inviting shacks that serve authentic sea food and a variety of drinks that can be enjoyed while music serenades the lilting wind. Calangute is another famous beach in North Goa which does not have the same bustle as Baga, but is a place where you can bask in the sun and enjoy a beach massage with the rhythmic sound of the sea lulling one into deep slumber. Being there during the peak season has its own advantages. It was easy to haggle with the touts for a reasonable rate for water sports, which is best at Aguada Beach and Fort. From parasailing to jet-ski, one can find all sorts of adventurous water rides. And at Aguada, the waters of the coast seem to jump with joy at the sight of tourists gearing up for the surf. The beaches of North Goa are inviting to those waiting to plunge into the energy pool. However, if you fancy a relaxed atmosphere, beaches of South Goa, namely Agonda, Majorda, Palolem etc, would be the perfect picks.

With a bike to ride on, I spent one sunny afternoon visiting the local markets, the Cabo De Rama and Corjuem forts, and rode past some Indo-Portuguese style constructed mansions around the village areas. Some temples in Goa, for instance, the Shantadurga Temple and Mahalasa Temple also reflect the Portuguese times and can be a delight to an aficionado of art and architecture.

In Goa, beyond dusk is the time to say ‘cheers’ to some soulful music and dance, for the streets of Goa are choc-a-bloc with restaurants, clubs, pubs and karaoke bars that promise to keep the excitement from dwindling after those enthralling and exhausting water rides and hours dodging the cool waves of the Arabian Sea. Somehow, Goa instills an inexplicable groove in its visitors which doesn’t fade away even days after a stint along the sandy beaches, soaking oneself in the gushing waves, savouring Goan food and downing those umpteen swigs of Fenny… this is the place that can actually make you relish the true vibe of staying alive!

Destination Dossier

Steering the Course
It’s easy to travel to Goa from any destination in India. Various flights are available at every few hours from Delhi. Mumbai to Goa is a smooth 11-hour drive; a flight from Mumbai can get you there in 45 minutes.

COSY CORNERS
Nazri Resort at Baga offers a cosy and comfortable stay with rates that suit every pocket. If an opulent accommodation is what you desire, then the Taj Resort or Cidade De Goa are the obvious picks.

THE ‘SEASON’ED TRAVELLER GOES NOW
December is the season to enjoy the true flavour of Goa. If you don’t wish to get cramped for space in the crowds, then visit anytime in November, January or February.

‘SAVOUR’ FAIRE
Prawn curry and rice all the way! Don’t miss out on the various cocktails and mocktails offered at the shacks on the beaches and do indulge in some mouth-watering desserts after a wholesome Goan meal.

GET TO WORK
Some beaches in Goa host theme parties where one can eat, drink and dance all through the night. Rave parties are also a rage; ask people around and you might get a chance to visit one of those. Spend a quiet time visiting the museums around. The new wax museum is popular.

WHAT’S THE WORD
Hindi and English are easily understood, though spoken in typical Konkani (local language) accent and style. And to befriend someone, you could start with ‘Tuggele naav kithe?’

KEEPSAKE COURTESIES
There are shops aplenty dotting the streets of Goa, selling key chains made of shells; neckpieces and bracelets made of beads; colourful scarves etc. to quell one’s shopping cravings as also to pick souvenirs to take back home.

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri Dean Business School IIPM
IIPM Excom Prof Rajita Chaudhuri
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IIPM, GURGAON
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More women in the Valley are now signing up for martial art classes.

2011-09-19T11:35:00.000+05:30

IIPM Mumbai Campus

Haroon Reshi in Kashmir discovers it's not merely to do with competitive sports action.

I’s an uneasy place, the Valley. When they’re not firing bullets, it’s raining stones. In such a scenario, ways of self-preservation are wont to become a prime concern. Of late, contrary to local traditions, a large number of Kashmiri girls are enrolling for martial art classes to master self-defence techniques to be able to guard themselves in hazardous situations.

Sakeena Akhtar, a college student is one of the girls attending daily martial arts classes at a training center in Pampore in the outskirts of Srinagar. The place is run by a state level sporting organisation called Sqay Federation of India (SFI), with the help of Department of Youth Services and Sports. According to office bearers, fifteen thousand female members are registered with the Federation while training is imparted to more than three thousand girls across the valley by SFI.

“For me, the basic reason to get martial arts training is to learn self-protection techniques. We have been living with the fear of violence and the crime rate is also increasing with every passing day. In such circumstances, girls need to be able to defend themselves in the event of a dangerous situation,” said Sakeena, clad in a blue uniform and a scarf. “I have been training for the last few years and have learnt many techniques. Now I feel this is fun; it also makes us feel stronger and confident,” she added.

Not too long back, parents were quite hesitant about permitting their daughters to join such extra-curricular activities, but in the past few years, the mindset of the elders has undergone a change, much thanks to the alarming upward trend of crime in the Valley. In July 2007, Tabinda Gani, a 14-year old girl was gang-raped and killed when she was on her way back from school in the northern town of Hundwara. Merely a month later, an eight-year-old girl Sabrina Fayaz met the same fate at the hands of unknown criminals who abducted her from near her home in Srinagar city. Seventeen-year-old Romana Javed was crushed to death by car-borne eve- teasers in the Barzala area of the city last year. These instances have only steeled the determination of many to enroll for such training. “Increasing number of admissions may be linked with a deep rooted sense of insecurity among the people of the Valley who have been witness to violence for more than two decades now. The police has failed to control the increasing crime rate in the region,” Prof B.A. Dabla, an eminent sociologist of Kashmir told TSI.

These days, Sakeena, along with two other classmates Sumaira and Abida, is preparing to attend the 4th International Martial Art Games at Tallinn, Estonia in February 2011. There are more than fifty girls in the Pampore training centre who have two-hour workouts lined up daily, which includes training with equipments like Tura (a two feet long Faber stick), Bargula (a round shaped ring made of soft leather), and chest and head Guards. To avoid injuries, trainees simulate attack by making light contact with the bodies of their opponents. “Martial art is not just about learning how to kick, strike or punch someone; it helps us to grow mentally and get physically stronger,” says Afreen Khan (15), another learner. “I am thankful to my parents who did not discourage me from joining this sport commonly believed to be meant only for men,” she said.

Several girls like Afreen are all set to demonstrate their skills at the 11th Senior National Sqay championship (Men/Women) next month. Some others girls may even get to join the 56th National School Games at New Delhi in the coming days. “Earlier, parents were reluctant to let their daughters participate in such sporting events, but now there is a visible change and a more enthusiastic response everywhere in the Valley,” says Nazir Ahmad Mir, a Grandmaster. “We have our training centers in almost all districts of the state and it is only in the Valley that we are training more than three thousand girls. The number of boys is higher,” he points out.

The girls are taught various skills and techniques of martial arts like judo, karate, boxing and Sqay. Sqay (Persian for ‘knowledge of war’) is considered an ancient martial art of Kashmir. According to legend, Kashmir’s King Dharyadev trained his fighters in this defensive art form thousands of years ago. Now it is practiced in 20 states in India, and this traditional Kashmiri martial sport has been included in the World Martial Art Games (WMAG) for the first time this year. In the last couple of years, SFI included a new event called ‘Snow Sqay’ in its training curriculum, played in the winters after it snows.

Earlier, it was a common perception that it was against Islamic teachings to let girls join sports like martial art but that has increasingly given way to a new line of thought. In 2003, Mir wrote a book, ‘Martial Art & Islam’, to answer critics who were protesting the martial training of girls on religious grounds. Islamic scholars no longer object much but they do insist on a modest dress code and veto mixing of sexes. “Islam has given the right to self defence to every human being. But attire of the players must be in accordance with Islam, and it is also very important to ensure that there are no males watching. Mixing of sexes is forbidden.” Maulana Bashir-ud-Din, the grand Mufti of Kashmir told TSI. In any case, there must nothing be forbidden about standing up to injustice.

Economics of economic espionage is not a happy tale

2011-09-16T10:31:00.000+05:30

Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri Dean Business School IIPM

Economic espionage is a global phenomenon. It is not only costing billions to the modern-day corporations but also is spreading its tentacles across the globe. According to the American Society for Industrial Security (ASIS), even in 1997, American intellectual property worth more than $300 billion was under threat due to economic espionage. In 2000, the same agency estimated the cost of economic espionage industry to be around $60 billion annually. Experts say this figure has now exponentially increased. Sample this: German counter-intelligence experts announced as recently as in October 2010 that the German economy is losing over €50 billion (equivalent to 30,000 jobs) annually due to espionage.

With the advancement of technology and corporations going online, economic espionage has become easier and. As big corporations today contribute a substantial amount to their economy, a dent in such companies shakes the very foundation of the host economy. For instance, half a decade back, Swedish authorities deported two Russian diplomats as they were found spying at Ericsson – a company responsible for missile-guidance systems for Sweden's fighter jet. Even the US has experienced several cases of economic espionage from countries like Japan, France and Israel. However, China, for that matter, is touted as the biggest player in the economic espionage market. UK’s intelligence service MI5 has warned banks and law firms of attacks from Chinese state organisations and has even written to 300 chief executives and security chiefs in UK about electronic espionage attacks. Companies like Rolls-Royce and Royal Dutch Shell have already been victims.

While MNCs indulge in this practice to know their competitors’ strategic plans in order to gain industry share, nations at large do this to track economic trends, technological progress, defence breakthroughs and progress on international relations. It thus helps them to form policy and gain strategic and political edge.

On July 13, 2010, Ke-xue Huang was arrested for passing secrets belonging to the Hunan Normal University in Changsha, China. Likewise, a year back, Dongfan Greg Chung, a former Rockwell and Boeing engineer, was convicted for economic espionage as he was acting as an agent of China and had passed restricted technology and Boeing trade secrets (information related to the Space Shuttle program and Delta IV rocket) to China. Surprisingly, Christian Science Monitor revealed how Clinton signed the Economic Espionage Act thus authorising intelligence gathering on foreign businesses and also “attached especial importance to economic intelligence, setting up the National Economic Council (NEC) in parallel to the National Security Council.” Thus, NEC was able to seek information regularly from the NSA and the CIA which was then used for American business benefit.

So where’s the solution to all this? While one would recommend a UN convention/resolution to be passed against such espionage, the developed countries would be rather pleased to have no solution as currently, they obviously have an upper hand.

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Gay men go for unprotected sex

2011-09-13T10:20:00.006+05:30

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A study has found that gay young men, who are in a serious relationship, are six times more likely to have unprotected sex than those who hook up with casual partners.

The findings by new Northwestern Medicine provide a new direction for prevention efforts in this population who account for nearly 70 per cent of all new HIV/AIDS diagnoses in adolescents and young adults.

"Being in a serious relationship provides a number of mental and physical health benefits, but it also increases behaviours that put you at risk for HIV transmission," Brian Mustanski, associate professor in medical social sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and lead author of a paper on the research, said.

"Men who believe a relationship is serious mistakenly think they don't need to protect themselves," he stated.

About 80 per cent of gay young men who are HIV positive don't know it, because they aren't being tested frequently enough, he noted.

"It isn't enough to ask your partner his HIV status. Instead, both people in a serious, monogamous couple relationship should go and receive at least two HIV tests before deciding to stop using condoms," Mustanski said.

The new Northwestern research shows HIV prevention programs should be directed toward serious relationships rather than the current focus on individuals who hook up in casual relationships.

The Northwestern study looked at the behaviours of a diverse population of 122 young men (16 to 20 years old when the study began) over two years in Chicago and the suburbs.

The men are a subset of participants in Mustanski's ongoing longitudinal study on the sexual and mental health of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth.

The study has been published online in the journal Health Psychology .

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Visits by leaders of world's influential nations signify India's rise

2011-09-12T14:29:00.000+05:30

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Economic espionage is a global phenomenon. It is not only costing billions to the modern-day corporations but also is spreading its tentacles across the globe. According to the American Society for Industrial Security (ASIS), even in 1997, American intellectual property worth more than $300 billion was under threat due to economic espionage. In 2000, the same agency estimated the cost of economic espionage industry to be around $60 billion annually. Experts say this figure has now exponentially increased. Sample this: German counter-intelligence experts announced as recently as in October 2010 that the German economy is losing over €50 billion (equivalent to 30,000 jobs) annually due to espionage.

With the advancement of technology and corporations going online, economic espionage has become easier and. As big corporations today contribute a substantial amount to their economy, a dent in such companies shakes the very foundation of the host economy. For instance, half a decade back, Swedish authorities deported two Russian diplomats as they were found spying at Ericsson – a company responsible for missile-guidance systems for Sweden's fighter jet. Even the US has experienced several cases of economic espionage from countries like Japan, France and Israel. However, China, for that matter, is touted as the biggest player in the economic espionage market. UK’s intelligence service MI5 has warned banks and law firms of attacks from Chinese state organisations and has even written to 300 chief executives and security chiefs in UK about electronic espionage attacks. Companies like Rolls-Royce and Royal Dutch Shell have already been victims.

While MNCs indulge in this practice to know their competitors’ strategic plans in order to gain industry share, nations at large do this to track economic trends, technological progress, defence breakthroughs and progress on international relations. It thus helps them to form policy and gain strategic and political edge.

On July 13, 2010, Ke-xue Huang was arrested for passing secrets belonging to the Hunan Normal University in Changsha, China. Likewise, a year back, Dongfan Greg Chung, a former Rockwell and Boeing engineer, was convicted for economic espionage as he was acting as an agent of China and had passed restricted technology and Boeing trade secrets (information related to the Space Shuttle program and Delta IV rocket) to China. Surprisingly, Christian Science Monitor revealed how Clinton signed the Economic Espionage Act thus authorising intelligence gathering on foreign businesses and also “attached especial importance to economic intelligence, setting up the National Economic Council (NEC) in parallel to the National Security Council.” Thus, NEC was able to seek information regularly from the NSA and the CIA which was then used for American business benefit.

So where’s the solution to all this? While one would recommend a UN convention/resolution to be passed against such espionage, the developed countries would be rather pleased to have no solution as currently, they obviously have an upper hand.

Millions in India carry hepatitis virus

2011-07-27T15:09:00.002+05:30

IIPM Mumbai Campus

India is reeling under a serious burden of Hepatitis.
Professor SK Acharya , HoD of gastroenterology at AIIMS, said studies reported from various parts of India estimate that about 20 million Indians are Hep B carriers and about 8 to 10 million may have silent Hep C virus infection. According to him, India does not have a Hep B virus registry, or information on the disease burden.

"Their treatment is expensive. Control strategies should include mass awareness, universal guideline for immunization and hygienic handling of food and water, which can reduce the liver disease burden substantially in our country," he added. Other experts say Asia Pacific carries the highest burden of viral hepatitis, with India and China together having an estimated 123 million people chronically infected with Hepatitis B and 59 million chronically infected with Hepatitis C, accounting for almost 50% of all infections worldwide. Now, a group of leading experts has joined hands to create Coalition to Eradicate Viral Hepatitis in Asia Pacific (CEVHAP) to fight viral hepatitis across India and urge governments across Asia-Pacific to become more aware of the devastating effects of hepatitis on individuals, their families and the community at large.

Globally too, Hep B and C is a serious problem, affecting one in 12 people worldwide, claiming the lives of approximately one million every year. Co-founder of CEVHAP, Professor D S Chen from the National Taiwan University, said, "While chronic hepatitis is a silent disease with little or no symptoms for many years, it 'salso a silent disease when it comes to public awareness and government attention. This has led to the situation we find ourselves in today, where a large population with viral hepatitis does not seek medical attention or receive treatment - and this is also true for countries where the treatment is reimbursed by the government."

At present, more than half of chronic hepatitis patients live in countries with no provision for free testing, and 41% of patients live in nations where no government funding exists for the treatment of either Hep B or C.

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US cracks Kashmir racket: Fai is a fake man

2011-07-20T17:36:00.003+05:30

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In a city where lobbyists represent scores of interests, issues, and causes from across the world, Ghulam Nabi Fai, was a familiar figure on Capitol Hill as the principal representative of the Kashmiri separatist movement. A stocky man 62-year old man with a scraggly beard sans mustache, he spoke the language of engagement and claimed to seek a peaceful resolution of the Kashmir dispute.

An FBI affidavit charging him with "conspiring to act as an agent of a foreign principle," shows that Fai was a frontman for Pakistani – and not Kashmiri – interests in the US. He took dictation from his masters in Islamabad and Rawalpindi and according to the FBI count, was funded to the tune of at least $4 million to manipulate the debate about Kashmir. The FBI recorded 4000 email and telephone exchanges with his Pakistan handlers.

Fai's career as a Pakistani ISI bagman began as far back as 1989, according to a Confidential Witness (identified as CW-2 in the FBI affidavit) who turned US informant. The ISI, CW-2 says, "created the KAC to propagandize on behalf of the government of Pakistan" and selected Fai "because he had no overt ties to Pakistan."

Indeed, Fai did come originally from India. According to community sources, Fai hails from the Kashmir Valley and came to the US in the 1980s after an MA degree from AMU. He earned a PhD in mass communication from Temple University in the US and began working as a Kashmiri and Muslim activist in the late 1980s before the ISI ensnared him.

