SINGH SHAIB

It is very difficult to impress a few people as they have X-ray in their eyes and scan through you thoroughly. My daughter is one such person, as she will always dig deeper to understand the reason for each and every utterance & actions. When some one like that was singing the praise of "Singh Shaib" I was doubly curious to meet that person. Ever since our daughter got married and whenever she visited her in laws she was always picked up and dropped by Singh Shaib.

Thus in my opinion Singh Shaib was a good taxi driver and probably because of his prompt service and courtesy he has won the heart of our daughter. It turned out that only after a year of waiting we were destined to meet Singh Shaib in Kolkatta when there was a party to celebrate the wedding anniversary of our daughter.

We were introduced to Singh Shaib ( SS) by our Sambandhi Prof. Roy. Singh Shaib was a bit of short man may be 5 feet 4 inches, well built and had a receding hairline. When I shook his hand I could understand the hard work they had done for years. We excused ourselves and moved to a corner away from other members of the party so that we could talk freely for some time. I am reproducing below the conversation and all that I had learnt in the one hour I spent with him !

SS was originally from a Godforsaken village in Bihar's Dharbangah district. He was forced out to migrate to Kolkatta as dependency on farming and agricultural oriented livelihood was not very encouraging due to failed crops, lack of rains etc. SS could get a job as an ambulance driver in Kolkatta Medical college hospital.  This gave him a small one bedroom flat to reside within the hospital premises. SS brought in his wife and two children from Bihar to Kolkatta. Despite a steady government job the monthly income was barely adequate to meet both ends. Children were put into schools and his wife started doing odd domestic work for the doctors residing in the premise.

It was from one of the doctor's house she got an old Doctor's kit bag and stethoscope which were discarded by the family. Since then it became a constant companion for the daughter of SS's family. She was always found to be wearing the stethoscope and testing who so ever came to home or with her playmates. SS found this very interesting.

As advised by one of the resident doctors SS took his wards to the office of The Principal of one of the leading Christian Convents nearby. Despite repeated pleas The Principal refused to entertain his requests for admitting his wards in that school. Heart broken SS returned home and was cursing his bad luck.

But lady luck had some other plans. There was an accident in the road and SS was returning after dropping someone in his ambulance. SS rushed the injured to the hospital and took great care to see to it that everything that was possible was done immediately. The injured was a teacher in the convent where SS was trying for admitting his wards. When the Principal came to visit the staff he was introduced to SS by the family of the teacher as Savior of their bread winner. The Principal then changed his mind and admitted the wards of SS in the convent.

In order to meet the growing family needs SS took to driving taxis in the free time and managed some extra money for the family. The children were bright and committed. Thus after topping in 10th and 12 th in Kolkatta SS's daughter got admission in medicine in the same place where they were living. This gave the girl extra time o spend in wards, library and in the company of other doctors. Thus when she was finishing her MBBS degree she was the topper of the university. She was chosen by AIIMS ( All India Institute Of Medical Sciences) New Delhi for Neurosurgeon course.

After the course she was chosen to go to Oxford for specialization in Micro Neuro-Surgery.  When she was awarded her degree there was an invitation for SS to attend the convocation. In his over enthusiasm SS suffered a mild stroke in the convocation hall itself. But there was timely treatment for him to recover fully.

SS's Daughter went on to study further in UK and after her courses now she has an office in Delhi and another one in London. She is supposed to be doing some special work in research in Neurosurgery field. SS became popular and there were stream of visitors form press, television etc. To meet them a flat has been purchased by his daughter. Now he stays and operates from there. This came in time when he got retired and had to vacate the quarters.

Now SS has a fleet of cars which are being used to ply as taxis. His son passed B.A in Economics and followed the same with a PG from IIM Kolkatta. He is now working in Thailand with some MNC company.

There were many alliances for his world renowned daughter. But SS left the choice to his daughter. She has chosen a family of doctors who are operation out of Gurgaon.

There is a proverb in Tamil which loosely if translated means " A farmers Karma / Poonya can be seen from the type of harvest he gets from the field" ! I strongly believe our Singh Shaib is certainly a truly blessed soul with bountiful of Poonya ( Good deeds) to children like this !!

I saluted him and took leave. But next day, when I was about to go to the air port, SS was in the driver's seat with his taxi. On enquiring, during the drive, he told me politely that that was his way of repaying the kindness and courtesy extended by my sambandhi who was a constant source of motivation when there was no light at the other end of tunnel !!!

A 1 & A 2 Milk ... An Indian Perspective !!

SYNOPSIS:-  With the recent happenings in Tamil Nadu in connection with JALLIKATTU, too much of social media activity encountered denigrating efforts taken in our country in enhancing milk production. There were repeated noises all was not well with breed development, dairy development and related extension work. We have also seen Pseudo specialists in the field of medicine attributing all ill health to A1 Milk which is found to be from exotic foreign breed. This article tries to dispel these myths and attributes the growth in the field of dairying to focused breed development work. It also emphasizes sustained efforts that are needed to study rigorously A 1 and A 2 Milk and reassures common man that there is no need to press the “ Emergency” button !

Dairying Scenario:-

Every scientific progress and development always bring along with it related controversies which may crop up as per the socio economical development of that region. This is true right from electricity, steam engine, nuclear fuel, atomic energy and what not. Dairy industry is no exception.  As someone with exposure to Indian Dairy Industry I wish to go through various facts and figures that are relevant to Indian Dairy Industry to reassure the common man that all s not lost due to exotic breeds of cattle.

Dairy Industry in India is not an organized one. It is still in evolving stage and it by and large complements agriculture industry.  Indian farmers rear cattle as a means to help them in their farming activities. Agricultural by products like straw are fed to cows and predominantly buffaloes to rear them. Bulls are used in the farm as draught animals in ploughing, hauling agricultural inputs and farm output.  As a predominantly Hindu populated country culling and slaughtering of cattle especially cows is considered sacrilege in India. Therefore cattle are more or less taken care as part of the family and revered.

