india perspectives - april 2012

iNDiAVOL 26 NO. 1 APRIL 2012

perspectives

Cover Story

Joyous Beginnings

Heritage

Regal Marwari

PartnerSHiPS

Forging Friendship

verbatim

N.R. Narayana Murthy

inside

APRIL 2012INDIA THIS MONTH

April 1-14TULIP FESTIVALThe tulip garden, thelargest in Asia, is at itsbest during the festival.Enjoy folk music,shopping for localhandicrafts and Kashmiricuisine on the sidelines.Where: Indira GandhiMemorial Tulip Garden,Srinagar

April 1-6MAHAVIRJI FAIRHeld to honour Mahavira,a Jain saint, it is knownfor its rath yatra, aceremonial procession inwhich the deity is carriedin a golden chariot pulledby bullocks to a river fora ritual bath. Where: Chandangaon,near Jaipur

April 4-May 27IPL SEASON 5India’s mega cricketingevent will feature around75 matches played by atotal of nine teams.Bollywood stars willenthrall the audienceduring the openingceremony at YMCACollege of PhysicalEducation, Chennai.Where: 12 major citiesacross India

April 22-May 4CHITHIRAI FESTIVALThe popular festivalattracts over a millionvisitors. It celebrates thewedding of Lord Shivaand Goddess Meenakshiwith colourful rituals anda grand procession. Where: MeenakshiTemple, Madurai

April 8EASTERThe mass at the MaryImmaculate ConceptionChurch, Panjim, attractsthe largest crowd.Colorful carnivals withstreet plays, songs,dances continue for aweek or two.Where: Goa, Mumbai andNortheastern states

April 9-10SHAD SUK MYNSIEMIt marks the start of thesowing season and is afarewell to the harvestseason. Men and womenof the Khasi tribe dressedin traditional clothesdance to the music ofdrums, flutes and pipescalled, tangmuri.Where: Weiking Ground,Shillong

April 2NEMMARA VALLANGI VELAA procession of beautifullycaparisoned elephantsand fireworks are part ofthe annual festival. The villages of Nemmara andVallangi compete witheach other to introducenew techniques in thefirework displays. Where: Palakkad, Kerala

April 10-14SANKAT MOCHAN MUSIC FESTIVALCelebrated to mark thebirthday of Hanuman.Plays and performancesby music maestroscontinue through thenight up to dawn. Where: Sankat MochanTemple, Varanasi

03APRIL 2012 u INDIA PERSPECTIVES

editorialnote

t is hazardous to speak about India’s ancient civilisation, its many religions, its numerousethnicities and its myriad languages and dialects. Always, the risk of lapsing into clichéslurks round the corner. And yet, the sheer magic of our country’s diversity provides sucha compelling narrative that we can’t resist the temptation of bringing yet another facet to

our readers. Take a simple event like New Year.A host of communities spread across the length and breadth of the Indian subcontinent

celebrate New Year — each in its own inimitable fashion. According to the official calendar,which is used along side the Gregorian calendar by the government, New Year falls on thefirst day of the month of Chaitra (the spring equinox). From Kashmir in the north toKarnataka in the south this is the day the New Year is ushered in, though the celebrationsare dyed in local colour and customs.

On the eve of new year or Navreh, Kashmiris prepare a plate bearing rice, a cup of curds,a bread, some walnuts, an inkpot, a pen, a silver coin and a panchang - an astrologicalalmanac. They wake up in the early hours to look at it in the hope that this will bring themgood fortune in the coming year.

In Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, new year day is called Ugadi and is marked by thepreparation of a special dish that is a mix of six tastes which correspond to six experiences— sadness, happiness, anger, fear, disgust and surprise — that the year may bring, all ofwhich should be faced with equanimity. The dish consists of neem flowers (bitter/sadness),jaggery and ripe banana pieces (sweet/happiness), green chillies (hot/anger), salt(saltiness/fear), tamarind juice (sour/disgust) and unripe mango (tang/surprise).

Some regions celebrate New Year a month later in mid-April, because this is the first dayaccording to the Vikram Samvat calendar, which is in use for religious purposes. Amongthem are West Bengal, where it is known as Poila Baishakh and Assam where it iscelebrated as Bohaag Bihu. On the same day, Punjab celebrates Baisakhi, Kerala Vishu andTamil Nadu Varsha Pirappu, all different names for New Year Day.

In Punjab, the Sikhs celebrate Baisakhi to mark, not just the new year but also thesymbolic creation of the Khalsa faith and the start of the harvest season. The devoutcelebrate the festival with hymns and prayers at the gurdwara and religious processionsthrough the main streets of the city, while villages reverberate with the beats of drums andthe unbridled energy of bhangra dancers.

The connections established by calendars and festivals don’t just link the differentregions of India. Ties of history and culture transcend national borders and manifestthemselves in the celebrations of these festivals in countries like Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia and Laos.

Happy New Year, Indian style.

Navdeep Suri

I

April 2012 n VOL 26 No. 1/2012

iNDiAperspectives

Editor: Navdeep SuriAssistant Editor: Abhay Kumar

MEDIA TRANSASIA TEAM

Editor-in-Chief: Maneesha Dube

Creative Director: Bipin Kumar

Desk: Urmila Marak

Editorial Coordinator: Kanchan Rana

Design: Ajay Kumar (Sr. Designer), Sujit Singh

Production: Sunil Dubey (DGM), Ri tesh Roy (Sr. Manager)Brijesh K. Juyal (Pre-Press Operator)

Chairman: J.S. Uberoi

President: Xavier Collaco

Financial Controller: Puneet Nanda

Send editorial contributions and letters to Media Transasia India Ltd.

323, Udyog Vihar, Phase IV, Gurgaon 122016

Haryana, India

E-mail: [email protected]

Telephone: 91-124-4759500

Fax: 91-124-4759550

India Perspectives is published every month in Arabic, Bahasa Indonesia, Bengali,English, French, German, Hindi, Italian,Pashto, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, Sinhala, Spanish, Tamil, Turkish, Urdu andVietnamese. Views expressed in the articles are those of the contributors and not necessarily those of the Ministry of External Affairs.

This edition is published for the Ministry ofExternal Affairs by Navdeep Suri, Joint Secretary, Public Diplomacy Division,New Delhi, 140 ‘A’ Wing, Shastri Bhawan, New Delhi-110001.Telephones: 91-11-23389471, 91-11-23388873, Fax: 91-11-23385549

Website: http://www.indiandiplomacy.in

Text may be reproduced with anacknowledgement to India Perspectives

For a copy of India Perspectives contact the nearest Indian diplomatic mission. 6

APRIL 2012

COVER PHOTO: BHANGRA, THE TRADITIONAL FOLK DANCE FROM PUNJAB / DINODIA COVER DESIGN: BIPIN KUMAR


46

34

30

COVER STORY:JOYOUS BEGINNINGSThe New Year is celebrated in April in many parts of the country; the day is a reflection of the rich and diverse culture of India

Calendar 2

Essay: An Alluring Persona 16

Global Perspectives: India-Africa 22

Partnerships: Forging Friendship 26

Book Extract: A Journey in Time 30

Heritage: Regal Marwari 34

Travel: Assam’s Wild Side 38

Foreign Brands: The Local Mantra 40

REVIEWS:

Exhibition: The Sacred and the Sensual 44

Film: Home away from home 45

Verbatim: N.R. Narayana Murthy 46

6

Women dance to the beatsof drums during RongaliBihu in Assam

Joyous BeginningsThe New Year is celebrated in April in many parts of the country; the day is

a reflection of local customs and the rich and diverse culture of India

TEXT: URMILA MARAK

COVER STORY

From Kashmir in the north to Kerala in the south,the Hindu New Year is synonymous withcelebrations. Though India has a rich and diverseculture, festivities across the length and breadth

of the country are touched with a certain commonality.Everywhere homes are cleaned and decorated, newclothes bought and worn, visits are made to elders topay respects, jewellery is purchased and new ventureslaunched. Prayers, music and dance, offerings, feasts andfireworks mark the moment. According to the Saka calendar, which is used

alongside the Gregorian calendar, by the Government ofIndia for calendars and communications, the Gazette ofIndia and news broadcasts by All India Radio, the NewYear falls on the first day of the month of Chaitra (see boxMarch of Months) and its year zero begins in 78 CE. Theday coincides with the vernal equinox. India’s officialcalendar follows the Shalivahan Shak calendar alsoknown as the Saka calendar. In this, the year is structuredlike the Persian calendar and a leap year in the Gregoriancalendar is a leap year in the Saka calendar as well.The history of calendars in India is a complex one

given the continuity of the country’s civilisation and thediversity of cultural influences. References to a lunisolarcalendar divided into months are found in the hymns of the Rig Veda, which was composed between 1,700 and 1,100 BCE. In the first few centuries of theCommon Era, as information on advances in Babylonianand Greek astronomy filtered into India, Indianastronomers — among them Aryabhata (5th centuryCE), Varahamihira (6th century) and Bhaskara (12thcentury) — adopted new astronomical constants andmodels for the motion of the Moon and Sun, whichcontributed to the development of the Hindu calendar.The early theories, principles and methods of Indianastronomy were put down in treatises known assiddhantas, among them is the Surya Siddhanta, whichoriginated in the fourth century and has influenced

Men and women take part in a processionduring Gudi Padwa in Mumbai

INDIA PERSPECTIVES u APRIL 201208

AFP

MARCH OF MONTHSThe Saka calendar, the official calendar of India, used alongside theGregorian calendar and the VikramSamvat, which is the religious calendarof Hindus, have 12 months. The names of the months are: Chaitra (March-April). Baishakh (April-May) Jyaishtha (May-June) Ashadha (June-July) Shravana (July-August) Bhadrapada (August-September) Ashvin (September-October) Kartika (October-November) Margashirsha (November-December) Pousha (December-January) Magha (January-February) Phalguna (February-March).

Indian calendar makers up to and even after thecalendar reform of 1957. Moreover, all forms of theBuddhist calendar are based on the original version ofthe Surya Siddhanta, these include those used inSoutheast Asian countries of Thailand, Cambodia, Laos,Myanmar and Sri Lanka. In 1947, when India gained Independence, like most

other things in the multi-cultural, multi-faith, multi-lingualand multi-regional country there were a number ofcalendars in use. The Indian Calendar ReformCommittee, appointed in 1952, identified more than 30of them; these were in addition to the Islamic calendarused by Muslims in India and the Gregorian calendarused by the Indian government for administrativepurposes. Based on the Surya Siddhanta, the Indiancalendars were used for setting religious festivals forHindus, Buddhists, and Jains, as also civil dating. Amongthem were the Vikrama and Shalivahana calendars andtheir regional variations, like the solar calendar used inTamil Nadu and Kollavarsham calendar in Kerala. India’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, in his

preface to the Report of the Committee, which waspublished in 1955, wrote: “They (different calendars)represent past political divisions in the country… nowthat we have attained Independence, it is obviouslydesirable that there should be a certain uniformity inthe calendar for our civic, social and other purposes andthis should be done on a scientific approach to thisproblem.” So after five years of sifting throughnumerous regional and religious calendars and studyingastronomical data, in1957, the Calendar ReformCommittee, with astrophysicist Meghnad Saha as itshead, adopted the Saka calendar as the official calendar.It was part of the Indian Ephemeris and NauticalAlmanac that contained timings and formulae forpreparing Hindu religious calendars. Usage of thiscalendar officially started on Chaitra 1, 1879 Saka Era,or March 22, 1957. However, the Gregorian calendar

A boy performs during Baisakhi


AFP

was and is still used for administrative purposes, andholidays are determined according to regional, religious,and ethnic traditions.Interestingly, the Saka calendar was used in Javanese

courts until 1633, when a hybrid Javanese-Islamic, theAnno Javanico calendar, replaced it. The Saka Era hasalso aided historians in dating the Laguna CopperplateInscription (LCI), the earliest written document found inthe Philippines. The LCI has inscribed on it a date in theSaka Era calendar, year of Siyaka 822, month ofWaisaka, the fourth day of the waning moon, whichcorresponds to Monday, April 21, 900 CE in theGregorian calendar. The discovery of the plate hasprovided evidence of cultural links between thePhilippines and kingdoms in ancient India. Apart from the Saka and Gregorian calendars, in use

in India today is the Vikrama calendar, which is widelyused for religious purposes. The Vikram Samvat or erawas founded by emperor Vikramaditya of Ujjainfollowing his victory over the Sakas in 56 BCE. A lunarcalendar, it is based on ancient Hindu tradition and is56.7 years ahead (in count) of the Gregorian calendar.In Northern India, the calendar starts with the first dayafter the new moon in the month of Chaitra(March/April). But in Western India the same era beginswith the new moon of the month of Kartika(October/November). In Nepal, where it is the officialcalendar, it begins in mid-April and marks the start ofthe solar New Year. The differences in the dates of the New Year can be

explained by the precession of the Earth’s axis. Thetraditional Vedic calendar used to start with the month ofAgrahayan (agrah meaning first and ayan meaningtravel of the sun) or Margashirsha (October-November).This is the month where the Sun crosses the equator, i.e.the vernal equinox. Due to the precession of the Earth’saxis, the vernal equinox now corresponds to the monthof Chaitra (March-April). Thus, some calendars start withChaitra as the first month, which is the present-daymonth of the vernal equinox. The shift in the vernal

(Clockwise from top) A priest distributes bevu bella, (a preparation ofneem and jaggery) to devotees during Ugadi in Mysore; a child prays infront of the Vishukkani (an arrangement of auspicious objects) on Vishu;a woman carries the Baharana Sahib (a plate with an oil lamp, sugar,cardamom and fruits) during Sindi New Year


PHOTO: INDIA PICTURE

HUE OF CELEBRATIONSThe Hindu New Year is celebrated across India on the first day of the month of Chaitra, which according to the Gregorian calendar falls in March-April. It marks the advent of spring and is linked with the agricultural cycle – the harvest or the sowing season. New Year in Maharashtra and Goa is called GudiPadwa. Celebrated on the first day of Chaitra, it takes its name from the gudi that is hoisted from balconies or windows. The gudi is a pole bearing agreen or yellow cloth with a brocade border at its tip placed on an inverted metal vessel, a string of decorative sugar crystals, margosa leaves, mangoleaves and a garland of flowers. On this day, the speciality prepared is shirkhand, a sweet yogurt preparation.

