Anurag Jain's Blog
Wednesday, June 29, 2005

AOPA Membership!

Yesterday, I became an AOPA (Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association) member. Around 66 years into existence, AOPA is probably the world's largest non-profit association of pilots (2/3rd of American pilots are AOPA members). It represents pilots' and aircraft owners' interests at the federal and state level. For the representation purposes, it has a separate wing called AOPA Legislative Affairs. AOPA has chapters worldwide, and has considerable say in aviation affairs. AOPA has been quite involved in promoting the interests of GA (General Aviation) scenario in the US, something we desperately need in India.

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Film festival at Suchitra

"Suchitra Film Society in collaboration with Alliance Francaise de Bangalore Presents “Homage to Truffaut” a compilation of films of Francois Truffaut, eminent film maker of the famous “French New Wave”

29-6-2005 Wednesday 6.45 PM Jules et Jim
30-6-2005 Thursday 6.45 PM The Soft Skin
1-7-2005 Friday 6.00 PM Stolen Kisses
7.30 PM Bed & Board
2-7-2005 Saturday 5.00 PM The Man who loved Women
7.00 PM Love on the Run
3-7-2005 Sunday 5.00 PM Woman Next Door
7.00 PM The Last Metro

Venue : Suchitra Film Society Auditorium, 36, 9th Main, Banashankari II stage, Next Post Office, Bangalore – 560 070. Contact No.: 26711785

You are welcome"

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Tuesday, June 28, 2005

Indian Organized Retail: Bigger than we know?

A very interesting thought-chain from Anil Kumar Sharma over at RVG, who talks about The Organized Retail Hoodwink. The point made being that organized retail is under-reported, and the 2%, 18,000 crores organized retail segment size have become the biblical numbers just like the always-quoted McKinsey-Nasscom figure of 50 billion US$ IT industry size by 2008.

"Most of the international retailers consider Indian retail to be "backward" and "unorganized" primarily because of the perceptions created by our own retail gurus.

A certain report published recently as the "India Retail Report" states that the size of food & grocery retail in India is Rs 6,15,000 crores. The same report goes on to say that 99 percent of this is dominated by kirana stores. If you look at the figures of only a couple of retail chains, you would realize the fallacy of this statement and figures. Consider, the Fair Price Shops of the government have a total turnover of Rs 14,000 crores and canteen stores/ department stores have a turnover of Rs. 5,600 crores, and Kendriya Bhandars about Rs 300 crores. This is about Rs 22,000 crores, which is almost 4 percent of the total. "

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July Rock Out 2005

July Rock Out 2005 Schedule and Selected Bands:

July 09th 2005 Curtain Raiser
YMCA, Nandanam
AZIZ from THE UK

July 16th 2005 Unwind Center
L.B.G (Chennai)
Cassini's Division (Kolkatta)

July 23th 2005 Unwind Center
Powder in the Ashtray (Chennai)
Metakix (Mumbai)
Cruentus (Nepal)

July 30th 2005 Unwind Center
Garage Monsters (Chennai)
Joint Family (Delhi)
Prestorika (Delhi)

Aug 06th 2005 Unwind Center
Parousia (Bangalore)
Bhayanak Maut (Mumbai)

Aug 13th 2005 Grand Finale
YMCA Grounds
Coming Soon!

For further info log on UnWindcenter

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Jul14-15: Management International Film Festival (MIFF) 2005, Bangalore 

Nice to see management movies coming to town in the form of a fest. Its organized by People Skills Foundation. Contact: Mr Prasad. email: p_agali@yahoo.co.in Ph: 9845622226. LTCOL .  SREEDHAR ….. 9342858716 ; RAVI . KONERU ……9448 265507
 
 "Dear Professional Colleagues & Friends,
The much awaited time has come. The entry cards for the Management International Film Festival -2005 are now available with us. The card contains all the details. Please do feel free to call me or to write in for any further information.
So Come & Buy Your Entry Card Now ..... ;
Remember the dates 14th & 15th of JULY 2005....;
Block them in Your Diary for the Management International Film Festival 2005..;
"It is in Your Moments of Decision that Your Destiny is Made" .
 
COME BE A  PART OF MIFF -2005 - & HELP YOURSELF .
 