Yield of milk of Indian breeds is not comparable to foreign breed. It is far too low and Dairying was not considered to be an income generation activity but more as a source of additional income to the housewives who took the trouble of taking care of the animals apart from taking care of the family needs only marketable surplus was sold to a few customers.

Average daily requirement of milk for a normal healthy human being in India was ……ml. This was hardly met by the poor milch animals of local origin. Thus as a prudent and long term vision oriented decision it was decided to enhance the breed quality of local milch animals and cross breeding was vastly encouraged. This was purely taking into the need of the hour when availability of milk was very poor, scarcity rampant. We were banking on various world food programmes to get aids in the form of inputs like milk powder, butter oil which were blended and marketed all over the country using various NDDB ( National Dairy Development Board ) initiated programmes. Mother Dairies were set up in major metros. The major focus was on enhancing availability of milk which is fresh, pure and wholesome to growing urban population. There used to be so much hulla holla about milk which was supposed to be feeding rural poor being brought and marketed in towns and cities thus depriving rural poor of nutrition.

But with success of AMUL’s model Dairy Development in India was said to have ushered in women empowerment, literacy among rural masses, awareness on social issues like family planning, Good House Keeping as clean milk production was a focus point. There were a few orgainsed MNCs and corporate houses involved in processing milk as every big business house was mainly focused in Dairy Products which was bringing in good returns. Thus liquid milk was being handled by Amul, Mother Dairies, State Federation, Rural Co-operatives etc.   

Despite massive efforts by AMUL, Mother Dairy and local co-operatives unorganized sector was also playing a major role in regulating milk supply to cities.

In this background, if you see the way we have grown in raising availability of milk in India, we have every reason to feel proud. Despite various hue and cry which are emanating when there is plenty of marketable surplus of milk and milk products which even makes way into export markets in the form of milk powder, ghee etc.

We need to appreciate the visionary leadership of Dr. C Subramaniam Former Finance Minister who was responsible for giving free hand to genetics and breeding scientists in the field of agriculture like Dr. M S Swaminathan for ushering in Green Revolution in India which gave food security to masses living in this great land  & Dr V Kurien who was instrumental in ushering in White Revolution by arranging and channelizing aids received in various forms.

The table below shows the trend of milk production in India and the per capita availability of milk in India.

Year                                       MMT ( Million Metric Tons)            Per Capita Availability / person/ day ( ml)

1991-92                                55.6                                                                        178

1992-93                                58.0                                                                       182

1993-94                                60.6                                                                        187

1994-95                                63.8                                                                        194

1995-96                                66.2                                                                        197

1996-97                                69.1                                                                        202

1997-98                                75.4                                                                        213

2012-13                              132.4                                                                        299

2013-14                              137.7                                                                        307

2014-15                              146.3                                                                        322

2015-16                              155.5                                                                        340

We can see from the above table sourced from NDDB there is a great leap in the volume of milk production in our country and this is made possible by cross breeding. This growth is 18.5 % of total milk production of the world and we rank No.1 in global production of milk. As compared to other countries our growth is 6.26% as against the global average growth of 3.1% year on year basis.

As per Nutritional requirement average adult requirement of milk per day per person is 200 ml to 248 ml depending on the physical and physiological condition. Thus there is enough milk made available by various initiatives of Indian scientists.

 Now coming to the crux of A1 & A2 milk after having made milk available to the masses this question can be addressed very easily.

India is predominantly a buffalo milk country 55 % of milk production is from buffaloes as the same seems to be very favorable for the farmers in terms of economics.  21% of the total milk production is from Indigenous breeds of cattle and 24% of the total milk production is from Cross bred cows. This is as per 2007 statistics.

If you go by this the issue of A1 & A2 milk crops up only with respect to the 24% of the milk received from Cross bred animals as Buffalo milk is purely A 2 milk, which is being praised as the elixir of good health. People now have issues with only A1 Milk. The research in this field is not very conclusive and scientific community still does not buy the claim of all bad things attributed to A1 Milk.

Some of the whatsapp messages like indigenous cow milk because of the hump is rich in vitamin and it absorbs sun light therefore yellow in color are dubious claim.  Cows because they do not metabolize all Carotein into vitamin A passes the same carotein into milk therefore it is yellow in color.

Another claim that A1 milk causes virtually all diseases in medical encyclopedia  like Down’s syndrome, spastic child, mental disorders, diabetes, Hypertension etc.  If we go by the per capita consumption of milk in some of the developed countries we would be wondering whether all the people in these countries who consume predominantly A1 milk should be sick and in death bed. This is not the case as these people are leading normal life !  Please find attached table of top ten milk consuming countries in the world.

CONCLUSION:-Let us celebrate the achievements made by dairy industry in India which is not a small order one. No breed local, imported, cross bred can be a permanent “ fool proof” solution. As things are very dynamic in nature, we need to constantly research and bring in good things from various countries. If Kangeyam cattle is bred and made as the draught animal in Brazil we should feel proud and encourage local farmers to appreciate the good things in local and breeds from abroad.  May be one day we will be exporting semen of our native breeds abroad as the same is being done with our Murrah buffaloes !!

Country                                                Annual Milk Consumption / Person / Annum

Luxemburg                                          266.0 Kg

Romania                                              266.2 Kg

Denmark                                              281.0 Kg

Lithuania                                              303.0 Kg

Montenegro                                         306.0 Kg

Greece                                                 315.0 Kg

Switzerland                                         316.0 Kg

Netherland                                           320.0 Kg

Sweden                                                356.0 Kg

Finland                                                 361.0 Kg                                              

GARDEN

Nothing gives so much excitement than creating something new all by oneself out of the blue!

For me the creation of  our kitchen garden is such an experience. We moved to Madagascar in June'15. We had a small patch of land right opposite to our bungalow and also on the side. Having lived most of the time in flats getting a piece of front yard and side patch was a great experience. We wanted to grown all sort of vegetables, fruits, flowers and all that. But the land was not fertile to say the least. It was full of gravel, building dust and sand. The first task was to give some live into the soil.