Soon he was singing the Pakistani tune churning out exaggerated accounts of Indian atrocities in J&K and organizing conferences and seminars bankrolled by the Pakistani government through ISI.

But Fai also left a massive paper and electronic trail that the FBI diligently collected and intercepted under court-sanctioned surveillance . He made massive cash collections. He was stopped by the police in New York once and found to have $ 35,000 in cash which he tried to explain away as donations for the Kashmir cause from a Brooklyn mosque, but which the FBI determined was slush money from a straw donor in the US.

Another time, one of his ISI handlers demanded he get a laptop bag and adaptor for his boss. The wrangles finally got to one of his associates, identified as "John" in the FBI affidavit. John had a problem with Nazir Shawl, Fai's counterpart in UK as the ISI bagman, and he threatened to expose "everything and everybody."

"He ended by saying he was prepared to go to the Indian Embassy to beg forgiveness for his previous activities, even of doing so displeased his Pakistani bosses," the FBI affidavit records

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Genelia D'Souza is married to John Abraham

2011-07-09T12:13:00.005+05:30

Pandit Bhagwat Guruji's stubbornness might cost Riteish Deshmukh and Genelia D'Souza their marriage plans. The Hindu priest insists the lovebirds cannot take saat pheras anytime soon.

Genelia D'Souza is married to John Abraham

Apparently, the priest got Genelia married to co-star John Abrahim while they were shooting for Nishikant Kamat's Force. He says he forgot the camera was rolling and read out the actual wedding mantras while the pair was shooting a wedding scene! Now, the pandit has parked himself at producer Vipul Shah's office demanding to meet with Genelia to explain the situation.

A source reveals, "There's a scene in Force where the lead pair get married. Instead of a junior artiste, they called a real pandit for the scene." Following the reports of Riteish and Genelia planning marriage, Bhagwat landed up at the producer's office to register a complaint.

Pandit Bhagwat says he was asked to perform the rituals authentically by director Nishikant Kamat. "John and Genelia are husband and wife," he says, adding, "I need to make them understand that I have pronounced the mantras one does at a real wedding. Everything from wearing a mangalsutra, to exchanging garlands and taking the saat pheras has been done."

Producer Vipul Amrutlal Shah says, "The pandit is now mad at us for getting him involved in this scene. He's treating it like a real wedding, but I want to make him understand that that's not the case. In my entire career, I've never experienced anything of this sort!"

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13-yr-old boy shot dead inside Chennai army quarters

2011-07-04T17:53:00.000+05:30

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A 13-year old boy in north Chennai died on Sunday after he was shot when he scaled a wall to enter the army's residential quarters, triggering public protests and condemnation by the Tamil Nadu chief minister.

As irate crowds agitated outside the government general hospital where the boy died, chief minister J Jayalalithaa issued a statement that the Indian army should hand over to the state police the jawan who shot the boy. "This is unacceptable. The security personnel could have easily known that this boy is not a terrorist or a militant," she said.

Dilson, who lived in a nearby slum, had jumped over to enter the Old Fort Glacis Officers' Enclave at 1.30 pm along with a few friends. Minutes later, after he climbed a tree, his friends heard gunshots and fled. When they returned with Dilson's relatives, they found him lying unconscious on the grounds, bleeding from the head. They rushed him to the government general hospital where he succumbed to his injuries at 5.20 pm.

According to doctors, Dilson was critical when he was brought to the hospital, less than two kms from the scene of the incident, and required life support. Doctors said he had an entry-and-exit bullet wound on his skull. "We could not save him," said a doctor who treated him.

The person who shot the boy remained unidentified till reports last came in. A senior army official in Chennai, Brigadier (admin) Sashi Nair, told the media that the area had been cordoned off for investigations following the incident. The enclave has no armed personnel, and sentries, who are outsourced, are only equipped with lathis, he said. "It's very sad this happened. But it's not right to say an army jawan fired. It could have been the military, police or civilians," he said.

The youngest of four siblings, Dilson was a class five dropout who worked for daily wages to help his ailing father, Kumar, a carpenter. The family lived in Indira Gandhi Nagar, a slum close to the Island Grounds. Crowds comprising Dilson's relatives and neighbours thronged the hospital and army quarters in the evening in protest, blocking traffic and demanding justice. The crowds also surrounded vehicles of ministers who visited the hospital to verify the details.

The police have registered a case of murder (section 302 of IPC). The post-mortem was conducted after dusk. Finance minister O Panneerselvam handed over a cheque for Rs 5 lakh to Dilson's grieving family minutes after the post-mortem. The body of the boy was handed over to the parents after 9.30 pm.

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Syrian forces kill 24, protesters tell Assad to go

2011-07-02T16:49:00.001+05:30

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Syrian forces killed 24 civilians on Friday, a prominent rights lawyer said, as tens of thousands of people called on President Bashar al-Assad to step down in some of the biggest demonstrations since a three month uprising.

Defying Assad's military crackdown, demonstrators took to the streets again after Friday prayers across the country, from towns near the western Lebanese border to the desert regions near Iraq in the east. "Bashar get out of our lives," read placards carried by thousands of Kurds who marched in the northeastern city of Amouda, according to a YouTubevideo taken by resident.

Encouraged by the widening protests, prominent opposition figures plan to convene a 'national salvation' conference in Damascus on July 16 to reach a broad based blueprint for solving Syria's political crisis. "In light of the military solution chosen by the regime to end the revolution, the conference aims to reach a consensus guided by the popular protest movement for a transitional period and a national salvation government that lays the foundation for a new constitution and free elections," said a statement by the organizers, which was sent to Reuters.

The statement was signed by 50 figures, including Kurdish leader Mishaal al-Tammo, former judge Haitham al-Maleh, Nawaf al-Bashir, a tribal leader from the eastern province of Deir al-Zor, economist Aref Dalila, a fierce critic of the Assad's family's involvement in business and Walid al-Bunni, a physician who played a major role in a movement for democracy crushed by Assad ten years ago known as Damascus Spring. With an intensifying security campaign that rights campaigners said resulted in arbitrary arrests of over 1,000 people over the last week alone, organizers said the conference would be far more difficult to convene than a meeting of intellectuals allowed by the authorities last week that gave a rare platform to several opposition figures.

Lawyer Razan Zaitouna told Reuters by phone that the 24 dead included seven protesters in the central city of Homs, scene of widening protests against Assad and 14 villagers in the northwestern province of Idlib, where troops backed by tanks and helicopters have been storming villages to subdue dissent. The assaults concentrated on the northern section of Jabal al-Zawya region, home to 15,000 people, many of whom are trying to flee to Turkey, which already has 10,000 refugees from attacks in Idlib earlier this month.

"Troops have heavily blocked the roads leading out of Jabal al-Zawya and only tens of people have made it to Turkey. The roads are also dangerous because there is random gunfire from helicopters and tanks," a resident of the region said. In the city of Hama, video footage appeared to show tens of thousands of protesters massed in a central square. Witnesses and activists said demonstrators in Hama and in Kurdish eastern areas carried red cards, employing a soccer symbol to demand Assad's "sending off."

Authorities have banned most international media from operating in Syria since the outbreak of the protests in March, making it difficult to verify reports from activists and authorities. State television said gunmen had fired on security forces in Homs in several other towns, wounding two of them. In the old Homs district of Bab Sbaa, a witness said several armored vehicles deployed and soldiers fired at protesters from road blocks set up in main streets in the city of one million.

Another activist in Homs said troops surrounded a private hospital in Bab Sbaa and several wounded people rushed to another hospital on the outskirts of the city where security forces were not present.

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Indian women most optimistic in world: Survey

2011-06-30T17:30:00.001+05:30

Indian women are more optimistic in the world compared to their counterparts in the developed nations. Despite facing a lot of stress, women in India splash money on health, vacations, beauty products and electrical appliances and are gaining greater control over their lives, according to a survey.

A survey of 6,500 women across 21 developed and developing countries revealed that Indian women are most optimistic about opportunities for growth, with 78% of the lot confident about better financial stability and better chances for education for their daughters. "Indian women are now more able in making simple day-to-day decisions. It is getting increasingly important for marketers to understand their attitudes," said Surekha Poddar, executive director, customised research, Nielsen Indian Region. While 58% said they had more opportunities to reduce stress compared to their mothers, 78% believed that their daughters would have more opportunities than them. Despite getting increasingly indulgent in clothes, health and beauty, more than three-fourth of the surveyed lot gave more importance to saving for their children's education.

"Women in India see greater hopes for their daughters in terms of growth opportunities. This is starkly different from the women in developed countries, who

have been empowered with the freedom of choice for a while now," said Poddar. In terms of media consumption too, 51% of Indian women are now viewing more television than they were two years ago, as compared to 40% of the female respondents globally. 77% of Indian women believe that their daughters will have more opportunities in accessing technology.

"Indian women are slowly being influenced by their use of technology and access to the internet, though their remains a significant reliance on traditional media," Poddar said.

However, greater empowerment of women has led to greater stress too. Around 87% of Indian women said they often felt pressured for time, while 64% said they felt stressed all the time, as opposed to 54% and 38% of women respectively, in the developed countries. "Balancing traditional responsibilities with the new-age pressures is a big challenge for Indian women. Her growing expectation from herself to perform both these tasks efficiently results in stress," Poddar added.

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Fitness Trainer Raped Twice In Delhi GYM

2011-06-29T17:45:00.003+05:30

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A 24-year-old woman, who works as a physical trainer, has alleged that she was raped twice in the changing room of a gym at the DDA sports complex in Sector 11, Dwarka, first by the manager and then by another trainer.

Both the accused, residents of Meerut currently residing in west Delhi, have been remanded to 14 days' judicial custody. Shockingly, the victim has been sacked by the private fitness training company after the incidents, along with the accused.

The woman, a resident of Mangolpuri, is separated from her husband and has filed for divorce. Sources claimed she landed the job through a friend, another gym trainer who was a friend of Ajay, one of the accused.

The police said the woman was transferred from the Paschim Vihar branch of the fitness centre on June 15 to undergo training as an instructor. According to her complaint, Ajay approached her around 11am on June 19 with a white powder after she had complained of a headache. The victim reportedly felt dizzy after having the powder and went to changing room to sit. The accused followed her there and raped her.

"The victim said out of fear she did not tell anyone about the attack," claimed one of her acquaintances.

According to the complaint, the victim's mother was threatened by the accused and her boyfriend beaten up when they came to the DDA complex. The boyfriend was taken to Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital for treatment after which an FIR was registered.

"After getting the medical report of the victim, the police filed an FIR of rape against the duo and they were arrested," said the police official. According to the DDA officials, the contract for maintaining and running the gym had been awarded to Himanshu Bhardwaj, director of SAB fitness and training centre. The accused and the victim were employees of this fitness center.

"I don't know if these allegations are true but the contradictory statements given by the woman indicate that the trainer is being framed. I don't want to comment further as the matter is under investigation," Bhardwaj said.

He said the victim was his employee for the past six months, while the accused were working for him for around a year.

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Anna Hazare to put conditions for Baba Ramdev to join fast

2011-06-27T17:56:00.001+05:30

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After allowing Baba Ramdev to share the dais with him during his fast in Jantar Mantar in April and later voicing support to the yoga guru, veteran Gandhian Anna Hazare has now laid down a set of "conditions" for Ramdev before letting him join his proposed fast in August.

Speaking to TV reporters in Maharashtra late Sunday, Anna Hazare said: "Baba has expressed his wish to sit on fast with me but I have placed a set of demands in front of him. If they are met, then I will think about it."

Adding to it, a member of civil society activists led by Hazare said in Delhi: "This is not the first time that Anna has said this. Earlier too he had mentioned that he will welcome Baba Ramdev to join his fast only after they talked about certain issues."

Anna Hazare has announced that he will sit on another fast on August 16 at Jantar Mantar for a strong Lokpal Bill.

While he supported Ramdev's campaign against corruption and even sat on a one-day fast after the yoga guru was ousted from the capital's Ramlila Ground amid bedlam on June 5, his statement of raising an army of 11,000 young men and women to strike back when attacked did not go down well with Hazare and his team.

Ramdev returned to the capital on Sunday and accused the police of trying to kill him and assaulting women during the June 5 crackdown, when they were protesting against corruption.

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Lokpal panel meetings a waste of time: Anna Hazare

2011-06-17T12:45:00.002+05:30

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The rift within the Lokpal Bill draft committee continues to widen. The civil society and the government representatives who form the committee may have agreed to disagree but on Thursday the claws came out.

Anna Hazare has accused the government of trying to bring a toothless Lokpal and said he will begin a second fast at Jantar Mantar from August 16.

Responding to Anna Hazare, Union Minister Kapil Sibal said the threats won't work during negotiations. The government also promised to prepare a draft bill by the end of June.

Meanwhile, speaking to CNN-IBN, Anna Hazare on Friday called the committee meetings a waste of time. "Even earlier there were two drafts, then what was the need for this joint committee. It was a waste of time then. I will attend the June 20 meeting. Let's see what they say in the last two meetings. They'll follow their path, we'll follow ours. When they are doing injustice to the nation, we'll follow our path," said Anna.

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NGO sermon for Shah Rukh to quit smoking

2011-06-11T17:06:00.003+05:30

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He does not require lessons in acting. But Bollywood badshah Shah Rukh Khan is all set to receive lessons on the art of giving up smoking. HRIDAY(Health Related Information Dissemination Amongst Youth), a well-known NGO, has dropped a letter in King Khan's mail box, urging him to kick the butt. The missive also contains some patches of Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT), and a two-page note on how to give up smoking. It instructs Khan about simple self-help tips of quitting such as to increase contact with non-smokers, and leave a larger stub.

After meals, don't linger too long on the table, keep your hands occupied with a puzzle while relaxing, chew sugarless gum while driving, hold a pencil while talking on the phone and change your routine every morning, says the quit-note to the Bollywood star. Khan has also received a concise lecture on benefits of quitting: in 20 minutes, blood pressure, pulse rate and body temperature returns to normal; in eight hours, carbon monoxide levels in the blood drops; in 24 hours chances of heart attack decreases, and in 48 hours nerve endings start growing. Also, in two weeks blood circulation improves, and in one-nine months lungs clear.Khan, a chain smoker, was earlier urged by former Union health minister Dr A Ramadoss to quit the habit.

In response, the actor had said "I would like to tell people not to do it, but having said that, it is my life, if you want me to change it, then make it illegal. I don't do drugs, I don't drink ...I don't do anything that is illegal." HRIDAY's letter says "Not only will this decision to quit affect you and your family's health, but being a public icon of your stature, this step will help convey the right health message to millions of your fans, especially the youth."

In India, about 2,500 Indians die every day from tobacco use. Research shows that 5,500 youth in India start using tobacco daily. A survey revealed that more than 14% of youth are using tobacco in India among whom 37% take to smoking before they turn 10 years. Dr Monika Arora, senior director, HRIDAY has a message for Khan: "We have learnt that you have made earnest attempts in the past to quit smoking. To help you with this, we have enclosed patches of NRT which can be helpful in a person's quit programme. Quit and become a real hero for your millions of fans worldwide."

HRIDAY highlighted that depiction of smoking scenes in films is also a matter of grave concern for the public health fraternity as studies show a strong association between teenage smoking and portrayal of smoking in films. In a study conducted by HRIDAY — for assessing tobacco use status vis-à-vis exposure to tobacco use in Bollywood films — it had found that students who are highly exposed to tobacco use occurrences in movies have more than twice the risk of being a tobacco user as compared to those with low exposure.

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Baba Ramdev aide Balkrishan owns 99.9% of Aastha channel

Baba Ramdev aide Balkrishan owns 99.9% of Aastha channel

2011-06-10T17:40:00.002+05:30

Congress talks tough at core group meet on Ramdev

Baba Ramdev's world is not just a popular yoga empire but a clutch of hugely profitable businesses, ranging from successful ayurveda products to a popular TV channel. Vedic Broadcasting Limited which runs Aastha channel, made a net profit of Rs 2.30 crore on a total turnover of Rs 19.26 crore in 2009-10. The company mopped up Rs 18.50 crore revenue in advertisements, telecasting fees and others. The company's expenditure on programming, telecast and operations was Rs 9.60 crore. According to details available with the Registrar of Companies, Acharya Balkrishna, Ramdev's controversial aide, holds 99.9% stake in Vedic Broadcasting. He holds 799,250 shares out of total equity shares of 800,000. Ramdev does not figure as a shareholder in any of the companies while Balkrishna is the overwhelming majority share holder. In Patanjali Ayurved Limited, which makes and markets Ramdev's ayurveda products, Balkrishna has 3.10 crore shares out of a total of 3.47 crore shares, which is over 92% shares in the company. A significant part of the remaining shares are held by Sarwan 'Sam' Poddar and his wife Sunita, the Scotland residents who had gifted an island to Ramdev.

Patanjali Ayurved too is an impressive business. The annual report of the company for 2008-09 financial year shows that just two products, Amla and Aloe Vera juice, raked in over Rs 25 crore in the year. The other product that was a great success was Lauki (bottle gourd) juice.

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Capital punishment for 10 for honour killing

2011-06-09T17:39:00.002+05:30

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A special court in Etah on Wednesday handed death sentence to 10 of the 14 accused in a 2008 honour killing case. One of the accused was let off due to insufficient evidence while another was awarded one-year imprisonment . The remaining two are minors and are being tried by the Juvenile Justice Board. The court also imposed a Rs 10,000 fine on each accused.

