31-23-32 Equals a Big Zero

Many a time young Indians have been influenced by the unreasonable lifestyle, food habits and crazy fads of the West. The latest to hit them is the size zero body. Boosting the cravings of this group of women, aged between 15 and 35 years, are leading Hindi cinema actresses, Kareena Kapoor and Aishwarya Rai, and, of course, fashion designers who prefer to showcase creations on size-zero models. It all started with Aishwarya Rai - whose net popularity skyrocketed with her marriage into the Bachchan family - dropping oodles of weight for the blockbuster, 'Dhoom II'. However, even as posters of her sculpted body created a buzz in the media, they never really kicked off a weight loss trend. After all, Rai - a former Miss World - was meant to have the unattainable perfect figure. But with the hitherto healthy Punjabi 'kudi' (girl) Kareena Kapoor - whose cinematic 'khaandan' (family) is known to relish non-vegetarian fare - shedding those extra pounds to gain long beanpole legs, hollow cheeks and a concave-shaped tummy (displayed ever so blatantly in her latest flick 'Tashan') - size zero has finally arrived. Kapoor's apparent size zero bod - reportedly a result of a sustained diet of cabbage and apples - has definitely catapulted her to dizzying heights. Suddenly the media, college-going youngsters and even middle-aged moms are discussing Kapoor and her latest weight drop, with dreams of attaining the proportionate nothingness! So what is size zero? It's a women's clothing size according to the US catalogue sizes system that is the equivalent of an UK size 4 or an Europe size 32-34. It is also a concept within the fashion media relating to models with low body mass.Thus, being a size zero means having a 31.5 "(bust) - 23" (waist) - 32" (hip), or simply being able to fit into a pair of 22-inch waistline jeans. To look like their favorite star, young women are willing to go to any extent - dangerous crash diets, strenuous exercise routines and starvation - so much so that many end up as classic cases of eating disorders like anorexia nervosa and bulimia. Anorexia nervosa is characterized by low body weight and body image distortion with an obsessive fear of gaining weight. A recurrent binge eating, followed by compensatory behavior, referred to as "purging", like self-induced vomiting, the use of laxatives, diuretics, and so on, characterizes bulimia."These girls and even boys don't realize the irreparable damage this causes to their bodies, especially the bone mass," says a very worried Dr D. Srinivas, a well-known orthopedic surgeon and consultant, attached to InLak and Shushruti Hospitals in Mumbai. Srinivas is concerned, as the number of patients coming to him with complaints of bone affiliated ailments has risen considerably, with most belonging to the vulnerable age group of 15 to 35 years. He explains that after the age of 17 for young women and 18 for men, the body stops growing physically. It then starts accumulating bone mass till around the age of 30-35 years. It is this mass that acts as a protection from osteoporosis and other bone-related ailments later in life. Reckless lifestyles and thoughtless diet choices hinder this body function. "Bone mass is like a huge bank balance, which if not accumulated properly can cause havoc at a later age," he cautions.Mumbai-based Neesha Maria Bukht, a registered dietician and an International Sports Sciences Association (ISSA) fitness expert, agrees. She says that there are dubious dieticians who promise to help youngsters reduce weight within a few days or weeks. "The unknowing clients are not told about the dangerous effects a severe diet will have on the bone mass or density of the body," reveals Bukht, who heads the Talwalkars Training Academy which provides cutting-edge programming and educational information to aspiring fitness professionals. The hurried measures taken to achieve the coveted weight can lead to other serious problems. Hair loses its sheen and the skin, its elasticity. Stamina is depleted and this leads in turn to mood swings. In severe cases, depression sets in. Irregular menstrual cycles resulting in temporary ovulation problems and, of course, osteoporosis are the more serious consequences. "Drastic weight loss may not cause permanent damage but temporarily the ovulation will be affected. The reproductive system has the capacity to regain its normal functioning. But it all depends on the age of the woman, the extent to which the body has been damaged and how healthy the other organs are," says Dr Partho Guha Roy, a consulting gynecologist. Mumbai-based fashion designer Anita Dongre admits, "Designers do create collections that are worn by thin models at fashion shows and shoots, because that adds to the look of the creation." But she is quick to add, "That does not mean that we are encouraging young girls to be the same size." She acknowledges that the fashion industry wields great influence over youngsters and often shapes the way young women feel about themselves. "Teenage girls aspire to look like their role models. If their role models are healthy it will help inspire girls to be the same. But it is also true that all thin women aren't unhealthy. Designers prefer thin models with glowing skin and lovely hair, which is not possible to get if one tries dangerous methods of losing weight," says Dongre. Losing weight slowly by maintaining correct BMI (Body Mass Index) doesn't affect health. "Diet and exercise should be controlled in such a way that only 0.5 to two kilograms is lost per month. Not more. And at all times the minimum BMI should be monitored. A BMI of less than 18.5 is not good," warns Bukht. "It is important to educate young girls who, under the thrall of fashion, either starve or force themselves to throw up, to follow a healthy lifestyle. Dieting is not bad, but starving takes a sure toll on the body. I think it is awful the way women and young girls are slotted by society because of their weight. There are more important things to worry about than one's body weight," says Dongre. "And the worst part is that youngsters who come to me with bone related complaints don't realize the root cause of their ailments is their obsession with losing weight. They refuse to believe that they are suffering from osteoporosis and need to eat properly," reveals Srinivas. Bukht admits that Kareena Kapoor, who reportedly weighs only 48 kilos, as against her ideal minimum weight of 55 kilos, may start developing problems. "And the side effects of achieving size zero within a short period of time are universal. One has to understand that there is no magic pill to lose weight. It has to be done in a controlled way," she says

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India Should Take Seismic Protection More Seriously