We hired a gardener by name Tan. Tan was found to be one of the laziest person on the world. He would come in the morning. Look for the first available opportunity to vanish in thin air. Language was another big handicap as he had no knowledge of English and our Malagasy language was as good as his English. Thus we had to communicate with each other using all sort of action and that did not result in any satisfaction.

But despite all these issues Tan arranged to plant two banana plants. To decide the location for that was a nightmare as Tan was worried that when the plant becomes big thieves would come to rob the bananas. With a firm foot we chose the corner most area for the plants. In one corner we planted a curry leaves plant. In the front yard we kept some flowering and ornamental plants. In the center we kept a few marigold plants.

We had a few Guava trees on the sides in an elevated area. They used to shed their leaves in autumn. Those leaves were spread in the patch of land for mulching. From India I had some seeds of Black Night Shade (Manathakaali) plant. These seeds started growing rapidly and we could get some greens for our cooking every week. There is a small patch for Pudhina.

We have planted plenty of Cassava cuttings. Now they have all grown up so tall and sturdy. We get to give away the leaves which the locals eat with great relish. Now we have also learnt to cook and enjoy the same.

Last week our Banana has given out its flower. I was so thrilled and started celebrating the same by putting extra water to the mother plant !

We have very unusual visitors to the garden...so many butterflies, birds and some special lizards too !!

ROOM MATES

There is an old film song in Tamil, which proclaims that getting a good wife is a boon from God ! If that is the case with Wife, in the case of a good room mate, it is a boon from hostel warden !

I was a day scholar for a long time and had to move into a hostel as the course was a residential course. Thus from 1978 to 82 I had to stay in the hostel of National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal, Haryana, India. It was an experience in itself as the class was a combination of students from all over India, roughly 23 states and a few from abroad.

We had a lone lady member in the class, who stayed in the ladies hostel far, far away from the boy's hostel. The ladies hostel was well secluded and near the Director's residence. Those days it was a taboo to go to girl's hostel and vice verse. Boys and girls met in the class room and beyond that may be in the canteen that was it. There was a time we were supposed to have mixed doubles shuttle badminton match. The same was not approved by our hostel warden. On account of this he got the nick name "Ayatollah Khomeini" in the annual day celebrations.

For Annual Day functions, cultural events etc. rehearsals used to take place in boy's hostel and girls who used to come for such events used to sit in the common room and return !

Well, in 1978 when I entered the hostel, I was allocated a room with a person from Kerala, another one from Andhra Pradesh and the third slot was vacant. One evening a small puny looking boy with eyes shining like that of a cat entered the room. He was asking whether there was a vacant slot for him in our room. We all replied in the affirmative. Then he returned with the hostel warden, who advised us to take him as our fourth partner.

That evening we had a small discussion with the last entrant. He was found to be missing his home and was not very communicative. After a bid of prodding he opened up. He asked us whether we respected our mothers. We said yes. Then he told us that his mother had advised him to stay with people who have Hindi as their mother tongue. As we were all from South he was a bit apprehensive. We told him if he wanted, he could continue other wise he was free to go to any other room.

Our friend tried to open his " attache" as he called his suit case and he was shocked to find that it was not opening. With a bit of force, when it did open it was found that the same was belonging to someone else. His luggage had got exchanged in the bus and our friend had picked up someone's suit case. After searching we could find a Diary of the owner and using that we could get his office phone No. Those days there were no cell phones.

Next day using the college phone, we helped him to get in touch with the original owner of the suitcase and he promised to come to our hostel and hand over our friend's suitcase and collect his "attache". Dutifully he came on the same day evening. This instilled a sense of confidence in our room mate. He started getting comfortable with us. Thus our room truly become a center for AP, Kerala, Himachal Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

We were all driven towards studies and did quite well in our college work. One problem with our Himachali Room mate was he was becoming an addict for Television Programs. On returning from class he used to hit straight to common room and from 6 PM to 11 PM it was only TV for him. Those days there was a single Doordharshan Channel which used to telecast Delhi programs from Dehradun Kendra. Till the lady announcer in the TV said "Good Night" our friend would never budge from the common room.

On reaching the room he would ask me my notes as there used to be some test or the other everyday. He would pick it up from my pillow and go for night out. He was an owl and a night out was very common for him. By that time my room mate got a nick name as "Shimli"  as he was from Shimla !!

Everyday morning he used to make a to do list. That used to contain right from "brushing his teeth" to " watching TV" ! He used to get up late and still recite Gayathri Mantra before moving out of the bed every day. He was a strict vegetarian like me in college days.

Thus Himachali and Tamil combination was firmed up for four long years despite the fact that I got a single room based on merit in third year as well as final year as my room mate was apprehensive that he might fail with out my notes in exams !

When we used to go for evening walks in Karnal Thandi Sadak my room mate used to say that one must become a lawyer. The reason offered by him was all big bungalows on that road were that of lawyers. True to his advice, I guided my daughter to become a lawyer. She chose a lawyer as her life partner. My room mate was so thrilled to hear that !!

In the final year final semester he moved to his state for training and I went to Sharanpur for training. After our training the job hunt started. I was offered a job in Sharanpur as Quality Officer and I was willing to accept the same. But my room mate was without a job. We both applied for a job in response to an advertisement in "The Tribune". As I was likely to move to my home on vacation I had given my Tirunelveli address. Because of that I was not sent any interview letter. My room mate got an interview call and he was offered first class train fare from Karnal to Kapurthala in Punjab. I was requested to join him as he was willing to foot the travel bill.

We went and attended the interview. I was also advised to take the interview by the HR person. I had a great interview and offered a job in R&D/ Lab.  My friend was in waiting list. As luck would have it in the last semester in one paper my room mate failed. I declined my job offer from Kapurthala so that my friend could get the offer and therefore he was forced to settle in Kapurthala for a year.

After 1982 we met again in 2014. In between we got married raised children, moved places, grayed, lost hair etc. But the bonding between us still remains  strong and good.

