CAPITAL CENTURY - Dubai

PUbLIcATION OF THE cONSULATE GENErAL OF INdIA IN dUbAI VOL.3 ISSUE 12 | dEcEmbEr 2011

CAPITAL CENTURY In 2011, India’s national capital, New Delhi, turned 100, marked by an extraordinary

journey which saw it guiding from the ramparts the destiny of a nation

Congratulations!

CONTEN

TS

India Matters is a monthly publication of the Consulate General of India (CGI) in Dubai. All rights reserved. No part of this journal may be produced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the permission of the CGI Dubai.

Editorial correspondence and manuscripts can be addressed to [email protected]

Content and design by IANS (www.ianspublishing.com) on behalf of Consulate General of India in Dubai.Editorial Coordinator: Zarin Amrolia, Dubai

14

SUPERBRANDS

IDFC 16

ECONOMY

National ElectricityFund approvedThe new fund to help improve electricitydistribution network in rural areas of thecountry and bring down AT&C losses

12

FROM THE CONSUL GENERAL’S DESK

10 QUESTIONS

Dr. B.R. Shetty India Matters in conversation with the CEO and MD of the UAE-based NewMedical Centre Group, the largest hospitalchain in the country, which treats more than one million patients a year through itscountrywide hospitals and clinics

Delhi at 100On December 12, 1911, Delhi embarked on a journey, transforming itself into a modern cosmo-politan city. A hundred years on, we take a look at the events that shaped the character and personality of the capital city of India, historically one of the world’s most fascinating cities

20The book traces the fascinating story ofNavketan and how the vision of threebrothers — Dev, Chetan and Vijay —shaped it into one of India’s most progressive movie production house

SEPTEMBER 2009 32

4

Dear Reader,

A year-end issue invites a rear-view mirror look at the last twelve months. In 2011,India had good rains and the economic growth forecasts have been revised. The ripplesof the economic downturn in the European Union and the United States are being felteverywhere. In a globalised world, economic insulation is not possible. However, Oureconomic fundamentals are strong. India will weather this phase.

2011 was a special year for Indian Sport. Our Men in Blue satiated the desire of mil-lions by winning the Cricket World Cup. The echo of celebrations in India were also felton the streets of Dubai. Another feather in our cap was the flawless first Indian Grandprixin Noida. Indian sportsmen and the sporting infrastructure are achieving global recogni-tion. But, there can’t be a finishing line for excellence…

Bilaterally, it was a year of high-level political engagements. UAE’s Foreign MinisterHH Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan visited New Delhi in June 2011, followed bythe UAE Labour Minister Saqr Ghobash Saeed Ghobash in September 2011. We also hadmany visits by the Indian political leadership to the UAE. The burgeoning bilateral tradeis expected to touch a new high, bettering the record US$67 billion achieved in the finan-cial year 2010-2011.

In 2011, apart from the core responsibilities of the Consulate, we continued to reach outto the Indian community in a variety of ways. This included cinema and talk shows, cultur-al events, celebration of Rabindranath Tagore’s 150th birth anniversary, a tribute to PanditBhimsen Joshi, blood donation and medical camps among a host of other events. Passportand Visa services have been streamlined to shorten the delivery time. The Indian WorkersResource Centre is becoming an important channel for addressing the needs of the com-munity. This year, in our weekly radio show, ‘India Matters’, we had an impressive list ofguests talking on various subjects such as trade, cinema, classical music & dance, manage-ment and cricket among other themes. The show reflected the valuable contributions madeby Indians in different walks of life in the UAE.

On behalf of the Consulate General of India in Dubai, I wish all our readers a 2012 fullof wellbeing and happiness!

Happy reading!

RADIO MATTERSThe Consulate General of India in Dubai brings to you

its weekly radio programme ‘India Matters’ on Suno102.4 FM. The purpose of the show is to highlight theservices provided by the Consulate and talk about theevents and news related to India and the Indian com-munity in UAE.

India Matters is aired every Friday between 5 and 6pm on Suno 102.4 FM and repeated every Saturdaybetween 12 and 1 pm.

For more details visit www.cgidubai.com andwww.suno1024.com

Winner of the October 2011 monthly quiz contest is

Anish MehtaThe winner gets a gift hamper.

Sanjay Verma

BOOKS

The Anands’ Navketan

IndiaMatters|December 2011 December 2011|IndiaMatters

One hundred years agoDecember 12 marked thebeginning of a journey forthe ancient city of Delhi —

the mythical Indraprashtha of the epicMahabharata — as a modern, cosmo-politan capital.

India, which was a colony of theBritish empire, spent nearly one mil-lion pounds sterling to host KingGeorge V at the Coronation Durbar of1911 at Kingsway Camp in the capitalon the day.

The foundation of the new city waslaid on December 15, 1911 — three daysafter the coronation durbar. The capi-tal was named New Delhi in 1927 andwas formally inaugurated on February13, 1931. Two British architects EdwinLutyens and Herbert Baker laid outthe architectural map of the city.

Commemoration of 100 years of thecoronation durbar of King George V

may not be a mega social event — butthe centenary of New Delhi has becomea private pilgrimage down the lanes ofthe country’s colonial past for many.

“The biggest change that the grandCoronation Durbar of December 12,1911 brought in to the city “was thedecline of the old city ofShahjahanabad, ” said writer, journal-ist and heritage activist Sunil Raman,the co-author of a new book, DelhiDurbar — 1911: The Complete Story.

“Delhi had always been a capital —except for a short while (when the EastIndia Company was headquartered inKolkata). But after the CoronationDurbar, the old city of Shahjahanabadwas virtually abandoned. The Britishregent wanted a new capital city,”Raman said.

“The Coronation Durbar hosted in atent city and attended by 100,000 peo-ple — was the first event outside the

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On December 12,1911, the new capitalof the countryembarked on a journey, transforminginto a modern and cosmopolitan city, saysMadhusree Chatterjee

DELHI AT 100


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UK to be covered in colour films,”Raman said.

Spread over 72 acres, the corona-tion camp hosted more than 2,140people in 2,000 tents, Raman said.

The King and the Queen had asuite of six tents in two rows ofthree. The high point of the campwas the great state reception tent,located below the Flagstaff Towerof the Delhi ridge. The coronation— a show of opulence and ostenta-tion — elicited a mixed reaction

from the media. “The nationalistpress and the American press com-mented on the food shortage (andthe famine-like situation) in India.But the British-owned Pioneer andTimes of India dealt with it in greatdetail,” Raman said.