Pronouncing the death sentence, special judge Rajendra Sharma cited a Supreme Court observation that death penalty should be the punishment for honour killing. In November 13, 2008, there was a triple murder at UP's Palikatra village. Vajiya (18), a resident of Palikatra, had allegedly eloped with Udaipal Singh (26) in October, 2008. On November 13, they returned to Udaipal's house.

When Vajiya's father Ramesh Pal learnt that they had married, he went to Udaipal's house with his three sons, elder brother and some locals. They forcibly took away Vajiya , Udaipal and his brother Ramesh Singh with them.

The accused beat them, while villagers watched as mute spectators. The next morning, their mutilated bodieswere found on the outskirts of the village.

Udaipal's mother lodged an FIR with the Jalesar police against Vajiya's father Ramesh Pal, her elder brother Ajay Pal, two younger minor brothers, uncle Surjan Singh and his three sons and four relatives of Vajiya.

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Rahul meets Pranab, discuss plan to combat opposition

2011-06-08T17:33:00.001+05:30

Undeterred by opposition attacks and in-house misgivings on the handling of Baba Ramdev's agitation, Congress is set to launch a strong offensive against protests from political rivals and civil society against the Centre.

The aggression was obvious in the way AICC dropped its defensive play to slam activist-icons Anna Hazare and Ramdev as "mukhotas" of BJP while defending itself on the issue of corruption. A countrywide campaign is also in the works, sources said. The aggressive response has the sanction of the party leadership. Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi is learnt to have discussed the political challenge with finance minister Pranab Mukherji The heir apparent, who is believed to be among those who frowned upon the red carpet welcome at the airport by Cabinet ministers, is learnt to be of strong opinion that the party should not blink in the confrontation with the Opposition.

Congress is working on a detailed campaign to defend Centre's record on combating corruption and to argue that the Opposition charge was politically motivated and sadhus and civil society icons were being used as a front. The allegation which was made on a low key note when Anna Hazare camp pitched tent at Jantar Mantar in April, has turned into a full-blown campaign.

The presence of Sadhvi Rithambara and Uma Bharati, icons of Ayodhya campaign, alongside Ramdev at Ramlila Maidan is cited as substantiation of the "communal conspiracy" charge. On Sunday, parliamentary affairs minister Pavan Bansal had claimed that the midnight raid on Ramdev's camp was meant to preempt a threat of communal flare-up because of the presence of Rithambara at the protest venue abutting the Walled City.

The thread was picked by AICC general secretary BK Hari Prasad and spokesman Manish Tewari. Hari Prasad said Ramdev's protest carried the risk of communal conflagration. Tewari, who spoke to reporters in detail, said the BJP offensive was meant to divert attention from Samjhauta blasts in which new evidence of saffron terror was tumbling out.

Congress is set to launch rallies across states to return the BJP fire. The Opposition is already holding protest fasts to ensure that the Ramdev issue, linked to the claim of the fight to bring back black money, did not move out of focus.

The government, meanwhile, is releasing documents to detail its work on the graft front, starting from checking tax evasion globally to retrieving black money stashed in banks in foreign countries.

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One in two teenagers suffers from mental disorders

2011-06-07T12:31:00.002+05:30

One in every two adolescents globally suffers from neuro-psychiatric disorders. According to the Global Burden Of Disease In Young People aged 10-24 years, published in "Lancet Neurology" on Tuesday, mental disorders like depression, alcohol use, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder comprises 45% of the disease burden among young people in this age group.

The other two primary causes of disability worldwide were unintentional injuries (12% -- mainly road traffic accidents) and infectious and parasitic diseases (10%). This is the first study that provides a comprehensive picture of the global causes of disability in adolescence and the main risk factors that emerge in these years and cause disease in later life.

Young people aged 10–24 years represent 27% (more than 1.8 billion) of the world's population and their number is set to rise to about 2 billion by 2032. In this study, Fiona Gore from WHO, Geneva, estimates the cause-specific disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) for young people aged 10–24 years. DALYs are a combined measure of Years of Life Lost due to premature deaths (YLLs) and Years Lost due to Disability (YLDs). One DALY represents the loss of the equivalent of one year of full health.

The finding shows that the total DALYs for people aged 10–24 years were about 236 million, representing 15.5% of total DALYs for all age groups. Across all regions, the disease burden was 12% higher in girls than in boys aged 15–19 years.

The main global risk factors for future disability in all age groups (0-80) are underweight, unsafe sex, alcohol use, unclean water, poor sanitation and hygiene.

In contrast, the research showed that the main health risks emerging during adolescence were alcohol use, unsafe sex, iron deficiency and lack of contraception.

"The main risk factors for incident DALYs in 10–24-year-olds were alcohol (7% of DALYs), unsafe sex (4%), iron deficiency (3%), lack of contraception (2%), and illicit drug use (2%)," the authors said.
The authors who studied changes in DALYs in early adolescence (10–14 years), late adolescence (15–19 years), and young adulthood (20–24 years), said, "The disease burden arising in early adolescence from major risk factors is low. However, rates rise sharply in late adolescence and early adulthood for both alcohol use and unsafe sex. For other risk factors that commonly start in adolescence such as tobacco use, low physical activity, high blood pressure, and overweight and obesity, their contribution to disease becomes apparent only in mid-to-late adulthood."

The 10 main causes of worldwide disability in both sexes (10-24 years):
* Unipolar depressive disorders
* Road traffic accidents
* Schizophrenia
* Bipolar Disorder
* Violence
* Alcohol abuse
* HIV/AIDS
* Self-inflicted injuries
* TB
* Lower respiratory infections

The 10 main causes of worldwide disability in both sexes (10-14 years):
* Unipolar depressive disorders
* Lower respiratory infections
* Road Traffic accidents
* Asthma
* Refractive errors
* Iron deficiency anaemia
* Falls
* Migraine
* Drowning
* Diarrhoeal diseases

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SC issues notice to Government over Ramdev's eviction

2011-06-06T17:27:00.001+05:30

Taking suo motu cognisance of forceful eviction of yoga guru Baba Ramdev and his followers from the Ramlila grounds here, the Supreme Court on Monday sought the Centre's response on the incident.

A vacation bench of justices B S Chauhan and Swatenter Kumar issued notices to the Union home secretary, chief secretary of Delhi, Delhi administration, and Delhi Police commissioner asking them to respond within two weeks. The court asked them to reply as to what were the circumstances under which the people had to be dispersed at midnight by the use of force.

The court posted the matter for hearing in the second week of July. However, the court declined to entertain a petition filed by advocate Ajay Aggarwal on the issue.

The bench expressed its displeasure that before the matter came up for hearing before it, the entire contents of the petition were leaked to the media.

Police had cracked down on Baba Ramdev and thousands of his supporters at Ramlila Maidan on Saturday night, forcibly ending their hunger strike on corruption and black money issues.

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Congress talks tough at core group meet on Ramdev

2011-06-03T17:38:00.003+05:30

Worried over Baba Ramdev's plan to start an indefinite fast against corruption from Saturday, Congress leaders met again on Thursday. The Government in Thursday's core meeting decided that no senior minister will meet Ramdev on Friday. Subodh Kant Sahai, Kapil Sibal and Pawan Kumar Bansal may go to meet him on Friday.

A draft will be prepared by the ministries of Agriculture, HRD and Finance on key issues raised by Ramdev like currency and Minimum Support Price. The group of ministers will meet him on Friday at 11 am. However, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee will not meet him.

Sources said, in core committee meeting, the Congress has conveyed to the Government that the party overdid it by sending ministers to airport to receive Ramdev. After the meeting was over, two of the ministers who received Baba Ramdev at the airport tried to clear the air, saying talks are not a sign of weakness.

"In a democracy the Government needs to talk to everyone. It's not right to say that the Govt is weak," said Pawan Kumar Bansal.

"If Ramdev and the Government both are serious, it won't be difficult to find the solution," said Subodh Kant Sahay.

Sources said Baba Ramdev held discussion with a desperate Government and will announce the results of the talks on Friday. According to the sources, on Thursday, he spoke to Congress leader and Union Minister Subodh Kant Sahay on the phone and has been requested not to speak until after a meeting with ministers is over.

Accordingly, Ramdev's scheduled interaction with the media has been postponed. The development comes even as the Congress Core Committee is meeting to devise a strategy to counter the Ramdev challenge.

According to the sources, the Congress talked tough at the core group meet and said that the Government will continue its talks with Ramdev but on its own terms and conditions. The Government has rejected Baba Ramdev's demand of pulling Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes out of the market.

"As a responsible and sensitive Government, we are engaging everyone constructively to find practical and real solutions in national interest. This should not be mistaken as sign of weakness or fear," said Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi. Earlier, Ramdev had reiterated his decision to launch his crusade against black money and said that that he would launch his hunger strike at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan on June 4. "I have the support of the people. The campaign is against corruption, to bring a change in the system. All discussions are in the interest of the nation. Talks with the government on all issues have been positive. I can proceed with talks with government when on fast as well," Ramdev said.

Baba Ramdev demanded that a task force should be formed to tackle the black money issue and also demanded -

1. Task force should first quantify black money
2. Should ensure passing a resolution against black money at UN.
He has further demanded -
a) Minimum Support Price (MSP) of grains be increased substantially.
b) Wages of different categories of labourers be made uniform across the country
c) Pro-farmer Land Acquisition Bill be brought quickly
d) Hindi like Japanese and Chinese be promoted countrywide.

The Government sources said they are in agreement with Ramdev on Black money but the modus operandi has to be worked out and this is something that can't be worked out in 24 hours. Now, the cornered government has decided to send more emissaries to persuade Ramdev not to undertake his fast.

A meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs was held a few days back to discuss Ramdev's fast and Singh had also written a letter to the yoga guru asking him not to go ahead with the fast, promising him to find a "practical and pragmatic" solution to tackle the issue of corruption.

Congress has distanced itself from the government's unprecedented step of sending four senior ministers to receive Ramdev at the airport here in a bid to persuade him not to go ahead with the protest saying it was "unnecessary" and the party has "nothing to do" with it। "The party is not at all related to this entire exercise from here to the airport (ministers going to the airport to receive the Yoga Guru)," top sources in Congress have said.

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Why so serious...?

2011-06-03T10:46:00.000+05:30

IIPM Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri on Internet Hooliganism

It’s April fool’s day and somebody’s going to get hurt real bad! on this day of tomfoolery and clowning around, we all pray to not find ourselves at the receiving end of people’s pranks, but rather that the devil within us rises to the challenge and spring surprises to leave some unsuspecting ones amused/flustered/embarrassed. while we may restrict mischief mongering to a single day, there are some who consciously work towards perfecting their gags, 365 days of the year. tsi salutes this brave breed of people who throw caution and better paying jobs to the wind and show us just how to get a good laugh out of people! delivering round after round of good humoured low-blows, these comedians are not all born funny, but instead have painstakingly perfected their art. in the following pages, get a glimpse into the whacky minds of funny-men Russell Peters, Colin Mochrie, Cyrus Sahukar, Papa CJ and Aron Kader and also learn how to wake up much funnier tomorrow morning…no kidding!

This doesn’t hurt!

Russell Peters’ wry commentary on race, class and cultures has the audience rolling on the floor with laughter. This is a canadian comedian of Indian origin, who went from being an internet sensation to one of the highest-paid comedians.

How do white folks react to a brown man cracking jokes about them?

They don't seem to mind. I make jokes about everybody, so everybody gets hit at some point in my show. They actually get mad if I don't make fun of them, or their communities – "Hey man, how come you didn't make any jokes about Latvians?"

Given the cultural differences, how different is it to perform in countries such as India and UAE as opposed to the US?

Not as much as you'd think. I don't change my act or anything like that. I generally find that people who come to my shows 'get it'. They know what I do and are pretty ok with it when it comes to my references and jokes.

You’ve cracked loads of jokes on your dad. How did he react to them?

He was cool with it. He'd just say, "I don't talk like that!" And it's true, he doesn't. He had more of an English kind of accent, but comedy is about exaggeration and finding the funny, so I did that with him. He had a great sense of humour anyway, and loved comedy long before I got into it.

How often did you actually 'get hurt real bad'?

It's funny, I only remember getting hit by my dad about three times. The way I see it, if you have to beat your kid more than three times in their lives, then there's something wrong with both of you.

It takes a genius to create comedy, and madness to fuel genius. How much of Russell Peters is pure madness?

There's actually not a lot of madness within me. I've been told that I'm pretty normal for a comic. I'm not like one of those comics who are only funny on-stage and super-serious off-stage.

Do comedians face a 'liquidity crunch' as well?

Sure. I can tell you that in 2004, I was pretty much broke. I was just about making my car payments and other commitments. I don't have that problem anymore, but this business is pretty fickle, so you never know...

Was George Bush the best American President ever? Do you find his actions funnier than yours?

He wasn't a great President, but I've heard from a lot of people who met him that he was a nice guy and funny too. I have a funny feeling that I'd kind of get along with him if we met.

Who are your biggest inspirations – Indians, Chinese, Americans, Brits, Africans or Canadians?

People in general. I'm always paying attention to people, even if I don't look like I am. I won't talk about a group of people unless I've really taken the time to get to know them and understand them. That's what people respond to in my act – I'm not just making fun of people, I'm acknowledging their differences and sometimes showing that we're really not that different after all.

Which part of the world would you want to be reborn in?

I can't say that I'd really change anything about where I was born. I probably wouldn't be 'Russell Peters' if I was born in England or the States. Being born in Toronto and growing up there, made me who I am today.

How different is Russell Peters the man, from Russell Peters the performer?

Not that much. I mean, I'm not always 'on' because that can be annoying, but I'm not super serious.

Who is your favourite stand-up comedian?

I really respect Louis CK a lot.

Which daily routine of yours would you wish to be ‘Outsourced’?

Probably waking up and then having to get on a plane. If there was a guy I could hire to do that, that would be great.

What time in the day are you serious?

When I'm tired – so if I don't sleep properly, that could be any time of day.

Give us five easy steps to becoming the best brown stand-up comedian in the world.

1. Spend 15 years playing gigs for next to no money.
2. Do a comedy special that gets uploaded on Youtube.
3. Come up with 'Somebody Gonna Get a Hurt Real Bad'.
4. Spend the next six years touring the world.
5. Repeat steps 1 to 4, but come up with a new catch-phrase.

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It’s Colin’s line all the way!

Colin Mochrie, of whose line is it anyway? fame, shares his experiences, tips and tricks for doing what he does best – improvisational comedy!

When did you realise you were funny? Did you teach yourself to be funny?

I guess I realised I was funny when I got my first laugh, then second and third in rapid succession. It seemed to come naturally.

Are you funny in real life?

I tend to be quieter in person. Funny in a dry and understated way. Nothing like what you would see on Whose Line Is It Anyway?

How was your first show? Were you funny at all?

On my first Whose Line…?, which was shot in the UK, I psyched myself out. I met the other improvisers an hour before the show, started worrying about whether my comedy would travel outside of North America. I think I had one funny moment.

Did the crowd ever go wrong?

The crowds that come to our theatre shows are always great. We do corporate shows wherein we are hired by a company to be the entertainment during their awards night or employee appreciation night. That sometimes can be difficult. There is a different feeling with an audience that has bought tickets to see you, and one that is forced to watch you between dinner courses.

Could I learn to be funny?
I don't know if you could learn to be funny, but you could learn to be funnier.

Give our readers five tips that will help our readers wake-up funnier tomorrow morning.

•Wake up alive.
•Immerse yourself in funny things. Movies, TV, on-line sites and hang around funny people.
•Never think what you do or say is funny. Never push.
•Know your audience. Never tell off-colour jokes at church or sophisticated puns to three-year-olds.
•Always ask yourself...What would Colin do?

Tell us five topics that always raise a laugh?

•Somebody hurting themselves in a non-lethal way.
•Passing gas.
•Star Wars fan's virginity.
•Funny sounding foreign foods
•Brad Sherwood's dancing

Who are your favourite comedians and what do you find funny about them?

John Cleese – no one does angry funnier than him.

Billy Connelly – his stand-up seems almost improvisational, almost rambling but it's not. It's just funny.

Laurel and Hardy – A great team where both can play straight man and the fool. Such strong characters and loveable ones to boot.

Do you have any no-go zones?

I stay away from life threatening diseases, sexual taboos and bald jokes.

Between stand-up and improve comedy, which is more difficult and how are they different?

For me, stand-up is far more difficult. There is a more adversarial relationship between the performer and the audience. More of a "All right you think you're funny, prove it" kind of feel. With improvising, the audience has more of a vested interest in it being successful because they have supplied the suggestions. They know we haven't prepared anything, so we have a little more leeway.

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Stand up for Papa CJ!

The Indian stand-up comedian who made it to the top 10 of last comic standing on NBC and has been compared with Chris Rock, shares a few secrets of the trade

Are people able to laugh at themselves?

With two drinks down, yea, sure! You’ll find even the posture of the people changes over the course of the show. Once they realise that it’s all fun and games, they’re fine.

How did comedy become your calling?