After all one rarely finds a room mate who can be your friend, soul mate, companion and team member !!!

DHARMASHETRE.... KURUKSHETRA ( HOLY PLACE)

From 14^th January’17 we have entered into UTTARAYANA. This is considered to be a very auspicious period. Uttarayan is the period when Sun’s run in relation to Earth will shift from the Southern Run to Northern Run. Actually everyone knows that Sun is static, but it is only Earth which is rotating around the Sun apart from its own rotation in its own axis. This is basically due to Earth’s tilt this phenomenon takes place.

Uttarayan is considered to be the period when human consciousness blossom and maximum grace becomes available to hum beings. This is period when Gauthama became Buddha after attaining enlightenment on Uttarayan full moon day!

It is presumed that Dhakshinayan is for Purification and Uttarayan is for enlightenment of human beings.

In order to usher in Uttarayan the period when Sun enters the Sun Sign Capricorn, Mahara,  people celebrate Pongal, Mahara Shankaranthi, Maghi in Punjab, Kichri in Uttrapradesh, Bhigu in Bengal, Kite festival in Gujarat. 

This is precisely on Uttarayan it is stated that Bishma great old warrior saint of the greatest Indian Epic Mahabharat wanted to depart from mother Earth and enter into the heavenly kingdom. For this reason he was resting on the bed of arrows shedding his blood in the Karma Bhoomi Kururksehtra.

Kururkshetra is an important pilgrimage and tourist center in the state of Haryana located on Grand Trunk Road. Nearest biggest town is Karnal, which is named after another great Mahabharat   Hero Karan !

Kurukshetra is supposed to have derived its name from Kuru which is a lineage of both Pandavas and Kauravas and from the King Kuru, belonging to Bharata Dynasty ! It is called as Karma Bhoomi as it was the place for eighteen days war which gave to earth Bhavad Gita and Vishnu Shasranama. Bhavad Gita was recited to Arjuna to motivate him to take arms and fight after Vishwaroopa Dharshan on the day one of the war. Shasranama was recited by Bhishma for the benefit of Pandavas on tenth day, when Bhishma was in the bed of arrows and he was visited by Pandavas.  

On day ten of the war Bhishma was hit by Arjuna keeping Shikandi in the front. As arrows pierced his body he fell down, but his body was held afloat by the arrows. In order to support his head Arjuna made a make shift arrangement by keeping three arrows. To quench the great warriors thirst the arrow shot by Arjuna created a Khund from which water started gushing to the mouth of Ganga Putur Bhishma.

As Bhishma had “Ichcha Mitryu” ( Self wished death) he choose to shed all his blood on the Karma Bhoomi Kurukshetra and wanted to start his heavenly travel on Uttarayana ! From his bed of arrows he recited Vishnu Sahasranama in praise of Lord Vishnu who is none other than Lord Krishna.

Kurukshetra attracts lot of visitors on account of its mythological significance from people far and wide. It is known as Dharmashetra (Holy Place). There are trains from Delhi to Kurukshetra. There are innumerable busses. The place is easily accessible by road and the drive is pleasant as one gets to visit Karan Taal a lake in honor of Karna on the way. There are numerous restaurants and Dabhas offering good food and other amenities.

There is a Shiva temple in the name of Shtaneswar Temple. There is a village near by known as Amin Village said to be the place of origin of Abhimanyu who fought a brave battle for Pandavas.  There is a Bhrama Saravovar which is the largest man made Pond in the world. There is a Sri Krishna Museum to visit, Sannihit Sarovar to take holy dip on Ammavaysa and other Eclipse days as the dip is considered to be very auspicious.

One would never get disappointed when visiting Kurukshetra as the place is soaked in history, mythology and religious significance.    

KOLAM / ALPANA

KOLAM / ALPANA

The front yard of every house just before the main door is considered to be a very vital place in every household. As head is the vital organ for a human body , so is the role of front yard. Usually no unwanted material is stored there. It is always kept spic and span. Special care is taken to ensure that the area is cleaned twice a day in the early morning before sun rise and in the evening before sun set the place is swept, water is sprinkled and Rangoli / Alpana is placed signifying that all is well in the house hold and guests are welcome.

Though in olden days there used to be a special extension around the front yard called as THINNAI or portico where men folk stayed talking discussing local politics or events. Ladies, youngsters are not allowed to sit there and were generally driven away by adults. With the advent of nuclear household, apartment cultures these practices are given away.

If the usually Rangoli is not there in front of the house it is presumed that someone has passed away. If there is any birth in the family at any point of time even late night water mixed Haldhi ( Turmeric) and lime ( Calcium Carbonate powder) are mixed in water and sprinkled in front of the house signifying an auspicious occasion.

Similarly welcoming a bride, new born are always done though the front yard.  In case of welcoming an important guest / Vedic Scholar eldest members of the family wait for his arrival in front yard and offer welcoming slogans and wash the feet of the elder in the front yard and welcome them with Poorna Khumbam ,  Water in a pot and on top of it coconut is placed along with Mango leaves as a symbol of Su Swagatham ( Hearty Welcome).

Since time immemorial special ornamental patterns of Kolams are learnt by young girls from their elders. These patterns are drawn using rice flour, thus the Kolams serve a purpose of charity by allowing ants, squirrels et. al. to eat the powder. Now a days we are using special stone powder and other organic & inorganic colour powders to make special motifs.

In Kerala still there is a special practice of lighting a lamp and keeping the same in the evening in the front yard. The lady with a lamp is a master piece painting by Raja Ravi Varma which we can find in many old calendars. The lady after keeping the lamp used to say Deepam so that people sitting around can offer a prayer in their mind! The lamp is to guide passersby in the evening.

In Andhra Pradesh there is a special function known as Bonalu associated with Kolam. It is now taken to new level with the formation of Telengana state.

In Tamil Nadu during the month of Margazhi ( 15’Dec to 14^th Jan) girls used to pray and keep pumpkin flowers in cow dung as decoration. Later these cow dung and flowers together are dried. Pongal is cooked using this as fire wood.