The requisition and expense listis mindboggling — as is the behind-the-scenes correspondencebetween the political agents in theroyal provinces and the Britishviceroy’s office. “Garrard & Co, the

CITIES OF DELHIn Lal Kot: The Tomar dynasty found-

ed Lal Kot in AD 736 near theQutub Minar, at Mehrauli

n Qila Rai Pithora — The Chauhankings of Ajmer conquered Lal Kot in1180 and renamed it Qila RaiPithora.

n Mehrauli — Built by QutubuddinAibak in twelfth century

n Siri — Built by Alauddin Khilji in1303

n Tughlaqabad — Built byGhiyasuddin Tughlaq who ruledfrom 1321–1325

n Jahanpanah — Built byMuhammad bin Tughlaq who ruledfrom 1325–1351

n Ferozabad — Built by Firuz ShahTughluq who ruled from 1351–1388

n Dinpanah — Built by Humayun n Shergarh — Built by Sher Shah Surin Shahjahanabad — The walled city

built by Shah Jahan who ruled from1638 to 1649

n New Delhi — The city built by theBritish, declared Capital onDecember 12, 1911

(1) King George V and Queen Mary hold a special court at Red Fort in1911 as part of the Coronation Durbar ceremony; 2) the North Block thatforms one of the two identical flanks (other one is South Block) of theRashtrapati Bhavan; (3) Designed by Edwin Lutyens, RashtrapatiBhavan, known as Viceroy’s House until 1950, was constructed atopRaisina Hill; (4) Artist Tejinder Kanda’s impression of old Delhi; (5) North and South blocks during the Beating Retreat ceremony onRepublic Day; (6) Old Delhi captured by Vikram Kalra in pen and ink onpaper; (7) A view of the Rajpath from Rashtrapati Bhavan; (8) Constructed in 1931, India Gate was inspired by the Arc deTriomphe in Paris; (9) An old picture of a weekly market near JamaMasjid in Old Delhi; (10) The main pavilion at Kingsway Camp erectedfor the British royalty for the 1911 Coronation Durbar

COVER STORY

76

COVER STORY


Ahundred years have passedsince India’s capital wasshifted to Delhi fromKolkata. Some say the

transfer was a ‘blessing in disguise’,but many say it turned this city into a‘colonial relic’ and hampered itsdevelopment.

Historian P.T. Nair, called the‘Chronicler of Calcutta’ who haspenned over 50 books on the city,said the decision was a blessing indisguise and gave the city space togrow educationally and culturally.

“Indian Nobel laureates, fromRabindranath Tagore to Amartya

Sen, are from the city and they allgot the recognition only after 1911,with Tagore becoming the firstAsian winner of the award just twoyears later,” said Nair.

Calcutta, the then capital of undi-vided Bengal, was a hotbed of therevolutionary movement and thetransfer came only months after theBritish government had to annul itsplan to partition Bengal, followingintense protests led by the IndianNational Congress and also Tagore.

“Bengal, especially Calcutta, hadbeen politically very conscious. Therevolutionary movement and the

overall freedom movement had itsseeds in Bengal. To counter this, theyshifted the capital,” said Nair.

Calcutta, on the east bank of riverHooghly, became the capital underBritish East India Company rule in1772. The city flourished politicallyand commercially. Other than thefirst multidisciplinary modern uni-versity in South Asia, the CalcuttaUniversity in 1857, the city also gotAsia’s first college of European med-icine — the Medical College of Bengalin 1835. The first printed Englishnewspaper in the subcontinent cameout of the city in 1789 when James

Hicky published The Bengal Gazette.Later, the partition of the country

in 1947 dealt a blow as East Bengalwent to Pakistan.

Successive governments struggledto cope with the population pressureas infrastructure and civic amenitiesdeteriorated. Economist BipulMalakar said the transfer of capitalturned the city into a ‘colonial relic’.

“The city and the state have suf-fered the most in infrastructure. Hadit continued to be the capital, all thedevelopment that Delhi has seenover the years would have beenhere,” he said.

KOLKATA’S LOSS

official jeweller to the crown, wascommissioned to make new crownsfor the India coronation. A newcrown, weighing almost one kilo-gram, known as the imperial crownof India and worth 60,000 pounds,was made for the King,” Raman said.

The bill was footed two years laterfrom Indian revenues, he added.

For Queen Mary, the royal jewel-ers used the 103-carat Kohinoor dia-mond, which had been presented toQueen Victoria after the Anglo-Sikhwars. “Adorned with 2,200 otherdiamonds, the queen’s crown wasmade in such a way so that its archescould be removed and turned into aless formal circlet,” Raman said.

A special copper telegraph wiremeasuring 950 miles in length waslaid between “Bombay (nowMumbai) and the Durbar office inthe capital”. Confusion arose overprotocols as the princely states andtheir rulers were not recognised in apecking order, said writer and her-itage activist Rohit Aggarwal.

The system of purdah among theroyal women and harems furthercomplicated the issuing of invites forthe coronation, he said.

A request from the ruler ofMalerkotla in Punjab to bring three ofhis queens to the coronation wasturned down. He was issued invita-tions for two queens — one who wouldbe his official wife and the other wouldcome as a cousin, Aggarwal said.

Hundred years on, memories of theCoronation Durbar are consigned tohistory of the capital while it preparesto lobby for World Heritage City sta-tus from the United Nations.

Originally planned as part of theViceroy’s House, the foundationstone of the Sansad Bhavan waslaid on February 12, 1921

Victoria Memorial in Kolkata was intended to serve as a tribute tothe success of the British Empire in India

Mario told vivid stories of his timesthrough his sketchesthat will keep oninspiring generationsto come

Like most cartoonists, Mario deMiranda appeared to be a seri-ous, shy, no-nonsense but soft-spoken person to a first-time

acquaintance, but gradually warmed up.Born in 1926, Mario displayed a keen

love and interest in sketching and cari-catures — using the walls of his house inLoutolim for practice! Until his horrifiedmother bought him a book…

Mario after completing his studies atthe St. Xaviers College in Mumbai, wenton to study architecture, but gave up,before moving to an advertising agency.The restless artist in him finally per-suaded him to take up cartooning as afulltime vocation.

In the 1960s, he got his first majorbreak with The Illustrated Weekly OfIndia where his work brought him widerecognition. His creations like thebosomy Miss Nimbupani, Miss Fonseca,Khushwant Singh drinking and othersbecame instant hits — and are remem-

bered till date.

Around a yearlater, he got a job at

The Times of India, where Laxman hadalready become a legend. At this time,he bagged the F.C. GulbenkianScholarship, and lived in Portugal for a

year, which helped him, in his ownwords, “broaden his horizons.”

From there, he went to London andspent five years working for variousnewspapers and television animation.His caricatures were featured in reputed

magazines like Lilliput, Mad andPunch. After travelling around

many countries, he finally decidedto return to India in the late 1980s.According to Winston Desouza, a

friend of Mario, “His works were notjust cartoons, meant to be viewed,

smiled at and forgotten. He told vividstories of his times and produced sheerworks of art which will inspire genera-

tions.” During his long career,

Mario penned and illustratedseveral books, including GoaWith Love, Laugh it Off andGermany in Wintertime.