THANKS & REGARDS,
A.S.PRASAD,
9845622226.
PEOPLE'S SKILLS FOUNDATION.
BLR. "
 
CORPORATE  ENTRY CARD  :-
**FACULTY /  OTHERS PER  PERSON  TWO  DAYS : 1500 / -  2  DAYS .
GROUP BOOKING :-
**FOR  5  PERSONS  TWO  DAYS  Rs: 7000 / - 2  DAYS .
**FOR MBA / BBA STUDENTS: Rs. 550/- 2 DAYS Per Entry Card / Per student  .
** ALL RATES Inclusive of Lunch & Beverages.
VENUE: DR. BABSAHEB AMBEDKAR BHAWAN.
 DATE:- 14TH & 15TH JULY –2005 , TIME:- 08:30 A.M.  - 06:00 P.M.
Some of the films:
EVEN EAGLES NEED A PUSH,
CHARACTER IN ACTION ,
FIVE STAR TEAM NETWORK ,
BILL GATES – THE COMMUNICATION REVOLUTION ,
COPING WITH CHANGES IN THE HIGH TECH ENVIRONMENT ,
PARABLE OF THE SADHU,
PARADIGMS OF PERCEPTION ,
TEAMWORK IN CRISI – THE MIRACLE OF FLT. 232  ,
GROUP THINK – APOLLO 13 ,
RIDING THE WAVE ,
MANAGING STRESS ,
STRESS A FRIEND OR FOE ,
SERVICE MANAGEMENT ,
MANAGING THE ASIAN THREAT ,
MANAGING VALUE ADDED PARTNERSHIPS ,
VISION CREATESREALITY ,
FROM LOCAL CHAMPIONS TO GLOBAL  MASTERS ,
**FILMS ARE FROM HARVARD , INSEAD, STANFORD , WHARTON . 
 
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Monday, June 27, 2005

Potpourri: Flying Achiever and Musical Curry

# A very good friend of mine, Capt Neetu Gupta, who became the youngest Indian woman pilot at 19, interviewed here at ChilliBreeze. Congrats and see ya next week, Capt!!

# Mariah Carey's album Glitter came out in 2001 and featured a song called 'Last Night A DJ Saved My Life', which was most probably inspired by the 80s same-title classic by Indeep. To mix more to this culture curry, here's a neat book by the same title: Last Night A DJ Saved My Life. The book traces the history of DJs and DJeing around the world. One of the authours is the eponymous DJ Bill Brewster!

# Bollowood Freaks are on a rampage with the desi version of Michael Jackson's 'Dont Stop Till You Get Enough'. Bollywood Freaks' version is titled: Dont Stop Till You Get to Bollywood You can download it from this page. The original, Michael Jackson's 'Dont Stop Till You Get Enough', is one of my all-time favs. The karaoke rendition of the same by Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan in Rush Hour 2 is WOW! Watching this scene, you spontaneously find yourself wanting to be on the dias with the loud-mouth Chris Tucker!

# Remember Usha Uthup? The original IndiPop diva! The one and only bindi-and-sari wearing pop star of India. A 1981 classic of Usha is in currency these days. This one is called 'One Two Cha Cha Cha' and is from the movie named Shalimar (Read more here). Very difficult to get this baby. I hate to link direct to mp3 files (or any non-html files for that matter) but since, you aint gonna find it otherwise, get it here.

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Sunday, June 26, 2005

Kathalaya: June24-July10

"Kathalaya is a non-profit organization in Bangalore established in 1999. It has been working in the field of education with the vision to revive storytelling forms. It also uses storytelling as a tool to address issues related to society and to effect a positive social change in education. Storytelling helps children improve their communication skills, stimulate interest in learning, help them balance their intelligence and emotional quotients, thereby ensuring a holistic learning experience.



In its effort to make storytelling an important tool of education, Kathalaya conducts workshops, camps and training to teachers and students.
Pursuant to this philosophy, Kathalaya is organizing the 1st International Story Telling Festival here in Bangalore between the 24th of June and 10th of July, 2005. For further details and tickets, please contact either the phone numbers listed on the flyers or Mrs. Usha Vaidyanathan on 2658 3291."



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Friday, June 24, 2005

Indus Aviation Complex: Some Pics

Recently, I had written about the opening of an aircraft showroom at Koramangala, Bangalore. Courtesy Kiran, MD of Indus Aviation (India), here are some pics of the showroom (Click on pics for bigger version). You can visit Indus Aviation showroom at:
IndUS Aviation Complex
898/1, 80 Ft. Road
6th Block, Koramangala
Bangalore, India 560095
Phone: (0)80 5150 1521/22 Fax: 5150 1523

Indus Aviation Complex - Store front


Indus Aviation Complex - VT-IAS


Indus Aviation Complex - Store Full front


Indus Aviation Complex - Visitor

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TiE Networking Event: 29th June 

"Dear Mr. Jain,

Greetings.

We are back with a quick round-up of TiE happenings in Bangalore.