I hated my job so much that I just had to get out of it. I went to Oxford, I did an MBA. I worked in London for five years as a management consultant. I hated my job, I don’t like sticking to conventions, and I was no good as a male prostitute, so this was the only option. See, when I tried male prostitution, they laughed at me, so I thought let me take up a profession where laughing at me is a good response. Then I got into stand-up comedy…

Can one learn to be funny?

Possibly, yea. You can learn some of the tools and tricks, and the more you perform, the better you get. There’s no real theory to it. Every show is different, every audience is different. The more you perform, the more situations you get used to dealing with. So you know, if this happens next time, this is how I’m going to deal with it. You learn a lot more from a bad gig than a good gig.

I hadn’t heard of stand-up comedy till five years ago. I was always a very naughty child, but I was quite smart, so I used to get away with it. I think that’s stayed on at this stage as well.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Some more comedy in store!

Founding member of the Axis of Evil Comedy Tour, a regular at La’s comedy store, and the first person to teach comedy in the middle east, Aron Kader speaksabout his experiences and lessons

Can comedy be taught?

You can’t teach someone how to be funny. Some people are more funny than others. But you can teach people how to be a better public speaker. Mostly, comedy is about teaching people how to be themselves. The more yourself you are, the more unique you are, the more captivating you are to an audience. So, a lot of people I have taught, they don’t end up becoming comedians, but they’re not afraid anymore to talk to people.

Stand up comedians poke a lot of fun at the audience. In your experience, are most people able to laugh at themselves?

Yes. If you do it right, everybody laughs at themselves. Sometimes, it takes some people more work than others. I was doing comedy in the Arab world, in the Middle East, and they gave me a very difficult time, and are not easily able to laugh at themselves. I don’t think Indians have this problem. Indians seem to have a very good sense of humour.

Also, there’s a lot of variety here, there are different religions, different ethnicities, different states, and different people. The Arab world is very strict, sometimes there are religious fundamentalists, and so I find them to be more difficult than Indians. India has Bollywood, songs and dancing, and people like to have a drink and enjoy themselves. So there’s more variety here, and more to talk about.

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Funning it up!

Fishing out the humorous from the mundane is what Cyrus has aced. In a one-on-one with the host with the most gags up his sleeve: Cyrus Sahukar.

When did you realise you were funny? Did you teach yourself to be funny?

Somehow my life has always positioned me so as to be involved in theatre and art. I was a shy kid, when I turned 15, I started finding things in day-to-day life very amusing. It began at home, as it always does; my mother is a very humorous person. I think it began when I started finding all the things that others thought was funny about my family, very humorous. This outlook has helped me a lot in dealing with the day-to-day circumstances.

Are you funny in real life?

I have my moods and moments…I like to observe people. I am usually lost in thoughts. My mother used to be very worried about me as I used to be perpetually lost in thought, and I used to keep wondering about people and life. As the years have gone by, I have started to appreciate this aspect about myself. I believe it is very important for anybody in comedy to look at people, observe them and find things in all of us that are strange and funny, and then to accept them. The greatest gift of comedy is that it can hold a mirror to the society. Comedy is a medium through which we can all tell the truth yet nobody gets hurt. We can all sit back and enjoy it.

How was your first show? Were you funny at all?

I hosted my first show at the age of 15, and it is memorable because it was Valentine’s Day. It was for Roshan Abbas’s event company, it was their first show as well. It was a futuristic event and the budget was really low. I was wearing a fish bowl on my head and a silver suit, which wouldn’t unzip. It was one of the most harrowing experiences of my life. The second show was for inmates at Tihar jail, and I ended up getting locked with them, because the group I had come with somehow forgot about me. I was so paranoid that I would spend my entire life being an inmate. I think most of my life I have spent getting out of situations I never wanted to get into, and that led to the humour. It’s the effort to be serious, which turned out funny.

Tell us some topics that always raise a laugh

Well, I think sexual humour always works, doesn’t matter how many books you have read or how many movies you have seen. Also, nothing is completely funny till the time it is completely true. Any small, bizarre observation makes people laugh. I find it funny how love, food and sex become the epicentre of our lives, we love talking about these things.

Do you have any no-go zones?

Sadly, in India you have to have ‘no-go zones.’ 95 per cent of things that I can’t do are because of the audience, or the sponsor has a problem, or the channel says we shouldn’t go there. We are yet to reach a point in India where we can openly talk and enjoy all kinds of humour. I am sad that it is not the case right now. Religion is one thing I would want to talk about but I have never gone there. Ripping apart the government is another.

IIPM Prof. Rajita Chaudhuri’s Profile Arindam Chaudhuri GIDF Planman Consulting Business & Economy 4Ps Business & Marketing The Sunday Indian The Human Factor The Daily Indian Kkoooljobs.com Amaze, New Delhi IIPM Old Brochure IIPM 4Ps Quiz Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri’s Alternative Budget For IIPM Students Prof. Rajita Chaudhuri’s Website

Reliance Communications net plummets 86% on higher interest costs

2011-05-31T17:06:00.002+05:30

Reliance Communications, the country's second-largest telecoms company by subscribers, missed street forecasts to post a bigger than expected 86% decline in quarterly profits, its seventh straight fall, despite call tariffs in the country stabilising over the last 12 months. The company, owned by billionaire Anil Ambani , attributed its steep decline in quarterly profits to a sharp spike in interest costs to service rising debts, higher costs of operations and fall in average revenue per user. "During the period, company reported mark-to-market net loss of over Rs 1,100 crore due to currency fluctuations," President and CEO ( Wireless Business ) Syed Safawi said.

RCOM's results are a pointer that 3G launch costs and interest payouts for thousands of crores in loans will continue to squeeze its profits and margins, and also that of the industry for the considerable future. The company's debt stood at Rs 32,048 crore for the year ended March 2011.

The telco's net profit fell to Rs 169 crore for the three-months ended March 2011, compared to Rs 1,220 crore for the corresponding period last year.

But sales were up 55% at Rs 7,876 crore during this period against Rs 5,092.8 crore for the three months ended March 10. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization ( EBIDTA )) jumped significantly to Rs 4,122 crore in fiscal 2011 from Rs 1,602 crore in the previous year.
Reliance's primary competitor, Bharti Airtel , had posted a 31% drop in fourth-quarter profits, weighed down by its loss-making African operations. Bharti's income for the three months to end-March fell to Rs 1,401 core compared with Rs 2,044 crore in the year-ago period. Excluding its Africa business, Bharti's profits from India and South Asia fell 15%.

RCOM's average revenue per user fell 23% over the last 12 months to 107. In comparison, Airtel's ARPU, which declined 12% during the same period was at 194 as of March 2011-end. For the full year, RCOM's net profit fell 71% to Rs 1,346 crore from Rs 4,655 crore.

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Indo-Pak Defence secretary-level Talks Begins at New Delhi

2011-05-30T18:06:00.001+05:30

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After a gap of four years the 12th round of talks between Defence Secretaries of India and Pakistan is underway in new Delhi to find a solution to the contentious issue of the Siachen glacier region.

But a breakthrough is unlikely with both countries showing no sign of changing their known positions.

Pakistani defence secretary General Syed Athar Ali meets his Indian counterpart Pradeep Kumar for talks after a gap of three years.

For the talks - the main agenda is Siachen and obviously to reduce the trust deficit between the two countries but the question arises will they succeed as the fresh revelations in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks case, Pakistani-American David Coleman Headley has told the prosecutors in a Chicago court ISI was involved in 26/11 mumbai attacks

Pakistan is hopeful of moving forward through dialogue with India as responsible nations believe in resolving their outstanding issues through talks,Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said on Monday

Gilani reiterated Islamabad's stand that it would not allow its soil to be used to plot terror strikes against any country.

Indian and Pakistani defence secretaries resume talks on the Siachen Glacier after a gap of three years.

"I personally have very good relations with the Indian leadership. Responsible nations believe in talks and dialogue and I hope we will move forward through the talks," he said.

Siachen, the world's highest militarised zone, has been a long pending issue between India and Pakistan over differences on the location of the 110-km long Actual Ground Position Line (AGPL) which passes through the Soltoro Ridge and Siachen glacier.

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Watching porn video is not a crime

2011-05-28T12:58:00.002+05:30

Publication, Transmission Or Public Display Of Sleazy Material Is Crime

Consumption of pornography is no offence. All that the law forbids is its publication or transmission. If the railway police in Mumbai could still terrorise an IIT student, just by claiming that his mobile phone stored pornographic video, they were riding roughshod over his human rights.

For, even if his phone had contained porn clips, the police would have had no leverage to extort money from the student. Consumption of pornography on a personal device is frowned upon by neither the Victorianvintage Indian Penal Code (IPC) nor the 21st Century legislation on Information Technology (IT).

Both laws, separated by over 130 years, are unsparing towards the producer or supplier of obscene material. But when it comes to the consumer, neither law offers any scope to the police to make out even the lesser charge of abetting the alleged crime of obscenity.

It is just as well that the laws are not prudish about consumption per se because mobiles have of late emerged as a major medium for pornography around the world, thanks to advances made by smart phone and 3G technologies. Mobiles can now match the capability of laptops in showing long videos of pornography, with the added advantage of offering greater privacy.

The IT Act does, however, make the end user liable if it can be shown that he had more than just consumed pornography. The consumer would fall foul of the IT Act if he had shared the video with others. The three provisions relating to pornography forbid not just publishing but also transmitting.

Section 67 of the IT Act imposes a penalty of imprisonment up to three years for publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form. Section 67A prescribes imprisonment up to five years for the same offence if the material in question contains “sexually explicit act or conduct”. The penalty under Section 67B too goes up to five years as this provision deals with the aggravated offence of child pornography.

The consumer would be vulnerable to one or the other of these pornography-related provisions even if he had shared the video only within his circle of friends. The very act of transmitting constitutes the offence. Thus, the consumer is safe so long as he is content receiving or downloading pornographic material.

Besides shunning the temptation of sharing salacious videos, the consumer should be wary of misusing his mobile to invade somebody’s privacy. Section 66E, one of the amendments made to the IT Act in 2008, introduced punishment up to three years for whoever “intentionally or knowingly captures, publishes or transmits the image of a private area of any person without his or her consent, under circumstances violating the privacy of that person”.

The rules notified under the IT Act last month make it clear that pornography can be safely consumed from one’s home or from one’s personal devices. But cyber cafes are required to block pornographic sites, evidently because of the danger of children gaining access to them.

LEGALLY SPEAKING

Pornographic material, movies or pictures, in personal device is not illegal. It is a crime only when displayed in public

Porn may be downloaded by an adult on his mobile, laptop or computer from adult site from home. It can’t be downloaded from a cyber café

Transmitting pornographic material electronically is, however, a crime, even to friends

Police can check your mobile or personal device only on the basis of a complaint. Action can be taken only with court’s consent

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People are optimistic despite spectres of corruption and inflation looming large over India

2011-05-27T16:55:00.000+05:30

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The weekly nationwide surveys conducted by CVoter are unique for their large scale and comprehensibility. We are tracking polls, covering a national representative sample every week and keeping a tab on the important issues of our times.

This is the only institutionalised survey practice on such a huge scale. The big question in the current cumulative round of tracking poll is if the Central government is losing its popularity?

The “State of the nation” survey, conducted by CVoter, clearly brings out people’s growing dissatisfaction with the Central government. The grudge seems to have grown over time. Yet, people have not shown pessimism with the future prospects of the nation.

The rating of the Central government has nearly nosedived from its position at the start of its second term. Even though the rating of the government hovered around six from October to December, seemingly the reports of scams have brought it down to 5.5 in January. But the personal rating of the PM, Dr Manmohan Singh, remains higher by nearly one point. UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi’s approval rating seems to move along with that of the PM. Interestingly, the rating of the leadership has remained better than that of the government.

But the fall in the ratings of the government and the PM has not given an edge to the main Opposition— the BJP— in any major way. The ratings of both NDA chief LK Advani and the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Sushma Swaraj, have remained nearly the same in the last six months. The BJP couldn’t take advantage of the much-hyped issue of the appointment of P. J. Thomas as the CVC. Initially seen as the pet issue of Sushma Swaraj, it was later ‘hijacked’ by the party elders. Does it show an internal strife in the BJP?

The issues that seem to be disturbing the Indians most are corruption and inflation. The increasing concern over corruption since October has made it the most irritating issue in the public domain. It bounced to number one position in the fourth week of January. This becomes very important trend when you know that it is for the first time after 1989 that corruption has taken the centre stage in national polity. Unemployment remained the third biggest concern from mid December to end of January.

Naxalism didn’t feature as a major issue. The whole situation has resulted in a marked rise in anger against the Central government. More people feel the need for change at the Centre (14%) than at the state level (about 7%). However, the overall need for change in the state and at the Centre is felt nearly equally at 21.3% and 22.3% respectively. But anti-incumbency is stronger against the Central establishment. It is reflected in the indications coming out of the four poll-bound states – Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Kerala and Assam. Opinion polls are more against the Congress than the non-UPA ruling parties in the states.

In TN, where UPA ally DMK is leading the government, the possibility of Jayalalitha’s AIADMK coming to power is high. In Kerala, where the Congress-led UDF is almost certain to come to power, the margin of victory is likely to go down as compared to 2009 Lok Sabha trends. In Assam, the mandate may be fractured thanks to the non-alliance of the BJP and the AGP. But the trends are hugely anti-Congress here. In Bengal, the TMC-Congress alliance is nearly certain to come to power. But it is more because of Mamata Banerjee, not the Congress.

So, here I come back with the bottom line of my analysis. The Congress is a failure, but the BJP has proved to be a bigger failure! People don’t seem to be strongly favouring the BJP as an alternative despite the sliding confidence in the ruling Congress. Whereas towards the end of June last year nearly 24% felt that the Congress was capable of handling the issues of corruption, only 19.3% thought so towards January end. The net increase in the percentage of people favouring the BJP was only two per cent.

The worsening perception of governance, nevertheless, has not resulted in a pessimistic outlook of the economy. More than 65% people believe that India is moving forward. Most feel that they are also experiencing growth. Only around 25% believe that the country is in a poor state. More than 50% respondents felt that their standard of living has gone up in the last six months. However, it came down from the level of nearly 55% in the second week of January. More than 23% felt that their standard of living has gone down. Nearly 50% of respondents believed that their standard of living would go up in the next one year. Only around 14% believed that their living standard would go down.

Finally, I can sense that India’s optimism index has become independent of the political index. Is it something to cheer about? I haven’t made up my mind on that.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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The 'callous' tuition fee hike in Britain indicates how Liberal Democrats have started to compromise with their guiding principles

2011-05-24T11:30:00.003+05:30

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“Higher education is everybody's rite,” someone anonymously quipped in early 20th century Britain. At that time, this brilliant play of word was summarily dismissed as “far-fetched” and “obnoxious”. Roughly, a century later, the Britons have found dark humour in these words.

For the last couple of months, the world has been too engrossed in uprisings in West Asia and North Africa and has possibly ignored another uprising of sorts in a First World Nation: Britain. This uprising has been started and spearheaded by students who aspire to go for higher studies. And this uprising has to do with the astronomical hike in the tuition fees charged by several colleges.

There were protest marches several thousand strong in university towns and cities across Britain including, most famously, Bristol, Liverpool, Sheffield and Leeds. In Cambridge, thousands of prospective students brought down the barrier blocking Senate House – the historical structure that has been hosting convocation ceremonies since ages – and then gathered into the courtyards of the seven centuries old King’s College yelling and waving posters. A few arrests were made on the ground.

The government went into PR frenzy encouraging articles and programmes that would help students “see reason”. However, protests and demonstrations continue as universities and colleges open for the new session.

Meanwhile, the British government would be bound to spend almost £1bn more than the earlier estimate in the coming eight academic sessions to fill up the gap in the funds as a large number of universities have either announced or are on the verge of announcing the maximum tuition fees to be £9,000 a year. Universities seeking the £9,000 maximum are Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial College London, Exeter, Essex, Aston, Manchester, Warwick and Durham. St Mary's University College, Twickenham has said it plans to charge £8,000.

This essentially means that from autumn session in 2012, universities will be free to roughly treble the tuition fee they now charge. They have been empowered to do so by the Parliament ostensibly as part of the reform to regularise the funding of higher studies. According to the format, initially the tuition fee is borne by the government, which deposits the fee for students pursuing higher studies in the form of a loan. However, it retrieves the amount in full as soon as the student graduates and lands a job that pays more than £21,000 per annum.

Ministers and other officials have conceded that the middle class people with modest incomes will be the most affected by this hike in tuition fee. Graduates who pass out and land a job bringing in more than £45,000 per annum will have to dole out five times as much a year for the recovery of tuition fee than those who are not as successful. This estimation has been made by none other than the government statistical department.

Even though the tuition fees across Britain are minor in contrast to those at most of the US and other European colleges, British universities have essentially been public institutions. People protesting against the proposed tuition fee hike have indicated that Prime Minister David Cameron and other ministers of his government have gone to elite universities and colleges such as Oxford, Cambridge, Warwick and Northampton in an era when higher studies were completely free.

Opponents of this law suspect that the government will try to offset the planned outlay from other higher education schemes. This might mean that the government will either cut down on number of available seats or will simply bring down the support from research activities and channelise the funds towards the fee payment.