Some master pieces of Kolam are given below.  

 

 

TOTAL EMPLOYEE INVOLVEMENT .....2

It is always nice to receive gifts ! Who does not like to be gifted. However when the gift comes from people who hold you in high esteem it makes all the more nice and gratifying !

A few days back as usual, I was about to call it a day. Wound up my work. Locked my cabin and was moving down to the exit. A few boys and girls were standing in the passage and from their movement I could make out that they were waiting for me. I approached them and as a routine told them in local Malagasy language " Veluma" meaning see you tomorrow. They requested me to wait. As someone who did not want to offend them I stayed put. After a few minutes there was a whole lot of members say around 200 of them.

I could make out that the plant which is expected to run 24x7 was running without any itch and key areas were manned. Thus I was reassured that there was no work stoppage etc. Then the HR Manager came followed by a team called as Delegates in local language.

They are basically opinion leaders of the unit and in other words chosen representatives / leaders.

There was a big circle by then and I was in the middle. The senior delegate who is lady No. 1 gave a long speech wishing me and my family well for the new year. Another girl spoke and sought our blessings for their happy new year.

Then a boy took the stage and stated that they liked me because I am the only Indian who greets them every single day without waiting in Malagasy language " Salama" ( Good Morning !!).

Then it was my turn. I had to apologize to them for speaking in English, which was duly translated by the Supervisor. I wished them well for the new year. I told them that me and my wife like them and their smiling faces which we see every evening when we go around the factory after work for regular walking. I also told them probably for the first time in my career spanning 34 years I get a gift from workmen on New Year. Generally it used to be gift which was handed over during resignation, transfer or such parting function.

Then the President of the delegate told that they have not brought any chicken as gift as I am strict vegetarian and apologized that they could not offer anything for me to eat. I thanked them for sparing the chicken !!!

 

INTERSTELLAR PARTY CADBURY DAIRY MILK CHOCOLATE ADVERTISEMENT

https://youhttps://youtu.be/faXIrIAz04Ytu.be/k8-JWBMcEzU

Advertisements are always interesting! A few advertisements and characters associated with them always remain very vivid in every viewers mind!

How can one forget Gabbar Singh who was standing tall with Britannia Glocuse D biscuit !

Can anyone forget the Amul Girl…Utterly Butterly delicious one with Polka Dotted Skirt !

Can anyone forget the jingle of Nirma, Vicco Vajrathanthi !

The smart old lady who used to endorse Ajantha Clocks !

Only Vimal Tag line which was endorsed by Vivan Richards, Ravi Shasthri, Alan Border etc. !

“Gattu” the painter Boy of Asian paints !

When you think of colours think of us ….Jehnson & Nicholson paints!

Neighbors envy owner’s pride…Onida !

A women expresses herself in many ways …Khatau Sarees !

The list is endless.

Cadbury India was all along known for its great campaign for Dairy Milk Chocolate!

From the very old days tag line “ Gift For Someone you love” to “ Kuch Mita Ho Jayee” every single advertisement of Cadbury India Dairy Milk Campaign evoked great response. 

When young girls were chosen as the prime target there were advertisements with a young cricket fan …girl virtually gyrating and dancing her way to the cricket stadium. There was an advertisement featuring a girl with handful of Mehandi trying to eat a bar of Cadbury Dairy Milk.

Many of Cadbury’s Dairy Milk advertisements featured permanently in best category. But the recent one which is being telecast as “ Interstellar Party” leaves a lot to be desired. Visuals of aliens, is totally a different concept for a brand focusing relationship and nurturing social encounters. The dance of aliens looks as if a tooth paste advertisement is aired and they are eroding and corroding teeth !

There is a milk can on the pack and visual. Cadbury’s famous visual impact is that of a Glass & Half of Milk !!

This I would rate as a way the brand is moving away from the loyal customers!!   

PONGAL / SHANKARANTHI /

Happy Pongal to all friends !

Pongal is the Harvest festival of India. It coincides with Mahara Shankaranti, Uttarayana Punya Kalm etc. This festival is basically celebrated as a Thanks Giving festival for Sun God as he is the sole provider of energy and prime importance for bountiful crops.

Pongal is celebrated for three days. First day is called Bhogi in Tamil, Telugu and Kanada. In North India it is celebrated as Lohri. Lohri is celebrated in the evening on a full moon day, with camp fire lit in front of house and people indulge in eating ground nuts, peanut candy, sesame candy etc. Jokes are told and pun songs are sung and people make merry !

In South India Bhogi is celebrated in the morning all unwanted items are thrown out giving room for new things to usher in. New crops, new vision, new hope and aspiration! Camp fire lit in the front yard and people play special drums. Fortune tellers come around houses with decorated cows or bulls asking for alms.

Modern day manifestation is on account of so much air pollution even aircrafts find it difficult to land in air ports due to poor visibility. Therefore people are advised not to lit fire and create nuisance.

For Tamils Pongal is ushering in new month known as Thai. The month preceding Thai is known as Margazhi and considered to be in auspicious for beginning any new activity like looking for marriage alliance etc. During the month of Margazhi girls decorate their front yards with special Rangoli and chant special prayers seeking for good alliance.

On Pongal day in new earthen pot decorated with fresh bunch of Turmeric plant and Ginger plant people boil milk and then cook Chakkra Pongal ( Sweetened Rice) and offer the same to Sun God. Sugar Cane etc. are kept by the side as a decoration and symbolizing sweet life ahead.

It is customary for people to buy new dresses, white wash the houses before Pongal. Brothers visit their sisters and share with them fresh harvest and its proceeds like rice, sugar cane, jaggery etc. Sisters on the day after Pongal worship Sun God and pray that their brothers should live happily.  

The day after Pongal is celebrated as Kannum Pongal & Mattu Pongal. Kannum Pongal is to visit friends, relatives, elders and seek their blessings. Mattu Pongal is to offer thanks to cattle and other farm animals who took active part in the working of that year in the farm. Special food cooked to cater to their needs and fed.