Over his career spanning sixdecades, Mario conducted solo

exhibitions in 22 countries andwas decorated with Indian civil-

ian honours like Padma Shri andPadma Bhushan. Mario married anartist, Habiba Hyderi. The couple has

two sons — Rahul, a hair stylist in NewYork, and Rishad, a cartoonist based inGoa.

— Quaid Najmi

Mario de Miranda

THE CHRONICLER: RIP (1926-2011)

It was a cool morning onDecember 19, 1961, when twocompanies — 600 troops — of theIndian Army’s Sikh Light

Infantry marched into Panaji, thenPanjim, the capital of the Portuguese-held state of Goa.

Operation Vijay, which lasted lessthan 36 hours, was ordered by theIndian government to oust the last vestige of colonial rule fromIndian soil.

The operation was a relatively blood-less campaign (nearly 50 soldiers wereestimated killed on either side and acouple of hundred injured according toofficial figures), but one that hasremained forever etched in the mindsof the Goans who lived in those times.

Life was peaceful for 19-year-oldmedical student Francisco Colaço,who like many of his batchmates then,wasn’t too concerned about geo-politi-cal anxieties and diplomacy, until thewar actually broke out between thetwo nations.

“For quite some time there wererumours that India was going to invadeGoa. These things were always being putover the air (radio), and being spread byword of mouth, but usually nothingwould take place. This time we expected

it to be nothing different,” said Colaço, arenowned medical practitioner who isnow a septuagenarian.

“I remember we had our medicalball (a social gala organized by thelocal Medical College) and the governor as usual attended the ball,”he said, adding that intelligenceinputs and rumours had suggestedthat India would invade Goa onDecember 15.

Finally, after last-minute diplomaticefforts by Portugal to stall theinevitable failed, the Indian Armymarched towards Goa on December18. Terrified Goan families fled fromthe cities and took refuge in rural vil-lages and remote hills. Among themwas Colaço and his family.

“The troops started advancing. Weall feared for our lives. Nobody knewwhere it (the land) was mined.Besides, we were terrified of theIndian Army. After all they were thevictorious army,” Colaço recalls.

He clearly remembers seeing theIndian troops crossing the Zuari rivernear Raia, a village 50 km from Panaji.

“Both the Borim and Banastarimbridges were destroyed by thePortuguese. But the Indian Army hadtheir own vessels. I remember very

98

Operation Vijay, whichlasted for less than 36hours, snuffed out thelast vestige of colonialrule on Indian soil onDecember 19, 1961

50 YRS OF GOA’S LIBERATION


well the crossing. We were in thehouse, quietly watching it.Hordes of people were coming togreet the Indian Army. However,the saddest thing is that thosevery people who were falling atthe feet of the Portuguese weretoday greeting the Indian Army,”Colaço recalled.

Another witness to the IndianArmy’s march into Goa, AnthonyAlmeida, says it was because ofthe graciousness of the thenPortuguese governor Vassalo daSilva and the bishop of Goa,Dom Jose Pedro da Silva, whodecided not to retaliate, that Goawas saved from destruction.

“The bishop had already takena decision that the (Portuguese)Army would not retaliate,because their army was 3,000against the Indian Army of26,000. It would have been asuicide. Besides, the Portuguesesoldiers had no experience offighting and were not equippedfor it,” he said.

He is called jocularly‘Tuberculosis’ Cunha by stu-dents of Goa’s freedom move-

ment. But history books will vouch thatTristão de Bragança Cunha or T.B.Cunha was rightly known as the mentorof Goan nationalism and the man whospearheaded the freedom movementright from 1928.

All Goa Freedom FightersAssociation president Nagesh Karmalisaid that unveiling of Cunha’s portraitin the Central Hall of Parliament onDecember 19 to mark the 50th year ofGoa’s liberation will be a fitting tributeto the Goan hero.

“He was our mentor. I have neverhad the opportunity to meet him inperson. But we knew about himthrough his writings,” said Karmali ofthe 1891-born, Sorbonne-educatedfreedom fighter, who founded theComissão do Congresso de Goa or theGoa Congress Committee in 1928, toorganise the intelligentsia against thecolonial Portuguese regime.

Cunha hailed from an aristocraticPortuguese family of Ligorio da Cunha, aprominent medical practitioner, andFilomena de Bragança, of Chandor,located 50 km from Panaji. He startedwriting about the Goan liberation move-ment during his student days at

Sorbonne. After starting the GoaCongress Committee in 1928, Cunha hadto later transfer his operations toBombay (as Mumbai was then known).In 1938, facing constant harassment bythe Portuguese, he affiliated his organisa-tion with the Indian National Congress.

Karmali said that Cunha’s activitieswere conducted mainly outside of Goaexcept for the 12 years between 1926,when he arrived in the state, and 1938.

Karmali said that Cunha had ademigod-like stature among thenationalists. He was arrested in 1946and kept in isolation at Fort Aguada,the then high security prison of thePortuguese. “Cunha was the first civil-ian to be tried by a military tribunal andwas sentenced to eight years of impris-onment,” Karmali said.

Cunha was also a prolific writer whowrote several articles and booksdenouncing Portuguese rule.

Among his publications, the mostpopular were Four Hundred Years ofForeign Rule and TheDenationalisation of Goans.

Cunha was also an advocate of Goa’sidentification, political as well as cul-tural, with India. He died onSeptember 28, 1958. The Indian gov-ernment has issued a postage stamp inhis honour.

(From left) The Indian Army’sSikh Light Infantry addressesGoans on December 19, 1961;Indian troops marching intoGoa during Operation Vijay; abridge destroyed by Portugueseforces to slow down the move-ment of the Indian Army

GOA’S LIBERATION

GOA’S ‘TUBERCULOSIS’ CUNHA

“Happiness is not chargeable. Now Iwill reduce the cost so everyone cangain from it.”

Omesh realised he had an inneragony aunt in him while studying inAustralia. He started off by helpingfriends through career and relation-ship problems. Soon, strangers wereasking him for answers, and withsome added insight gleaned from self-help books by Anthony Robbins andBuddhist writings, he was ready withthem. This year, he has around 40clients, including students who don’tknow how to get ahead, businessmenwho can’t enjoy their wealth, andhousewives who doubt their hus-bands. He offers his services boththrough phone and personal meetingsonce a week.