On the other hand, David Willetts, the universities minister, had hoped that as the market would evolve, different institutions will start charging different amount of fees and not necessarily the maximum limit. However, his optimism appears crashed as by the time this report goes to the press, the majority of universities have announced that they would go for the top fee of £9,000. Of the 16 universities that have so far declared the fee for autumn 2012, as many as 13 have stated that they will go for the maximum.

Gareth Thomas, the shadow universities minister, has meanwhile threatened that either the institutions will have to scale down their fees or face the partial withdrawal of funds or the government would have to announce a rollback. He said: “The government repeatedly promised that fees over £6,000 would be the exception, but it is increasingly clear that they are powerless to stop most universities charging closer to £9,000. This will push up the average fees beyond the £7,500 estimate on which the government's spending plans are based, requiring deeper cuts elsewhere in the higher education budget.”

On the other hand, supporter of this step see it as a step to improve the ailing education system. Talking to TSI, Omer, an economist based at the University of Warwick, says, “Increasing the upper limit on tuition fees actually provided institutions much more resources at their disposal. See it this way. Under the current law, the institutions have been actually empowered. Now even if the government decides to withdraw the aid, these institutions will have their corpus to continue providing world class education to their students.”

Omer goes on to explain this phenomenon in terms of open market system. He says, “Why don't people protest when Hugo Boss charges more for their cologne than their cheaper cousins? On the face of it, both are colognes. The only reason Hugo Boss charges more and get away with it is because we consider its cologne more valuable than others. In that case, why should not good universities charge more fee than the run-of-the-mill ones?” Interesting argument.

But opponents dismiss this comparison as callous. They claim that it is difficult for the members of Brown Review Committee or the coalition cabinet, who have jointly carried this legislation, to understand the pain as they comprise 18 millionaires and only one non-white member. They insist that even after the increased maintenance grant of £3,250, poor students will still be paying fees that are almost double of what they pay now.

It has political undercurrents as well. For the Liberal Democrats the entire idea of subsidised higher studies has been a matter of ideological belief over the decades. In that case, it is surprising, and heart breaking too, that within a couple of months after joining government at UK level for the first time since the World War II, they joined ranks with the Tories to introduce such a harsh legislation. The way their MPs are going about is equally nauseating. They have become completely insulated.

I can not help but remember a famous anecdote by great theologian Richard Pratt. A university professor set an examination question in which he asked what is the difference between ignorance and apathy. The professor had to give an A+ to a student who answered: I don't know and I don't care.

One wonders whether that student was David Cameron.

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The killing of Osama bin Laden has put the ISI in a bad fix.

2011-05-06T12:12:00.008+05:30

Was it incompetence or complicity or both? Ranjit Bhushan looks at the world’s most dreaded spy agency

In 2002, reputed French philosopher and writer Bernard- Henry Levy, purveyor of hot spots around the world, in his classic and real-life detective account ‘Who killed Daniel Pearl’ draws an alarming, well-informed and positively sinister picture of what was happening inside Pakistan’s secret service, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).

General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani

This most acclaimed of European writers – at great personal risk – retraced his steps back to the route which took American journalist Daniel Pearl to his hideous death in Pakistan, now as it turns out, at the hands of ISI operatives who had strong links with the al-Qaeda.

That trip to Pakistan took him to macabre, heavily-armed seminaries, to evening parties organised by the ISI top brass and a level of access in Pakistan which only a westerner enjoys. In Levy’s stark view, “Pakistan is the biggest rogue of all the rogue states of today. I assert that what is taking form there, between Islamabad and Karachi, is a black hole compared to which Saddam Hussein’s Baghdad was an obsolete weapons dump.’’

The killing of Osama bin Laden has put the ISI in a bad fix. Was it incompetence or complicity or both? Ranjit Bhushan looks at the world’s most dreaded spy agency Run with the hare, hunt with the hound The slaying of the world’s most hunted terrorist in the quintessential cantonment town of Abbottabad has shifted the spotlight back on the ways of what is now the planet’s most dreaded spy agency, the ISI.

Most analysts believe that the presence of Laden in a garrison town could not have escaped the attention of the ISI. “It is not possible to get accommodation in any cantonment area without the prior permission of military authorities. So to say that the ISI did not know of his whereabouts is ridiculous,’’ says former Indian high commissioner to Pakistan G Parthasarathy.

While Pakistani ISI and army officials have declined to offer a public comment on the US covert operation, the constant US accusation that Pakistan was playing a duplicitous game is bound to find resonance across the world.

Yousaf Raza Gilani and Ahmed Shuja Pasha

Why then did the ISI ditch Osama by not tipping him off about the movement of US special forces before the attack was launched? “Who says ISI ditched Osama? The US jammed all radars in the area and the Pakistani spies were caught napping. Left to themselves, the ISI would have whisked away Osama to safety,’’ Parthasarathy asserts.

For the first time in many years, Pakistan’s spy agency is in trouble and under global scrutiny. If its radars were jammed by the US Special Forces, then it reflects incompetence; if they were not, then the ISI stands charged of complicity and playing a dangerously dual game.

HYDRA HEADED

Joint Intelligence X (JIX)
It serves as the secretariat which coordinates and provides administrative support to the other ISI wings and field organisations. It also prepares intelligence estimates and threat assessments.

Joint Intelligence Bureau (JIB)
One of the largest and most powerful divisions of the ISI, which monitors political intelligence. The JIB consists of three subsections, with one sub-section devoted to operations involving India, anti-terrorism and VIP security.

Joint Counter Intelligence Bureau (JCIB)
Responsible for overseeing intelligence operations in central Asia, south Asia, Afghanistan, the Middle East, Israel and Russia. It also conducts field surveillance of Pakistani diplomats stationed abroad, and if need be, monitors foreign diplomats as well.

Joint Intelligence/North (JIN)
Conduct ISI operations for Jammu and Kashmir, including monitoring Indian forces deployed within the Kashmir Valley. Joint Intelligence Miscellaneous (JIM) Responsible for covert offensive intelligence operations and war time espionage operations.

Joint Signal Intelligence Bureau (JSIB)
It includes Deputy Directors for wireless, monitoring and photos, operates a chain of signal intelligence collection stations, and provides communication support to its operatives. It also collects intelligence through monitoring of communications channels of neighbouring countries. It has a chain of stations that track and collect intelligence signals along the Indo-Pakistani border and in Kashmir. A sizeable number of staff is from the Army Signal Corps. It is believed that it has its units deployed in Islamabad, Quetta, Karachi, Lahore and Peshawar.
Joint Intelligence Technical Division (JIT)
Not much is known about this particular section of the ISI. However, it is widely believed that JTI/JIT include a separate explosives section and a chemical warfare section.

But there is a good chance that the ISI was caught completely unawares. A day after the killing of Osama bin Laden and under tremendous pressure from all around, the agency actually issued a statement expressing its “great embarrassment’’ in not being able to detect the presence of the world’s biggest terrorist so close to its precincts.

Pakistan ambassador to the US, Husain Haqqani, told reporters that “intelligence failures are not unique to the ISI. We will inquire into the causes of what happened but it’s really important not to turn it into any allegation of complicity.’’

The ISI website declares itself to be “one of the best and very well organised intelligence agencies in the world.” Founded in 1948 after the partition of India when two nation-states of India and Pakistan came into being, it started off as a police agency, whose job was to collect and analyse intelligence.

But the gradual increase in the intervention of the military, which has ruled Pakistan for the better part of its 64-year history, in the country’s internal affairs and the 1965 war with India, morphed it into a military institution which has many faces.

Its primary objectives are not only to safeguard Pakistani interests, but also reinforce Pakistan’s power base in the region. The agency, with its coordinated attacks on India during the last two decades, has done just that. That the ISI has virtually no oversight in terms of civilian control in Pakistan was best brought out when the new civilian government in 2008 tried to bring the agency under its thumb but had to embarrassingly backtrack within hours of announcing the decision. The critical question is this: will the ISI be reined in under such global pressure?

Says security expert Ajai Sahni, “There is no doubt at all that there is tremendous pressure on the ISI at the moment and this pressure has actually been accumulating since the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai.”

He adds: “Osama bin Laden was living in a safe house provided by the ISI. But the Americans are aware that to take their war on terror to its natural conclusion, they would need Pakistan, which at this stage is the only supply route to get to Afghanistan. So, unless alternative routes are found to get to Kabul, ISI will continue to get US patronage.’’ In the post-Osama scenario, it would be interesting to see which way the worm turns.

Adolescents taking a step too early

2011-04-30T11:58:00.000+05:30

Anna Hazare: My Prime Minister

A school teacher in a prestigious school in Delhi was shocked when she accidentally discovered pornographic books in the schoolbag of a class six student. The parents of the child were completely ignorant about their son's adolescent adventures. Recently a 16-year-old girl was brought to our OPD in a state of panic. After repeated assurances and counselling, she said that she was pregnant. She was in a relationship with one of her classmates. Few years ago, only married couples would come into our clinics looking for advice on sexual problems. Today, young boys and girls walk in and ask about methods to enhance sexual powers. Teenagers have been sexually active before. What is new is that young children are getting involved in sexual activities. Urban Indian school children are growing up in a sexually charged atmosphere these days.

In 2002, an international survey was conducted in order to study the sexual behaviour of teenagers. The prevalence of sexually experienced 15 year olds ranged between 28 per cent and 47 per cent in boys and between 10 and 30 per cent in girls. The same survey found that while 27 per cent were involved in sexual activities, eight per cent had had a casual sexual relationship. In India, there is growing evidence that adolescents are becoming more sexually active. In urban areas, about 25 per cent of teenage girls have had sexual intercourse while in rural areas the figure hovers above the 20 per cent mark.

In our hospital, we found out that among girls whose friends were having a physical relationship with a boy, 70 per cent to 80 per cent were engaging in the same behaviour. Only 20 per cent of the girls whose friends were not having a physical relationship had one themselves. It appears that teenage sexual encounters are increasingly taking place outside the ambit of romantic relationships, in a purely sexual context. A teenager's decision to initiate sexual activity is complex and is predicated on a number of factors including physical growth and development, peer group values, media influences, rebellion and dealing with frustration and failures. The other factors that are associated with early sexual activity in teenagers include absence of supportive parenting, history of sexual abuse and indulgence in high risk behaviour. Teen sexuality is being influenced by the mass media now. Television, Internet music videos, sexually explicit lyrics all contribute to adolescents' attitude and behaviour towards sexuality. The Internet provides teens with seemingly unlimited access to information on sex as well as people willing to talk about sex. Sexual content is being regularly marketed to children, preteens and teens. Most entertainment programmes have sexual connotations ranging from bawdy jokes to raunchy dance moves. Teenagers who watch more of sexually explicit content on TV are twice as likely to engage in sexual activities than the ones who do not.

In fact pornography is directly related to sexual abuse, rape, sexual violence and sexual deviancy. Many parents avoid discussing anything to do with sex with their children. Parents should discuss sexuality with their children that is consistent with the values and belief of the family and should also ensure that their own behaviour observed by the teens is appropriate.

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Unfaithfully yours: Priyanka Rai says couples are getting to the root of the infidelity problem and not taking the easy way out of divorce

2011-04-27T10:20:00.000+05:30

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Shreya Singhal's marriage did not fall to the tempest. It was, she claims, 'built on rock'. Thus despite having a husband who repeatedly cheated on her and continues to do so, Singhal (40) did not opt for divorce. Financially independent with a great career, Singhal believes that the marriage counsellor and psychologist she consulted helped her make the right choice ' that of getting to the root cause of her husband's problem and not choosing the easy way out.

She lists the reasons for her husband's infidelity - a not too great career and a disturbed childhood. 'He grew up watching an unfaithful father and a disturbed mother. The first time he cheated on me, I was devastated. I wanted to move out but lacked the courage to do so with two young children. I took expert help to delve into the root of the problem. This is the third time in the last 17 years that I am facing his infidelity. But I am working on it to solve the problem,' she says.

Psychologist Rita Mehta suggests, 'Divorce over unfaithfulness is totally unnecessary. Couples can work through the infidelity issue and grow from it. Does a spouse have an affair to purposefully wrong the marriage? I don't think so. Most often when a spouse is unfaithful it has nothing to do with the other spouse. The reasons behind unfaithfulness stem from the need for constant self-gratification, low self esteem and lack of spiritual wisdom and knowledge.'

She details how infidelity works. First the idea to be unfaithful is imagined in the mind. Secondly, it is meditated on with vivid scenes and great clarity. Thirdly, adultery somehow becomes justified because of wrong thinking and cultural influences. Finally the act of adultery is carried out in the physical sense. Sometimes the guilty party feels remorse about defiling the marital bond and won't do it again. No one finds out, case closed. But sometimes the promiscuous acts continue. 'Unfaithfulness in marriage is only a symptom of a greater problem. But so often when marriages break apart couples blame infidelity as the culprit, but it is not the real problem. The real issue is most likely boredom, lack of respect and commitment for one another. Proper guidance from experts can actually guide us to tide over tough times without reacting negatively or taking a wrong step. Today people come to us to us to find a solution. It could be because they are better educated or because of the awareness that this is a problem which rocks every second marriage,' she says.

Malini Garg, now in her 50s, got married to a bureaucrat 27 years ago. The Lucknow-based bureaucrat enjoys a stellar reputation among his colleagues and in the public eye. A few months into the marriage, Garg noticed that her husband had a roving eye and had many indiscriminate affairs. Although he has been sensible enough to keep these secret from the public eye but nothing stopped him from indulging in them. Yet she continues to live with him because of his position and power, which she believes can help her three children. 'There is no way I can stop him. I only have to live with the thought that his power and money are mine and cannot be shared with anyone else. He can go out and have his fun but he will come back home. Many men have approached me in these years as well but I have greater control over myself. But my husband's affairs have always been whimsical. Sometimes he tells me he is conducting experiments on women, sometimes he tells me he is checking his own control, sometimes that he just gave in to a spur-of-the-moment impulse. Sometimes I think of committing suicide but the thought of three unsettled children holds me back,' says Garg. According to Mohit Randeep, counsellor with Mon Foundation, Kolkata, polygamy or extra-marital affairs are not new for India, the land of Khajuraho, Konark and Kamasutra. 'History itself reveals the fact of polygamy which is our basic instinct. If we return to the primitive stage of society before the concept of family was born, there was a culture of free sex. And now in the 21st century we are discussing whether family as a social unit is in peril? Is marriage as an institution losing its sheen? May be this is the right time to talk, but polygamy or extra-marital affairs were very much there since the era of the Mahabharata. 'Sex' came to be regarded as a taboo only with the advent of the Victorian age.'

It is an idea shared by Dipankar De, one of the most admired actors of Bengali cinema who does not believe in platonic love. He thinks sex is the most vital aspect of every man woman relationship. De is in a live in relationship for the last 14 years with one of his co-actors Dolon Roy, almost 30 years his junior. He has left behind a 17-year-old marriage and two daughters. 'A relationship which you hide from the world can't be termed humanistic under any circumstances. I don't feel ashamed to reveal that before Dolon, I had two other extra-marital affairs. But I soon realised the difference between infatuation and love. Now with Dolon I feel I am the king of the world,' he says.

Infidelity sometimes ends in disastrous consequences. As in other states, there are a number of cases of murder due to infidelity reported from Tamil Nadu. Recently Poovarasi, a bank employee in Chennai, killed the three-year-old son of her superior officer with whom she was in an adulterous relationship. When she insisted on getting married, he refused and instead transferred her to another branch. In a fit of rage, Poovarasi caught hold of the officer's son, killed him, packed the body in a suitcase and left it in a bus. She is behind the bars now.

Dr. Sathyanathan, director, Institute of Mental Health, Chennai, says, 'Media becomes an important cause behind the rise of infidelity, as portrayed in serials and films. There was a time when merely saying that a man other than one's husband was handsome was considered a sin. But those times are gone. Now women are sexually empowered.' The number of people like Priya Singhal is on the rise. Unfaithfully yours is becoming an acceptable condition.

The new generation is paving way for a sexual revolution, TSI finds out

2011-04-23T11:14:00.000+05:30

After Irom Sharmila last year, Anna Hazare wins IIPM's 2011 Rabindranath Tagore Peace Prize of Rs. 1cr. To be handed over on 9th May

Winds of change

Radha, an engineer, works for an MNC in Pune. She is married to Vishal. They have a happy married life spanning nearly a decade with two children to show for it. Vishal is bisexual and has an affair with a man Radha is aware of this. She knows Vishal has been involved with other men too. But this has not affected their family life. There is love and happiness in their marriage. 'Most people of our generation know that love and sex are not one and the same. We should be loyal when it comes to love. But sex is more of a physical need just like hunger or thirst,' says Vishal.

A prominent family of Chennai came to meet Dr R. Sathyanathan, director, Institute of Mental Health, to discuss the issue of their only son, a homosexual. When the family insisted that he married a girl of their choice, he told them that he was gay. Dr. Sathyanathan, after a long discussion with the son, advised the family to accept and respect his decision.

Since talks of decriminalisation of homosexuality in India even began to pervade the corridors of power, gay nightlife in cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Bangalore has become more vibrant. These metropolitan cities have become the gateways of the new Indian gay culture with its urban outlook and acceptance of homosexuality. In 2005, Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil from Rajkot publicly came out as gay. He was quickly anointed by the Indian and the world media as the first openly gay royal. He was disinherited as an immediate reaction by his family though they eventually reconciled. Fashion designer Rohit Bal has too openly admitted that he is gay.