Enjoy.

TiE BANGALORE NEWS

“Transformation from Concept to Productization – How a Startup did it in the Post-boom Era” - A review
Aarohi is one of the product plays from India that has made a decent impact in the storage management space at the global level. Ameesh Divatia and Shanti Subbaraman, the co-founders of Aarohi were the speakers at the TiE event on 20th.

Intrestingly, one observes a positive pattern in the recent TiE Bangalore events. There's more time for Q&A; intelligent and tough questions are put to the speakers which throw up latent perspectives. So, if you're one of the passive patrons of TiE, you may be missing something important.

Do not skip the next event - "Emerging Opportunities in Wireless Space" on 29th June. The address will be by Dr. Atiq Raza followed by a panel discussion comprising Vasudev Bhandarkar, John Gardner, Rob Trice, Sujit Banerjee and Vineet Buch. For registration, write to
alfio@tiebangalore.org or call 22120009 Xtn-185. "
 
 
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The Helen Keller Story - Fundraiser for Samarthanam 

 " I want people to know that everyone has a mind that can be educated, a hand which can be trained, ambitions which it is right for him to strive to realize, and it is the duty of the public to help him make the best of himself so that he can win right through
                                                      ........... helen keller
Here is one way you can make a difference ... be there to watch, applaud and support ... pass it on to your friends

Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled

in collaboration with

the Chrysallis Performance Arts Centre

Presents
 

"I Can See ..."

The Helen Keller Story

directed by Diana Tholoor

Performed by and in aid of the Samarthanam Trust

 
This 45 minute creative performance of dance, music and drama integrates 40 young artistes from the visually impaired and economically deprived communities demonstrating spirit, determination, hope and a joyful spirit 

Date: June 24, 2005

Time: 7:00 pm

Venue: Gurunanak Bhavan, Jasma Bhavan Road, Off Queens Road

For entry coupons Rs.100, Rs.150. Rs.250

call Diana :- 9886112230 " 
 
 
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Wednesday, June 22, 2005

Trekking in Bandipur Forest - 2nd & 3rd July 

"Hi Mr. Anurag Jain

We are pleased to inform you that we are conducting a Wilderness Camp @ Bandipur Wildlife Sanctuary on 2nd & 3rd July ( Saturday & Sunday ), the details are as follows.  We cordially invite you to take part in the same.  If you need any more details, please feel free to be in touch with us. 

Regards
Sheshadri S.K.
Ph: 51281478 - Mob: 98456-95350

 

Wilderness Camp @ Bandipur Forest 

BANDIPUR WILDLIFE SANCTUARY - (Area 874.2 Sq. Kms). Bandipur is situated in Chamarajanagar  Dist., Karnataka. At a distance of 217 Kms. From Bangalore with a good approachable road. The Maharaja of Mysore created the Bandipur game. It is now a National park since 1973, and is brought under Project Tiger. This National Park is attached to two other National Parks i.e. Wynaad National Park of Kerala and the Mudumalai National Park of Tamil Nadu. This place is a paradise for wildlife enthusiasts  ..............    
  Click here for Details        Click here for Photographs

                          
Dates :           Dep from Bangalore -  2nd July @ 7.00am  -  Return to City -  3rd July @ 8.00pm 
Registration:  Kindly click here  for submitting the Regn form; immediately on receipt of your appn form,
                      we will mail you the confirmation slip with the reporting & other details
                                               


CARE
, Vijayashree Builing, No.1, 3rd Floor, 18th Cross Malleswaram, Bangalore – 560 055.
Ph:  5128 1478 
 Mob: 98456 - 95350  URL: www.careadventure.com , Email: info@careadventure.com

  "

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June 26th, '05 (Sunday): Audio Visual Quiz in Bangalore 
 
                           'MIND OVER MATTER'
                                         
                                      PRESENTS
 
               'How Gray Are Your Grey Cells'
 
                        the ultimate audio visual quiz
 
 
Location - YAVANIKA HALL (Youth Development Center)    
                  Nrupthunga Road. (The building just before RBI)
Time - 10.00 AM                                                                
Date - June 26th, 2005 (Sunday)                                        
 
The quiz is open to all. 3 member teams. On the spot Registration. Entry Fee of Rs 150. There will be a written elimination round. 8 teams will make it to the final. All the questions will be either audios or visuals. CASH prizes worth Rs 10,000 to be won. All are welcome.
 
For further details, please contact Rajib @ 9886842873

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Sunday, June 19, 2005

Himalayan Strings @ Sangla valley: July 8-12, 2005 

A good friend is organizing this nice concept-based tour in magical valley of Sangla!  

logo copy

Himalayan Strings

July 8-12, 2005

Himalayan Strings

��  Sangla Music Festival

Greetings!