India's growing economic might is making many countries look at it with a sense of envy. This newfound economic prosperity has also left India more vulnerable and susceptible to natural calamities. It is imperative that we start following the global best practices and stop living in a sense of denial.Two countries have learnt their lessons the hard way – the US and Japan. The colossal damage caused by the quakes of Northridge in 1994 and Kobe in 1995 forced the two governments to spend millions on research. The research helped to reach a better understanding of how structures perform in devastating scenarios. This led to classification of buildings depending on their performance. Now there exist internationally accepted documents issued by the two governments. With the real estate boom having taken India by storm, it is imperative that everyone should understand the basics of seismic protection. Most neglect the subject as one that is a bit too technical for their liking; however, this should not be so.Two questions that occur to an average educated person are: What are the different categories of quake protection? What protection level is he achieving by following the Indian Seismic Code?In today's world, simply stating that a building is earthquake resistant is meaningless. It does not portray anything about the building performance during an earthquake, its post-quake use and the magnitude and kind of damage that it will sustain.It will come as a surprise that till date there is no definition in this country for what can be dubbed earthquake-resistant. Neither the national disaster management guidelines nor the Indian seismic code has even attempted to address the issue. This has led the misuse of the term.Internationally, earthquake protection is classified into four categories, each having a detailed definition. The categories are: operational, immediate occupancy, life-safety and collapse prevention.'Operation' is the highest level and is adopted for important structures like hospitals, administrative centres and essential infrastructure. Operational buildings are seldom more than 5 or 6 storey high.The second level is 'immediate occupancy'. Buildings designed to these standards sustain minimal structural damage even during a major earthquake. They are safe for occupation and for use immediately after a major earthquake.'Life-safety' buildings are those that are so designed that their primary aim is to save lives; the building per se will sustain severe structural damage. After the earthquake the kind and level of damage that the columns suffer will determine if the building is repairable or will have to be demolished and rebuilt.The lowest category 'collapse prevention' buildings are those that will sustain extensive structural damage. The damage will render the building unfit for use and will have to be immediately vacated, demolished and subsequently rebuilt.In case the builder/developer has followed the Indian seismic building code to the fullest, the building would achieve 'collapse prevention' level of safety. The term 'collapse prevention' is disguised in our country by using alternative words: earthquake resistant.The detailed definitions of various categories of protection are:Operational Level: The lowest level of overall damage to the building (highest performance). The structure will retain nearly all of its pre-earthquake strength and stiffness. Expected damage includes minor cracking of facades, partitions and ceilings as well as structural elements. All mechanical, electrical, plumbing and other systems necessary for normal operation of the buildings are expected to be functional, possibly from standby sources.Negligible damage to non-structural components is expected. Under very low levels of earthquake ground motion, most buildings should be able to meet or exceed this performance level. Typically, however, it will not be economically practical to design for this level of performance under severe levels of ground shaking, except for buildings that house essential services.Immediate Occupancy Level: Overall damage to the building is light. Damage to the structural systems is similar to the Operational Performance Level; however, somewhat more damage to non-structural systems is expected. Non-structural components such as cladding and ceilings, and mechanical and electrical components remain secured; however, repair and clean up may be needed. It is expected that utilities necessary for normal function of all systems will not be available, although those necessary for life safety systems would be provided.Many building owners may wish to achieve this level of performance when the building is subjected to moderate levels of earthquake ground motion. In addition, some owners may desire such performance for very important buildings, under severe levels of earthquake ground shaking. This level provides most of the protection obtained under the Operational Building Performance Level, without the associated cost of providing standby utilities and performing rigorous seismic qualification to validate equipment performance.Life Safety Level: Structural and non-structural damage is significant. The building may lose a substantial amount of its pre-earthquake lateral strength and stiffness, but the gravity-load bearing elements function. Out-of-plane wall failures and tipping of parapets are not expected, but there will be some permanent drift and select elements of the lateral-force resisting system may have substantial cracking, spalling, yielding, and buckling.Non-structural components are secured, but many architectural, mechanical and electrical systems are damaged. The building may not be safe for continued occupancy until repairs are done. Repair of the structure is feasible but it may not be economically attractive to do so. This performance level is generally the basis for the intent of code compliance.Collapse Prevention Level or Near Collapse Level: The structure sustains severe damage. The lateral-force resisting system loses most of its pre-earthquake strength and stiffness. Load-bearing columns and walls function, but the building is near collapse. Substantial degradation of structural elements occurs, including extensive cracking and spalling of masonry and concrete elements, and buckling and fracture of steel elements. Infills and unbraced parapets may fail and exits may be blocked. The building has large permanent drifts.Non-structural components experience substantial damage and may be falling hazards. The building is unsafe for occupancy. Repair and restoration is probably not practically achievable. This building performance level has been selected as the basis for mandatory seismic rehabilitation ordinances enacted by some municipalities, as it results in mitigation of the most severe life-safety hazards at relatively low cost.

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Straight from the Heart

Dr Barbosa has seen life on the streets from close quarters. As a child, she shuttled between various orphanages in Rio de Janeiro. But she overcame all adversity to become Brazil's leading cardiologist-pediatrician. Today, despite being at the zenith of a lucrative profession, Barbosa has dedicated her life to providing quality cardiac care for underprivileged children.When Barbosa returned to Brazil after studying medicine at the National Heart Hospital in London, she joined the very private and expensive Hospital Pró Cardíaco, as its head. But, unlike her predecessors, one of the first steps she took was to establish a special pediatric cardiac unit. While there is no specific data on the number of children that succumb to heart ailments in Brazil, the deadly condition is responsible for 30 per cent of the deaths - around 300,000 - each year.Poor children born with cardiac problems need specialized care, but due to the lack of infrastructure and skilled manpower in public hospitals a large number die waiting for treatment or surgery. The cost of surgery and follow-up treatments is also very high - R$ 10,000 (US$ 5,681) and R$ 150,000 (US$ 85,227), respectively.Disturbed by this situation, Barbosa set up the Pró Criança Cardíaca Foundation in 1996 to assist parents in securing competent medical care for their little ones. She arrived at an arrangement with Hospital Pró Cardíaco, wherein she could utilize the hospital infrastructure for surgeries. All the treatment is paid for through donations the foundation receives. Till October this year, 11,500 ailing children have been treated and 625 cardiac surgeries conducted.Everyone, from the members of her staff to her patients and their parents, is full of praise for the compassionate doctor. "Rosa Célia is a fighter and helps everybody. If it wasn't for her, many children would have to wait in long lines for treatment and struggle for a vacancy for surgery," says cardiac surgeon Milton Méier, 72, who is part of the staff at the foundation and has been associated with Barbosa since her student days in London.Barbosa has ailing children being referred to her from various private clinics and public hospitals. A dedicated medical team of six cardiologists and four cardiac surgeons attends to kids coming to the foundation. During the initial stages of the treatment, Barbosa attends to every child personally. Besides the treatment, the foundation offers advice on diet; provides the medicines, clothes and toys; and also has an on-call dentist, since a tooth infection can be fatal for a cardiac patient. Every child is also given a basic food basket at every appointment.Lucas, 8, who has Down's Syndrome, was operated on by the team at Pró Criança Cardíaca when he was only three months old. His mother, Elenice dos Santos, 47, says, "The whole treatment here is excellent. The team treats the children with a lot of love and affection."Another grateful parent, Edna Ramos de Andrade, whose eight-year-old son, too, has Down's Syndrome says, "Dr Rosa Célia and the team were angels that appeared in my life. We don't have health insurance and my son's problem was diagnosed at 14 weeks of gestation. Thanks to Rosa, we received first class treatment."Barbosa believes that a child with a cardiac condition needs to be monitored for the rest of his/her life. According to her, if follow-up check-ups are not done from time-to-time then the first treatment and surgery can become quite worthless. Therefore, she has many patients that are now in their teens or are adults. For example, Tainá Vieira da Costa, 16, who had her surgery as a child but still visits for routine check ups."She had the surgery when she was nine. We have to bring her here from time-to-time," reveals Tainá's mother, Márcia Vieira Cunha, who works as a saleswoman.In order to make sure that her work can reach out to many more people, the good doctor has now decided to build a hospital of her own, which promises to have best of caregivers and state-of-the-art infrastructure. "Things have improved a great deal. But we still have an enormous waiting list. The space at the Hospital Pró Cardíaco is very limited and they have no plans to expand the pediatric unit. So, I thought the only way to continue our work was by setting up a hospital of our own," explains Barbosa.The land for the dream project has already been bought. A bulk of the funds - R$3 million (around US$ 1.6 million) - for the purchase were raised at a benefit, where Roberto Carlos, the renowned and respected musician, enthralled a packed audiences."We have also been receiving monthly donations between R$30 (around US$17) to R$1,000 (around US$590). People organize birthday parties and ask their guests to donate money for the foundation instead of getting gifts. Our work has received great support from the society, the media and business people as well. I think this is because we are credible. It is very important to be truthful and ethical," says the doctor.Others who have come forward with a helping hand include Amil, a health insurance company, which has decided to pay for the architectural costs, and architect João Pedro Backheuser, who has volunteered to coordinate the project. In fact, even the Mayor of Rio, César Maia, and Governor Sérgio Cabral have expressed their solidarity to the cause.Dr Lúcia Tomoko Fukuyama, who has been working with her for the last 15 years now, says that the new hospital is a dream come true for everyone at the foundation. "She makes things happen, she is committed to improving healthcare in Brazil. As her assistants, we are very proud," she says. The new hospital, which will be equipped to treat over 1500 children a month, is expected to be complete and functional in about 18 months time.Barbosa has the final say. "I'm not the type of doctor that complains when the cell phone rings. It has to ring. I would mind very much if someone is in pain and not able to find me."