Farming must have gone fully mechanized. Farm animals must have been replaced. Many farm lands must have changed hands, shape and become skyscrapers. But the euphoria and enthusiasm behind Pongal remains same all these years !!

AFRICAN CULTURE

Africa is one of the vast continents of the world. With very diverse culture, history, tradition and values it presents a very enigmatic picture to someone who admires it at a distance. People are stuck in awe by its mystique nature. There are nature worshipers, Muslims, Christians and many diverse tribes. Languages change from place to place. Every country has got its dialect and some languages without scripts. Therefore everything about Africa is unique!

Generally the image portrayed outside is not a very rosy one about Africa. People who hail from Africa because of their well built physique present a picture which complements this very image! Over and above this African are by nature very vociferous! Thus, if we find any place very noisy, in any international air port you can presume that there are either Indians or Africans around that place!!

There are some customs and tradition which are very unique to Africans which we need to appreciate and if possible should copy and follow!

It is mandatory to attend any funeral function in a family. No one is excused. There is mandatory attendance and the system of tracking people in such function is very fool-proof. There is someone to collect all the contribution made by visitors for the funeral. Big or small every contribution is acknowledged.Africans believe in Voodoo or black magic, therefore if anybody misses these sort of funeral function it is generally presumed that the missing person was responsible for the death by doing some black magic.

After the formal completion of mourning period the family on returning to normalcy must offer a feast to the whole village / clan by sacrificing a goat or a bull. If the same is not done the family is traditionally boycotted by the local folks.  

If you are driving anywhere in Africa and if you happen to come across a funeral processing crossing the road, it is better to park your car at a distance and wait. Driving rashly or honking when you near a funeral procession are considered to be very bad behavior.

If anyone visits you in office, it is better to offer them a seat. It is considered to be bad manners to make people to stand and talk to you. They too feel uncomfortable as they are talking from a level higher than you as you are sitting and they are standing. 

There are many many ways of shaking hands in Africa. Shaking hands and bodily contact like hugging are very common. Handshakes are always done to show solidarity. There are different shakes for a happy occasion and different ones for funeral etc. Funeral handshakes are done with a murmur "sorry" in local dialect. Handshake among friends and colleagues is more informal. If a lady shakes hand she does so by slightly bending her knees as a mark of respect to the male counterpart.

If two people are talking and if you are constrained to cross their path you are expected to clasp your hands and say sorry while crossing their path. By clasping your hands you are showing that you have no weapons and you do not mean any harm to them.

By nature, Africans do not hide and eat their food. Food for them is to be shared. That is irrespective of the quantity, quality and crowd.  As a matter of policy they do even invite unknown strangers to part their food. Same is the case with drinks. Traditional African Beer is shared from same carton and the Tetra Pack of Beer gets circulated according to seniority.

If anything is offered and handed over the same is acknowledged with great reverence and respect. 

 

THAI CULTURE

Thai people are one of the very soft spoken people of the world. Most of them are Buddhist by religion and adopt Karma theory in their lives. Karma theory can be loosely defined as “ as you sow so you reap”. That is what one has done in his previous birth he is destined to enjoy its fruits in the present birth. Therefore nothing can be changed and one cannot escape anything from it.

By and large Thai people take “ JAI YEN YEN “ as their lives approach which means “ Take it easy” policy. Therefore when people like Indians who are by nature emotionally charged and mostly type “A” personality approach their lives seriously there is always a conflict when dealing with Thai people. As most of the Thai people have agriculture backing their approach is “ There is rice in the field and fish in the sea” why should one become unnecessarily charged up !

Thai people by nature are not good at adhering to time schedules, be it a meeting, party, social gathering etc. it is always stretchable time and not “sharp……. AM/ PM” as nothing is sharp there! Though they are educated from Ivy league universities from US when they come and settle in Thailand the educated elite also stick to stretchable time! This is not only about punctuality but also about adhering to committed schedules to complete tasks and projects. Follow up and tactful follow up is vital.

Thai culture gives utmost reverence to head. Therefore one should not even by mistake touch anyone’s head.  Indian culture encourages elders to touch and bless the head of anyone who is younger. It is not so in Thai culture. This has to borne in mind whenever you interact with anyone from Thailand.

Thai people follow strict Patriarchal  form of life.  There is lot of respect to elders. Men command higher respect. This does not mean women have no say in day to day life. Though women are found to be more hard working, enterprising and intelligent they are considered to be subordinate to men at home and in society as far as their social standing is concerned.

Thai people are known for their cleanliness. Brushing teeth after lunch break in office is a common sight. Have you found anywhere in the world where people use gallon packs of shampoo. It is a very common pack for household. Not meant for any beauty parlor or anything but for exclusive use of household. As men and women sport long hair may be the usage is very high.

Toilets, whether at homes, hotels, malls and other public places are always found to be kept extremely clean and tidy. There used to be aroma wicks burning slowly to keep the ambiance smelling nice !

Another notable feature of Thai culture is if you leave / forget anything even in a public place probability of finding the same there is very high. Mostly people do not covet other’s belongings be it a cell phone or watch things are normally not taken away!

Thai people have a unique culture called as KRENG JAI. By this as someone below you in social / official hierarchy they respect you. Therefore they do not challenge you neither in person nor in public. On account of this higher ups get away. As they are shown KRENG JAI they are supposed to show NAAM JAI, that is they have an obligation to protect subordinates. This may sound funny but it can go to any extent.

To give an example we had a General Manager. He had two offices one in side the factory which he used to visit on a few fixed days of a week, other one, in the Head Office from where he used to operate most of the time. In the Head Office he had Purchase, Accounts, Taxation, Sales and Marketing offices and the respective departmental heads sitting there.  One day he had called a meeting and in that instead of showing the Power Point Presentation pertaining to H.O he was showing details about factory over heads, Warehouse, Production Planning department’s details etc. None of the Manager’s sitting in HO reacted to him and on account of Kreng Jai they just kept quiet and listened to the irrelevant slides for an hour. When the GM realized his mistake and asked them why they did not interrupt him they all smiled and said Kreng Jai as the reason.