The Sangla valley, part of the Kinnaur region in the Northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh will be the venue for Himalayan Strings from July 8-11, 2005. Amidst alpine country, one of India's most promising and original musicians Raghupathy Dixit will create memorable music.

Sincerely,

Shobhana & Ram Badrinathan

��  Sangla Music Festival

sangla

Where & When

Banjara Camps & Retreats

Sangla Valley

Himachal Pradesh

July 8-11, 2005

Of Music and Mountains

The Raghu Dixit Project, founded by Raghupathy Dixit, is an open house for musicians and artistes from different genres to come together, collaborate and create a dynamic sound and expression. Though a gold medalist in Masters in Microbiology and a proficient Indian Classical Dancer (Vidwat in Bharatnatyam), Raghupathy Dixit is now known more as a self-taught guitarist-singer-composer-song writer-musician, based in Bangalore. His band is all set to launch its debut album through Phat Phish Records. Raghu's music is a seamless amalgamation of Indian ethnic music and styles from different parts of the world. His lyrics though intense, are simple; and speak about every common man's emotions and experiences. By inserting Indian ethnic folk, Sufi and classical phrases into his songs, Raghu's singing style can be described as unique at best.

The venue for Himalayan Strings is Banjara Camps & Retreats in Sangla. Mountains, forests, waterfalls, rivers and small picturesque villages dot this land with views of snow capped mountains even in summer. At a height of 2,700 meters the Camp is surrounded by towering mountains on all sides and is set on the banks of the Baspa River that surges through the valley. The Camp has 17 cozy Swiss style tents that have attached bathrooms (with hot water) and a well-equipped kitchen. In addition to the luxuries of the camp and the stunning views, there are plenty of other things one can do from Sangla. Chitkul, the last village on the Hindustan- Tibet trade route, is just 20 km away, and one can have lunch by a glacier-fed stream near Chitkul, go for hikes, or simply contemplate by the Baspa River.

Click here for more information and to sample Raghu's music

 

 

Soulitudes

61, Kamleshwar, 40 Tagore Road

Santacruz (W), Mumbai 400 054

+91-9892692809, 9820889808

Soulitudes is our effort to bring glimpses of India's consciousness to you. We aim to share this land with you in a manner that is warm and intimate. Our endeavour is to create a travel experience that rises above the transient nature of modern travel, thus generating for you a deeper connection with India and its people.

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Saturday, June 18, 2005

Discovering the sea route to India & Journey to a Black Hole by Hari

A very good friend of mine, Hari, has written two books for children. Hari also runs Nature Yogi, an experience company that specializes in adventure sports and outdoor activities. I am presenting these two books here. If you would like to purchase them, please get in touch with me or author Hari (9886373048 or mail hari AT natureyogi.com )

(Update Jun 19, '05: Before I write about books, here's a review by Deccan Herald on Jun 10th.)

#1 Discovering the sea route to India :
In the middle ages, crossing open seas meant almost certain death. Then how and why did nations and men forged sea routes across these mighty oceans? Discover how the Portuguese discovered the sea-route to India. The book describes how the era of discoveries started, what were the challenges faced by the sea-faring people, what inventions made possible the daring journeys.


(click on pic for bigger version)

#2 Journey to a Black Hole:

Did you ever realize that every time you gaze up at the stars, you have travelled back in time? Could you ever imagine that this whole big Universe we live in was once just a tiny speck? Did you ever wonder if time itself had a beginning? Would it please you to know that with 1 kg of any stuff, you could drive your car for about 100,000 years!! And did you ever imagine that if a very miniscule thing had not happened, the Earth, stars, the Sun and we human beings would not have existed at all!!

This book describes an exciting journey to a Black Hole. It deals with scientific concepts like black holes, galaxies, the start and end of our Universe etc written in a very simpe and easy to understand langauge. Spiced up with many humorous and whacky cartoons, the book will help explain many difficult scientific concepts taking the help of day-to-day activities.


(click on pics for bigger version)

# List price is Rs 100 per book.
# If you books for yourself, you get a discount of 25% on the list price.
# If you want to donate it to orphangae (Hari/publishers have tied up with Dream a dream foundation), you buy the books at actual cost. We gift the books to the underprivileged children and also give 50% to the orphanage. Advantage: children get to read and keep the books and the orphanage gets Rs 50 per book.