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Bharat Ratna for Pt. Bhim Sen Joshi

Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, the legendary exponent of Hindustani classical music, was tonight chosen for the Bharat Ratna, the country's highest civilian award. The honour for the 86-year-old vocalist, who belongs to 'kirna' gharana, caps a distinguished career spanning more than seven decades since he first performed at the age of 19.This was after a gap of seven years that the government selected a performing artist for the highest award, the last previous recipient being shenai maestro Ustad Bismillah Khan. In fact, the last time a person was chosen for the honour was Khan."The President has been pleased to award the Bharat Ratna to Pandit Bhimsen Joshi", a Rashtrapati Bhavan communique said late this evening.Born in Gadag district of Karnataka on February 19, 1922, Joshi has already bagged several prestigious honours including Padma Vibhusan in 1991, Padma Bhusan in 1985 and Padma Shri in 1972.

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Indian school of business: Practising what it preaches

The pitch is unique. “we have scripted our version of a T20 victory,” is how Ajit Rangnekar, Deputy Dean, Indian School of Business (ISB), broke to students the news of the young B-School making it to the Financial Times list of Top 20 B-Schools in the world late in January this year. Later, reflecting on the impact of the ranking on the school, Dean M. Rammohan Rao told Business Today: “The FT ranking has led to a lot of interest in the school.” Such publicity is particularly welcome as ISB seeks to attract more international students (it is targeting 8 per cent in its next batch, compared to 4-5 per cent at present) and more resident faculty (31 now).“The challenge has been to market the school globally,” says V.K. Menon, Senior Director, Admissions, Financial Aid & Career Advancement Services, at ISB. And by the looks of it, it is already getting there. “Last year, our students were placed in 23 countries around the world,” says Menon.So, how does the school go about marketing itself? “We focus and target high-potential markets,” says Menon. For instance, since last year, ISB has been targeting the Asia Pacific region. Explains Menon: “Right now, in terms of placements, the Asia Pacific region is booming. At present, there is a high demand for high-end MBAs from companies in Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, Dubai and the rest of West Asia.” As a result, the school expects the number of companies coming to the campus from these places to rise 20-30 per cent this year and compensate for the slowdown in the West.So, how is it reaching out to its target audience (both potential students and recruiters) in these locations? It has in place various initiatives ranging from e-networking and e-marketing, to database marketing (targetting potential students—those that have taken the GMAT automatically become its target candidates), road shows and partnering with career counsellors in these regions. It also undertakes viral marketing and taps into its alumni network across the world. Menon declines to share details on ISB’s marketing budget except to say that it is proportionate to its increasing needs.So, what is unique about the way the school markets itself? “We do exactly what most companies do. First, we analyse and figure out the best markets, the best segments and best targets and go for them.” Considering that it has, in a short span of seven years (it admitted its first batch of students in July 2001), become as famous as—and as the FT ranking shows, sometimes even more famous than—the much older IIMs, it must be practising a lot of what it teaches its students.

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Eco-friendly Habitats to Combat Climate Vicissitudes

India has a number of historical buildings, palaces, mausoleums memorials etc. One factor is common amongst all of them. They are cool in summers and remain warm during winters. The houses of the yore were constructed with climate in mind. For example Lucknow's Imambara constructed by Nawab Asif-ud-daula (1775), it is said that it has empty pitchers placed over- turned on the roof under the layer of lime and coarse sand. The air space of the pitchers acted as an insulator. The walls of small 'lakhauri' bricks are almost three feet thick and keep the building insulated from the vagaries of weather.The advent of the British added European grandeur and style to Moghul Architecture of the yesteryears with innovations. For example, Claude Martin, a Frenchman who combined the functions of trader, military adventurer and architect was recommended to Nawab Asif-ud-daula in 1776 by the Resident John Bristow, writes Rosie Llewelyn-Jones in her book, 'A Fatal Friendship'. Martin erected a residential building for himself in 1781. Located on the right bank of Gomti River, the building had Martin's living rooms at three different levels. During the summers when the water level in the river went down Martin lived in the basement which was at level with the river surface. During the rains as the river level rose Martin ascended another story and when the weather cooled down he shifted to the bedroom on the top floor which had a huge terrace part of which was erected on piers sunk in the river. It seems the arrangement of natural 'air-conditioning' kept Martin's house cool in the summers and warm in the winters! After his death in 1800 the house was taken over by Nawab Saadat Ali Khan and named 'Kothi Farhad Baksh'. Later the building came to be known as 'Chattar Manzil' and presently houses the famous Central Drug Research Institute.Cost was no consideration to these builders and owners it was the climate that mattered for them.In the post colonial era the styles of architecture changed. The rising cost of land, housing materials and population explosion forced people to consider smaller houses with thinner brick walls. Climate is once again in the saddle now and the architects are coming forward with eco-friendly, cost effective housing techniques to meet the challenge of global climate change. Nilanjan Sengupta of the forum of scientists, Engineers and Technologists, Kolkata, quoting the report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) says in his recent paper published on the issue in the Current Science 'WARMING of the climate system is unequivocal, as is now evident from observations of increases in global average air and ocean temperatures, widespread melting of snow and ice, and rising global average sea level'. As Green House Gases (GHGs) keep accumulating in the atmosphere the phenomenon of global warming will keep going. Global cooling and warming has been going on since the earth came in to being. At present we are in a warming phase. Whether we want it or not the nature is at work to keep the atmosphere warm. But as inhabitants of this Globe our contribution towards GHGs has been more than positive. It is something like hacking the branch of the tree on which you are sitting! In every filed of technology there is a rush to check the emission of GHGs. At least on paper everything is trying to become green they say.The population boom on the other hand has caused a boom in the construction activity. With the availability of wood getting scarcer there is demand for bricks, cement and mortar, steel etc. for construction of dwellings. That is why the construction industry is one of the major sources of pollution says Nilanjan. Modern buildings consume energy in a number of ways, he says. The manufacture of construction material itself is a great polluter. Construction related activities account for a large chunk of carbon dioxide emission in the atmosphere. Energy consumed in the construction activity like in the manufacture of construction materials, transportation of these materials from plants to sites, energy used in the actual construction work, running of the building after occupation and later even the demolition of a building consumes energy.
Nilanjan claims that at the Forum they have developed techniques to reduce the quantity of construction materials and also substituted them with low-energy consuming materials thereby making the buildings cost effective and eco-friendly. The manner in which the urban habitats are becoming a concrete jungle, technologies tried by Nilanjan's forum appear to be the need of the time.Knowing the actual quantity of carbon dioxide emissions in the manufacture of construction materials is important says Nilanjan. The ingredients for a 'pucca' building are steel, cement and brick. Production of one ton of crude steel emits about 2.75 ton of carbon dioxide. It is natural that conversion of crude steel to processed steel emits higher quantities of carbon. Similarly cement manufacture releases about 0.9 ton of carbon dioxide for each ton of cement produced.Nilanjan has not taken the environmental degradation due to extraction of sand in his paper because sand is a natural product obtained from the river beds. However, one must remember that despite being freely available, removal of vast quantities of sand leads to degradation of river banks causing water-logging in the post monsoon periods and indiscriminate extraction causes extensive bank erosion. Similarly in the large cities like Chennai and Bangalore the thickness of sand available is very little and it is a major source of ground water. The author had reported extraction of sand from tube-wells which had stopped yielding water. Such extractions cause large scale sinking. Even over-exploitation of tube-wells leads to 'caving in' and the sand grains after losing the film of water, just collapse. Due to this reason, in Agra in U.P. reports of houses collapsing due to sinking of ground were in the news two years ago. Therefore despite sand being naturally available ingredient for construction activities, it needs to be mined with caution. It may not add to carbon dioxide in the atmosphere but haphazard mining does leads to land degradation and misery for the common man. The most important unit of a building is the brick. Nilanjan says that brick production is carried out in a big way and the kilns guzzle large quantities of coal. He records that 38 tons of carbon dioxide is released in the atmosphere for every 100,000 bricks manufactured. Brick manufacture has another serious implication which Nilanjan has not taken in to account as his discourse is mainly about carbon emission and ways to control it. Brick manufacture needs lots of clay. On the outskirts of any township in the alluvial planes of north India one can find innumerable brick kilns dotting the landscape. Well these planes as we know have been formed by the painstaking efforts of the rivers which have deposited all the sands the richest vaults of ground water. In addition there are layers of clays, which are now the source of the bricks. One can see degraded land around the brick kilns where the clays have been removed and converted to bricks. These depressions lead to water stagnation and alkalinization of the soil. Finally even the area surrounding the brick kiln becomes infertile. Very few people realize that it will take another 1000 years for the nature to get back what has been removed.Nilanjan recommends use of various cost saving technologies like Rat-trap bond in wall construction, which involves laying bricks on their sides with a cavity of 4" in between. The plain surfaces of bricks make the outer surfaces of the walls. This bond has strength equal to a 250 mm solid brick wall yet consumes 20% less bricks. Total cost of 26% is saved by this technique. The air gap of 4" provides a good insulation to keep the rooms cool during summers and warm during the winters. The plain surfaces of brick walls need no plaster hence save the cost of cement and sand, labor and are aesthetically pleasing. This technique was popular in England for buildings up to three stories till the turn of the 20th century. Laurie Baker (1917-2007) an English architect came to India in 1945 as a missionary and settled here in Thiruvananthapuram. Houses constructed by him using this technique stand firmly even today after more than 40 years. The other techniques that cut costs of material and construction are Brick arches in lieu of traditional RCC lintels. These cost about 30-40% less than the lintels. Similarly Filler slab in roof composed of bricks, tiles etc consumes much less steel as the roof becomes lighter in weight. Costs of such roofs are reduced by about 23%. Additional 40% saving is obtained by this technique as it needs less steel and cement says Nilanjan. Yet another technique is use of compressed earth blocks made of a mixture of cement, gypsum and lime. Because of uniform shape bonding them is faster and construction is naturally faster. It is overall cost efficient technique. However, in high rainfall areas such blocks need a layer of plaster.