In the south Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, Ugadi, which falls on the first day of Chaitra, marks the beginning of New Year. Devoteesthrong temples for prayers on that day. In Andhra Pradesh, Ugadi pachadi is prepared; it is a hand pounded mix of raw mango, raw banana, tamarind,fresh margosa flowers, chilli, sugarcane pieces, jaggery and salt. The mix of ingredients indicates that the year will have a mixture of all experiences.In the second month of Baisakh is the harvest festival or Baisakhi, which falls on April 13. It is celebrated in north India, especially in Punjab; it is also

a religious festival for the Sikh community as it was on Baisakhi day in 1699 that the Khalsa, a Sikh brotherhood of saint-soldiers was founded. Devoteespray at the gurdwara, the Sikh temple of worship. The most exuberant part of the celebrations is the bhangra, a vigorous dance performed by men incolourful attire. It is also a day of feasting.

Again, down south in Kerala, the first day of the New Year is celebrated as Vishu on April 14. The most important ritual first thing in the morning isviewing the Vishukkani – an arrangement of auspicious objects including rice, a lemon, betel leaves, flowers, a scripture, a metal vessel, a lightedtraditional lamp in the worship room. Children celebrate the day with firecrackers and elders gift them money as way of blessing them. A grand sadya(feast) is prepared in every household.

In the northeastern state of Assam, Rongali Bihu falls on April 14, but the festivities continue for a week. It is celebrated with Bihu songs and dancesperformed in the fields, on road-sides and over stages constructed for the occasion. It is also a time for fairs and feasting.

—Brinda Gill

equinox by nearly four months, calculated according tothe movement of the stars, shows that the originalnaming conventions may date to the fourth or fifthmillennium BCE, since the period of precession in theEarth’s axis is about 25,800 years.Both the Vikrama and the Shalivahana have annual

cycles of 12 months, each month is divided into twophases: the ‘bright half’ (shukla paksha) or when themoon waxes and the ‘dark half’ (krishna paksha) whenit wanes. Thus, the period beginning from the first dayafter the new moon and ending on the full moon dayconstitutes the shukla paksha or ‘bright part’ of themonth; the period beginning from the day after the fullmoon and including the next new moon day constitutesthe krishna paksha or ‘dark part’ of the month. Whileeach month in the Shalivahana calendar begins with the‘bright half’ and is followed by the ‘dark half’, theopposite obtains in the Vikrama calendar. The names of the 12 months, as also their sequence,

are the same in both calendars; however, the New Yearis celebrated at separate points during the year. TheVikrama calendar begins with the month of Baishakh(April) or Kartik (October/November) in Gujarat. InGujarat, Diwali is held on the final day of the Vikramacalendar and the next day marks the beginning of theNew Year and is also referred as Annakut or NutanVarsh or Bestu Varsh. The Shalivahana calendar beginswith the month of Chaitra (March) and the Ugadi inKarnataka and Andhra Pradesh and Gudi Padwa inMaharashtra and Goa mark the New Year.So be it March, April or October/November, it is

possible to join New Year celebrations somewhere orthe other in India. Baisakhi in Punjab, Bihu in Assam,Vishu in Kerala, Ugadi in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh,Gudi Padwa in Maharashtra and Goa, VishuwaSankaranti in Orissa, New Year is known by differentnames in different parts of the country, but everywhereit is celebrated to ensure peace, harmony and goodfortune. Happy New Year. n

(From extreme left) Young girls in their traditionalfinery on Bengali New Year; a mother and child posein front of the fire temple on Nowruz


PHOTOS: AFP

JAMSHEDI NOWRUZParsis, followers of Zoroaster, arrived in Indiafrom Iran in the 9th Century. Zoroastrians ring inthe New Year, Jamshedi Nowruz, named afterthe legendary King Jamshed of Persia, on March21. It marks the advent of spring and the springequinox. Celebrations involve the setting up of abeautiful Haft Sin table, which is laden withmany symbolic objects and ingredients,signifying plentifulness. Nowruz is alsocelebrated later in the year by some ParsiZoroastrians according to their calendar (thisyear, it falls on August 18) after marking ten daysof prayers for the dead and Pateti, the day ofrepentance. Both these New Year Days arewelcomed with prayers at the fire temple, givingto charity, meeting family and friends, wearingnew clothes and traditional feasts.


PERSONAAN ALLURING

ESSAY

Maulana Azad was a man whose life andwork have an enduring relevance for ourcountry. Great men and women, havetimeless messages. Azad was one of

them. Popularly known as Maulana Azad, MaulanaAbdul Kalam Muhiyuddin Ahmed was born in Mecca onNovember 11, 1888. He adopted azad (free) as hispen name, his birth anniversary is celebrated as NationalEducation Day in India. Azad, a man of many facets —scholar, poet, journalist, freedom fighter and leader ofthe Indian National Congress — was an adept linguistable to communicate in Arabic, English, Urdu, Hindi,Persian and Bengali. Azad was groomed to become a Muslim clergyman.

However, he shaped his own life in a different mannerand bloomed into a valiant freedom fighter; an apostleof Hindu-Muslim unity; and a builder of modern India.He rose on the national scene quite early in life. WorldWar-I led to the military occupation of Istanbul (thenConstantinople) and abolition of the caliphate, whichhad a religious importance for Muslims all over theworld. The sympathy of Indian Muslims, particularlySunni Muslims, with Turkey and the Ottoman caliphate,was sincere, deep and widespread. Azad gaveexpressions to all these in an Urdu magazine, Al-Hilal,established and edited by him in 1912.

An innate spirit of freedom and the indifference of the British rulers towards the plight of the commonpeople of India made him a rebel. In Mahatma Gandhi,19 years his senior, he found a friend. The fact that Gandhi too supported the Khilafat movementbrought them closer. Azad became an enthusiasticsupporter of Gandhi and his ideals of non-violence andcivil disobedience. He too started non-cooperationmovements at various places as a Congress activist.The British were quick to see him as an enemy of

formidable prowess. After Al-Hilal was banned in 1914,Azad started another weekly Al-Balagh, this was bannedtwo years later. He was expelled from his hometownCalcutta and interned in Ranchi in 1916 – a ban thatwas lifted only after the conclusion of the World War-I.When Azad was barely 35, his colleagues in the Indian

National Congress chose him to be president at a specialsession held in Delhi in 1923. He was elected Congresspresident at a session in Ramgarh in 1940, andcontinued to lead the Indian National Congress till 1946.This was an extraordinary display of confidence, as therewere several claimants to this high office.Two contrasting visions about the future of India

predominated the freedom struggle: one, advocatingintegrity of India based on Hindu-Muslim unity; theother, the creation of Pakistan based on two-nation

BALMIKI PRASAD SINGH

theory. These sentiments found powerful exposition inthe Congress presidential address made by Azad andthe Muslim League presidential address delivered byMuhammad Ali Jinnah in 1940.Azad asserted: “It was India’s historic destiny that

many human races and cultures should flow to her,finding a home in her hospitable soil, and that many acaravan should find rest here…. Eleven hundred yearsof common history (of Islam and Hinduism) haveenriched India with our common achievements. Ourlanguages, our poetry, our literature, our culture, ourart, our dress, our manners and customs… everythingbears the stamp of our joint endeavour…. Thesethousand years of our joint life have moulded us intoa common nationality… whether we like it or not, wehave now become an Indian nation, united andindivisible. No fantasy or artificial scheming to separateand divide can break this unity”.The vision of Muhammad Ali Jinnah was sharply

different: “It is a dream that Hindus and Muslims canevolve a common nationality and this misconceptionof one Indian nation has gone far beyond the limits,and is the cause of most of our troubles, and will leadIndia to destruction, if we fail to revise our actions intime. The Hindus and Muslims belong to two differentreligious philosophies, social customs and literature.They neither inter-marry, nor inter-dine together, andindeed they belong to two different civilisations whichare based mainly on conflicting ideas and conceptions.Their aspects on and of life are different”.These two statements were the manifestos of the