Malti Bhojwani doesn’t use wordslike ‘good’ and ‘bad’. She prefers alter-natives like ‘empowering’ and ‘dis-couraging’. She also takes care neverto use the word ‘problems’; in herworld, there are only ‘challenges’. The40-year-old looks pretty ‘life coachish’to us. Slender, confident, well-spokenand well-heeled. She became a lifecoach by doing a multitude of courseson being a life coach after her own lifenearly fell apart. She was married at19, divorced at 26, and had a youngdaughter to look after. But the mainreason she needed to be A-okay was sothat she could have a good workingrelationship with her ex-husband forher daughter’s sake. “I actually did acourse to self-actualise my pain. Ifound it and dealt with it. And now myex-husband and I are friends. It wassuper empowering.”

After coaching Indian clients fromAustralia over the phone for nineyears, Malti decided to return to

Mumbai last year. “It’s not about giv-ing them advice, but making themaware of the choices that they have inlife. I just help you find your owntruths. What works for me is that Ihave empathy, experience and amnon-judgmental.” Many of her clientsare battling weight issues, or datingmarried men, or just dating men whowould never, ever marry them. “Somesend me pictures of their food, askingif it’s okay to eat it. I throw the ques-tion back, ‘Do you think you could eatit? Then where is your commitment?’”

Sitting with Omesh and Malti is likebeing on a psychiatrist’s couch. After awhile, they ask you questions aboutyour life and say things like, “Well, youknow what you want, so why not goafter it?” They ask you to rate yourselfon different aspects of your life: love,relationship, parents, work and fit-ness. You do that, and it’s plain to see— you are not happy. If getting a per-sonal life coach is too daunting, amotivational speaker is an easy alter-native. Motivational speakerSimarjeet Singh asks for three hoursto change your life. His seminars,

unlike Priya Kumar’s which are full ofwit and brimstone, are about beingserious about being happy. He walksanimatedly in front of a screen thatscreams ‘Will a 3-hour seminarchange your life?’ He is 32 years oldand a former hotelier from Jalandhar,but his accent places him halfwaybetween America and India. He holdsup his hand whenever he wants ananswer from the crowd. Sometimes heasks them to shout “Yes, we can!” andsometimes “I am a believer!” In thebeginning, the crowd sniggers (“Isn’tthis silly?”), but comes round eventu-ally. “I always knew I had a gift fortalking to people,” he says. His semi-nars deal with finding talents andovercoming weaknesses. And thenthere is the clinching cliché: “I don’thave ready-made answers. I help peo-ple help themselves.”

Whether these life coaches andmotivational speakers really helpachieve happiness and self-worth isdebatable, but one thing is clear—theymake you aware of things you don’tpay attention to. The famous motiva-tional speaker Anthony Robbins oncesaid, “Beliefs have the power to createand the power to destroy. Humanbeings have the awesome ability totake any experience of their lives andcreate a meaningthat disempowersthem or one thatcan literally savetheir lives.”

(This extract is froman article published inOpen magazine and isbeing carried with permission)

1110 IndiaMatters|December 2011 December 2011|IndiaMatters

American motivational speakerZig Ziglar was known for pro-claiming that he could hearGod speak. God would often

visit him as he floated around in histrademark arrow-shaped swimmingpool in Dallas, or interrupt his telephonecalls with such divine advice as, “IfZiglar would leave it up to Him, Hewould take care of the little things forZiglar”, referring to Himself in the thirdperson. In turn, Ziglar, a born-againChristian, took this as a sign of Godwanting him to take care of other peo-ple, specifically by offering them what hethought was most important in this fast-moving world — some well-meaningadvice based on his Christian beliefs.Sample this: “The chief cause of failureand unhappiness is trading what youwant most for what you want rightnow.”

Since when did we need a motivation-al speaker to tell us what we alreadyknow? But going by this cottage indus-try’s success, people do want to hearwhat they already know from someoneelse before they actually try being happy.The ‘self-actualisation’ industry hascome a long way from when Ziglar start-ed in the 1970s.

In India, we learnt how to buy happi-

ness a little late. Motivational speakerPriya Kumar, author of I Am anotherYou, who has been holding seminars for13 years now, says, “The demand is huge— for motivational speakers, life coach-es, the works. But supply is limited. I feelthat only when you speak from your ownexperience do you have an audience.Most of the new ones are just talkingthrough what they have read or heard,and refer to PowerPoint presentations.Maybe in a few years, they will be rock-ing.”

Right now, the force seems to be withPriya. Her seminars make clients eatand walk on fire. “I had seen this guy doit, and I was like, ‘he is God’. When I didit, I was like, ‘I am God’,” she laughs.“There is too much pressure now foreverything. You get a BlackBerry, andthen you want an iPhone. The only wayto get happiness is to know you can doanything. That’s what I help thembelieve. I walk on fire, they walk, andthey are saved.”

For someone selling happiness,Omesh Kandalkar is young, only 29years old. A research analyst for a medi-um-sized firm by day and life coach bynight, he charges `40,000 for a six-month session with clients but says herecently realised he shouldn’t.

FEATURE

Some will ask you towalk on fire. Most tellyou things youalready know. Andyet, curiously, ‘lifecoaches’ have somany takers in Indiathese days. What’sgoing on? Asks AasthaAtray Banan

GURUS IN PINSTRIPES

I just help you findyour own truths.

What works for meis that I have empa-thy, experience andam non-judgmental

— MALTILife coach

“While, it is important to channeliseinvestments in distribution sector, it isalso equally important to link theseinvestments to reforms, as the viabilityof the entire power sector depends onthe viability of the distribution utili-ties,” the CCEA statement further said.

The states in the scheme would bedivided into two categories for workingout the interest subsidy to be given tothem — the special category andfocused states, and states other thanthat of the special category.

“Precondition of eligibility are oper-

ationalisation of State ElectricityRegulatory Commission (SERC), for-mulation of business plan for turn-around of utilities in a time-boundmanner, reorganisation of state elec-tricity boards (SEB), release of subsidy,submission of audited annual accountsand timely filing of tariff petition,” thestatement said.

CCEA also said that the pre-condi-tion could be modified to overcomeany difficulty in operating the schemeby the approval of Steering Committee,to be chaired by the Power Secretary.

1312

The cabinet on December 13approved the creation of aNational Electricity Fund (NEF)to provide interest subsidy of

`84.66 billion for electricity distributionprojects for a period of 14 years.

“The National Electricity Fund isbeing set up to provide interest subsidyon loans to be disbursed to the distribu-tion companies — both in the public andprivate sector,” said a statement issuedafter a meeting of Cabinet Committee onEconomic Affairs (CCEA).

“The NEF is being set up to improvethe distribution network for areas notcovered by the Rajiv Gandhi GraminVidyutikaran Yojana and RestructuredAccelerated Power Development andReforms Programme project area,” thestatement read.

According to the statement, thescheme will become operational within aperiod of 6 to 12 months and the nodalagency for the fund would be the RuralElectrification Corporation (REC).

The interest subsidy of about `84.66

billion would be given on loans amount-ing to `250 billion for distributionschemes sanctioned during the 2 yearsfrom 2012-13 and 2013-14.