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Be the best you can

CRY - Child Rights and You, a child rights organisation, invites applications for the third National Child Rights Research Fellowships. Upto 10 fellowships will be awarded. The research results will be available to a broad audience of activists, academics, programmers and the general public through multiple fora, including language translations. It is hoped this will influence the course of debate on child rights and the best interest principle. Proposals are invited in any Indian languages including English.Financial supportGrant sizes may range from Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh and the duration of the research project can be from a month to a year.EligibilityOpen to all Indian nationals living in India who are above 18 years of age.ProcedureDetails of possible themes are available on www.cry.org. Regional language proposals may also be sent by post to CRY Documentation Centre, CRY-Child Rights and You, 189-A, Anand Estate, Sane Guruji Marg, Mumbai 400011. Selection of awardees will be by an independent panel and their names will be announced latest by April 2009.Sir Ratan Tata FellowshipSir Ratan Tata Foundation at the London School of Economics & Political Science (LSE) invites applications for the ‘Sir Ratan Tata Fellowship’ now in its twelfth year. Applicants should be established scholars in the social sciences with experience of research on South Asia. The fellowship will be for a period of up to eight months, preferably starting 1st October 2009, and will be based at the Asia Research Centre at the LSE.Financial supportThe Fellow will receive a monthly subsistence allowance of up to £1500 a month, the exact amount depending on qualifications; and will be provided with office space and access to research facilities at the school.EligibilityApplicants should hold a PhD or comparable qualifications and experience-the fellowship is not intended for students registered for a degree or diploma, nor is it intended for senior academics. Preference will be given to topics that focus on contemporary social and economic concerns of South Asia. The Fellowship is open to candidates from South Asia, that is, the SAARC region.ProcedureYou can find additional information from the website: www.lse.ac.uk/collections/asiaResearchCentre

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Strategies for acing the CAT

With CAT about one month away, it would be wise not to waste time working on anything new. In the next few weeks, just revise your fundamentals, see if there is a better way of doing a question. There should be no fiddling with your strategy at this stage if it is giving you due rewards. Another important aspect is test-taking. Take two or at the most three tests a week followed by a complete and thorough analysis of the paper. Don’t take the test as an end in itself, rather it should be a means to an end. Remember, CAT is not about last minute cramming and revising. It’s about being alive and mentally alert.Objective analysis entails comparing your performance to that of other students. Look at the benchmarks for every test. Ideally, if you retain your old scores even if the test is getting tougher, it means that you are improving. It is more important to revise and analyse than cover the entire syllabus. Besides spending time on why some answers went wrong, also concentrate on why some answers were correct or whether there is any better way of doing the question. Furthermore, in any wellplanned CAT paper, you will not be able to complete the whole section or paper. So go through the questions that you did not attempt and see if you made a mistake by leaving out those.One of the biggest pitfalls is that as students we always search for short cuts, asking ‘which is the easiest way out and which are the easiest questions?’ A critical issue here is the tremendous urge to skip questions.
While the pressures of time could lead us to lose concentration or skip questions because things get better if you follow a couple of golden rules:
Prioritise: Start with the shorter questions. The advantage with short questions is not that they are easier, but that it will take you less time to identify whether you can do them or not.
Be decisive: Decide in two readings whether you are going to attempt the question or not. This is perfectly normal and don’t let it bother you. It will take not more than 15 seconds, at a very leisurely pace, to read a question. Concentrating for those two and a half hours is not easy, but imperative.
Brush up: The one section where you need to work on is general awareness and business aptitude. Good reading habits help. But right now, focus on only CAT till November 16. Reading the newspapers will not only give you that daily dose of news, but also help you build upon your RC section!DI Angle: Learn how to skip questions in data interpretation. It is a misconception that you have to solve the whole set before you move on.
Risk taking: A wrong answer could mean losing 1/4th of a mark, so avoid really wild guesses. At the same time, remember that intelligent guessing is also part of the game. This is where regular test analysis comes in, especially checking questions that you got right and analyzing why you got it right. If you are a poor logical guesser, invest time in seeing why you consistently go wrong. This could pay huge dividends in the long run.
Expect surprises: The surprise is more in terms of format than spirit. CAT is traditionally known to check how students deal with ambiguity

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Ready for role reversal-UGC

The University Grants Commission Pay (UGC) Review Committee’s proposal to introduce a multi evaluation process for teachers has ruffled more than a few feathers.According to the proposal, a three pronged assessment report of teachers— self assessment, evaluation by students and academic head/s would be required at the time of their promotion.Some of the suggested parameters taken into consideration while assessing a teacher’s accountability include regularity in holding classes or tutorials, guiding in research and availability to students for consultation.This may seem like a whiff of fresh air in an academia plagued by a never-do-today attitude. But clearly, it has not at all gone down well with the teaching community.The most prominent grouse brandished about is that in campuses dominated by intolerance and rustic politics, this would become a tool for victimisation of teachers. “In a society entrenched with caste and communal biases, students will not judge teachers simply on their teaching abilities,” says Aditya Narayan Misra, president of the Federation of Central Universities Teachers’ Association and Delhi University Teachers’ Association. He also fears that those teachers who mark generously in internal assessment exams would ultimately win more favourites who would then feel compelled to return the favour. “This power coupled with craving for better marks and petty politics might have a negative impact on a teacher’s career,” says Misra. UGC Chairman, S.K. Thorat is quick to offer assurance, “Universities will have to develop necessary safeguards so that they can minimise the negative aspects.” The main agenda behind such an evaluation is to provide healthy feedback from students. “During promotion, this would be a very minuscule criterion,” adds Thorat. However, this has not managed to assuage the anxiety among many teachers.UGC is not the first to implement such an evaluation. At St Xavier’s College, all new teachers have to pass through this assessment procedure. At the IITs and the Hyderabad Central University, this is compulsory for all teachers. Interestingly, at these institutions, some students do treat this evaluation rather frivolously. “Teachers assessment generally meant a free period,” explains Nitin Pahwa, an IIT-Madras alumnus. It seems that seemingly inconsequential factors did ultimately play a big role in these evaluations. For instance, a Delhite at IIT often ends up giving a better report for a teacher with a north Indian accent. And then again it is hard to harshly evaluate teachers known for their leniency. “The form checked various element such as communication skills or punctuality. But if we liked a teacher we gave her or him a thumbs up in all factors,” says Pahwa. But according to a senior faculty member at IIT Delhi, the evaluation format is continuously improved.“The main purpose is self improvement. I know there are students who dismiss this excercise but by and large we do get helpful suggestions from them,” he says.There are several teachers in the central universities too who would gladly empower students with such an agency. “If our students are mature enough to vote, I am sure they can evaluate a teacher as well,” says Ujjwal Kumar Singh, professor, Department of Political Science, Delhi University. He has been conducting such an assessment at an individual level for the past 20 years. But he has some reservations regarding the new proposal. “If you have to use such an assessment while evaluating teachers, one needs to first improve the current working conditions,” he explains. This improvement entails upgraded infrastructure, better libraries and laboratories which are all prerequisites to good quality teaching.Additionally, in most colleges, a class comprises 200 students and merely 30 to 40 students account for the regular student population. Most teachers recommend only the latter should be allowed to sit for teacher evaluation.Such a mechanism has the potential to benefit both the students and teachers immensely. It brings to light several hitherto ignored grievances such as a Hindi medium student’s plight in a political science class. But its nebulous status has engendered anxiety and even hostility among certain sections of the academia. One could assuage this by initially making such as assessment voluntary rather than compulsory in nature. Wider publicity in campuses would also lay a firmer foundation for such a culture where even teachers can learn to take criticism positively.