According to Malabika from Saffo for Equality (a lesbian rights society), the younger generation is definitely more liberal about homosexuality. 'There is a change in the perception. People are accepting that homosexuality is not a disease but an orientation. However, there are miles to go and it is much tougher in case of girls than boys,' she says.

The TSI survey reveals most people do not expect their prospective wives to be virgins. The same survey also shows that youngsters are now losing their virginity at a much younger age. The survey seems to reflect acceptance of today's reality.

Psychotherapist Shilpa Mogon agrees, 'Virginity has lost its sacred value. Saving your virginity for marriage is even laughed at these days by some people."

One reason for the survey result could be heightened awareness amongst the youngsters. "Today's youth is more focused on sexual compatibility with their partners before getting married. To do so, they understand that one has to lose virginity. Now comparing these two, they find virginity is not that vital. Lack of compatibility can break a marriage,' says Vishal. Reema, a doctor, was not happy in her marriage. She and her husband were incompatible. For a few years, she lay low but later got involved with her husband's best friend, a married man himself. They discovered that they were compatible in every manner and decided to be together. They left the city to start a new life. Their families initially opposed this but later came around.

Dr C R Chandrashekhar, psychiatrist with Nimhans, Bangalore, thinks that the transformation in the way Indian people look at sex and relationships is too negligible. 'I have come across a number of cases in which a person complains of cheating against his/her partner but very few are willing to forgive. I have seen many surveys say that a good number of youngsters are ready to forgive their partner if they cheat on them. But my question is how many have forgiven their partners in reality? It is not even one per cent. So whatever the impact of globalisation or corporate lifestyle may be, in India, infidelity is still considered a sin and majority of couples don't tolerate it,' he says. Dr K A Ashok Pai, a psychiatrist, says, 'The individual has realised that there are many more materially important things to be attended to than the biological functioning of a living organism which is just natural.'

Experts believe that in another 20 years, words like sex and taboo are going to have mutually exclusive uses. 'We generally don't want to break our century-old social norms. But our surroundings and the winds of globalisation has transformed the way people look at sex and relationship,' says Mohit Randeep, a psychiatric counsellor associated with Mon Foundation, Kolkata.

Believe it or not, sexologist of the Government Medical College in Amritsar Dr Shyam Sunder Dipti receives seven to eight calls everyday from young boys and girls. He can notice the change in their attitude towards sex. They talk freely about sex, ask things without any hesitation whatsoever.

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An advertising blitzkrieg has turned the market for sexual performance-enhancing drugs and contraceptives red hot in India

2011-04-19T10:53:00.001+05:30

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Getting high on love-making drugs

An advertising blitzkrieg has turned the market for sexual performance-enhancing drugs and contraceptives red hot in India

Looking at advertisement trends, it appears as if every other commercial on television or in print is for either a drug promising men improved bedroom performance or a pill that lets women get rid of unwanted pregnancies.

Well, if you find these already embarrassing, particularly when your children ask, "What's this medicine for," brace for a much bigger ad blitzkrieg. The market for pharmaceutically stimulated sex is booming. Be it Dabur Pharma, Mankind Pharma, Cipla, Ranbaxy or Piramal Healthcare, everyone seems to be betting big on performance enhancing drugs and emergency contraceptives.

Even the chemists, who, till the other day, shied away from displaying these products prominently, have now started flaunting them. "There is a good demand for these products. Since one gets to see them more often in TV and in newspapers, people are slowly becoming aware of these products. In fact, over 30 per cent of my annual profit now comes from the sale of these products," says Manoj Sharma, a chemist in the Daryaganj area of the national capital.

So, what's the reason behind this sudden rise in demand of these products? Experts point out that even though these products have been in the market for the last couple of decades, the awareness level was low. "In India, anything related to sex was considered a taboo not too long back. However, with rising education level, one can see a drastic change among the people. And riding this growing awareness, pharma companies in India are now focussing more on contraceptives and performance enhancing drugs. Pharma companies are now investing a huge portion of their advertising budget in promoting these drugs which form a major chunk of the overall OTC (over-the-counter) drugs segment in India," says Sarabjit Kour Nangra, vice-president, research, Angel Broking. And why not, when the Indian OTC market, which is estimated to be worth $1.7 billion as of now, is all set to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 13-14 per cent for the next five years.

Further, it is not the only the pre-sex drug for men that is hot. The after-sex drug for females is flying off the shelves too. The contraceptive from Cipla, i-Pill, used to prevent unplanned pregnancy, recorded huge growth and was the second-largest selling drug in India in 2009. In fact, as per ORG IMS, i-Pill features in the list of top 300 pharma products with annual expected sales of around Rs 800 - 900 million. Thanks to a sustained advertisement salvo, i-Pill, despite being expensive (It costs Rs 75 a tablet), is selling like hot cakes. If industry sources are to be believed, Cipla has spent over Rs 200 million on advertisements for this drug alone.

In fact, this is the reason why Piramal Healthcare recently acquired this oral contraceptive brand from Cipla for a whopping Rs 950 million. 'In 2007, we created 'i-pill' which is currently India's leading OTC emergency contraceptive brand. We are pleased that Piramal Healthcare, which too has a strong OTC portfolio, has bought the brand and are confident that they will successfully accelerate the future growth of this brand,' says Amar Lulla, joint managing director, Cipla Ltd.

Even the OTC division of Delhi-based Mankind Pharma, one of India's fastest growing pharma firms, has witnessed rapid growth over the last couple of years. And the credit goes to its condoms, sold under the brand name 'Manforce', and an emergency contraceptive pill called 'Unwanted 72.' They annually contribute over Rs 250 million and Rs 200 million respectively to the company coffers. "During our initial 13 years, we concentrated on market penetration. Our 6,000 medical representatives went to doctors all over the country and we were completely selling products based on doctors' prescriptions. That still remains our core strength. However, we analysed the market and found out that there was a huge demand for pre-sex drugs and contraceptives in India. It is then that we came up with Manforce Condoms which became a runaway hit. This encouraged us to go for more promotions. But we believe in advertising only those products which we think need to be advertised like Unwanted-72 and Manforce Condoms," R. C. Juneja, founder and managing director of Mankind Pharma tells TSI. In fact, one can gauge the potential of these products from the fact that the company has kept aside a whopping Rs 500 million for the promotion of these products alone this year. And why not? While Mankind is looking at a growth of 30-35 per cent in its overall turnover, for OTC products, its target is 100 per cent growth.

Even regional players are raking in big bucks by focussing on performance enhancing drugs. For instance, the Kochi-based Kunnath Pharmaceuticals, manufacturer of a herbal aphrodisiac called Muslipower X-tra (an ayurvedic performance enhancing drug), expects a ten-fold jump in its turnover from Rs 400-500 million to Rs 4-5 billion in the next couple of years. And that's the reason it's leaving no stones unturned to make the brand visible not only in India but also beyond the borders. To this end, the company has even taken up a mega sports promotion initiative at an investment of Rs 1 billion. The company not only plans to promote soccer in India but is also sponsoring Sri Lanka's Wayamba Elevens for the Champions League T20 Tournament in South Africa. What's more? Musli Power X-Tra is also a sponsor of the upcoming Commonwealth Games in New Delhi. K. C. Abraham, owner of Kunnath Pharmaceuticals, says, 'Musli Power X-Tra is a performance enhancing drug. We started off with smaller sports sponsorships and endorsements. But we are now entering the big league.'

Certainly it's the advertising that has done the trick for these companies. There is no other reason why Indian equivalents of Viagra like Kamagra from Ajanta Pharma, Caverta from Ranbaxy, Penegra from Zydus Cadilla and Suhagra from Cipla are all selling like hot cakes. "An OTC brand can become successful in pharma sector if it's linked to a desired emotion and that's exactly what these players are doing. But, it is vital that the product is effective and is able to deliver the promise because no amount of marketing can yield profits for a failed product,' a brand analyst tells TSI.

If the current trends continues, one can surely expect a strong demand for more pre and post sex drugs that make it to market. Although the winners aren't yet clear, Indian men and women now have a product pool to choose from, a pool that was kept away from the consumer's eyes even two decades back.
The article is sourced from The Sunday Indian.

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India's non-metro habitations join the sexual liberation chorus though hiccups remain

2011-04-15T13:42:00.002+05:30

Anna Hazare: My Prime Minister

Small town mentality on its way out

When Govind Kumar from Jehanabad district of Bihar decided to marry a widow, his family members, Bhumihars, were up in arms. They even threatened to disinherit him. These pressure tactics did not work. Ultimately, his family accepted his choice. Govind says, 'Virginity is an over-exaggerated concept in India. I am happy with my wife. People still look down on me in my locality but I do not attach any importance to their archaic views.'

Sex is no longer a taboo in small towns. There has been a marked shift in people's attitude towards sex even in rural India. Rajesh Ahuja, sexologist at Ranchi Mental Hospital, says, 'People now openly discuss problems related to sex and marriage with doctors and counsellors. These things were quite unheard of even a decade back. Extramarital sex is on the rise and so are broken marriages.'

Navneet Kaur (23), a student of Punjab University, does not agree that a lot have changed. 'Though society has transformed but taboos about sexual issues are still there in our society. I studied in a reputed school in Ludhiana. In the 9th class, there was a chapter on reproductive system. Our science teacher did not teach this chapter and just asked us to study it ourselves and write to him for any clarification," she says.

Ritika, a research scholar at Punjab University, Chandigarh, says, 'We Indian people, especially the men, are always ready to have sex but when it comes to talking about sex, we keep mum. However, the young generation has started talking about sex with an open mind. Here in the university I know two boys who are avowed gays and they never feel ashamed. The time is changing, so is the Indian society but we have a long way to go.'

Cities like Allahabad, Kanpur, Patna, Nagpur and Ahmedabad each has at least one meeting point for gays. Rajesh Srivastava, a retired professor of Meerut University, says, 'As a nation, we have not accepted any sexual relationship out of wedlock. The situation has improved in the metros but for small cities, I cannot say the same thing. A guy demanding sex in a pre-marital relationship is considered lecherous, the partner demanding a non-conventional sexual desire is considered unholy. The situation is not very encouraging.'

But, change is there nonetheless. Ankita writes in a Web forum: 'When two young people are together and hormones are bubbling, it is very difficult to stay in control. Whatever argument we put to justify pre-marital or teenage sex, matter of fact is they are mere justifications. The larger question of enjoyment of sex is directly related to upbringing.'

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Soha Ali Khan: The latest victim of an MMS scandal

2011-03-24T10:34:00.001+05:30

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After Katrina Kaif's alleged sex scandal, it is the 'Rang de Basanti' star, Soha Ali Khan, who is the latest victim of an MMS scandal. The actress, who had gone to the salon for her routine waxing session to get rid of her pubic hair, was caught on the salon's camera. The MMS clip shows the actress draped in a towel and the salon attendant waxing her bare body. The before-and-after clip of the actress getting her body waxed is doing the rounds on the Internet, and has become a matter of great worry to the actress. However, the rumours are that the clip is doctored...

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Lafangey Parindey: Aborted flight

2011-03-21T11:28:00.001+05:30

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Anyone for a metrosexual mawali? Neil Nitin Mukesh is so hopelessly miscast in the role of One Shot Nandu, the prize fighter from the backstreets of Mumbai that 'Lafangey Parindey' gets no chance of taking off. Add another tepid performance from Deepika Padukone (with the added disability of blindness for her character, Pinky) and the uninspiring package of a film is complete. Pradeep Sarkar's 'Parineeta' credentials are now officially eclipsed by 'Laga Chunari Mein Daag' and now 'Lafangey Parindey'. The leads are easily outshone by their sidekicks. In fact, Kay Kay Menon does a two bit role and somehow manages to be the most memorable character of the lot.

The story tries hard to tell an unusual tale of love between an aspiring girl next door Pinky (who wants to be on 'India's Got Talent' showcasing her skating talents but unfortunately loses her eyesight in an accident) and Nandu, but is far too predictable despite that. Nandu is determined to help Pinky regain her confidence and the ability to skate and then both of them decide to audition for 'India's Got Talent'. After 'Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi', yet another Yashraj film climaxes at the finale of a talent show, but the result is just as undistinguished. The final third of movie languishes seriously in terms of pace and becomes a bore as the inevitable ending looms.

The only specks of imagination on an otherwise barren landscape of originality are some of the moments when Nandu trains Pinky to 'see' and the music, which is fairly nice. Otherwise, congratulations for having sat through the longest promo for the latest season of 'India's Got Talent'.

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IIPM Lucknow: Industry Visit to Radio Mirchi and Panel discussion on post budget Analysis

2011-03-17T11:21:00.001+05:30

IIPM Proves Its Mettle Once Again...

On 4th March 2011 the students of IIPM Lucknow went for an industrial visit to Radio Mirchi 98.3 FM.
It was an eventful day filled with lots of fun and learning. The students were introduced to the routine functionalities of a Radio station. The staff was helpful in making them familiar about different sections/groups involved and there importance in day to day work and RJ Rashi took them through a very interactive session where they could discover that radio stations are not just about RJs, Ad’s, Music but much beyond that.
The students got the first hand experience of-
1. The broadcasting of on-air program
2. The back-up room
3. The recording studio
4. The functionalities of different software
5. The live performance of a RJ.

Panel discussion on post budget Analysis at IIPM Lucknow
Indian Institute of Planning & Management (IIPM) and PHD Chambers of Commerce and Industry) organized an interactive panel discussion on the Union Budget 2010-11 on 2nd March, 2011 at 3.30 pm at IIPM Lucknow auditorium. The Theme of the discussion was “Post Union Budget- Prognosis’”.
The panel of experts comprised of Prof. (Dr.) B.K Bajpai , Giri Institute of development studies Lucknow, Mr. Sanjeev Verma, Management Committee member of Lucknow Chartered Accountants Society, Mr. A. Drona, COO Omaxe and Dr. YP Singh certified financial planner and a mutual fund advisor and Dr. Arvind Mohan , economist. Brig.Amitabha, resident director Phd. Chambers of Commerce and Prof. Amlan Ray, Dean IIPM Lucknow were also present in the discussion.
Each panelist gave their interpretation of the Minister of Finance's budget speech for 2011. The discussion was moderated by Dr. Rahul Mishra, faculty at IIPM Lucknow.

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Arindam Chaudhuri GIDF Planman Consulting Business & Economy 4Ps Business & Marketing The Sunday Indian The Human Factor The Daily Indian Kkoooljobs.com Amaze, New Delhi IIPM Old Brochure IIPM 4Ps Quiz Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri's Alternative Budget For IIPM Students

Way past their vacation time!

2011-03-14T12:11:00.003+05:30

IIPM in sync with the best of the business world.....

The tax holiday provided to Indian IT companies at the dawn of this century was historic and path breaking, as it enabled the industry to reach the enviable stature that it enjoys today. But retaining this tax holiday doesn't make sense from a futuristic perspective

It was one of the few instances when the Indian government actually played a key role as an enabler for business. The tax holiday given under the Sunset Clause u/s 10A and 10B of the Income Tax Act for companies operating under Software Technology Parks of India (STPI), which provided massive exemptions for the IT industry in India, was launched in the heydays of the dotcom boom in 2000-01. The incentives were available for providing software and IT enabled services for 100% exports including exports of physical services and included exemption in custom & excise duty, reimbursement of Central Sales Tax and exemption in corporate tax on 90% of export turnover (applicable for 10 years).

The dotcom boom fizzled out, but the tax holiday has been a major component of India's success as a global outsourcing hub, making more than 8000-odd IT units more competitive. In 1990, the Indian IT industry generated a mere $150 million in software and computer-related services. In FY 2008-09, the Indian IT-BPO sector had reached $71.7 billion in aggregate revenue. Software and services exports (includes exports of IT services, BPO, Engineering Services and R&D and Software products) reached $47 billion, contributing nearly 66% to the overall IT-BPO revenue aggregate.

Ever since the golden decade came to an end in 2009, a debate has been raging on whether it needs to end at all. IT companies pressed for an extension by three years, but were granted only one. In the 2010 budget session, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee declared that the holiday will not be extended. Industry association NASSCOM and a number of players feel this will seriously hamper India's competitiveness. Arvind Goyal , Director-Finance, Pitney Bowes India Pvt. Ltd. cautions that this will also reduce India's attractiveness as he says, 'Local duties and tax structure do play a. vital role in swaying decisions of global IT players in favor or against of setting up captive center in one of the countries.' Infosys Chief Mentor Narayana Murthy however feels that the extension isn't needed from Infosys' perspective. It's been almost 20 years since the sector has been awarded some or the other kind of benefits. These benefits made sense when the industry was at a nascent stage. In 2009, IT services alone have grown up from $13.5 billion to $35.2 billion since 2005 with exports contributing 76% (CAGR of 32% in 2000-2009 period). Direct employment in Indian IT-BPO sector crossed the 2.2 million mark, an increase of about 226,000 professionals over FY 2008 and indirect job creation is estimated at about 8 million. As a proportion of national GDP, the sector's revenues have grown from 1.2% in FY1998 to an estimated 5.8% in FY2009. Net value-added by this sector, to the economy, is estimated at 3.5-4.1% for FY 2009.