“The preconditions for eligibility arelinked to certain reform measures takenby the states and the amount of interestsubsidy is linked to the progressachieved in reforms linked parameters,”the CCEA said.

According to CCEA, the step is beingimitated to provide relief to the distribu-tion companies. “The distribution com-panies (DISCOMS), which handle thedistribution sector, are in financial stressdue to a variety of reasons. The nationalaverage aggregate technical and com-mercial (AT&C) loss during 2007-08 was29.24 percent, ranging from 13.10 per-cent to 61.59 percent for different DIS-COMS,” the CCEA said.

The 13th Finance Commission hadreported that the projected aggregatelosses of state transmission and distribu-tion utilities at 2008 tariffs would be at`1,160.89 billion by 2014-15.

NATIONALELECTRICITYFund approved

ECONOMY

The new fund to help improve electricitydistribution network in rural areas of the country and bring down AT&C losses


US$ 58 billion of remittances received by India in2011, according to the World Bank.

US$ 25 billion is the expected revenues of the IndianMedia and Entertainment industry in 2014, according toErnst & Young.

US$ 7.25 billion worth of MOUs signed by Karnatakafor agri-biz projects in 'Bounteous Karnataka' global agri-business & food processing summit held in December 2011.

US$ 2.74 billion was the investments by Indian companies in overseas joint ventures/ wholly owned subsidiaries in November 2011, according to the RBI.

US$ 1.59 billion worth FDI will flow in as governmentapproves Walt Disney’s proposal to acquire UTV Software.

US$ 1 billion invested in network infrastructure byBharti in Africa in 2011, thereby adding 50 million subscribers.

BUSINESS BUZZ

India’s mobile marketing space,which some analysts estimateat `600 million, will grow 10-

fold in the next five years, saysAntti Ohrling, the Finnish pioneerof the concept.

“Mobile marketing has started togrow rapidly in India as the brandssee the opportunities beyond justinternet options. The marketplace inmobile marketing in India will grow10-fold within the next five years,”said Ohrling, co-founder of the Blyk,a mobile marketing company.

While Ohrling has now decidedto move on from Blyk, he plans tomaintain a close connect with India,where he introduced the company ayear ago and where it has over onemillion opted-in users and hasdelivered 40 mobile advertisingcampaigns. “I have planned to stayextremely close to India, as thepotential really is here,” Ohrlingsaid about the country, which has881 million mobile phone connec-tions. Mobile marketing is a servicethat subscribers opt for as opposedto pesky SMSes.

“India is a tremendously interest-ing market and it can change themobile market globally.”

Does that mean he would nowfocus on taking the Blyk concept tothe next level?

“Mobile is personal, direct, inter-active and an always-on channel tonearly 75 percent of the world’spopulation. That’s an incredibleopportunity to communicate withand do business with the entireworld,” he said.

— Vishnu Makhijani

‘MOBILE MARKETING TOGROW 10-FOLD IN INDIA’

The Rural Electrification Corporation will function as the nodal agency for the fund

First mooted in the 2008-09budget to attract invest-

ment in the power distributionsector, the National ElectricityFund aims to help the perenni-ally bankrupt State ElectricityBoards by improving theirfinances and reducing distri-bution losses. The details wereworked out by a panel headedby BK Chaturvedi, member,Planning Commission.

REFORMING POWER DISTRIBUTION

1Congratulations for a ‘PadmaShri’ and the ‘Pravasi

Bharathiya Samman’. Please tellus about your childhood andhow did this successful journeybegin?

Since my childhood I have seen

my parents helping others. Theyhave inculcated the same values inme. My mother would always saythat helping others eventuallyshowers blessings on us. Today, Iwant to convey this message to mychildren.

2Born into a family of politi-cians, what led you to gradu-

ate in pharmacology? My mother wanted me to be a doctor

so that I could help others. But circum-stances led me to pharmacology, whichis connected to medicine. Thus, I foundmy own means of serving people.

3You were the MunicipalCouncillor and Vice-

President of Udupi Municipalityfor 2 years. What motivated youto join politics after medicine?

My father was Municipal Councillorof Udupi Municipality. I took hisvision further in his constituency. I noted the development in neigh-bouring states during my travels.Thanks to that experience, we wereable to build roads, drainage systemand other basic infrastructure facili-ties in our constituency too.

4What was your first impres-sion when you first landed in

the UAE in 1973?I was very active in social service. This

has helped me understand the needs ofthe people and contribute towardsthem. I was the first medical represen-tative in the UAE. Our relations withlocal people were always very cordial.We loved it here, even though the richfacilities, which we have now, were aluxury then. I thank the late SheikhZayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who hadthe vision to develop Abu Dhabi.

I have heard him speak on the needfor quality education and healthcareat affordable prices and his words andvision inspired me to start my busi-nesses. Though at that time, throughthe benevolence of the Royal Family,everything was free, our service stillpaid off and from the first privatemedical centre with all facilities underone roof, we became the largest pri-vate quality healthcare provider with agood network across the Emirates.

5How has the quality ofhealthcare grown in the UAE

since New Medical Centreopened its first clinic in 1976?

We opened our first clinic in 1975.From a clinic to diagnostic facilities

and multi-super speciality hospitalsacross the region, we were able tobring in the latest in diagnostics, treat-ments and experienced practitioners,who continuously researched andeducated themselves and remainedcommitted to fulfill the vision of thecountry’s public health needs andupdated themselves on the globalgrowth trends. Health insurance hasplayed a significant role in ensuring“Health for All” vision of the lateSheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.

6What has been your experi-ence with pharmaceutical

manufacturing venture,Neopharma, especially, when theUAE market is dominated byWestern pharma majors? Do youcollaborate with other Indianpharma or biotech companies?

As a pharmacist, with pharmaceuti-cal agencies, retail pharmacies, andhospitals, we had an ambition to starta facility in Abu Dhabi to providequality pharmaceuticals at affordableprices. The response to my idea wasnot very encouraging then. Bank ofBaroda came forward to support me.Now we have plans to expand further.Investment in our ventures has helpedus grow in the fields of biotechnologyand nanotechnology with partner-ships forged with the best manufac-turers and pioneers globally. We areproud of our partnership with Bioconand we are confident that more suchpartnerships will help boost the supply of credible, ground-breakingmedicines in the UAE.

7Tell us about the UAEExchange? Being a very busy

person, how do you divide yourtime between your diverse busi-ness interests?

We are proud of the success of UAEExchange. The Exchange has definedthe industry practices by bringing ininnovations in services and processes.From a single branch in 1980, it hasgrown to become a global brand withover 550 direct offices in about 30countries, across five continents.Today, it is a 7,000-strong organisa-tion, catering to over 3.5 million cus-

tomers and managing 6 percent of theglobal remittances volume. Our pen-chant for quality has won the brandrecognition too. On the whole, it hasbeen an eventful journey of over threedecades.