Congress and the Muslim League. The conflict overthese visions became central to the outcome of thefreedom struggle. In many ways, we are still grapplingwith the legacies of these notions.On June 3, 1947, the British announced a proposal

to partition India and Pakistan on religious lines, with theprincely states free to choose between either dominion.Jinnah won the day, and his vision became a reality andthe rest is history. However, while Jinnah claimedsuccess, a sizeable portion of the Muslim community

preferred Azad’s ideas. The Partition was not only apolitical tragedy but also a civilisation failure. Azadadvocated that religion must not be used as aninstrument for gaining political power but fortransformation of the human soul. He had then declared,“God alone knows what is in the womb of the future.”And yet, history of the freedom struggle would be

incomplete without appreciation of the contrasting roles ofMuhammad Ali Jinnah and Azad. The saga of the freedomstruggle would have been different both in character andcontent without the inspiring presence of Azad. As amember of the Constituent Assembly that draftedIndia’s Constitution, Azad was instrumental in enshriningprinciples of secularism, religious freedom and equalityfor all Indians in the Constitution.He became India’s first education minister in the

council of ministers headed by prime minister JawaharlalNehru. He, along with Nehru, was one of the founders ofthe first Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur, in1951, and the University Grants Commission, New Delhi,in 1953. He foresaw a great future in IITs for India’sprogress. As culture minister, he helped establish SangeetNatak Akademy (1953) for promotion of drama andmusic, Sahitya Akademi (1954) for promotion of Indianliterature, and Lalit Kala Akademi (1954) for promotion of painting and sculpture and to strengthen the vibrancyand independence of our artists and scholars. Theseinstitutions were established to provide public space fornational conversations in their respective fields of activity.Nehru and Azad approached India’s policy in the

realm of culture with considerable sensitivity that wasamply reflected in the introduction of cultural pageantryat the Republic Day parade and the state purchase ofworks of art for the national and regional museums. Onoccasions similar to our Republic Day, several countrieshold impressive military parades to demonstrate theirarmed strength to the world. Azad and Nehru thoughtit would be appropriate for India to display its culturalstrength along with its military power. This has sincebeen adopted by several other countries.In June 1948, Nehru chanced upon a large number


“Elevenhundred years of common history (of Islam andHinduism) have enriched India with our common achievements. Ourlanguages, our poetry, our literature, our culture, our art, our dress,our manners and customs… everything bears the stamp of our jointendeavour.…These thousand years of our joint life have moulded usinto a common nationality… whether we like it or not, we have nowbecome an Indian nation, united and indivisible.”

APRIL 2012 u INDIA PERSPECTIVES 19

Mahatma Gandhi with Maulana Azad

DINODIA IMAGES


Azad, a man of many facets — scholar, poet, journalist,freedom fighter and leader of the Indian National Congress — wasgroomed to become a Muslim clergyman. However, he shaped hisown life in a different manner and bloomed into a valiant freedomfighter; an apostle of Hindu-Muslim unity; and a builder of modernIndia. He rose on the national scene quite early in life.

Maulana Azad Library at Aligarh Muslim University, Uttar Pradesh


of paintings of the mother-daughter duo of Hungarianartists, Sass and Elizabeth Brunner in Nainital. Hepurchased a few paintings. On his return, he wrote toAzad recommending eight of their paintings to beacquired by the Government for Rs 15,000 (asindicated by the artists). When this was communicatedto the experts, they felt that the price was too high. A series of letters and notes were exchanged, but the

experts did not yield to the price asked by the artists.This compelled Nehru to observe that if the governmentwas unable to pay for the paintings, he would pay forthem himself. In a minute, on September 23, 1948,Azad closed the matter saying: “The bill for the paintingsmay be sanctioned and the price asked for may begiven to the artists.” This kind of sensitivity and high levelof attention in purchasing these paintings, besidesrespecting the opinions of officials and experts, pavedthe way for the constitution of the Art PurchaseCommittee for government museums under thechairmanship of the vice-president of India.True to his name, Maulana Azad, which literally

means master of dialogue, was a gifted speaker. Primeminister Indira Gandhi, would recall that whenever Azadstayed at Anand Bhavan, the breakfast table would befull; many would even eat standing to hear him. Azadhad a wonderful ability to succinctly reduce longnarrations into a phrase or two, which had great impact. Azad served India admirably and combined in

himself the qualities of a freedom fighter, a thinker ofextraordinary ability and a nation-builder. Nehru aptlyreferred to him as “Mir-i-Karawan (the caravan leader),a very brave and gallant gentleman, a finished productof culture that in these days, pertains to few”.On August 15, 1947, India’s top five leaders were:

Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar VallabhbhaiPatel, Maulana Azad and Rajendra Prasad. Gandhi wasassassinated on January 30, 1948. The indomitableSardar Patel, who played a sterling role in the integrationand stability of the Indian nation-state, passed away onDecember 15, 1950. This left the triumvirate of Nehru,Azad and Prasad to give direction and guidance to thecountry. Together they worked to keep India united.

These leaders were deeply conscious that India canremain one only as a secular state. Nehru, in particular,went on to emphasise these secular values frequentlyand several of the chief ministers followed him. Yearsafter the death of these stalwarts, the legacy ofmaintaining peace and harmony among Hindus andMuslims remained the foremost task of the districtmagistrates and the superintendents of police in theirrespective districts. As a district magistrate in early1970s, I recall how promptly we acted to tackle thecommunal virus whenever it sought to raise its uglyhead. In hindsight, I feel that we might not haveremained a liberal democracy or a strong united nationif secularism was not emphasised in a manner that wasdone in the early years of the new Indian nation-state.Azad, the scholar-statesman of our times was a

person, “To whom India was unity and its peopleIndians whatever other diversity among them theremight be…”?Azad’s life, belief and attitudes are an enduring

reminder of how an individual can rise above parochialinterests and community ties to enlightened citizenship.Azad symbolises how the higher instincts of nationalismcan overcome the often unhealthy and exclusiveattachments that we have to our localities and ourinherited prejudices. India may fulfill its greatness throughits economic prowess, its political stability and its socialachievements. Yet, India will only realise the fullness of itsdestiny when Indians learn to look beyond sectarianismand see their community and communal progress linkedto the wholeness that the phrase Mother India implies.That integrated vision was what Azad perceived in

the ideas and ideals of Mahatma Gandhi and theFreedom Movement — ideas and ideals that haveserved this country well for decades. The best tributewe can pay to this man of ideas and action is to thinkof ways that will expand his approach and strengthenIndia. For ideas and ideals also have to be refreshed andre-integrated from time to time.