Understandably, the government's point of view is that the sector is self sustaining and its time to provide incentives to other sectors that need them more. The total revenues foregone by the government due to tax holidays for the'IT and ITES Sector are Rs.269.76 billion for the fiscal year 2009-10 while overall revenues foregone on account of corporate and non-corporate tax concessions are estimated to'be Rs.842.97 billion. After all, the government needs to scale up its budget size, cut down expenditure on interest payments and invest in agriculture and other unorganized sectors, which constitute 90% of the workforce in India.

Still the IT industry is moving to the SEZ's now to grab tax benefits. But small and mid -sized companies will never be able to make it there because of high land cost and higher tax rates. BPOs will have to look for newer destinations as it will be a tough survival call for them indeed. Companies who deal in volumes are moving to the special economic zone. Praveen Bhadada, Manager-Consulting, Zinnov Management Consulting Pvt. Ltd. feels the impact is minimal at around 2-3% as he says, 'Cost savings that the companies are able to generate operating out of India are far greater as compared to the tax burden that this withdrawal may result in.' Moreover, Indian IT companies need to urgently move up the value chain and provide lines of business and executive management related offerings. This decision against extending the tax holiday could actually push the fitter ones to make the inevitable evolution. So it does appear that the IT industry is raising unnecessary alarm on the issue; though it may be argued that smaller players may need protection. Goyal of Pitney Bowes India agrees, 'Indian industry should be able to reap the dividends of the reference architecture they have created by early mover advantage.'

Financial subvention for weak industries is logical and desirable, so that they may achieve their potential. But after these industries reach a certain scale, it enters the realm of protectionism, which helps no one. The Indian IT sector must take several key steps to take the next leap forward. In our view, pushing for STPI extension isn't one of them.

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INDIA INDUSTRIAL HAZARDS: Land of work disasters

2011-02-25T10:00:00.000+05:30

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India has no structured processes to handle industrial hazards
India is perhaps becoming the epicentre of work related health diseases. Across the nation, industrial centres are spewing toxic material that harms workers much faster and worse than it does any other group in the society. Gujarat, for example, is the epicentre of asbestos related diseases in India ' one in Alang (one of the largest ship breaking yards in the world) and the other in Ahmedabad. Lethal diseases, including lung cancer and skin diseases affect the exposed 55,000 workers in Alang, where they are exposed to toxic asbestos fiber ' and unmindful of the grave danger, they work there at their own peril. Although the International Agency for Research on Cancer is trying to develop an alternative product to asbestos because of its health risks, the fact is that right now, the material is extremely risky.

In the city of Ahmedabad, hapless workers toil in sordid conditions to produce asbestos required in the construction industry. In reality, the asbestos industry is booming in India ' factories have obtained permission forcefully from the authorities and the government is turning a blind eye to the health hazards being created. The fact that the government supports asbestos manufacturing is not without reason as it provides livelihood to thousands of people in India (annual production turnover of the industry is 1,25,000 mn metric tons).

Another example comes from the recent episode in New Delhi involving the radioactive material Cobalt 60. Six people were hospitalised in Delhi after they were exposed to Cobalt 60! Close on the heels of this comes the news that a major radioactive disaster was averted at Tarapur Atomic Power Plant, as scientists there fixed a technical snag at just the right time to save the nearby villages from a catastrophe.

The spate of calamities continue unabated ' a cylinder with chlorine gas leaked in Mumbai Port Trust (MPT) and enveloped a nearby college ' 98 people, mostly port labourers, suffered. The fire brigade was rushed in to save the situation. Post the incident, experts found and cleared more than hundred chlorine cylinders lying in the MPT area since 1997! As if that was not enough, a day after this episode, 25 people (mostly workers) were hospitalised in the steel city of Durgapur in West Bengal, as they complained of breathlessness and nausea! The happening was because of carbon monoxide leakage from the nearby steel plant.

These industry hazards not only affect the workers directly but also contaminate the natural resources. From water to air to soil ' everything in the vicinity of an industrial area is found to have traces of toxic and harmful metals.

Natural calamities can and do happen, but preventable calamities taking place because of human error or negligence. In the US, one keeps hearing about products, toys and equipment being recalled after being found to have toxic material. When was the last time such an episode occurred in India?

The closest we came to was when a US ship carrying radioactive material was sent back by Minister Jairam Ramesh late last year. But even that was caught by accident rather than by a structured process in place. Unless India develops a structured procedural action plan to catch such happenings and occurrences, India will remain flying on a plane which is guaranteed to crash ' sooner rather than later ' with untold negative effects.

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KOREAN WAR 60TH ANNIVERSARY: The great American proxy war

2011-02-22T09:54:00.000+05:30

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60 years after the Korean war, are things in shape?
The Korean war between South Korea and North Korea may not be termed as a "great" war, yet its impact was more than it was envisioned. The war that began on 25th June, 1950, was in reality a proxy war between cold war rivals, with the US and NATO on the south side and the Soviets and Chinese on the opposite. The war was better described as "a forgotten war," perhaps because the Americans and the Western media never wanted to highlight their humiliating defeat by the Chinese and the Russians. As war veterans mark the 60th anniversary of the start of the war, not much attention ' if at all ' has been given to the fact that celebrations on one side, no concrete progress has been made towards strengthening the dented relationship between erstwhile brothers-in-arms, South and North Korea.

One of the main reasons for these is the US itself. A quick recall of history would reveal that the Korean peninsula was the Apples's Eye, metaphorically, at that time ' a share for which China, Japan and the Soviets grappled for a long time. But post World War II, the two newly formed super powers viz. USSR and the US tried to corroborate the remediation of their oversight to exert their influence over the land. Though they both left the land by 1949, they still continued to influence the region, which eventually resulted in the development of the heavily armed North Korea. As of today, while Soviet tanks, artilleries and of course 135,000 soldiers are in place to act against the South whenever required, South Korea's preparation seems meek to say the least! One reason for the South to be lightly armed by the US is the fact that the South had lost its charm ' both militarily and economically ' for the US at that time; a decision the US might be ruing currently, given South Korea's belligerent and belated economic progress (with the likes of LG, Hyundai ruling the global roost) and North Korea's apparently new found nuclear strength (with Chinese affectations, but obviously).

It's not as if the peninsula hasn't tried ' at least the South has. There were initiatives like the popular 'Sunshine Policy' (backed by the South Korean leader Kim Dae Jung) aimed towards North Korea for which he was also awarded the Noble Peace Prize. The policy allowed the South Korean corporations to invest in the North. Unfortunately, the policy was misdirected by South Koreans leaders for political gains rather than sincerely aimed-reunification attempts. Another initiative to reopen a direct rail link to connect both nations in 2006 was rejected by North Korea's Kim Jong-il. Similarly, many other peacekeeping initiatives failed. Relations worsened when North Korea sank the South Korean warship Cheonan and then again, when North threatened to wage a nuclear attack on the South.

The way forward? Basically ignoring North Korea. With Chinese support, it's inevitable that the North would gain nuclear competence soon. The South should now accept the fact and simply move on with their economic march.

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Be like the lotus: A lotus in marble at Santhigiri aims to take you closer to divinity

2011-02-18T09:51:00.000+05:30

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Both the soul and the body are important. The Guru of Santhigiri (Hill of Peace) Ashram had preached this message and he practised it in true spirit. The late Karunakara Guru thus advised medicines for the body and meditation for the mind. With the former President K.R. Narayanan and renowned litt'rateur and thinker O. V. Vijayan among Karunakara Guru's disciples, Santhigiri is not new to fame. The beautiful ashram at Pothencode, located on the periphery of Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, is in focus again, for a magnificent structure that is set to compete with the choicest architectural marvels.

Pothencode, with its sylvan and serene settings, is nature's very own lair. Navajyothisree Karunakara Guru, who attained what the Ashram defines as 'union with the Adisankalpam (The Plane of Primordial Consciousness)' in 1999, started his work here in a simple way in a Parnasala (holy hut) made of locally available materials. Now the new building complex that is a forum for multifarious activities is built in the vicinity of that very Parnasala. President Pratibha Patil will inaugurate the complex on August 13 this year, and the place will be open for worship on September 12, the 84th birthday of the Guru.

The 91 feet high lotus-shaped structure of the new building is 84 feet in diameter and is built with white marble from Makrana of Rajasthan ' the same marble that is the building block of the exalted Taj Mahal, and the very beautiful Akshardham temple near the capital.

The Parnasala is the sacred spot where the physical body of Navajyothisree Karunakara Guru had been laid to rest. The lotus-shaped splendour in marble has 12 petals reaching up to a height of 41 feet. More than 1 lakh square feet of marble has been used in the construction that costs around Rs 22 crores.

In keeping with the sanctity of Parnasala and its importance as a pilgrimage spot, a 25 acre 'Spiritual Zone' is also being developed around the monument. The entire area would be maintained as a 'Zone of Peace' for spiritual contemplation and prayers. 'The Parnasala Development Master Plan, other Ashram activities and its various units will have separate Healthcare, Agricultural, Educational and Trade & Industries Zones,' says Ashram Organising Secretary, Swami Gururethnam Jnana Thapaswi.

The spiritual haven is open to all without discrimination. 'This Parnasala will be maintained as an area of peace for people to come and experience spiritual joy and to wash away their sufferings and worries through self-purification. It will be an ideal spot for calm contemplation for seekers of truth,' says Swami Gururethnam Jnana Thapaswi. Considering the times that we live in, Santhigiri sounds like the ideal getaway.

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ONCE UPON A TIME IN MUMBAAI: Written for success!

2011-02-14T12:41:00.003+05:30

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Packed with thrills, frills and more!
Once upon a time

Ajay Devgan

in Bollywood films, Salim-Javed penned the dialogues, and decades after they were delivered by angry young men and their brothers, people still remember them word for word. 'Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai' is a film that belongs to that era, and in its attempt to recreate the soul of the 70s, the writer of the film, Rajat Arora, has seemingly given his all to give each and every character dozens of dialogues with punch and philosophy, in about equal measures. Ajay Devgan, in spotless whites, plays Sultaan Mirza, a smuggler with Robin Hood-ish qualities. Emraan Hashmi plays Shoaib, a small-time hustler who joins Sultaan and works his way up the ranks of his gang. Kangana Ranaut plays the celluloid queen Rehana and the object of Sultaan's affection. Prachi Desai is Mumtaz, Shoaib's fragile girlfriend. Both the ladies have little to do other than add glamour to this action film. Randeep Hooda makes a powerful comeback as ACP Agnel Wilson, who is the narrator of the entire saga.

Director Milan Luthria leaves no stone unturned in recreating a flamboyant and dramatic underworld of the 70s. Ajay and Emraan deliver top-notch performances. The background score compliments the swift pace of the film. The film's disclaimer that Sultaan doesn't resemble the late Haji Mastan in any way, works perfectly in reminding the audience about the obvious inspiration behind Sultaan, whereas Luthria leaves no doubt about Shoaib being the man we all know as Dawood.

As Mumbai Goes Rewind, an intriguing tale unfolds, and offers entertainment worth every penny you spend on that theatre ticket.

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The Unani system of medicine faces many challenges today but it still delivers the goods

2011-01-30T10:05:00.001+05:30

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if you are looking for affordable and effective medical treatment

Affordable, effective and largely non-intrusive, Unani medicine has takers all across this vast and diverse country. But this ancient and proven panacea for many ailments faces numerous challenges today, not the least of which is the absence of quality research and development.

Says Dr Shams Ul Afaq, former deputy adviser (Unani), Department of Ayush, Ministry of Health: 'No real research work is being done in the field of Unani medicine. The government is providing a lot of funds and assistance but nothing is being done except meeting, eating and cheating. Imitating allopathy is certainly no research.' In the name research, all that is being done is that old books are being reprinted, he laments.

There are other issues that are dogging this traditional system of medicine. Because of patently false publicity, the Unani system is often regarded as a treatment for only sexual disorders. Says Mohsin Dehlvi, managing director of Dehlvi Remedies, which manufactures Unani medicines: 'This image does exist. It is rather sad. Some people are indulging in this sort of propaganda in order to sell their drugs. The fact is that Unani is a wide-ranging medical system.'

But all is certainly not lost. Despite the lack of research and inadequate government support, Unani medicine remains the last word for many Indians seeking safe and inexpensive medical treatment. And it has a cure for a wide array of diseases. For instance, as Dehlvi points out, sugar-free Unani medicine is now available for diabetics. The Unani system enjoys wide acceptance in the subcontinent but has all but disappeared in the West, where it originated. It was Greek philosopher and physician Hippocrates (460-377 B.C.) who laid the foundation of the Unani system of medicine. Unani is derived from the Greek word Ionian. Tibb means medicine. Hence, the Unani Tibb is a Greek system of medicine. It travelled from Greece to Egypt and then to Spain from there it reached Baghdad. In fact, Unani is a synthesis of Greek and Arab systems. The three most important aspects for diagnosis in Unani are nabz (pulse), examination of baul (urine) and baraz (stool).

Arab physicians introduced Unani in India. The system took firm roots and flourished from the 13th to the 17th centuries. It remained extremely popular among the Indian masses even after the fall of the Mughal empire. It, however, suffered a major setback during British rule because of neglet, but it survived the ravages of time largely due to the efforts of the Sharifi family of Delhi, the Azizi family of Lucknow and the Nizams of Hyderabad. Maseeh-ul-Mulk Hakim Ajmal Khan was a scion of the Sharifi family of physicians. He was renowned for miraculous cures. Hakim Ajmal Khan left behind two institutions of considerable promise 'Tibbia College and Jamia Millia Islamia. He vigorously advocated the cause of the Unani and Ayurvedic systems of medicine. He did not regard Unani as a foreign system. In fact, he stressed that these two Indian systems, which had over the centuries served the people well, should continue to be patronised and aloowed to make progress without any hindrance.

Dr Aslam Javed, general secretary of Hakim Ajmal Khan Memorial Society, is optimistic about the future of Unani. Talking to TSI, he says, 'Unani medicine has had such a splendid past. At one point of time it was regarded as the only authentic way of treatment. The system is still as effective and relevant as ever.'

Dr Javed adds: 'Unani was the first rational way of treating any disease. Earlier, people believed that diseases were caused by evil spirits or black magic. So treatment was also black magic. But Greek physician Hippocrates dispelled this belief and talked about the scientific causes of diseases.'

Dr Javed stresses the need to globalise Unani. 'Even today Unani delivers perfect results. He adds, 'In the last two years, about 800 HIV+ cases have tested negative after Unani treatment. Laboratory reports have authenticated these claims. Unani provides 100% results in leucoderma cases as well.' He accepts that Unani takes a bit longer to work but its biggest plus point is that it does not have any side-effects.

Dr Abrar Ahmed, a physician at a nursing home, says, 'Very few BUMS graduates practise Unani medicine as their patients want instant cure. They forget that Unani offers effective treatment for most major ailments.' He points out that in the Unani system, diseases are treated through four distinct therapies. One is Ilaj Bil Tadbir (regimental therapy) which includes cupping, Exercise, steam bath, leeching and diathermy. The second is Ilaj Bil Ghiza (Dieto Therapy) in which the patient is treated through specific diets.

The third is Ilaj Bil Dawa (Pharmaco Therapy) and in this disease is treated by drugs of natural origin like herbs and others. The last is Ilaj Bil Yad (surgery). Though surgery is an integral part of Unani, the authorities have done little in this regard.'

Mohsin Dehlvi tells TSI: 'In the West, no one knows about Unani. These medicines are called herbal supplements. But the demand is growing and the production of Unani medicines is increasing by 15-20 per cent annually.'

Dr. Shams ul Afaq, however, told TSI 'There is no quality Unani medicine available in the market. Earlier, there was no mention of manufacturing or expiry dates on the Unani medicine and even the names of ingredients were not mentioned.' He says the situation is so bad that in Unani it is still being taught that atom cannot be divided though it is an established fact that it can be further divided.

Unani is a system that can work miracles. But a lot of sincere and concerted research work is needed otherwise the future of this traditional system would be very bleak, warns Dr Shams ul Afaq. He says that anybody who is suffering from piles, leucoderma or epilepsy then one should immediately contact a good hakim or Unani doctor because it is only this system that can deliver 100 per cent cure for these diseases. Mohsin Dehlvi

Managing Director, Dehlvi Remedies

Some people indulge in false propaganda in order to sell their drugs. Unani is a wide-ranging medical system and isn't meant only for sexual disorders.

Dr Aslam Javed

General Secretary, Hakim Ajmal Khan Memorial Society

Unani has had such a splendid past. At one point of time it was regarded as the only authentic way of treatment. This system of medicine is still as relevant and effective as ever.

Dr Abrar Ahmed

Physician who runs a Unani clinic of his own

Very few BUMS graduates go on to practise Unani because their patients want instant cure for their diseases. They forget that this system is effective for most ailments.