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Ranga Shankara Schedule: June 2005

From RS June '05 Newsletter, date-wise schedule for plays is as follows. All shows start at 7:30 pm. Auditorium doors close at 7.30 pm. No late entry permitted. Mondays holiday.

1 COURT MARTIAL Hindi Mathura Kaluany
3 PRATIDWANDI English Abhishek Majumdar 4 PRATIDWANDI English Abhishek Majumdar
5 PRATIDWANDI Bengali Abhishek Majumdar
6 THEATRE CLOSED
7 SLEUTH English Pawan Kumar
8 SLEUTH English Pawan Kumar
9 SLEUTH English Pawan Kumar
10 SLEUTH English Pawan Kumar
11 SLEUTH English Pawan Kumar
12 SLEUTH English Pawan Kumar
13 THEATRE CLOSED
14 SATTAVARA NERALU 277th Show Kannada B V Karanth
15 MR. FUNNY MAN English P D Sathish Chandra
16 MADNESS English Nayantara Roy
17 MADNESS English Nayantara Roy
18 ALEGALLALI RAJA HAMSAGALU Kannada Ravindra Poojari
19 KOLALU BHOOMIGEETHA Kannada B R Venkataramana Aithal
20 THEATRE CLOSED
21 A HEAP OF BROKEN IMAGES English Girish Karnad & K M Chaitanya
22 A HEAP OF BROKEN IMAGES English Girish Karnad & K M Chaitanya
23 A HEAP OF BROKEN IMAGES English Girish Karnad & K M Chaitanya
24 ODAKALU BIMBA Kannada Girish Karnad & K M Chaitanya
25 ODAKALU BIMBA Kannada Girish Karnad & K M Chaitanya
26 ODAKALU BIMBA Kannada Girish Karnad & K M Chaitanya
27 THEATRE CLOSED 28 EDDELU & MEDEA Kannada Soumya Varma
29 ROMEO & JULIET English Nandini Rao 30 ROMEO & JULIET English Nandini Rao

For tickets, contact: Ranga Shankara,36/2, 8th Cross, J P Nagar 2nd Phase, 7.30 pm. (Ph 26592777).

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Thursday, June 16, 2005

Needed: A Logo Designer.

Needed: A creative person to design the logo.
Requirement: Genuine interest in aviation.
For: A new aviation industry association.
Commercial: Since the association is just booting up, the work would be pro bono.

Anyone interested please get in touch with me (9886178995) asap.

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Wednesday, June 15, 2005

Innovation and India: A Humbling Experience.

BusinessWeek is planning a special issue on India in the near future. Pete Engardio, International Business Senior Editor of BusinessWeek is currently in India to understand the emergence of India as an example of innovation and India's ability to contribute to the new world through the power of innovation. In that context, yesterday MindTree hosted a round table on the subject for the understanding of BusinessWeek, involving leaders impacting the practice and outcome of innovation.

The venue was: MindTree West Campus, Global Village, RVCE Post, Bangalore. Pretty difficult to find actually, esp. because the Mysore road is being widened. Somehow managed to find it eventually and made it on time.



Participants:
# Arun Chandavarkar, Chief Marketing Office, BioSciences, Biocon
# John Kuruvilla, Chief Revenue Officer, Air Deccan
# Prof. S Sadagopan, Director, IIITB
# Srini Rajam, ITTIAM Systems
# Ashok Soota, Mindtree Consulting
# Dr Devi Shetty, Narayana Hrudayalaya
# Bob Hoekstra, Philips Software
# Swami Krishnan, Sasken

The round table explored the following points:

# Is India going to emerge as an example of innovation?
# Do we see the emergence of a new breed of companies, institutions and individuals who are leading innovation?
# Is there an ecosystem developed in India that will create a network of ideas, which will lead to innovation?
# Where do we see bottleneck and challenges in unleashing the spirit of innovation?
# Will India be able to harness the power of innovation to differentiate itself with other competitive forces in the global economy?

While we are talking about innovation in India, here is a neat summary of best practices in India. But coming back to the discussion, it was a neat experience hearing from seasoned professionals who are all with highly innovative companies. A catchy line from Ashok Soota's presentation: "India invented zero, but we didn't patent it. Never mind that. The current IT/software/outsoursing industry boom is our way of collecting royalty!"