—An abridged version of the Maulana Azad Memorial Lecturedelivered by the Governor of Sikkim, who is also a distinguished

scholar, thinker and public servant


Besides forging enduring relations, deals worth billions were struckat the India-Africa business conclave

Building Businesses,

Creating ValueTEXT: MANISH CHAND

GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES


Afro-optimism is no longer a fashionable clichéspouted by diehard Africanists. The ongoingAfrican resurgence is gaining new converts by theday. This was more visible at the annual India-

Africa business conclave in New Delhi held from March18-20. It was not just deals worth billions that were struckhere, but enduring partnerships were forged, driven by thequest for mutual resurgence and co-development. The eight edition of the Confederation of Indian Industry

(CII)-EXIM Bank Conclave on India-Africa Project Partnershiplived up to its reputation as a key platform for leveragingbusiness synergies and economic complementaritiesbetween the two fastest growing regions in the world. Themaster theme of the conclave was: “Creating Possibilities;Delivering Values.”

Thirty-six ministers from over 20 African countriesaddressed the conclave, over 600 delegates from Africa andover 500 from India participated in the three-day jamboreeand 200 projects worth ̀ 1,539 billion were on the table. Theambition was soaring, with both sides setting a target ofscaling up bilateral trade by ` 4,617 billion by 2015. Theprojects straddled diverse areas, including agriculture, skilldevelopment, finance, infrastructure, information technology,manufacturing, mining, health, power, textiles, telecom,tourism, trade and transport. These projects included aproposal for setting up tomato production plants in Burundi,an upgraded cement plant in Djibouti, developing hydropowerin Mozambique and new railway lines in Rwanda. Placing the burgeoning business ties between India and

Africa in perspective, Commerce and Industry Minister

(From left): CII’s Director-GeneralChandrajit Banerjee, CII’s President

B. Muthuraman, Zimbabwe’s Vice-President Joice Mujuru, India’sMinister of Commerce and Industry

Anand Sharma, Central African Republic’s Prime Minister Faustin

Archangel Touadera, Ambassador ofZimbabwe Jonathan Wutawunashe,and Chairman, CII Africa Committee,

Syamal Gupta at the India-Africa conclave in Delhi

(Above) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with Vice-President of Zimbabwe Joice Mujuru (left) and Prime Minister of Central African Republic FaustinArchange Tauadera in New Delhi; and African delegates at the conclave



Anand Sharma underlined that deeper economiccooperation between the two sides will provide the growthimpetus to both the regions in times of the global economicdownturn. “We will have to act together. In doing so we willemerge as the engines of global economic recovery,” saidSharma in his keynote address. “A new eastern wind is blowing over our continent,” said

Central African Republic’s Prime Minister Faustin ArchangelTouadera, whose country, along with Zimbabwe, was theguest country at the conclave. Touadera stressed that thebilateral ties with India need to be revitalised through greaterinvestment flows, and technology sharing. Pitching forgreater investment from India, Zimbabwe’s Vice-PresidentJoice Mujuru said there is enormous scope for value-addedbusiness activities, specially in view of expected double digitGross Domestic Product growth in her country by 2015. EXIM Bank of India and the government of Central African

Republic signed an agreement for a new line of credit valuedat around ` 3,078 million which will be directed for projectsin agriculture and mining sectors.The overarching theme that underpinned the conclave

was forging and sustaining a multi-faceted developmentpartnership between India and Africa, once co-sharers in theanti-colonial struggle and now equal partners in co-scriptinga narrative of economic renaissance and renewal. India’sMinister of State for External Affairs Preneet Kaurencapsulated the essence of this blossoming partnership.“The tripod on which the India-Africa relationship standstoday with the resonance of South-South cooperation is thatof technology, investment and training,” she said. Mutual development was the reigning ethos. “We are

committed to work with Africa for fulfilling its developmentalaspirations and we know both the pain and the pleasure ofthe processes of development in a democratic frameworkfor multi-cultural and pluralistic societies.” The minister alsoexhorted both sides to move beyond traditional markets anddevelop new markets. India reaffirmed its commitment to fast-tracking the

establishment of over 100 training institutes. The traininginstitutes encompass areas from IT, foreign trade and

education, planning and administration, civil aviation andvocational training. India also plans to set up 32 institutionsat regional level and approximately 40 institutions at bilaterallevel. “Through interventions like this, African industry will bebetter placed to promote value-addition in their industrialand business sectors,” said Madhusudan Ganapathi,secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs. The last six months have seen an intensification of

bilateral engagement at multiple levels that includes theIndia-Africa Hydrocarbon Conference, India-Africa Scienceand Technology Ministers’ Conference.The focus is on adding greater economic content to the

India-Africa partnership. The launch of the India-AfricaBusiness Council, comprising leading business leaders of bothsides, is another milestone in this direction. The council is co-chaired by Sunil Bharti Mittal, chairman, Bharti Group, andAlhaji Aliko Dangote, president and chief executive, DangoteGroup, Nigeria. The CII, India’s apex business body, signedeight MoUs with business chambers from Cameroon,Rwanda, Gambia, Seychelles, Malawi, Ghana and SierraLeone. The conclave also sought to rope in the youth tosustain this partnership with over 25 young parliamentariansfrom African countries who participated in the three-day event. The joint pursuit for food security was another important

theme. “Innovative financing options for agriculture andirrigation will be crucial for spurring food production growth,”said Sanjay Kirloskar, chairman, Kirloskar Brothers Ltd. “GivenAfrica’s land and water resources, the continent could becomethe world’s bread basket,” he said. T.C.A. Ranganathan, chief of EXIM Bank of India, stressed

that even as Indian companies are increasing their footprintin African markets, Indian industry would do well tostrengthen the ‘Brand India’ presence in Africa. It is aboutover two billion dreams of young people in India and 54African nations. The annual conclave has acted as a forumfor miracles, says Jonathan Wutawunashe, Dean, AfricanDiplomatic Corps and Zimbabawe’s ambassador to India.“We are pursuing the right goals and our partnership shouldbecome more visible to the world,” said the envoy.

—Manish Chand is Editor, Africa Quarterly, and Senior Editor, IANS

EXIM Bank of India and the Central African Republicsigned an agreement for a new line of credit valued at

` 3,078 million for agricultural and mining projects

PARTNERSHIPS


The ITEC programme is an ideal platform for participants to interactwith fellow drafters from other countriesTEXT: MEENAKSHI KUMAR

Forging Friendship

ebates in Indian Parliament are driven anddramatic, discovered Jamiel Greenaway, a 28-year-old legislative drafter from Montserrat,West Indies, after visiting the Indian Legislature.

This was quite unlike in her country she found out. Greenaway is one of 40 students from 29 different

countries who are here to pursue an InternationalTraining Programme in Legislative Drafting at the Bureauof Parliamentary Studies and Training (BPST), New Delhi.Like many others in the group, she has chosen themonth-long course for the invaluable experience it willprovide. She believes her fledgling career as a drafter willget a boost after this experience.

The course conducted by the Ministry of ExternalAffairs (MEA) under the Indian Technical and EconomicCooperation (ITEC) programme for the last 27 years isunique. It gives participants a platform to interact withfellow drafters from other countries and jurisdictions. Itoffers them an invaluable experience that they wouldn’tget anywhere else. Says R.L. Shali, director, BPST, “Herea Sri Lankan gets to know about the laws of a country hemay vaguely know about. Or somebody from Africalearns the nuances of drafting from a Vietnamese. Wehave country specific presentations which exposeparticipants to the practices prevalent in other countries.And more importantly, students forge friendships herethat they can go back to for help whenever they need to.”