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There is life beyond cancer

2011-01-27T10:12:00.001+05:30

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When cancer strikes, panic tends to set in. But the fear psychosis that is associated with the 'dreaded' disease is absolutely unwarranted. Cancer is no longer incurable if a patient reaches the right doctor at the right time. As treatment facilities improve by leaps and bounds in India, cancer specialists armed with state-of-the-art medical technology are increasingly helping patients lead better and longer lives. Cancer isn't the end of the road and public awareness is the key, leading cancer specialist Dr P K Das, Senior Consultant Hematology/Medical Oncology at Apollo Indraprastha Hospital New Delhi, tells TSI in the course of a long conversation touching upon various aspects of the disease.

Cancer is the second largest killer in the country, next only to heart ailments. Why?

In the next few years, India will become the cancer capital of the world. In fact, by 2020, every 12th person in the world will be affected by some kind of cancer. Today, cancer is a lifestyle-related disease. In the past, average life expectancy of was 50-60 years; now it has increased to 80-90 years. Longer lives mean long-term inconsistencies as well. People used to have tobacco, hukka and pan masala in earlier generations also, but cancer cases were low, because fast food, adulterated spices, artificial colours, preservatives, pesticides and carcinogens created by industrial pollution were hardly existent.

What are the different types of cancer?

In India, the most common cancers which affect males are prostate, lungs, mouth, bowel, bladder and stomach while women suffer from cervical, breast and ovarian cancer. Data reveals that tobacco chewing or smoking accounts for 50 per cent of all cancers in men. Among the main causes of cancer in urban women are late marriage and late pregnancies, no breastfeeding, excessive use of birth control pills, which may disrupt balance of hormones, having multiple sex partners and unhealthy sexual behaviour. You would find that women in rural areas are less prone to cancer because they are normally married by age of 18-22 years and become mothers at the age of 20-24 years. They actively breast feed their children and avoid birth control pills. Their lifestyle is relatively normal and their diet is better.

Is it possible to detect cancer in the early stages? What should be done?

Yes, cancer detected and diagnosed at an early stage can save a lot of patients. Preliminary tests need to be done regularly. Late detection and wrong diagnosis can have adverse effect on the outcome of cancer treatment. Consulting the right doctor at the right time is absolutely essential. How prepared are we in India to counter this fast growing epidemic?

We have world class hospitals like Apollo, AIIMS and Tata, and several other large private and government hospitals for cancer treatment. We also have world class doctors and specialists. However, our preparation to counter cancer is grossly inadequate compared to the growth rate of cancer in India. Many well known hospitals do not have dedicated oncology departments. Advanced facilities for cancer treatment are available only in big cities. Imagine, Orissa has only one cancer specialist! We have to enhance our resources for cancer treatment and take it to small cities and towns.

In your view, what should the government do?

The main problem is lack of public awareness, due to which lots of misconceptions about the disease have formed and hence people are scared of it. So, public awareness campaigns should be organised more often. Preliminary investigations of certain cancers are neither expensive nor complex. You just need to do an ENT test for face, nose, including head, throat, pap smear test for women, stool, mamograph and x-rays. Hospitals can give this cancer screening test facilities for Rs 2000 only. The government can facilitate this in district hospitals at a discounted rate of Rs 500-600 only. There are many terminally-ill cancer patients who don't get proper care and treatment and are neglected by their relatives and forced to die a painful death. The government should have palliative care facilities for such patients. Is there any cancer vaccine? What are the new technological advancements available to arrest the spread of cancer?

Normally vaccines are made for diseases that are caused by bacteria or viruses. That is why cancer vaccines are rare. Most women get cervical cancer due to human Papilloma viruses, so there is a vaccine for this type of cancer. And this vaccination is normally given to girls at the early age of 9-12 years. Vaccine for other cancers are being developed. New discoveries have led to better cancer treatment and the disease is not as fatal as it used to be. Targetted treatment in chemotherapy, I.G.R.T in radio therapy have brought revolutionary changes in the treatment of cancer. The cyber knife stereo tactic radio surgery system transmits small beams of radiation into a tumour and minimises healthy tissue's exposure to radiation. Now with a healthy lifestyle and active life, and regular medicines, cancer patients can survive for decades.These newer treatment options have not only added years to life but also life to years. I have numerous such examples in my clinical experience.

If that's the case, why hasn't the fear factor subsided?

Cancer spreads to other parts of the body very fast, and cancer spreading cells can have different impact on different parts of the body. To rectify this problem, medication is also different. Lung and oral cancer or blood cancer affect patients aggressively. End stage patients are given multidisciplinary treatment in cancer ' chemotherapy, surgery radio therapy, making the whole treatment very complicated. The incomplete knowledge, temporary toxicities and the cost of treatment methodologies also lead to unnecessary fears for patient and care givers. The development of insurance coverage and support from the government towards helping the treatment of poor patients would enable more patients to go in for necessary treatment well in time.

Have you personally made any efforts in spreading awareness?

I have been involved in many public awareness campaigns against cancer for over ten years. I make it a point to go to as many cancer awareness programmes as possible, be it in schools, colleges, private companies or NGOs. I have spoken to many hospitals in Punjab and the north-eastern states and done video conferencing with many patients there. I have also authored a book for public awareness. It has 100 FAQs regarding cancer and it is available free of cost.

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2011-01-24T15:01:00.001+05:30

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In tune with Cosmic Oneness

His world came crashing when he heard he had oral cancer. The word cancer spelled doom for the life of 38-year-old aeronautical engineer Ratan Paul. Initial biopsy and MRI confirmed the presence of carcinoma in its initial stage. Most cancer specialists advised amputation of the affected parts. They also said it might relapse. One friend suggested homoeopathy. Most people derided the suggestion. But Ratan decided to give it a try.

Patients around the world face the dilemma as to which system of medicine they should opt for. But a sizeable part of the Indian people believe in alternative healing.

HOMOEOPATHY

Homoeopathy is made up of two Greek words, 'Homois' meaning 'Like' & 'Pathos' meaning 'Suffering' . Homoeopathy is a specialised system of medicine based on the natural law of healing - likes are cured by likes or 'similia similibus curantur'. A substance in a certain form and dose that causes disease-like symptoms when given to a healthy human being may be used to cure the same symptoms in a diseased person. This is the basis of homoeopathic drug proving. Dr Hahnemann, the father of homoeopathy believed that diseases are caused by imbalance of the 'Vital Force' which maintains the mental, physical and moral balance of an individual. Homoeopathy helps in aligning and increasing this 'Vital Force,' thus preventing the diseases from recurring. Dr Indira Pal, BHMS, Calcutta, further stressed upon the facts that a homoeopath does not only look at the pathological and radiological test reports but pays special attention to the individual's symptoms, mental frame, his reaction to cold or heat as well as particular symptoms pertaining to the disease . A homoeopath having a degree in BHMS is trained in all aspects of medicine - anatomy, physiology, surgery, pathology, besides the homoeopathic Materia Medica (collected knowledge about the therapeutic properties of medicines used for healing). Ayurveda

The 5000-year-old system of medicine, Ayurveda is recognised by WHO as a TRM (traditional medicine). Ayurveda is formed by the union of two words 'Ayush' (meaning life) and 'Veda'. The means by which we can know the science of body is Ayurveda. According to Acharya Balkrishnaji of Patanjali Yogpeeth-Divya Yog Mandir (Trust) says, 'Ayurveda is a holistic therapy and unlike other treatments of medicine, do not have any side effects. The basis of any type of healing is yog (union of mind, body, spirit and cosmic forces) and ayurveda only.'

A person facing any kind of problem can first come in the swastha vritta (health circle) of ayurveda. Ayurveda cures by taking care of ahar vihar (food and habits), pathya apathya (edible and non-edible) and dietary regulations.

Acharyaji says not letting a person fall sick is by being nearer to nature. So shodhan kriya (method of purification); langhan, upvas (fasting) are all elementary entities of Ayurvedic system. Three stages of disease are incorporated in the system of ayurveda. Sadya (curable), Kashta sadhya (cure with difficulty), Asadhya (in-curable). 'There are successful cures for deadly diseases like diabetes, heart diseases, cancer. But for AIDS still a lot more research is needed on the same,' says Acharyaji Balkrishnaji.

Reiki

Reiki is an energy healing system based on the philosophy that thoughts have the power to direct energy that shapes the world. Rediscovered by Dr Mikao Usui in the early 20th century, Reiki is made up of two words - '' and 'Ki'. '' means intelligence while 'Ki' denotes life force. Taken together, 'Reiki' is universal energy. Reiki heals by raising the vibrations of the being or object to be healed, closer to that of the Reiki practitioner. Reiki heals a problem at whatever level it may exist i.e., body, mind or spirit. Dr N.K. Sharma, Grand Master, Reiki Healing Foundation, says, 'We receive this energy and we channelise this energy through our palms. If a person increases one's vibrations, then they start receiving the cosmic energy in the body which can then be transmitted to anything or anyone through their hands.' According to Dr Sharma, the master works on you for what is called attunement during the initiation process. They work on the chakras and the aura. When your energy centres have been activated, you start receiving energy. The energy starts to accumulate in your hands and you feel the flowing sensation.

Attunement is unique in Reiki; it's not there in any other healing science, be it allopathy or ayurveda. The energy once activated remains with you for the rest of your lifetime ' you can of course activate it further by applying it to yourself and others. Reiki simply removes the obstructions in your energy channels so that it starts to flow smoothly. Reiki is also not concentration-dependant. You could be watching television at the same time as giving Reiki.Reiki works for various aspects of our life ' relationships, goal achievement, monetary success, memory enhancement etc. Anybody and everybody is eligible for Reiki initiation. Even the worst of outlaws, when they practice/experience Reiki, are often transformed. Those who come in with doubts go back convinced.

Reiki increases positivity, it increases confidence, it activates your psychic powers, it takes you towards spiritual enlightenment ' when you perform Reiki neutrally, you obviously have to connect with the cosmic/spiritual.

Nabarun Banerjee, a filmmaker based in Delhi, says that by undergoing only 1st degree Reiki attunation, he got great relief from his two-year-old acute asthma. Nabarun went on to take 2nd and 3rd degree attunations and has become a Reiki masterhealer. He now enjoys regularly playing polo.

Energy treatment (Bioenergetics):

A more advanced system of alternate healing has originated from the science of bioenergetics. It is more appropriate to classify it as essential medicine. It is known as Energy Treatment.

It adopts applications from other modern science like advanced molecular biology, advanced quantum physics, resonance of wave lengths and theory of dissipative structures. It also applies healing techniques from the proven traditional Chinese medicine, and universal command points which regulate energy flows in the body. According to Dr M. Sathiamurthi, specialist, energy medicine and bioenergetics, Energy Treatment scans and measures life energies in your body and finds out the blockages and other defects. It then removes these defects by energy transmissions from natural herbs and healing substances.

Dr Sathiamurthi says that the life energies radiate in the form of electromagnetic wavelengths. Energy Treatment obtains information on the energy discrepancies by quantum physics techniques. It extracts information on your root cause disorders from your body energy fields. That information also contains the clues to healing your disease.

Energy Treatment employs colours too for healing. The appropriate colour wavelength missing in your body is identified and restored by application of a colour filter. As a result, Energy Treatment restores all round health. It restores perfect energetic symmetry by centring all your energy fields. It corrects the defects in your body in all its important functions, systems, glands and organs.

Dr Sathiamurthi gets clues of your deep disorders by Lecher Antenna Scanning. He gets further clues by measuring the energy flows in your 24 energy meridians. He treats you by more than 300 procedures. He does not give any oral medicines or injections. He uses hi-tech instruments like the bioenergetic tester, quantacmos and acmodermill.

When asked about the success rate, Dr Sathiamurthi said, 'Mostly we succeed if the patient comes to us within the critical time. Results vary depending on health factors, genetic and heredity factors, age and extent of illness.'

Naturopathy

Naturopathy, also called nature care, prescribes the 'return to nature' formula for all physical ills. The philosophy working behind it is that left to nature, nature can take care of herself. Naturopathy presents a strong position against the prevention of diseases and stresses on the play of natural defence mechanisms, which are self-curative and self-preventive. According to naturopathy, diseases are physical manifestations of the body's attempt to heal itself, when it falls out of harmony with its environment. Talking to TSI, Dr Salila Tiwari, a naturopath says, 'Naturopathy is an art for healthy living.'

Naturopathy is primarily based on three principles: that the body possesses the power to heal itself through its internal vitality and intelligence; that disease is a manifestation of vital force applying itself to the removal of obstructions to the normal functioning of organs and tissues; that naturopathic cures takes a holistic approach to health. Similar to Ayurveda, naturopathy seeks to stimulate the body's inherent power with the help of the five natural elements'earth, air, fire, ether and water. Naturopathy follows three stages of treatment. In the first stage, diagnosis is done without using invasive techniques such as biopsies as naturopathy stands against surgery and use of drugs. In the second stage, detoxification is done which includes colon irrigation (to cleanse the colon), fasting, massage (to cleanse the skin), deep breathing (to clean the lungs), baths and exercises. The third step includes a new diet with vitamin supplements, herbal compounds or acupuncture. Naturopathy considers the body to be a self-healing being.

Dr Salila says 'In India, almost 10,000 naturopaths are making people aware of this system of healing. There is a big hospital of naturopathy in Pune and we are trying to upgrade the same with modern facilities. We are also running a 33-bed hospital in Uttarakhand.'

In naturopathy, there are definitive cures for diseases like cancer, heart diseases, diabetes and common ailments etc.

Yoga

Exercises helps only at the physical level but for treatment at physical, mental and spiritual level, Yoga is the only way. Swami Ramdev told TSI, 'To reestablish the age old scientific tradition of yoga and Ayurveda, Bharat Swabhiman trust was formed. The campaign was initiated to conserve Indian culture and traditional Indian medicine.' When asked on the emergence of different strands like Power Yoga, etc, Acharya Balkrishnaji replies, 'Yoga vidya is only one. It is based on Maharshi Patanjali Ashtanga Yoga. And that is the only complete Yoga.'

Dr S. Laskar, ex-resident doctor, LNJP Hospital, an allopath, says 'No system of medicine is complete. If allopathy lacks the usage of holistic approach, other systems lack the knowledge of utilising advanced science and technology. He stressed that choosing a system of medicine should be based on the constitution of the individual and also to his ability to respond to any system of medicine.

By the way, the oral cancer of Ratan Paul, mentioned at the start of this article, is responding well to the homoeopathic treatment. His condition has consistently improved. In Bhagwat Gita Krishna says to Arjuna 'Yukaharaviharasya yuktachestasya karmasu. Yuktasvapnavabodhasya yoga bhavati duhkhaha'. It means: 'The one, whose diet and movements are balanced, whose actions are proper, whose hours of sleeping and waking up are regular and who follows the path of meditation is the destroyer of pain or unhappiness'. The message seems relevant even today. Have a great Health!

'Alternative system of medicines do not have any side effect'

Do you believe in the alternative systems of medicine?

See, alternative systems of medicine do not have any side effect. Since there are no chemicals used in these medications and it has been practised in our country for ages, they are safe.

Do you think practitioners of alternative systems can fill this gap of shortage of good medical practitioners ?

Yes, this is an accepted fact that there is a shortage of medical practitioners and the Central Government under the department of 'Ayush' is trying to increase Ayush doctors in villages.

The Supreme Court is not recognising degrees in alternative streams. What is the solution for awareness of alternative systems of medicine?

Yes, this issue is pending for a long time in the court. But there is permission for the practice of alternative systems like Yoga and Reiki which do not have any side effect.

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2011-01-13T12:14:00.001+05:30

Indian universities and higher education institutes seem to be caught in a time warp teaching things

IIPM B-School was founded by renowned economic visionary Dr. M.K Chaudhuri in the year 1973. It is every student's dream to get admission in IIPM.

On 7th January 2011, IIPM played host to guests from the land of revolution, socialism and Fidel Castro – Cuba. Present for an interactive session with the IIPM students and faculty members, were the Cuban Ambassador to India, His Excellency MIGUEL ANGEL RAMIREZ RAMOS along with Prof. Carlos Alzugaray Treto, a Professor and Researcher at the Center for Hemispheric and United States Studies, University of Havana.

In his introductory speech, Mr Ramos shared with the students India's achievements and shortcomings which he has witnessed over the past 2 decades. Speaking to the students he raised concerns over rising inequality and other socio-economic problems existing in India. Carrying forward the session, Prof. Carlos enlightened the students with an overview on “FUTURE OF SOCIALISM IN CUBA AND CUBA-US RELATIONSHIP.” Prof Carlos, who has over 35 years of service on foreign relations for the Cuban Government and who has won the nation’s Outstanding Professor's Award five times, made the occasion special for the audience. Also present for the lecture were Dr. M K Chaudhuri, Founder Director of IIPM and Mrs. Ratna Chaudhuri, along with senior IIPM members of the likes of Prof Prasoon S Majumdar, Dean- Academics (All India), Prof Jaydip Dutta Gupta, Asst Dean – Academics and Prof Indranil Das, Dean – International Alliances. Most of the students, present for the session were from the first year batch, particularly those who are currently undertaking a special course on National Economic Planning – one of IIPM’s most innovative, intriguing and intellectually stimulating courses.

The highly interactive lecture came to an end with a question and answer session, whereby both the Ambassador and the Professor took turns in answering various queries of students on issues concerning US-Cuban Relationships and India’s role in such foreign relations. There were queries also on how India can adopt Cuban socialism keeping intact its own form of democratic governance.

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