As far as I am concerned, work isworship for me. And one can find timefor things one is interested in. When itcomes to customer service, I nevercompromise on the quality and amalways ready to support my team.

8How big is your corporatesocial responsibility foot-

print?Service to the society has always

energised me. If you observe our com-panies, they all are oriented towardsservice — be it remittances, hospitality,healthcare or education. Then how canwe not be socially active? Our socialactivism has always enabled us to reachout to the needy. Be it a natural disas-ter, social problem or environmentalissues, we are always amongst the firstto extend help. I am actively involved ineducation. There are several schoolswhich I support.

9Does success encourageenvy? How does one

increase the shelf life of success?I believe success is to be celebrated

with happiness and sharing and not tobe envied. One should continuouslymove forward with one’s mission ofhelping others. When your intentionsare positive, success is bound to follow.

10Which cultural iconsfrom India do you

admire the most? India is a treasure trove of culture

and a sea of talent. It has producedmany icons. There are many who havebecome icons due their talent anddedication to art and culture. I am anadmirer of these talented people. Alsothere are people, who have beenardent admirers of art and promotersof talent, such as SooryaKrishnamurthy. I admire his selflessefforts to promote art and culture. Wehave been supporting and sponsoringSoorya events and enabling everyoneto experience the culture of India.

10 QUESTIONS

1514

‘WORK IS WORSHIP’A well known philanthropist,B R Shetty is the guiding forcebehind the New MedicalCentre Group — the largesthospital chain in the UAE


MARKETOn a drive along India’s high-ways and state-maintainedroads the one image thatwould be a common sight isbars sticking out from under-construction pillars, moundsof earth piled up near exca-vated pits, giant trailers inching their way carryingimpressive-looking equip-ment, massive buildings withstacks rising hundreds offeet, pylons criss-crossingthe landscape and huge,multi-coloured, heavy dutycables waiting their turn tobe placed in endless trenches. Thisis infrastructure under develop-ment. When all of these projectsare in place, India will rise up theranks and be counted as a developed nation.While infrastructure financing

grew substantially in the near-term,its availability in the long-termseems less certain. To improve thesituation, steps were taken toenhance supply, reduce cost of borrowing and increase the fundtenor. After two years of downturn,2009/10 marked a year of recov-ery. One of the indicators was thatfund raising by infrastructure

companies through initial publicofferings (IPOs) was at a 20 percent higher level than theprevious high achieved in2007/08. The Reserve Bank ofIndia (RBI) introduced a specialcategory of nonbanking financecompanies called InfrastructureFinance Companies (IFC) taskedwith raising more funds of longertenor, at a lower cost.In the infrastructure development

segment, the telecom sector hasseen the subscriber base grow significantly. But with strong competition in the domestic market and introduction of 3G and

mobile number portability, competi-tion is expected to become evenmore intense. It is envisaged that anumber of operators could facelower margins leading to a classi-cal catch-22 scenario. Reducedmargins would result in pooreravailability of funds to invest in theconstruction of towers — and thuslimit the next big growth opportuni-ty in rural India.Even with record capacity addition

in 2009/10, the power sector con-tinues to be plagued by shortages.However, in the near future, this keygrowth driver is expected to exceedits target capacity. The govern-ment’s changes to the power policyshould facilitate hydro-based capacity addition.In the area of coal production the

government has proposed the intro-duction of competitive bidding forallocating coal blocks. With non-serious developers ruled out, it ishoped that cost of production willreduce and coal supply increase.On the other hand, natural gas willcontinue to be in short supplydespite an increase of 40 percentin domestic gas production during2009/10. To augment power andensure environment-friendly produc-tion of energy, the government hasalso announced a solar missionthat targets solar capacity of

1716

20,000 MW by 2022.The economic revival has

seen domestic air carriersimprove capacity utilisation.The expansion and upgradationof four of the top six airports inthe country is being undertak-en to relieve the heavy conges-tion and accommodate futuretraffic. Growth in the ports sector is being led almostexclusively by the private sec-tor, but is still plagued by twokey problems — operationalinefficiency and the inability tohandle large vessels due toinadequate draught. The government is attempting todevelop a comprehensive regulatory framework toaddress these issues.New initiatives undertaken to

facilitate road developmenthave given fresh impetus to theroads sector. With more thanthree-fourths of the construc-tion under the NationalHighway DevelopmentProgramme envisaged throughpublic-private partnerships, thehighway expansion plan critical-ly hinges on private sectorinvestment.Another key segment is the rail-

ways. Recognising their role in theeconomic emancipation of Indiathe railways have announced aninitiative christened Vision 2020 —a plan that will overhaul the railinfrastructure by creating 25,000kilometres of new lines, developmultiple tracks, convert the net-work to broad gauge and segregate passenger and freightservices into separate corridors. Itis estimated that the investment inthis sector will be in the region of ` 1,400 billion (US$ 31.10 billion)in the next ten years. The burgeoning population

continues to exert pressure on analready inadequate urban infrastructure. The slow pace ofurban infrastructure development issimply widening the infrastructuregap necessitating an urgent reviewof policy to enhance urban organi-

sational capacity and raise revenues and implement projects.

ACHIEVEMENTSIDFC has been an integral part ofIndia’s infrastructure developmentstory since 1997. Its ability to tapglobal and Indian financialresources makes it an acknowl-edged expert in infrastructurefinance. In the recent past, IDFCPrivate Equity has raised approxi-mately US$ 1,350 million (`60.75billion) through three funds focusedon infrastructure development.IDFC is a part of the Nifty 50 andhas funded more than 200 infrastructure projects.The role IDFC has discharged in

India’s infrastructure developmenthas been recognised at all levels.IDFC was felicitated with the AssetManager of the Year award byAsianInvestor for the work the com-

pany has done in the areas of pri-vate equity, mutual funds and sus-tainable investments in emergingmarkets. IDFC Private Equity wasawarded the Indian PE Firm of theYear by Global M&A Network. At theICRA Mutual Fund Awards 2010,IDFC Premier Equity Fund, for thethird time in a row, was given the 7-star rating for its three-year per-formance ended December 31,2010. At the NDTV Profit MutualFund Awards 2010, IDFC ImperialEquity Plan A and IDFC Super SaverIncome Fund-Medium Term Plan A— won the runners-up award underthe Equity — Large-Cap categoryand the runners-up award under theDebt-Income category, respectively. At the CNBC-TV18-CRISIL Mutual

Fund Awards 2011, IDFC SuperSaver Income Fund — Medium Termunder Income Funds — was selectedas the Best Fund in the short-term

Introducing India’s


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RECENT DEVELOPMENTSIn recent years, IDFC has

expanded its capabilities, addingbusiness segments through organicgrowth and acquisitions. Theorganisation’s ‘One Firm’ initiativeseeks to forge a sense of sharedpurpose and places focus on cre-ativity in aggregating IDFC’sdiverse competencies andstrengths and delivering superiorvalue to stakeholders.In 2010, IDFC announced a public

issue of long-term infrastructurebonds. It received ICRA’s LAAA cred-it rating, indicating the highest levelof safety. IDFC and Natixis GlobalAsset Management (NGAM) enteredinto a strategic partnership for thepublic markets asset managementbusiness, allowing IDFC AssetManagement Company (IDFC AMC)the opportunity to enhance its inter-national distribution and gain accessto global investors keen to invest inIndian equity markets. In addition, itgave IDFC AMC the ability to offerdomestic investors access to inter-national investment opportunitiesthrough investment products man-aged by NGAM.