The person who really blew me away is Dr Devi Shetty. What a man! What incredible work! The way he unfolded his/Narayan Hrudyalya's current work and future vision just swept everyone off their feet. His work is at the now-proverbial 'bottom of the pyramid'. His premise is that a lot of research is happening to come up with better, newer medical technologies, techniques and drugs. But what about the affordability? All these newer technologies and medicines are only more expensive than the previous generation and hence within the reach of the rich only. Dr Shetty's goal is to reach out to the masses. Some examples of his work:
# Any baby less than a month old and in need of ANY kind of operation is operated upon for free. The logic? This: New-born babies do not belong to the parents, they belong to the society. Hence, its a responsibility of the society to take care of the new-born baby.
# He talked about Yeshasvini, a health insurance plan at only 5 Rs (11 cents) a month. That insures the farmer against any kind of operation. And at that low cost, the plan was in the money to the tune of a qaurter million dollar last year!
# Telemedicine
# BioCare Clinic in villages in tie-up with Biocon. Trying to incentivize doctors to stay in rural areas.
# Digital X-rays. I forgot the exact type/name of the X-rays he talked about, but apparently it costs 37 lacs (3.7 million) rupees to do that currently by traditional methods. His plan is to reduce the cost to 10,000 Rs by making it a digital plate process, and hence you could take n number of X-rays at zero marginal cost. Moreoever, you dont need a radiologist to do this. Any trained ward-boy can do it.
# Finally, he showed a slide of a Sewer Cleaner in Bangalore.


Whenever sewers get choked, these sewer cleaners go inside the sewer to clean it up. In Kannada, they workers are called Poura Karmika. The average life expectancy of a Sewage Cleaner? 35 years. Why? Two reasons: a) Beacuse of the hepatitis (jaundice) disease he contracts from the repeated exposure to sewage, b) Because of alcohol: he has to get drunk before he gets into the sewer. There are 35000 of such sewer cleaners! And Dr Shetty goal is to make healthcare accessible to this man.

(Update - Sep 19, 2005: Times of India, Bangalore carried a story on the same topic on Sep 02, 2005: What a Shame for IT City! You can read the text version here and graphics version here. Also I've uploaded pic and article.)

Dr Shetty summed up his work's philospophy "If a solution is not affordable, its not a solution". You have made me look at life in a totally different light, Dr Shetty. And for that, I bow to you.

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Sunday, June 12, 2005

Interesting Architectures: Origins, Koramangala.

I just love this place called Origins in Koramangala.

Its located on the opposite side of and in between Indian Institute of Astrophysics and fabindia. It has come up in the last few months only (or at least thats when it grabbed my attention!) and seems to be a furniture store. Have to go in sometime and check it out. I'd seen it earlier twice from outside, and had loved it. Hence this time when I was returning from airport, as I had a camera with me, decided to snap a pic (click on pic for bigger version).


I want a house like that!

First striking feature is open-ness of the store: There's no (tall) boundary. Secondly, it is nested so very beautifully within greenery. The architect has taken optimal advantage of the already-present green cover. The store signboard is a metallic one with minimalist rectangular design that adds to the trendiness of the whole outlook. To top it all, the crimson-red color combined with sorta-swiss glass windows provides for a very foreign/un-Indian kinda look. You dont really see this kinda architecture in India. Not on the main-street anyway. If you haven't seen it already, do check it out sometime.

1 comments                                                                                              


Wednesday, June 08, 2005

Macau Rocks!

Writing this post from Hotel Taipa, Taipa Island in the beautufil city-state of Macau. Can't believe how nicely developed this place is! Known as the Las Vegas of Orient/Asia, this city-state has 17 casinos. Full of hills, thick vegetation, and very-modern infrastructure that includes long bridges across islands, F3 Grand Prix circuit tracks and much more, this place is a must visit on tourist circuit!

More later when I am back in a day. Gotta rush to catch a flight to KL now.

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Saturday, June 04, 2005

June Sunday Jam

This is from Guruskool Music.

"The June Sunday jam, free music concert, will be held on Sunday , June 5 at the Guru Nanak Bhavan, 5 pm onwards.

AHMAD CAMPAORE, the famous african drummer will peform a set at the June Sunday Jam.Other bands performing include Quasar ( rock), Inviktus ( melodic metal), Esperanto (Carnatrix), Speedblade (Thrash Metal) , Lounge Piranahas ( psychdelic rock) and Asura (Vedic Metal)

AHMAD CAMPAORE, percussionist extraordinaire : "I rock to the rhythms of Africa and roll with the melodies of the land of Pharaohs... ". Based in Marseilles, France he is one of the best known percussionists in the francophone world. Discovered in his teens by legendary New York guitarist Fred Firth he has never looked back. From a stellar role in Fred's rock opera "Helter Skelter" Ahmad Campaore has teamed up with luminaries like Reunion Island superstar Ti Fock, Egyptian dancer Karima and Scottish blues singer Maggie Hills, among others. All this while nurturing his own group Oriental Fusion and featuring in nine different groundbreaking albums.