Anna Chykiliova, legislative drafter from Belarus,agrees with Shali. The course as a “comparative study isvery helpful”, she says. “I could never imagine meetingso many people from different jurisdictions at one place.The interaction has taught me a lot about how differentcountries function, their laws and the draftingprocedures. When I return and draft laws, I will hopefullybe able to draw from these experiences and try to makea difference to my country’s laws,” she says.


Participantsin front of Parliament

House

D


Minister of Corporate Affairs M. Veerappa Moily

(centre) interacts with the participants; (below)

a group interactive session

ITEC was instituted in 1964 as a bilateral assistanceprogramme to share India’s technological achievementswith other developing countries and is totally demand-driven and response-oriented. The International TrainingProgramme in Legislative Drafting is a good example ofhow demand-driven the entire ITEC programme is. In1985 when it started, there were only five participants.The number didn’t vary much, hovering between 5 and15 students, for more than a decade.

But from 2000 onwards, there is a substantialincrease in the numbers. More and more participantswanted to take up the course and as a result the MEAhad to increase the number to 40. While participationfrom our African partner countries has been substantialsince the beginning of the programme," says Shali,participants from new democracies such as Georgia,Belarus have also started coming. The popularity of thecourse can be gauged from the fact that manyparticipants finance themselves to be a part of it.

The course exposes the students, who have to havelegal training, to various aspects of drafting. Practicaldrafting classes are held by experts from the Ministry ofLaw and students even get a chance to draft a law. Inaddition, field trips are organised. This year, theparticipants visited Madhya Pradesh legislative assembly.Jakub Bennewicz, a drafter from Poland’s GovernmentLegislation Centre, rates the trip as a great learningopportunity. “I knew some basics about the Indianparliamentary system but to get such a first-handexperience is great. Besides, we got to see the historical city of Bhopal. Overall, it’s been a fantasticexperience,” he says. He echoes the sentiments of all the other attendees. n


Students attend practicaldrafting classes conducted by expertsfrom the Ministry of Law;they also get a chance todraft a law.

BOOK EXTRACT

A Journey in

TimeKalighat paintings have found public space not onlywithin the country, but beyond them as well. A selectionof photographs taken from Kalighat Paintings


(Facing page) Krishna disguised as a woman, playing the violin to Radha; (above) the Jagannatha trio: Balbhadra, Subhadra and Jagannatha

V&A, LONDON


V&A, LONDON

(Facing page) The Mahant sitting outside the Tarakeshwar temple;(clockwise from above) a cat with a prawn; Jatayu attempts to stop

the capture of Sita; and a fish-eagle carrying a fish

Contemporary Kalighat paintings

focus on secular themesand current events


VMH, K

OLK

ATA

V&A, LONDON

V&A, LONDON


The practice of Kalighat painting continues inthe villages of Bengal, being handed downthrough the generations in a way thatrenews the traditions of the early twentieth

century. The areas surrounding the Kalighat templeare no longer home to the patua (painter) familiesor the communities that once made a living fromtheir art. Rural patuas, though, are keeping thetradition alive along with scroll painting, in the districtssurrounding Kolkata.

Of the contemporary artists whose works areincluded in Kalighat Paintings, four live in the village ofNaya in Medinipur district. A small settlement there isknown as the patua village, as each family is either ofpatuas or is connected to the tradition of patachitra.The contemporary artists, like their nineteenth-centuryancestors, take the title of chitrakar (artist) or patuaindicating their status as belonging to the artists’ caste.

Today’s patuas affiliate themselves with neither Hindunor Muslim religions, using both Hindu and Islamicfirst names, and they observe festivals and customsof both religions. The contemporary Kalighat paintingsthey create focus on secular themes and currentevents as well as a mixture of religious depictions,executed in a modern style.

The women in the community also paint, oftenhelping to prepare colours and to draw outlines fordetailed works, while simultaneously carrying outhousehold tasks. Some of the women have branchedout to new media – painting, patachitra designs on T-shirts and greetings cards – as a form of selfemployment. In the last ten years, a number oforganisations have been set up in Kolkata, to supportrural arts and crafts, and are helping patua families topromote their work to a wide range of audiences.

—Reproduced with permission.

Extracted from:KALIGHAT PAINTINGS

Edited by: Suhashini Sinha and Prof. C. Panda

Publisher: Mapin Publishing in association with V&A Publishing (2011)

Price: ` 995Pages: 112

V&A, LONDON


MarwariRegal

TEXT: PREETI VERMA LAL

An indigenous equine breed escapes extinction and looks at a bright future

HERITAGE

The Marwari horse, with ears that arch at the tip like a lyre, long eyelashes, lustrous mane,flared nostrils — its appearance wild andtemperamental — is the pride of Rajasthan. The

Rajputs in times gone by, rode the Marwaris, kicked dustin sandy terrain, conquered fiefs and loved their steedsto distraction. Minstrels sang paeans to the animals,stones were chiselled into statues to pay tribute to them,and shades of chestnut and honey were added to thepalette of painters to capture the power and regalsplendour of the Marwaris.

The Marwaris thrived in the royal stables of Rajasthan.When war bugles were sounded, the queens not onlyanointed the kings, but also their steeds. Many afolksong records the maharanis pleading with the horseto bring back their husbands, the maharajah, safe fromthe battle front. Trained to fight enemies on elephantsand bred to withstand the crippling desert heat, theMarwari was the custodian, the protector of Rajputhonour. The Rathores, traditional rulers of the Marwarregion of western India, were the first to breed theMarwari. Beginning in the 12th century, they set downstrict breeding guidelines that promoted purity andhardiness. Legendary horse, Chetak, a Marwari, iscredited with saving the life of his master MaharanaPratap Singh during the Battle of Haldighati in 1576.PH

OTO

S: DAL

E DURF

EE/W

WW.DAL

EDURF

EE.COM

The decline of the Marwari began with the advent ofthe English in India. In the heyday of the British rule theMarwari was slowly but surely ousted from royal stablesby other breeds. The British preferred other breeds,such as thoroughbreds and polo ponies. In fact, theinward-turning ears of the Marwari breed became acharacteristic to be shunned in a horse. The passing ofthe feudal age spelt doom for the breed. From royalstables, the Marwaris moved to farms. Life chuggedalong, and with inbreeding and crossbreeding, theirnumbers dwindled and their gene pool depleted. In1999, the Indigenous Horse Society of India wasformed. And the Equestrian Federation of Indiasanctioned a national show for indigenous horses – thefirst in the country. This held out hope for the dwindlingnumber of Marwari horses.

The biggest challenge for the Indigenous Horse Societywas to list breed standards for the Marwaris. In severalmeetings and fora, the members brainstormed to definea horse that would fall into the category of a Marwari.

Once that was done, it was a huge headway towardssaving the Marwari. With the recognition of IndigenousHorse Society it became imperative for all breeders toregister their horses. This resulted in an increase in thenumber of the Marwari horses. So much so that somehave been exported to the US and Europe. The firstMarwari to be exported to Europe in 2006 was a stalliongiven to the French Living Museum of the Horse.