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Chandrayaan-1 to get within 500 km of moon Tuesday

Chandrayaan-1 will cruise closer to the moon early on Tuesday when it makes the transition from the earth's elliptical orbit into deeper space.India's first unmanned lunar spacecraft Chandrayaan-1 will cruise closer to the moon early on Tuesday when it makes the transition from the earth's elliptical orbit into deeper space, a top space agency official said on Monday.
"The liquid apogee motor (LAM) on board will be fired around 5.00 a.m. on Tuesday for about five minutes to make the transition and position the spacecraft at about 500 km from the moon's surface and over 384,000 km away from the earth," Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) director S. Satish said. The complex manoeuvres will be carried out from the spacecraft's control room at ISRO's telemetry, tracking and command network (Istrac) in coordination with its deep space network (DSN) at Byalalu, about 40 km from Bangalore. "Additional velocity will be given to the spacecraft to enter the lunar orbit Saturday (Nov 8) for a rendezvous with the moon. With calibrated firing of its LAMs, it will be inserted into its designated orbit, which will be about 100 km from the lunar surface," Satish said. Chandrayaan-1 has been spinning around the earth in an elliptical orbit at 267,000 km apogee (farthest from earth) and 465 km perigee (nearest to earth) since Oct 29. "In the present orbit, Chandrayaan has taken six days to go round the earth once. The spacecraft performance is being monitored closely and its health parameters are normal," Satish added. Chandrayaan carries 11 scientific instruments, including six foreign payloads - two from the US, three from the European Space Agency (ESA) and one from Bulgaria. The other five are indigenously designed and developed by various centres of the state-run ISRO. The spacecraft was launched Oct 22 on board the 316-tonne polar satellite launch vehicle (PSLV-C11) from the Satish Dhawan space centre at Sriharikota spaceport off the Andhra Pradesh coast, about 80 km north of Tamil Nadu capital Chennai.

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Electronic Waste: Major Environmental Problem

waste is a popular, informal name for electronic products nearing the end of their "useful life." Computers, televisions, VCRs, stereos, copiers, and fax machines are common electronic products. Many of these products can be reused, refurbished, or recycled. Unfortunately, electronic discards is one of the fastest growing segments of our nation's waste stream.Debate continues over the distinction between "commodity" and "waste" electronics definitions. Some exporters may deliberately leave obsolete or non-working equipment mixed in loads of working equipment (through ignorance, or to avoid more costly treatment processes for 'bad' equipment). On the other hand, some importing countries specifically seek to exclude working or repairable equipment in order to protect domestic manufacturing markets. "White box" computers ('off-brand' or 'no name' computers) are often assembled by smaller scale manufacturers utilizing refurbished components. These 'white box' sales accounted for approximately 45% of all computer sales worldwide by 2004, and are considered a threat to some large manufacturers, who therefore seek to classify used computers as 'waste'.While a protectionist may broaden the definition of "waste" electronics, the high value of working and reusable laptops, computers, and components (e.g. RAM), can help pay the cost of transportation for a large number of worthless "commodities". Broken monitors, obsolete circuit boards, short circuited transistors, and other junk are difficult to spot in a container load of used electronics.Until such time as equipment no longer contains such hazardous substances, the disposal and recycling operations must be undertaken with great care to avoid damaging pollution and workplace hazards, and exports need to be monitored to avoid "toxics along for the ride".Problems
If treated properly, electronic waste is a valuable source for secondary raw materials. However, if not treated properly, it is a major source of toxins and carcinogens. Rapid technology change, low initial cost and planned obsolescence have resulted in a fast growing problem around the globe. Technical solutions are available but in most cases a legal framework, a collection system, logistics and other services need to be implemented before a technical solution can be applied. Electronic waste represents 2 percent of America's trash in landfills, but it equals 70 percent of overall toxic waste.Due to lower environmental standards and working conditions in China, India, Kenya, and elsewhere, electronic waste is being sent to these countries for processing – in most cases illegally. Guiyu in the Shantou region of China, and Delhi and Bangalore in India, all have electronic waste processing areas. Uncontrolled burning, disassembly, and disposal are causing environmental and health problems, including occupational safety and health effects among those directly involved, due to the methods of processing the waste. Trade in electronic waste is controlled by the Basel Convention.Electronic waste is of concern largely due to the toxicity and carcinogenicity of some of the substances if processed improperly. Toxic substances in electronic waste may include lead, mercury and cadmium. Carcinogenic substances in electronic waste may include polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). A typical computer monitor may contain more than 6% lead by weight, much of which is in the lead glass of the CRT. Capacitors, transformers, PVC insulated wires, PVC coated components that were manufactured before 1977 often contain dangerous amounts of polychlorinated biphenyls.[4] Up to thirty-eight separate chemical elements are incorporated into electronic waste items. The un-sustainability of discarding electronics and computer technology is another reason for the need to recycle – or perhaps more practically, reuse – electronic waste. Electronic waste processing systems have matured in recent years following increased regulatory, public, and commercial scrutiny, and a commensurate increase in entrepreneurial interest. Part of this evolution has involved greater diversion of electronic waste from energy intensive, down-cycling processes (e.g. conventional recycling) where equipment is reverted to a raw material form. This diversion is achieved through reuse and refurbishing. The environmental and social benefits of reuse are several: diminished demand for new products and their commensurate requirement for virgin raw materials (with their own environmental externalities not factored into the cost of the raw materials) and larger quantities of pure water and electricity for associated manufacturing, less packaging per unit, availability of technology to wider swaths of society due to greater affordability of products, and diminished use of landfills.Challenges remain, when materials cannot or will not be reused, conventional recycling or disposal via landfill often follow. Standards for both approaches vary widely by jurisdiction, whether in developed or developing countries. The complexity of the various items to be disposed of, cost of environmentally sound recycling systems, and the need for concerned and concerted action to collect and systematically process equipment are the resources most lacked -- though this is changing. Many of the plastics used in electronic equipment contain flame retardants. These are generally halogens added to the plastic resin, making the plastics difficult to recycle.A typical electronic waste recycling plant as found in some industrialized countries combines the best of dismantling for component recovery with increased capacity to process large amounts of electronic waste in a cost effective-manner. Material is fed into a hopper, which travels up a conveyor and is dropped into the mechanical separator, which is followed by a number of screening and granulating machines. The entire recycling machinery is enclosed and employs a dust collection system. The European Union, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan have already demanded that sellers and manufacturers of electronics be responsible for recycling 75% of them.Many Asian countries have legislated, or will do so for electronic waste recycling.The United States Congress is considering a number of electronic waste bills including the National Computer Recycling Act introduced by Congressman Mike Thompson (D-CA). This bill has continually stalled, however.
In the meantime, several states have passed their own laws regarding electronic waste management. California was the first state to enact such legislation, followed by Maryland, Maine, Washington and Minnesota. More recently, legislatures in Oregon and Texas passed their own laws.