PROMOTIONWhether it is financial intermedi-

ation for infrastructure projectsand services, adding value throughinnovative products to the infra-structure value chain or asset

maintenance of existing infrastruc-ture projects, IDFC focuses on sup-porting companies to get the bestreturn on investments.Two of IDFC’s verticals helped a

joint venture between Wipro andDelhi International Airport Limitedraise external financing of `5 bil-lion (US$ 111.10 million) for pro-viding IT services at the latter’sTerminal 3 at Delhi. IDFC alsohelped Ashoka Buildcon to financetwo national highway projects inChhattisgarh and Maharashtra andGujarat Pipavav Port Limited toupgrade its infrastructure in linewith competing ports. The partnership between three

IDFC verticals allowed Green Infrato successfully acquire a high-quali-ty portfolio of wind farms. IDFC’stimely financial interventions alsoallowed Quippo’s passive telecominfrastructure business to receive amuch-needed thrust.

BRAND VALUESIDFC’s mission is to be the lead-

ing knowledge-driven financial services platform, creating endur-ing value, promoting infrastructureand nation-building in India andabroad. Its values are grounded onthe pillars of integrity, nurturinghumility, stewardship, partnership,initiative, responsibility and excel-lence.IDFC’s mandate is to provide

thought leadership in rational-ising policy and regulatoryframeworks to facilitate themovement of private capitalinto infrastructure sectors.Over the years, there has beenan increasing acceptance ofthe organisation’s policy phi-losophy and position by boththe central government andvarious state governments.IDFC has undertaken a

number of initiatives to fulfilthe policy advisory mandate.These include identifying bestpractices, developing a visionfor individual infrastructure sectors and promoting policydialogues amongst key players.

www.idfc.comcategory. In the same year,Businessworld awarded IDFC PremierEquity and IDFC SSI — Medium TermPlan A in the Midcap Equity & Debtcategory, respectively.IDFC ranked 7th globally and

5th in Asia in the Project FinanceMandated Arranger category intwo separate polls conducted byDealogic and Thomson Reuters in2010. It ranked 4th globally in thePublic Private PartnershipMandated Arranger categoryleague table published by Dealogic.IDFC Capital ranked 2nd in thePrivate Sector league table published by Bloomberg.At the Lipper Fund Awards in

2010, IDFC’s Premier Equity Fund— Plan A was awarded for beingthe Best Fund Over Three Years inthe Indian Equity segment. SeveralIDFC schemes have received thehighest rankings of CPR 1 and CPR 2 in the Crisil Ratings. The

Economic Times QuarterlyMutual Fund Tracker ratedIDFC AMC as the BestPerforming Fund House for twoconsecutive quarters in the2009/10 financial year. In2009, IDFC Imperial EquityFund and IDFC Dynamic BondFund were placed in thePlatinum category — the high-est ranking given to schemesin Q1 and Q2.

HISTORYIDFC was born out of the

need for a specialised financialintermediary for infrastructure.Incorporated in 1997, it wasset up on the recommenda-tions of the Expert Group onCommercialisation ofInfrastructure Projects under

the Chairmanship of Dr. RakeshMohan. IDFC’s key goal was toaddress India’s need to channelprivate capital into commerciallyviable projects. By 2001, IDFC hadbeen registered both as a mer-chant banker and a debenturetrustee with SEBI. The companyalso aimed to support sustainableinfrastructural development at thestate level. In this pursuit it sepa-rately partnered the Karnataka andUttarakhand governments to formInfrastructure DevelopmentCorporation Karnataka Limited andUttarakhand InfrastructureDevelopment Company Limited,respectively. These companieswere set up to provide consultancyservices to various state agencieson the issues of project advisory,development and investment.In 2002, IDFC Private Equity was

established. Today, it is one ofIndia’s largest private equity firms,

managing a corpus of `60 billion(US$ 1.30 billion) and investing incompanies with a range of underly-ing assets. IDFC is also a listedcompany, raising funds for equitycapital investment in infrastructure projects and its private equityfund. In 2007, the company set upspecialised entities to focus ondeveloping, implementing, owningand operating infrastructure proj-ects. IDFC has simultaneouslybranched out into asset manage-ment, capacity building, policyadvisory and sustainability initia-tives.

PRODUCTIDFC’s businesses function under

four verticals — corporate invest-ment banking, alternative assetmanagement, public market assetmanagement and the IDFCFoundation.It has distinguished itself in envi-

ronment management, risk manage-ment and treasury sectors. TheEnvironment Management andSocial Development Group providessupport in assessing environmentalimpact and social issues and therisks inherently associated withinfrastructure projects. This is sub-stantially helping IDFC make invest-ments that are environmentally sus-tainable and socially viable.The very nature of its business

means that IDFC is exposed tomarket, credit and operationalrisks. A comprehensive enterpriserisk management frameworkensures that the company is ableto assess the risks in the aggre-gate credit portfolio and takemeasures to mitigate them.The company’s treasury sector

focuses on liquidity managementby providing sufficient funds toprojects at optimal costs. It alsogenerates returns by taking callsin the fixed income trading space.As treasury operations haveassumed greater importance as asource of income, it has startedfocusing on optimising levels ofreturn and functioning as a profitcentre.

n IDFC’s Funds Initiatives is thefirst Indian signatory investor tothe UN Principles for responsibleinvesting

n IDFC is a signatory investor tothe Carbon Disclosure Project

n The company is a founder-donorfor Project PLATINUM — ProjectPartnership for Land TitleImplementation for UrbanManagement — to be implemented by the India UrbanSpace Foundation in partnershipwith the Ministry of UrbanDevelopment

n The 3i Network, which fostersaction-relevant research on infra-structure issues, was setup andpromoted by IDFC, IIT-Kanpurand IIM-Ahmedabad

THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOWABOUT IDFC

(Reproduced with the permission of Superbrands India Private Limited — copyright owners)

1918 IndiaMatters|December 2011 December 2011|IndiaMatters

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The death of Dev Anand justdays before he was set tolaunch the first book about hispioneering movie production

house Navketan is expected to give itpoignant relevance.