In late 2007, plans were announced to create a studbook for the breed, a collaborative venture between the Marwari Horse Society of India and the Indiangovernment which, too, has met with success. Aregistration process was initiated and the Marwari HorseSociety became a government body in which the horseshave been registered, cold branded and photographed.In late 2009, the Indian government released a set ofstamps that commemorated the Marwari horse, alongwith other Indian horse breeds. These six Indian breedsare the Marwari, Kathiawari, Spiti pony, Bhutia pony,Manipuri Pony, and Zanskari. n


A lifelong horse rider, Elizabeth Barrett, works as an independent researcher with theMcDonald Institute for Archaeological Research in the University of Cambridge, UK.She has worked on a project, Origins of the Domestic Horse, which includes theMarwari. Barrett spoke to Preeti Verma Lal about the breed. Excerpts:

How would you trace the history of the Marwaris? Marwari is certainly as old as the Turkman horse and so it probably dates back to atleast 2,000 years.

But would you consider Marwaris a pure breed?There is no such thing as a pure-bred horse. It is possible that the Marwari and thePersian developed from the Oriental sub-species and later may have crossed lineagewith the Tarpan.

Define the distinguishing image of a Marwari.I would mention the ears and the long eyelashes, but the important feature is theshape of the skull and the general body shape.

What sets it apart from other breeds?It must be their endurance, their ability to travel long distances for days together withlittle food or water, and without showing any signs of fatigue.

‘The Marwaris date back to at least 2,000 years’

PHOTO: SANJAY AUSTA

AFP


As we drove through the fabulous landscapes of the KazirangaNational Park in Assam, we realised it was a nature lover’s dream.This beautiful 430-sq km National Park is home to the largestherds of the great Indian one-horned rhinoceros in the world and

the Asiatic wild water buffalo, both of which we saw in large numbers.There were elephants as well as swamp deer, sambar and the elusive tiger. The Kaziranga National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is currently

home to 1,855 of the world’s estimated population of 2,700 one-hornedrhinos, according to recent statistics. On our recent trip, we counted 189rhinos in just four days.One morning, we drove along the banks of the Brahmaputra, which

is the lifeblood of the park and we were delighted to see a small herd ofelephants wading across the river, knee-deep in water lilies and greenery.They all made their way to the far bank where, suddenly, we spotted arhino drinking at the water’s edge, close to where a mother and heryoung elephant were wading ashore. The young elephant was havingnone of it, and waving his trunk around, he charged the rhino who shotoff at high speed. We were privileged to see a family of otters basking in the sun on the river

bank, their damp furry coats glistening with drops of water. Startled by thenoise of our jeep, they dived gracefully into the river in one combined swoop.Kaziranga showed us wonderful creatures day after day. We saw a tiger,

so camouflaged that everyone in our two jeeps had to struggle to find him.He sat there deep in the riverine vegetation, blending in so perfectly thatwe would never have spotted him without the driver’s keen eyes. On our final day in Kaziranga, we were invited to have lunch with the

resident forest guards in their log huts. Lunch was long and delicious, andafterwards, while some of us dozed, and others sat and chatted with theguards, I sat out on the deck and looked out in quiet contemplation at thewide, flood plains of the Brahmaputra. It was a fitting end to an amazing,occasionally alarming, and eye-opening trip to a beautiful sanctuary. n

NAVIGATORBy Air: The nearest airports are Jorhat, 88 km,and Guwahati, a 255-km taxi ride away fromthe park. By Rail: The nearest railhead is Furkating,around 75 km from the park. By Road: Assam State Travel and private busesstop here on their way to and from Guwahati,Tezpur and Upper Assam. Some private busesalso operate on the route.

Kaziranga National Park, home to the largestherds of the great Indian one-horned rhinocerosin the world, is a nature lover’s dream

Assam’sWild SideTEXT: CHRISTINE PEMBERTON

(Clockwise from above) Royal Bengal Tiger atKaziranga; a pair of swamp deer; an Asian wildelephant and its calf; and the only way to spotthe great Indian one-horned rhinoceros is from

elephant back

TRAVEL

TEXT: BINDU GOPAL RAO

TheLocalIncreasingly, multinationals are

selling products that are notjust made in India but are

made just for India Mantra

There is an influx of international top-end brands and labels into Indiatoday. This is no surprise given the growing purchasing power ofpeople not just in urban centres but in rural areas too. Reportedly,the Indian retail industry will be worth ̀ 76.9 billion in 2012. And the

West wants a share of the market. Increasingly, multinational companies areselling products that are not just made in India but made for India. Globalgiants are tweaking products to suit the Indian market and ensuring that theyappeal to Indian sensibilities. An example is that of French luxury shoedesigner Christian Louboutin’s latest line with its trademark glossy red soles,which includes two staggeringly tall styles inspired by Indian films namedBollywoody and Devidas.

It all began with food chains like McDonald’s who made thinking globaland acting local its mantra for success. The company, with its philosophy ofrespect for cultural sentiments, does not serve its most popular product theBigMac (a beef burger) in the country as most Hindus do not eat beef forreligious reasons. Instead, on offer are the McAloo Tikki burger (a burger witha potato patty), Veg Pizza McPuff (a vegetarian pizza) and Chicken McGrillburger with a very spicy mint sauce popular with Indians. Furthermore, eachrestaurant kitchen is designed to maintain separate vegetarian and non-vegetarian food counters.

Likewise, after 15 successful years in India, Pizza Hut has added 15 newpizzas, among them are Chettinadu Paneer (with a topping of Indian cottagecheese flavoured with spices from the Chettinad region in south India),Nimbu Mirchi (chilli and lemon pizza) and Chicken Achaari (with a topping

Hermes sari;(facingpage) aman enjoying his McVeggieburger

BUSINESS



(Clockwise from left) Devanagiriscript design watch by a Swissmanufacturer; Lladro’s Rama andSita figurines; Patchi Chocolates’Diwali collection; and ChristianLouboutin’s latest line of shoesinspired by Bollywood

of Indian chicken pickle). Cottage cheese and ground meat cooked Indianstyle can also be found on pizzas from Dominos.

Festivals mean big business. Come Diwali, a festival celebrated across thelength and breadth of the country, and shoppers throng stores and purchasespeak. Recognising that sweets are an integral part of a celebration, famouschocolate brand Patchi, last year introduced symbols like the sacred Om, theauspicious Swastik, Lord Ganesha and a diya (a small clay lamp) on theirproducts for the Indian market.

Lladro, a Spain-based producer of high quality porcelain, has severalcollections inspired by India. The Krishna series is a culmination of two yearsof research at Lord Krishna’s birthplace, Mathura. Other gods that have beenmoulded in porcelain are Rama and Sita and the elephant God Ganesha inas many as nine different poses. Recently, Hermès, manufacturer of luxurygoods, created a line of limited edition saris for the Indian market. The sariswere priced between ` 81,000 and ` 4,20,000, a “wink” to Indiancustomers, said Patrick Thomas, chief executive of Hermès International.

In a classic case where Indian heritage meets Swiss tradition, a watchmajor has a unique product for India. Sebastien Cretegny, International SalesManager, Frederique Constant, explains, “As a family-owned independentSwiss manufacturer, we have been thinking for a long time about a relevantstrategy for India. When I came up with the Devanagiri script design,everybody involved was very enthusiastic. Our research and developmentdepartment immediately started elaborating this high-classical watch. Eversince its launch, this model is a true success story here and even abroadwhere Indian communities are well-represented such as the Middle-East,”

Says Sundarrajan, Managing Director, S.P Apparels and Crocodile Ltd.,“Though brands plays a major role, the need of the hour is that instead ofthe labels being manufactured abroad it is necessary for the brands tounderstand the demographics and psychographic factors of the Indianmarket and manufacture them in India.” He feels that tapping the targetcustomer and identifying and understanding the flavour and taste of theIndian public is the biggest challenge.