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Yamuna Reaps Toxic Harvest of Immersed Idols

Floating plastic bags, decaying fruits, coconut shells, bamboo frames, silver and papier-mâché decoration, crumpled flowers, all on frothing waters. This was the river scene after hundreds of idols of Goddess Durga and her pantheon were immersed in the Yamuna river Thursday to mark the end of the Durga Puja festival in the capital.Over 300 idols were immersed at two places in the river - Gita Ghat in north Delhi and Kalindi Kunj in south Delhi. In the process, tonnes of lead-based toxic paints and other chemicals, flowers, leaves, coconut husks, clothes and so on have been left behind in the water.The dying river, once known as the lifeline of the capital, remains a mute witness to the depredation in the name of religion with no one taking responsibility to clean the mess.S.D. Makhijani, of the Central Pollution Control Board (CBCB), bluntly told IANS: "I don't think the CPCB is going to clean up the leftovers; maybe state authorities should do something."He also said "no study or initiative to assess the impact of the idols' immersion has been constituted." Environmental campaigners have decried the authorities' inaction."The authorities and the pollution control boards claim that it's a religious issue and that they did their job by sending notices to puja committees. No action has been taken to check the environmental impact of this yearly event," said Vimlendu Jha of the NGO We for Yamuna.To ensure minimal harm to the river, the Delhi High Court had earlier asked the puja committees to use a recycling pit away from the river for disposing of all the material that is usually immersed along with the idols, Jha pointed out.The authorities had also been asked to build artificial ponds where the idols could be immersed rather than add to the pollution load on the river, he said."It's not just a question of hurting the river biologically and chemically. How can anyone immerse a revered goddess in something that is effectively a drain?" Jha wondered, referring to the state of the river. The CPCB said in a report: "The Delhi stretch is in extremely deteriorated condition and not suitable for designated use."Puja organisers usually choose to turn a blind eye to the problem, though many of those who throng the marquees during the puja days feel "the immersions are not healthy for the river"."All puja items are thrown into the river along with idols of Durga - ideally the puja materials were flowers and fruits in pots made of clay, which were biodegradable. But tradition has changed. As more idols compete for glamour and use toxic non-biodegradable plastics and paints for decorations, the river ends up looking like a drain," said Aditya Mazumdar, 21, member of the Joint Puja Committee in Chittaranjan Park, South Delhi.Jha blames the callous attitude of the puja organisers for the "toxic mess"."The puja committees' callous attitude, the government's inaction and ignorant civil society are all responsible for the toxic mess in the river."In consultation with religious leaders and puja committees, the CPCB must create a coordination committee and encourage the use of organic dyes to control pollution in the Yamuna - and also fulfil the court's directives," he said.But nobody seems interested. And the river that Hindus call sacred chokes to death

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The Indian Muslim Liberal and The Challenge of Fundamentalist Islam