He is in India to hone his skills on indian percussion and finalise distribution for his next album favouring the 'desi' flavour.India's first n' foremost world music band Baja guitarist-songwriter, Seedy P is his partner in rhyme n' rythm and the two have been flogging the deadbeat for what it is worth, reviving corpses in laidback Pondy. They are coming to B'lore to play at the Sunday Jam.

For performing or for more details, please check www.freedomjam.net "

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Friday, June 03, 2005

HBTI and Kanpur & 'Bunty Aur Babli'!

Through our Harcourtians Alumni group I got to know that the latest movie Bunty aur Babli (IMDB link) features HBTI building. To be specific, HBTI was shown as the venue of Ms India Beauty Pageant for Lucknow! It's good to see the erstwhile Manchester of India, but currently moribund Kanpur getting some limelight. More details in Harcourtians' mails:

"Manu wrote:
Sounds crazy!! Isn't it ? :-)

But this weekend I took some time off to go to a cinema hall and watch the most talked about movie Bunty aur Bubbly.

Well in the movie, I came across something totally unexepcted and was pleasantly surprised too. There was a full focus on our HBTI main building and the "Board" outside. Sadly, the movie suggests that HBTI is in Lucknow...And we get kicked off by Rani Mukherjee :-(....:-))It seem at some point of time HBTI was the venue of Ms India Beauty Pageant for Lucknow and our neighbours CSA were the venue for Kanpur...:-))

Truly it was great fun to see all the places of Lucknow and Kanpur on the celluloid. Plus not to mention how excited I was and talking about to all who were accompanying me to the movie...(After all, each one of us have a hidden kid in us)...I did manage to overdo in exhibiting my excitement.

Chao...though movie was a bit taxing in the middle...but it did give me very good feelings...Take Care...n Bye Manu.

Satyen wrote:
Actually, in this movie some shooting was planned in Lucknow. But due to time constraint the director rescheduled it at Kanpur itself with some alterations. Even Lucknow station was staged at Kanpur Central.

Although I am not a movie enthusiast, but HBTI shown in a bollywood movie seriously tempts me to watch this movie. Also, I heard that this movie has shots of "Thaggoo ke Laddoo", Bithoor, Somdatt Plaza etc. All included, it would be a fun.

Saurabh wrote:
Yes sir, Thaggoo ke Laddoo", Bithoor, Somdatt Plaza All this stuff is true. Actually the director of the movie Shaad is a Kanpurite.The movie has been shot at Motijheel and Parade too. :-)."

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June 05, 2005: Helmet Awareness Rally.

This is from International Fellowship of Motorcycling Rotarians, Bangalore (RID 3190)

"We are a motorcycling group of Rotarians in Bangalore, who meet regularly. One of our activities is to promote safe Motorcycling. We are supporting the recent move made by the Government of Karnataka in promoting the use of helmets for two wheeler riders. We have set up an online petition where about 500 people have already signed and supported the use of helmets. Kindly express your support by going to: http://www.petitiononline.com/helmets/petition.html .

We are conducting a Motorcycle Rally on Sunday, June 05, 2005 starting from the Queen Victoria Statue and cover about 30 Kms around Bangalore. The route map is attached below. The rally will commence from the Queens Statue on MG Road at 9 am and will be flagged off by the Traffic Commissioner of Police who has also given us his permission and extended support to conduct this rally. This Rally has been completely sponsored by Bajaj Auto.

In this connection we seek you support and patronage to make this public awareness campagian a success. We would greatly appreciate it if you can request your volunteers to actively participate in this rally by coming on their two wheelers. All participants are requested to assemble at the Queens Circle (MG Road) at 8.30 pm on Sunday, June 05, 2005. Wearing of helmets is mandatory for all riders and pillions.

We look forward to your active participation. If you have any questions, of if you need any additional information, please feel free to contact me at akshai AT jaamba.com or call 98450 26308.