“Dev Anand was really looking for-ward to launching the book. I think in asense his passing away gives the bookeven greater relevance because it is away of celebrating the achievements ofa remarkable man,” said SidharthBhatia, a seasoned journalist and theauthor of Cinema Modern — TheNavketan Story.

The book traces the history of whathas perhaps been India’s most progres-sive movie production house, telling thefascinating story of three brothers —Dev, Chetan and Vijay.

Founded in 1949 by Dev Anand andelder brother Chetan, Navketan notchedup impressive successes in movies suchas Baazi, Taxi Driver, Funtoosh, KalaPani, Hum Dono, Jewel Thief, TereGhar ke Saamne, Hare Rama HareKrishna and the overarching Guide.Most of the Navketan themes weredecidedly urban, not preachy and ideo-logically weighed down by rural ideal-

ism that characterised some of theircontemporaries.

The trio landed with their feet on theground rather early in the Navketanstory. Bhatia attributes that to the factthat “the Anands were smart, educatedpeople. They had their share of strug-gle, but they had a wider, fresher world-view. “Chetan Anand had studied forthe ICS (the Indian Civil Service), thebrothers had both gone to the presti-gious Government College in Lahore.They mixed with a very smart, intellec-tual lot. So they saw how things in theindustry were changing and movedquickly.”

Bhatia explains the predominance ofurban themes in Navketan movies say-ing: “It was their background and theirsensibility...Their father was a greatbeliever in British educational experi-ences. The Anands and their friendswere heavily influenced by Hollywood.They thought urban, not rural.”

Navketan seemed to create a genrethat was free from a colonised mindset.

What separated Navketan moviesfrom the other comparable productionhouses was that it stayed away fromwhat Bhatia calls the “national project”,

2120

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which involved the village in someform or the other.

“The Anands looked at the worlddifferently,” he says. That differencemanifests itself in the way theirmovies tackled urban themes; butBhatia disagrees that they conveyed asense of settled urbanity.

“In fact, their sense was of unset-tled life in the city — poor migrants,people eking out a living at the mar-gins, the underbelly. Hollywood wasexperimenting with film noir. I call

the Anands’ early films BombayNoir,” he says. One particularlyremarkable feature of the Navketanfilms has to be its progressive treat-ment of female characters.

“The women in Navketan filmswere characters all their own. Even,and especially the ‘vamps’, wereinteresting and beguiling characters.Geeta Bali in Baazi, Sheila Ramani inTaxi Driver, Tanuja in Jewel Thief —all these were independent womenconfident of their sexuality.

“Rosy in Guide is in a class of herown; she leaves her husband becausehe stifles her desire to dance and thenleaves her lover because he cheatsher. An unusual character neverrepeated in Hindi cinema. And thiswas a film made in 1965 India,remember. Even today a filmmakerwould be worried about showingadultery.”

Somewhere in the late 1970s andearly 80s, Navketan began to lose itstouch.

Bhatia explains the reason behindthe decline thus: “I have explored thatin some detail in the book. Fashionschanged, audiences changed,Amitabh Bachchan happened andDev Anand the star of Navketan gotolder. He wanted to direct, VijayAnand wanted to act — they shouldhave stuck to their strengths. Andunfortunately, new blood wasn’tbrought in. It was inevitable that adecline would happen.”

On his personal motivationsbehind writing the book, he says,“Dev Anand was seen as an entertain-er and as a handsome young man, buthis contribution, along with that ofhis brothers and their friends and col-leagues, is enormous. This needed tobe recorded, appreciated. I am pleas-antly surprised that others are agree-ing with that view.”

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DEV ANAND PASSES AWAY YOUNG (1923-2011)

2322

1. He was the fifth Kushan king, who forabout 13 years ruled a huge territory(virtually all of northern India), south toUjjain and Kundina and east beyondPataliputra. What was the name of thisking?

2. Held annually in January in a South Indiancity, it is a professional tennis tourna-ment played on outdoor hard courts. It iscurrently part of the ATP World Tour 250series of the Association of TennisProfessionals (ATP) World Tour. Namethis tournament.

3. Once a hunting reserve of the royal fam-ily of Rewa, it was declared a NationalPark in 1968. This is also the site wherethe famous White Tigers of Rewa werediscovered. Name this park.

4. It is India’s pioneering automobile manu-facturing company, established justbefore Indian independence in 1942 by aprominent industrialist. Commencingoperations in Port Okha, the manufactur-ing facilities later moved to Uttarpara,West Bengal. What is the name of thiscompany?

5. It is the longest running train in India and8th longest in the world. It was launchedto commemorate the 150th birth

anniversary of Swami Vivekananda.Name this train.

6. Meaning something that intermittentlybecomes wet and dry, it is the largestdistrict of India located in the westernpart of the country. Name this district.

7. Located between the Saltoro Ridge andthe main Karakoram range, it is thelongest glacier in the Karakoram and sec-ond-longest in the world's non-polarareas. Name this glacier.

8. A computer operator from Bihar whomade headlines when he won `50 millionthrough a famous Indian TV show, ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’. What is hisname?

9. Abhinav Bindra became the first Indianto win an individual gold medal at theOlympic Games and India's first goldmedal since 1980 during Beijing Olympicin 2008. In which event he won the goldmedal?

10.It was built in 1743-1746 under thedirection of the 62nd successor to theroyal dynasty of Mewar as a royal summer palace and was initially calledJagniwas or Jan Niwas after its founder.What is the name of this building thatwas later converted into a luxury hotel?

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THE PICTURE QUESTION

Located in South Delhi and close to theSatpula or the seven arched bridge on theedge of southern wall of Jahanpanah (thefourth city of Medieval Delhi), this mosquewas built by Khan-i-Jahan MaqbulTilangani, the Prime Minister of FerozShah Tughlaq (1351–1388) of the TughlaqDynasty. The mosque, which is in a quad-rangular shape, was built as a fortress withan unusual fusion of Islamic and tradition-al Hindu architecture. It is said to be theonly mosque in North India, which is most-ly covered; the totally covered mosque ofthe Sultanate period is, however, in SouthIndia at Gulbarga in North Karnataka.

ANSWERS TO THE LAST CONTEST

1. Sattriya Nritya 2. Simhachalam in Vishakapatnam 3. Sharavathi River 4. National Chambal Sanctuary 5. Himachal Pradesh 6. Pachmarhi,

7. Toda 8. Warangal 9. Nehru Cup 10. Amarnath cave 11. Shahi Quila Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh

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An illuminated St. Paul’s Church in Amritsar on the eve of Christmas on December 24.

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