A scholar of Wahiduddin Khan's background, learning and reputation has a decided advantage over other secular modernists. His religious background, deep knowledge of Islam and acknowledged status as an Islamic thinker are powerful assets. He can get away with talk of reforms and reinterpretation, and take an unpopular stand on the Babri Masjid without the fear of being ostracized or declared a kafir. He can interpret the Quran without incurring the wrath of the mullahs. On the other hand, his Western-educated counterparts, who are engaged in similar endeavors, are pitted against a wide array of forces rooted both in history and in contemporary political practices. They are, above all, confronted with entrenched religio-political élites who have zealously maintained that the so-called Muslim issues fall within their exclusive domain.[1] – Mushirul Hasan, Vice Chancelor, Jamia Mila Islamia in 1997
Over 10 years ago, this man who is now eye in the eye of a storm had clandestinely confessed the inability of Muslim liberals like himself to take a critically secular stand on controversies dogging the Indian Muslim, whether it the dogma of archaic and repressive “women and personal laws”, rabble rousing disconnected political leadership, negative Urdu press, clergy based pressure groups, anti-reform elements, jihadi activists, etc. Why Hasan chose to mystify the reasons for the same lies probably in the humiliating experience he suffered at Jamia in 1993 while trying to project a progressive Muslim face. Hasan chose the unprecedented approach of defending the freedom of expression of Salman Rushie, who was facing death fatwas for having authored the blasphemous Satanic Verses. Hasan, coming from a Muslim background showed exemplary intellectual honesty but proponents of this extreme form of literacy criticism made an overnight traitor of Hasan, thousands of them abused and manhandled him in the university campus and he was unceremoniously banished from Jamia despite him immediately recanting his un-islamic declarations.[2] His exile was interrupted when he was believed by Jamia authorities to have been truly converted into the mould of the typical Indian Muslim intellectual who has an academically respectable garb in secular cloaking.
Today, Mushirul Hasan chooses to provide legal aid to the suspects behind the Delhi-Jaipur-Ahmedabad Bomb Blasts which killed more than 150 people and consequently arrested in the Batla House encounter on the specious reasoning that they belonged to the Jamia Milia Islamia, and perhaps more pertinently to the supposedly ‘discriminated’ Muslim community. The travesty his actions have played on the secular ethos of constitution have not gone unnoticed by the more responsible of Indian journalists like Dhananhay Mahapatra who exposed the secular pretensions behind rationalization of this apparently communal action since the government was bound by the Constitution, in the Preamble of which the word 'secular' was inserted through 42nd Amendment in 1976, to provide legal aid to all citizens irrespective of their religion, caste or creed.[3] If the VC of Bhopal University, had resorted to the same measures to defend the ABVP activists accused of murder of a professor, the sanctimonious coterie of Mushirul Hasan and his like would have been the first to call it and ironically correctly - communalism!
No university or institution can be held responsible for the private actions of an individual student, howsoever heinous they might be! The university’s role should at best be restricted to rustication of the accused sine die and allow the law to take its own course. The vociferous defenders of Hasan’s myopic conduct like Prof Ajay K Mehra, who welcomes the lead Jamia Milia Islam has taken in the long standing demand of secularists and human right groups in “Defence of (the dignity) of the terrorist” [4]have caused irreparable harm to the secular fabric of the nation by implicitly insinuating against the institutions of the state which are supposed to bring terrorists to book which include both police and judiciary. Will Prof Mehra who him self is a departmental head of Jamia, take the lead in verifying the antecedents of the terror accused Atif Amin who by another faculty’s admission did not even possess an identity card, and had never attended classes ever since his joining one month ago [5]
Usually, a university can at best verify the bona fides of its students, but in this case it will find impossible to even provide for a certificate of good conduct. Moreover, it is not that any insinuation was levelled against the institution except mentioning the terror accused’s association with the same which is the media norm i.e. like previously DU student held for murder/rape/cheating/etc. Then why did Hasan take the unprecedented step – why did the Jamia administration self-formulate the conspiracy to defame Jamia which has now boomeranged on themselves. Unfortunately, in the process it has given rise to a wave of unwarranted rumours circulating in the world of Jamia with their yahoo message groups all flooded with garbage ridden ideas of fake encounters and questioning M C Sharma’s martyrdom. To be fair to Hasan he did not invent this perverted theory; it was floated beyond the lunatic fringes of ‘communalism combat’ into the mainstream by another fellow traveller of his, M J Akbar! The bigger question, is of course, why was the encounter considered an attack on Muslim identity in the first place! As one journalist employed with one of the most rabidly ‘secular’ newsgroup’s, in a fit of exasperation complained;
“Do I need to tell M J Akbar that police do shoot themselves to make a fake encounter look real? Rajbeer, Daya Nayak and Pradeep Sharma did not become hero by doing real shootings they became hero by killing captive ones. Mohan Chandra Sharma was also no saint. But why M J needs to indicate that M C Sharma might be a victim of a "friendly fire" when encounter happens in Jamia Nagar? My question is - Is he reacting as Muslim or as a responsible citizen of this country?" [6]
The Muslim Pressure Groups led by the colourful Shahi Imam of Delhi who was venting his frustrations in a valley of vituperations against Hindus and the police while presiding over the funeral of the killed terrorists must have played a role in the minority institution’s unceremonious actions, which explains why the Muslim liberal is actually an emasculated entity (which Hasan confessed 10 years ago) held hostage to the machinations of an exploitative, backward looking and fundamentalist clergy
Maulana Wahiduddin is no ordinary Muslim. While, his status as an Islamic scholar remains unrivalled[7], he is the rarest of Muslim liberals who has fearlessly trudged a different path against all odds. His radically modernist mind explains that “While the Quranic periodical was run on positive lines, the entire Muslim press of the present day is plunged in negativism. They (Muslim papers) act in this way because they want to prove that Muslims are entirely virtuous and innocent of all wrongdoing and that if they appear to have shortcomings, it is because of the harsh treatment meted out to them” Communal riots are not the creation of Hinduvta ideologues but in reality the “Reason for communal riots is the Muslims own rabble rousing leadership and yellow journalism. And it is a noteworthy that wherever there is a concentration of Muslims, this over sensitiveness is very much in evidence, sooner or later it is the Muslims themselves who have to pay dearly for it at every level.”
Further unlike the secularists, he blames the Muslims' 'own backwardness, which they misguidedly wish to blame on others.'[8] For him, “the Muslim press has been suffering from what I can only call quite unjustifiable self-righteousness on the part of Muslim intellectuals. It is this innate weakness which has prevented them from seeing their own shortcomings. All they can see are the plots of others behind every problem their community faces. Consequently, instead of engaging themselves in constructive activities, they spend their time inciting members of their community to protest against others”
He also derides the idea of a threatened Muslim populace and explains that “What has gained momentum in India since 1947 is not, in fact the persecution of Muslims but yellow journalism and an exploitative leadership which sustains itself by repeated allegations of persecution. If there is any danger to Muslims in this country, it is only from our so-called leadership buoyed up as it is by paranoid journalism. There is no other real danger to Muslims”
Maulana Wahiduddin has not been taken seriously by the secular hawks because his well meaning words are an anathema to cultivation of Muslim votebanks against Hindu revivalists. In tackling the challenge of contemporary Islamic fundamentalism, Wahiduddin suggests that the original Islamic revelation had no place for murder of innocents [9]. He relies principally on Surah al Maidah 32 which states;
“We ordained for the Children of Israel that if anyone slew a person -- unless it be for murder or for spreading mischief in the land -- it would be as if he slew the whole people: and if anyone saved a life it would be as if he saved the life of the whole people. Then although there came to them Our Messengers with Clear Signs, yet even after that, many of them continued to commit excesses in the land”
Unfortunately, even this strategy of demonizing the jihadi by liberally interpreting the Quran is fundamentally problem. There are scores of provocative and violent verses in the Quran while dealing with infidels, and women which rival those of the Old Testament which can be reconciled by the Jihadis to their personal ideology. Secondly, even this liberal verse which Wahiduddin quotes is ambivalent. For the connotations of the clause, ‘spreading mischief in the land’ arguably include;
Denying the Quranic revelation which de facto arrives from doubting the authority and testimony of the prophet as recorded in the Quran
Questioning Quranic values and ethos
Practice of idolatry and other pagan customs
In a modern state, it will also include the practice of secularism – equal respect and privileges for all citizens irrespective of their religious beliefs including those who are children of the book, and even the idolaters as also atheists. Establishment of secular law over the Shariah is another essentiality of a real secular state.
Any attempt to resist Islamicization in the form of proselytization or violent subjugation
In all these circumstances, the verse in question implicitly authorizes violence to restore the superiority of Islam. After all, Innocent women and men had been killed in all probability during the age of the Prophet himself. Taking Maxime Rodinson’s standard biography in context, we refer to the killing of Abu Afak and Asma Bint Marwah. Afak was a 120 yr man who doubted the sanity of the Prophet and was promptly eliminated. Asma Bin Marwah was a poet, who decried Mohammed’s conduct. She too was later murdered while asleep in the company of her five children who were sleeping along with her. Today, Muslim negationists accuse the incidents to have never taken place [10] although they are mentioned in the early standard biographies of the Prophet issued by Ibn Sa’d (who otherwise wrote a hagiography biography) on the flimsy ground that there is no isnad – chain of reporters. To claim the incident was a forgery by al-Hajjaj, on whom Sa’d possibly relied is tenacious since similar authorities aggressively defend him against forgery in the Quran.[11] Sa’d does not mention his sources of history, yet it is unlikely he would have included such a controversial incident until it was common knowledge. Moreover, the argument can be turned the other way round as is common in argumentum ex silencio! The isnad might have been erased by those with an agenda for whitewashing those incidents which were morally inconsistent with the pristine character of the Prophet. After all, even the great emperor Akbar had his early jihadi track record whitewashed by himself or through Badauni and Abul Fazl, who both along with the mature and tolerant Akbar, discovered those despicable episode to be incompatible with a general history of their radically secular reign [12]
Moreover, not many Islamic theologians seem to have objected to this version of the story before the current clash of civilizations, probably because they did not find it so morally reprehensible unlike the thin skinned and critical conscious contemporary liberals who wish to portray the Prophet with the pen of perfect justice
Wahiduddin and genuine Muslim liberals will only become effective in contemporary politico-Islamic discourse, if they can detach the Muslim consciousness into reasoning beyond medieval dogmas and prejudices while ignoring the secular content in the quran/hadiths preferring restricting themselves to its spiritual quotient, in this modern age when certain quranic values may sound anachronistic. The late Swami Ranganathananda of the Ramakrishna Order incisively observed that it was the lack of distinguishing Sruti, the eternal from Smriti, the evanescent which was responsible for the crisis of modern Islam. I believe, any biography of the Prophet can be encompassed only by the latter.

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Eco-friendly 'Green Buildings' Catching On in India