Route Map
1. Cubbon Park- Queens Circle
2. Queens Road
3. Cunningham Road
4. Miller Road
5. Jayamahal Road
6. Ramana Maharshi Road
7. Chowdaiah Road (Sankey Road)
8. Malleswaram 18th Cross
9. Sampige Road
10. Majestic
11. Anand Rao Circle
12. Seshadri Road
13. Nrupatunga Road
14. Kalinga Rao Road (Mission Road)
15. Lalbagh Road
16. Krumbigal Road
17. Netturu Srinivasa Rao Road (South End Circle)
18. Jayanagar Shopping Complex
19. Siddapura Road
20. Marigowda Road (Towards St. Johns Hospital)
21. I A Cross Road (Koramangala)
22. 17th Main Road (100' Road Koramangala)
23. 8th Main Road, Koramangala
24. Inner Ring Road
25. Indiranagar - 100' Road
26. C M H Road (Towards Adarsh Theatre)
27. Swamy Vivekananda Road
28. Bhaskaran Road (Murphy Road)
29. Kensington Road
30. Dickenson Road
31. Kamraj Road
32. Queens Road
33. Cubbon Road
34. Police Wireless Ground/KSCA Queens Circle
"
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Thursday, June 02, 2005

June 1st: A Baby and A Business Born.

Yesterday I had a great time. Met up with Reem for lunch. There were two reasons for the lunch appointment: 1) As her law studies are over in Bangalore, she was leaving Bangalore today for Dubai for good. 2) It was my birthday. Even though Reem's a hard-core non-veggie, we decided to goto Gramin restaurant, voted as the best veg restaurant in Bangalore by Times Food Guide. Gramin is located at Raheja Arcade, Koramangala, near The Forum mall.

I had always wanted to gift Reem one of my favourite books NUTS!. Hence, before meeting her, I went to the Landmark at The Forum, but no damn edition of book was in stock! Tried for Moments of Truth by Jan Carlzon of Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS). Even that was outta stock. Anyhow, had a nice lunch at Gramin. We talked about anything and everything, most importantly the topic of 'Bangalore without her'. While talking about common friends Prathish and Reema who are expecting a baby, she said that their due date was June 10th. Anyways, in the end, as usual Reem had her way and my birthday treat turned into her treat to me!

Here comes the most interesting part: After the lunch, she said if I knew Woody's at JP Nagar. I said I did. She said lets go. I said, Let's! On the way she picked up loads of sweets, and flowers. When we reached Woody's, she said 'Hmm.. so that's the hospital' referring to the Malathi hospital opposite Woody's. And instead of going to Woody's, we headed to the hospital. When I asked a few questions, I was told not to ask so many questions. So there we go inside the hospital. And she inquired at the reception, not by name but by room number only. Total Secrecy! So finally, we goto this room and lo behold, who do I meet: Prathish and Reema! They just had a baby yesterday morning! So that was the surprise, Reem wanted me to meet this newborn baby who was born on the same day as my birthday! Oh Reem, you're never out of pleasant surprises. Old habits die hard! The baby, named June for the time being, is so cute! Spent sometime with Prathish, Reema, and the baby and then we left. Said final bye to Reem at The Forum, after which I had to goto the inauguration of the Indus Aviation Complex.

Indus Aviation have opened world's first aircraft showroom in Bangalore (News items: Business Standard, Financial Express, Mid-Day, Hindu, Deccan Herald and more. Good PR job, Divya [Hanmer and Partners]!). Its located at 80 ft road, Koramangala. (Landmarks: Opposite IBP petrol pump; Near National Games Villages; Near Feast of Asia restaurant, and also adjacent to Chandni Chowk restaurant). I had earlier written about my visit to the aircraft manufacturing facility where the aircraft in showroom was manufactured. Indus are selling aviation to the people, and not aircraft, a philosophy which is great considering that general aviation (GA) in India is not all that happening and aviation awareness is still quite low. The merchandise, all related to aviation, on offer was pretty neat: there were mugs, t-shirts, books, DVDs, pilot gear, instruments, aeromodels (by my very good friend Adarsh N). The best though was aircraft-embedded crystal cubes (sorta like this). I am definitely going back to buy that stuff. Met a lot of people there. Also met Dr Ram Pattisapu for the first time even though we had talked earlier on phone. Met quite a few others with whom I've interacted online over the time but never had met them. Notable amongst them was Kartikey, who had come down from Gujarat. A CPL holder from USA, he's currently based at Valsad/Surat, and thinking of setting up a hobby flying school/Charter operations. Nita also had come down to experience the store. Overall, the General Aviation store is a brilliant concept which in my opinion will defnitely fly. Yesterday was invite-only inauguration of the showroom. It opens to public on June 10. Do check the goodies out then.

So, in addition to my birthday, June 01, 2005 saw a baby born to a friend couple and a new business being born! Its nice when you can associate events with key dates in your life.

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Wednesday, June 01, 2005

Get the hell outta ma way!

Seems like a right-of-way problem here! This is an airport at Antananarivo, Madagascar through which a railway track runs! And since there are no crossing barriers :-), predicatbly, there are issues with who will go across first! Would love to visit this place :)

(Source AVWeb)



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