So far, say experts, India may not be a large market in terms of units sold,but the potential for growth is more than any other market in the world. In sucha scenario, the forecast is good times ahead for both buyers and sellers. n

“Customization of products to woo the Indian consumers is anemerging trendamongmanufacturers who collaboratewith their Indian partners to develop theseunique products”—Ankur Bhatia, Executive Director, Bird Group

“The global practices are getting inculcatedinto the traditionalway of distribution,marketing and retailing, giving rise to newer challenges in India”—Rahul Kulkarni, Director Marketing at WestCoast Fine Foods Pvt. Ltd


Faith came calling for acclaimed painter ManuParekh this spring. His first major solo show in oversix years was held at the Art Alive Gallery, Gurgaon.

Faith, Manu Parekh in Benaras 1980-2012, wasinspired by the holy city of Benaras or Varanasi. It is a citythat Parekh had painted ever since his first visit duringwhich he sailed down the Ganges in a boat past theghats (flight of steps leading down to the river) almost50 years ago.

Benaras continues to haunt Parekh’s mindscape. Hisworks are not expressionistic in the traditional sense butveer towards the abstract. His canvases bring in the deepcolours of ritual and prayer in vermillion reds and turmericyellows; the glow of the flickering flames dancing on theclay lamps sailing on the Ganges at twilight; theshameless bursts or orange of marigold garlands andpetals floating on the river. Fecundity and fertility are

symbols that are ubiquitous to Parekh’s works. Flora andfauna, birds and bodies, limbs and organs mingle, twistand coil around plants, flowers and birds.

Divided into four sections, the exhibition invites thevisitor to join Parekh in his journey. “Glimpses from aBoat”, “Transformed Stone”, “Repeating Forms” and“Flowers” are part of various sections displayed in a singleor large diptych works. They touch upon beauty, light anddarkness in the city; sacred objects of worship; the powerof repetition and ritual and the beauty of including thebody and the element of the sexual in Hindu symbols ofworship represented by lush flowers, juice and nectar.

The exhibition is a journey into a world of colour,beauty, carnal and the sacred. It is important to have‘faith’ in beauty in all its forms to enjoy Parekh’s burstsof visual fecundity.

—Sudha G. Tilak

REVIEWS

Manu Parekh’s oil on canvas

Manu Parekh’s show, Faith, depicts his love for the holy city of BenarasThe Sacred and the SensualEXHIBITION

44 INDIA PERSPECTIVES u APRIL 2012

It looks into the tales of the expatriates who have set up their homes in IndiaHome Away From HomeFILM

The most visible of the multiple manifestations ofthis nation’s dramatic growth story of the last twodecades is perhaps embodied by the swelling

population of men and women who have arrived fromvarious parts of the world and made India their home.

Yasmin Kidwai’s 29-minute documentary, India byChoice, places this phenomenon in its historical context.

The film delves into the reasons why a youngentrepreneur from South Korea, a dance guru fromFrance, a tour operator from the UK, among others,have chosen to put their eggs in the Indian basket andcelebrate that life-altering decision in unique ways.

Academic Mushirul Hasan and writer WilliamDalrymple, who describes himself on camera as theworld’s “only Punjabi Scotsman”, explain why Indiadraws these foreigners in search of business and jobopportunities, which, as some of these immigrantsassert, are far better here than in Europe.

Hasan, on his part, refers to the high “degree ofreceptivity” inherent in Indian culture. There is, he pointsout, “a long tradition of people coming into ourcountry… and making it their home”.

None of these people are willing to exchange the joythey derive from living in India for anything else.

Lalita de Goederen, who relocated from Amsterdamto Delhi in 2007, dreams of ramping up her uniqueBagel’s Café in Defence Colony as her husband, Alex,establishes his real estate business. On the other hand,Peter Kronschnabel, president of BMW India, is sure thefriendships he has made in this country are for a lifetime.

YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9inonQ1e8PA

—Saibal Chatterjee is a film and media critic

INDIA BY CHOICEGenre: DocumentaryRunning Time: 29 minutesDirector: Yasmin KidwaiProducer: Public Diplomacy Division,Ministry of External Affairs

AFP

Writer William Dalrymple


46 INDIA PERSPECTIVES u APRIL 2012

VERBATIM

N.R. Narayana Murthy, 65, is the face of softwaremajor Infosys, which he co-founded in 1981. Hewas its CEO till 2002 and Chairman till 2011, now

he is Chairman Emeritus. Awarded the Padma Vibhushan,the second highest civilian honour of the country, he hadtaken up cudgels for corporate governance in the country.He spoke to Bindu Gopal Rao about the industry he hasbeen part of for the last three decades.

Tell us about your journey so far. The journey of founding and nurturing Infosys has beenvery satisfying. The company created huge employmentopportunities and enhanced corporate governancepractices. Two of our major innovations — the global deliverymodel and the 24-hour work-day — have managed to sellthe value of Indian software corporations to the Westernworld. I am happy that we could demonstrate that it ispossible to run a world-class organisation in India.

Are you enjoying your role as Chairman Emeritus?As Chairman Emeritus I have no role in the day-to-daygovernance, I do not have a position on the board and Iam not responsible for any strategy formulation. However,I am often requested to meet prospective customers and Iam available for any kind of consultation. When wefounded the company, it was clear that all founders havethe option to leave between the age of 60 and 65. Theleadership mantle needs to be passed on so it was notreally a hard decision to leave the company.

What is your assessment of the software industry?As an industry, software has created a positive image ofIndia in the world. Its revenue of USD 100 million in1991 has grown to USD 60 billion as on March 31, 2011.The sector has grown 600 times over the last 20 years and has created three million jobs. Today, theindustry is growing at 15 per cent per annum, almost double of India’s Gross Domestic Product mainly through exports.

What more can the government do to further thesector’s growth?The government can help develop quality talent and be anally to the industry on this front. Also, it can help reducefriction in areas of transfer pricing, the definition ofsoftware exports and information security. In the past,National Association of Software and Services Companies,the Indian Embassies and the Government have workedas partners to create the software brand and it is importantto continue working together.

What advice do you have for young entrepreneurs?For the first time in 300 years, India today is beingconsidered as the software centre of the world andentrepreneurs have a great opportunity to work smart,work hard, innovate and be successful. I want them to beconfident and realise that they have an extraordinary roleto play in bringing a smile on the face of the poorest ofchildren in the remotest parts of India. n

“Infosys demonstratedthat India can have aworld-class company”

Now on Facebook!

Become Friends of India PerspectivesJoin the Facebook Community

http://www.facebook.com/IndiaPerspectivesRead India Perspectives online: www.indiandiplomacy.in

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS, EXCHANGE IDEAS, SEND YOUR DARTS AND LAURELS

ESSENTIAL READING ON INDIA

WELCOME TO THE NEW WORLD OF INDIA PERSPECTIVES

Advancing India’s Conversations with the World

ISS

N 0

9705

074

iNDiAperspectives

india perspectives - april 2012

Documents

eve of new year

music ofdrums

performancesby music

folk music

tulip festivalthe tulip

aceremonial procession

sankat mochantemple

ipl season