In one of the weekly review meeting I was chairing there was a presentation very poorly made. No proper explanation and reasoning for such a poor show.  I took out my anger and told the presenter to stop the crap and meet me next day in my office private. Next day there was a delegation and prompt came the advice from HR that this was Thai Way show Naam Jai.

Food and vehicles form major part of discussion when you meet a Thai. Though fond of food cooking at home is not the order of the way. Virtually anything and everything is packed in polythene bags and sent be it coffee, tea, rice etc. If you want cold coffee hot coffee is made and chunks of ice thrown into the ploy bay before pouring the hot coffee.

If someone comes home for lunch or dinner as invited by you, you may expect additional one or two uninvited guests brought in by the invited guest, as the same is normal with Thai people. After enjoying the food not to look mean they shall leave small chunks of food on the plate and pretend that they are leaving the same as they are full!!

JOB INTERVIEWS....PART 2

I have had a boss. He would interview people for jobs for days together. He would literally conduct the interview like a Darbar with three to four panelists sitting. Everyone taking notes. HR personnel scurrying up and down to attend to his errands. Tea and coffee should flow freely. Lunch breaks should be like celebration, with food coming from best of the best joints for everyone, including candidates to get them impressed. In the end he would ask each one of the panelist who should be selected. Our scores and ratings have little meaning. The job would go to the person with the poorest family back ground even if he was found to be little lacking in technical skills. His logic was simple, the person with the highest need would never leave the job and would stay with you greatly obliged for longer period of time !! Boss was always right, even if boss was not right, boss was always boss !!

We have people attending interviews. With nice dress, very harsh perfume which would obviously put anyone off ! If someone has any problem with asthma the person would die then and there. Despite all these preparations, when asked to write down something, the interviewee would be puzzled as he had come without a pen. I get put off by such candidates !! I do not hesitate to tell them about this then and there !!

There was another candidate who had come for a officer's position. He was asked to chronologically list down his job history. What he had written was not matching with the bio-data sent by him in mail. On asking flash came the reply, "The resume sent to you was the one prepared by xxxxx Management consultants. This one is done by YYYYY recruiting agency !! " . Should we recruit such a candidate !!

When we were interviewing a candidate for a section head position there was a candidate with Sanskrit as second language. He was from a minority community and Sanskrit was totally alien to them. On asking how did he choose Sanskrit over Urdu etc. He started stating how easy it was to copy in such an such university. How did he manage to clear all his papers etc. with great enthusiasm without realizing that he was attending an interview and honesty was very much sought after virtue in the position he had applied. Without second thought we had to reject him !!

There was a lady candidate who had applied for general opening. As there was no opening the mail was left in the active file. After a few days there was a telephone call asking me the status of her application by her. I told her to wait for a few more days. Then after a few days there was a call from local level political person asking about the same candidate and her applications status. I told him that we have no opening and therefore the file was in active list awaiting suitable opening. Then to insulate myself against any issue I had sent the CV to my MD. As the lady had earlier worked in the company in the same location earlier and had disciplinary issues my MD told me to call her for an interview and close the case as unsuitable.

She was called for an interview. She told me in view of her past reputation she would not be able to attend the interview in the office, could we have the meeting elsewhere in a restaurant etc. I had to put my foot down and tell her in office or no where else. The lady came fully decked up and was shown the door after polite conversation, discussion, tea & snacks etc. in the presence of  a lady from HR department. After that too there were two or three calls from various pressure points. But we could handle the same easily.

There is a company which always look for internal candidates for any vacancies. All such internal vacancies are published in a notice boards of various branches, locations etc. Everyone is given an option to apply through respective heads of department. Formal interviews are held. Ratings given, results published and the same interviews are at time used as feedback sessions for performance improvements. Thus winners go and grow a long way in the company. Others take that as a feedback & motivation to perform better !!
 

JOB INTERVIEWS

Job Interviews are generally a might mare for most of us around ! People who normally do not wear any neck tie, suit etc. go with all these and many more paraphernalia to attend interviews. Most of the interviewers generally want to show off their knowledge, rather than trying to assess the knowledge and capability of the one who is getting interviewed.

Generally due to monotony, the interviewer starts with the standard question asking, “Tell me something about yourself “, as if the bio-data which was sent earlier by mail, which was lying with the interviewer for such a long time was not about the candidate and it was about his grand- father!!

If you happen to be the opening bats man among many candidates attending an interview show, you had it ! As the level of energy and enthusiasm are fairly very high all the same would be spent on the poor soul and he would be rolled on coals!

Another interesting but very disturbing feature one usually faces was that of making the candidate wait for hours together despite giving a specific time slot. Thus the candidate’s opinion about the company and time management skills of the manager’s come out in very poor light in such cases !

Some of the companies make it a point to put the candidates in great comfort. I used to attend interview with a MNC in Mumbai, just to accommodate my request Vice President Personnel & Technical Head slotted the interview on a Sunday and made them available. Not only that the travel expenses etc. were reimbursed then and there in cash. No doubt I consider my tenure with the company as the best in my career.

There was another firm which was just coming up asked me to attend interview in Mumbai. After initial rounds, rounds with Technical Head and QA head were through. In the final discussion with the Head of firm we had issues. This Gentleman was repeatedly emphasizing on the point that I might be needed to work extended hours initially for product stabilization etc. Which was accepted by me. Then when the time for bonus came the CEO started telling me that as a new company as per law they were under no obligation to pay me bonus. This pressed the trigger, without second thought I told him as an employee I was also under no obligation to work for extended hours. The interview then ended in a fiasco. 

In my first ever MNC interview I was asked by the head of the unit, that I talk so nicely etc. but what did I know about Biscuits ! Without any hesitation I told him that I did know one thing that was how to eat and enjoy Biscuits ! This man burst into laughter and signed the appointment letter then and there !!

Sometime we do end up into some very unusual situations in interviews ! I was attending an interview in Mumbai and I walked into the head office of the company. From a distance, I could make out that my administrative head of the present company, who was based in Mumbai was sitting for waiting for the same interview !  In a hushed tone I told the receptionist my predicament and took asylum in the rest room for twenty odd minutes and then came out !!

Sometime back we were sitting in a panel for an interview recruiting a Mechanical Engineer! We had a boss who was known for his garrulous boss who was known to keep thrusting his views on others. Most of exchanges with him used to be monologue as we would hardly get any chance to speak out. The candidate was a Sardar Ji and he was very polite and pleasant. After initial exchange of greetings he was explaining some mechanical concepts and Kaizens he had done. Bingo our boss got into the discussion and without giving any chance he took over the white board. We were a bit upset and had no chance to open our mouth. After fifteen minutes or so then he stopped and told the candidate that he was selected. 

Bang came the reply from our Sardar interviewee, "Sir I have some for the interview. I have just told good morning. You took over and stopped non-stop and now you are completing just now and stating that I have been selected. How did you judge me ! "   Though he did not get the job we were happy our boss git a good feedback that day !!!

MAKE IN INDIA !!

I have always been under the impression that Indian skills in Engineering Execution is not of Global standard. There is always a lingering doubt when we award work to Indian companies, whether the same would be done to the way the work used to be done by European companies. Whether it is a German company or Italian firms they always stand miles ahead of Indian firms.

As someone from food industry, I can not comment on other engineering works like heavy engineering, electronics, high speed rotating machines etc. I can only comment on food industry where the preferred ones are from Italy, Germany. Some firms even go to Taiwan, Korean or even Chinese companies.

But my recent experience with a firm from Kolkata, India opened my eyes. We had to install an oven in our factory. The whole job had to be completed within the Xmas holidays. As soon as the factory reopened after vacation we have targets to meet and hence production should commence. We had materials shipped from India in seven containers and every thing was scattered around the manufacturing hall.

A group of  ten members from Kolkatta landed at site on 23rd Dec'16. Their flight from Mumbai was delayed as the same was over booked in Nairobi. Thus the team had to stay overnight in Nairobi on Kenyan Airways hospitality. Thus one precious day was lost on account of this as well as due to the delayed arrival of luggage.

We were wondering why there has to be a team of ten members whereas European companies send only one or two technicians. The difference is on account of completely knocked down method of shipping parts from India whereas European companies prefer semi assembled kits which are just joined at site. Thus we tend to pay for freight from Europe.

The team came over to the factory and started working from day one. Every day work commenced with a pooja. They had brought their deity's photo and after pooja and offerings to god work started and went on till they completed day's work as well as covered part of the lost time ! 

There was selected breaks for break fast, lunch tea and snacks. Only that time was used for telephone calls to home etc. Rest of the time the whole team was moving and managing things in clock work precision.

Evening rather late night the day ended with a pooja and then people returned to their tiring beds after bathe and dinner.

Thus the whole job was completed two days ahead of schedule to the entire satisfaction of everyone !

Trials were done and complements paid to one and all !!

See the dedication and involvement of the team they chose to bake the name of the company first which is displayed in the last snap !!

Well I am very confident that with such committed team MAKE IN INDIA Is not just a slogan...It is going to be a Reality !!!

    

PROBLEM OR CHALLENGE OR OPPORTUNITY

It has been my firm belief all these days that there is nothing called "problem" in life ! Everything comes and happens with a definite purpose. We got to see things which we normally describe as "PROBLEM" with a different perspective or dimension to see what is there in it for us. Then we may realize that what we see as a Problem initially may be an Opportunity to Challenge our approach !

This may sound philosophical or like a sermon. But it is true. Everything happens with a definite purpose !

Let me narrate an instance to prove my point. As someone with a dabbling interest in stock market I used to apply for almost all initial public offers. Those days there was a glut of IPOs of public sector banks. You need to fill a form attach a cheque and then leave the same with a broker or sub-broker who sends the form to bank. After some days the cheque lodged by you may get cleared. Then you may get some shares as allotment and a refund that goes to bank etc.

I had applied for some shares of Union Bank. In order to arrange for the funds for the cheque submitted I was trying to withdraw INR 10000 from my salary account with a leading private sector bank one early morning in Bangalore. I tried in the ATM in the bank branch near my house. The slip came out as "transaction declined". Second attempt same reply. But on checking my balance INR 10000 was debited. I was shocked beyond words. Called the security and explained my predicament. I was asked to report the matter to the Branch Manager in the same branch as soon as the bank opens.

I arranged for funds from elsewhere to avert return of the cheque I had issued for the IPO. Then reached the bank to lodge complaint. The Manager was very sympathetic and asked me to write a written complaint. Deboice that was probably name of the ATM machine. He told me that they would be called etc. Thus days ran to weeks and nearly a month no concrete reply.

Then a friend of mine asked me to make it a case in consumer court! Thus for the first time in my life I knocked the doors of courts. Two three sittings took place. Seeing my predicament a lawyer stepped in and told me he would take the case further on my behalf as week after week or month after month I could not be seeking permission from the office to attend the consumer court ! I had no choice other than agree.

Bank hired a big lawyer. One of the court hearings, I bumped into the Branch Manager. He was very happy to see me and took me aside for a cup of coffee ! He confided in me that he had written to his Vice President about the genuine nature of my claim and as a principle to arrest avalanche of  complaints of this nature the bank has taken a stance. He also told me that as a bank they are doing well and advised me to pick up some shares from secondary market, though I may not like the bank as a customer, I should love it as an "Investor" and the amount I lost in the ATM would be reaped in no time.

I loved his logic. Next day, I closed my transaction with the bank by closing my savings bank account. Advised my broker to pick up the script from market.

After a few weeks I called the lawyer and casually asked him status of the consumer court case. He told me that the judgement was in favour of the Bank !

In a decade I got 265 % return from the script only by way of appreciation in value, leaving aside all the dividends I have enjoyed all these years.

Now tell me should one see every obstacle as a Problem, Challenge or an Opportunity !!