How about living in a 'green building'? The popularity of such eco-friendly 'green buildings' with their own water harvesting and solar power systems is catching on in India and the high price is no deterrent.Green buildings also have their own water re-cycling system. More than 50 percent of the building is covered with glass - making it reflect away the sun's rays and helping to keep the inside cool and save on electricity - among other eco-friendly measures.Starting with a modest 20,000 sq ft green building in 2004 in Hyderabad, green buildings today account for over 235 million sq ft spread across India.Now there are 315 green buildings in India, including 250 commercial. They include IT parks, hospitals, airports and educational institutions.Of the 315, as many as 60 green buildings - or nearly 20 percent - have come up in Mumbai alone. The remaining are in other cities of Maharashtra. The important buildings in the city are the Hiranandani BG Building, K. Raheja group, Enercon India Pvt Ltd and Kalpataru building.The Indian Green Building Council (IGBC), a part of the Confederation of Indian Industry-Sohrabji Godrej Green Business Centre (CII-Godrej GBC), Hyderabad, is credited with spearheading the green building movement in India since 2001.The CII-Godrej GBC was India's first certified green building spread over 20,000 sq ft in Hyderabad."It is growing in popularity in a big way. By 2010, we expect about 1,000 green buildings, with over one billion sq ft to come up all over India," S. Raghupathy, senior director and head of CII-Godrej GBC, told IANS here.He said an average investment of Rs.500 million has to be made per building to make it 'green', and the total investment in green buildings would be a whopping Rs.500 billion by 2010.Green buildings cost 3-8 percent more than conventional buildings. However, the higher cost is recovered within two-three years by the handsome savings in maintenance costs, making the concept extremely popular.Explaining the benefits, Raghupathy said that since such buildings use natural light and air, energy savings could be up to 35 percent, while water savings can be up to 40 percent and productivity benefits up to 15 percent.Raghupathy said the day is not far when green buildings - offering water conservation, energy optimization, use of recycled products, and renewable energy, all of which ensure environment protection - would be the accepted norm of the construction industry.The concept, currently implemented in 75 countries, has also spurred a heavy demand for many new construction materials, equipment, systems and services, leading to a transformation of the market."There is a huge demand for green building materials and equipment like high performance glass, wall and roof insulation, low VOC paints, adhesives, sealants, CRI (Carpet and Rug Institute)-certified carpets, specialized wood, roofing material, fly ash blocks, eco-friendly chemical waterless urinals, high performance chillers, carbon-dioxide sensors, root zone treatment plants, wind towers, and other things," Raghupathy listed."We estimate the market potential for all such green building materials to be about US$40 billion by 2012. This clearly testifies the growing popularity of green buildings and their acceptability among people," he pointed out.On Sep 27, the CII-Godrej GBC is holding the sixth Green Building Congress in Mumbai, which will include an exhibition and an international seminar on green buildings.Among other things, the congress will discuss how the IGBC can usher in a 'green building revolution' in India and help make it one of the world leaders in the field by 2010.

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Revenge of Kosi

The River Kosi of Bihar is very much in the news. More than two million people have been rendered homeless and the misery of the affected is likely to increase by the day.
Kosi was in the news even much before the news paperscame into existence. Folklores are there informing people about the might of the Kosi. As per that, Kosi the beautiful, naughty and perky daughter of Himalaya was pestered by Ranu Sirdar, a demon. He accosted her and pestered her to marry him. Disgusted by his advances Kosi agreed, but on condition that he will have to build a dam overnight to confine her within the Himalayas. And in case he failed, he will have to sacrifice his life. Ranu agreed blindly and set down to work with his spade. Kosi's father, disguised as a rooster came at midnight and started to give a call. Thinking that dawn has set, Ranu ran for his life, leaving behind his spade.
As the story goes Ranu Sirdar comes every year and tries to harness Kosi, but she takes her revenge by gushing out of the Himalayas with a vengeance.Well folklore is a folklore, but it carries lots of meaning. Perhaps in the days of the yore, that was the way to spread the information around! Today we, the modern Ranu Sirdars are squandering billions of Rupees in an endeavor to confine Kosi within her channel, presuming her to be an ordinary municipal drain of Bihar. Barrages have been built on Kosi, perhaps without estimating her prowess or may be in a hurry to save the population!As it cuts across the Shiwalik ranges at the India-Nepal border at Bhimnagar, Kosi River appears knotted from Space. This is because the River keeps shifting course, like a hard-core criminal keeps changing his statements. Ground information and satellite pictures reveal that since 1770, the Kosi has changed course 21 times.
The alongside sketch shows the shifting course of the river Kosi from 1736 onwards.
Why Kosi does it, changes course like a naughty child?In order to analyze the issue one has to know the ground through which the river is flowing. And to do so one has to travel to the distant past. It was around 120 million years ago that the Indian land mass, floating like a Noah's Arc on the Sea of Tethys collided with the stationery Tibetan landmass. So strong was the collision that the youngest and the loftiest mountains in the world, the Himalayas came up. But that was not the end of it.
The Indian land mass still continues to go under the Tibetan land mass at an estimated rate of five centimeters per annum says Roger Bilham, noted American seismologist. Bilham also says that entire north Indian plate is subjected to almost north-south compression as a result of post-collisional movement. The compression has produced in this region some of the major earthquakes in the past, of which the tremors of 1883, 1934 and 1988 are worth recording here. Madhubani was the epicenter of the 1934 earthquake, known as the Great Assam Earthquake. The sub-surface of the Kosi floodplain is constantly rumbling and Dunn and his colleagues in Geological Survey Of India rightly attributed it to a series of fracture zones between Motihari and Purnea.The flood plain of the Kosi in Bihar has a highly uneven basement. There are major faults traversing it at depth. As a consequence the Madhubani graben (portion of the ground that has gone down due to fault movement and forms a trough) has six kilometer thick layer of sediments brought and left by the Kosi. Six kilometers is not a small thickness. Similarly Purnea depression is present on the east, but it is comparatively shallow. One need not say in words the turbulent past of the ground through which present Kosi is flowing.Kosi is not a municipal drain of Bihar. It is a mighty river, draining areas as far as the Mount Everest. Seven sisters Sun Kosi, Tam Kosi, Doodh Kosi, Indravati, Likhu, Arun and Tamar unite to form Saptkosi in Nepal. The River as it cascades down the gorge cuts across the Himalayas carrying in its wake huge quantities of sediments. It cuts across the Shiwalik ranges at the Indo-Nepal border. The Shiwalik rocks are geologically much younger and hence less consolidated and compact. They add to the sediment load of the River. As it emerges out of the Shiwaliks in to the Ganga plain there is a sudden drop in the gradient. This makes the River dump the extra baggage (sediment load), which fans out. The fan of Kosi 180 km long and 150 km wide is the largest amongst the river fans of the world and hence called the Kosi mega fan. It is believed that the rate of rising of the catchment area of Kosi is higher than the rate of undercutting by the river that is why it has developed the mega fan. With sub-surface which is constantly unstable being a neo-tectonic zone and sinking at a rate of one meter per 1000 years, the river behaves aberrantly on the surface of the mega fan. Recent studies show that the mega fan is tilted westward. General slope of the country in the Ganga valley is eastwards. The westward tilt skews the course of the Kosi and also affects the rate of undercutting by the river. Naturally the deposit left by the river in the fan is much thicker and larger in extent than any other fan in the world.Thus several factors like river hydrology, sediment load, tectonism, regional slope and geomorphology etc control Kosi's behavior. In a nutshell, Kosi flows through a tectonically disturbed area. It has been changing course since centuries. Kosi needs to be tackled at a diplomatic level between India and Nepal. If we want to avoid destruction by the naughty river, it has to be controlled by creating storage dams in the seven tributaries at appropriate locations and utilizing the waters for power generation and irrigation. Of course the venture would be still be fraught with risk, as the terrain is earthquake prone. Still it would be worth a try. The problem of floods in Kosi is therefore, an International problem and needs a diplomatic dialogue between India and Nepal. Mere barrages to contain the River will be of no avail. No point trying to frantically control the River like Ranu Sirdar. Remember Kosi of the folklore was a very sharp woman! Kosi of the present needs sharper brains than crude attempts to catch her. There is no dearth of technology. It is just waiting to be applied. It is time for the government of India to take up the issue with the Nepal government. India can financially and technologically support the projects.

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Not everybody is interested in money (Did you read the word ‘not?’). There are some people who have different motivations. Here is an example.

Not everybody is interested in money (Did you read the word ‘not?’). There are some people who have different motivations. Here is an example.
Hidden from the world, working secretly and steadily for a long time, just a few weeks ago, Jim Brown discovered a medicine that completely cures cancer. Because of the advancement of science and technology, he was quite sure that there would be other persons (and companies) very close to the same discovery. He did not want this new drug to be a block-buster, money-spinner drug for a mega-bucks multi-national company. He did not like the idea that someone would patent such a drug and deprive the society of easy access to the medicine. He was in an anti-patent state of mind for this particular drug. It may sound paradoxical, but now he intends to file for a patent.
Anti-climax?
A patent acquired to stop others from patenting the invention with the intention to serve social cause is termed as ‘social patenting.’ The idea is catching on because several big companies want to take visible actions that showcase their social responsibility. In fact, a company which obtains several patents to make profits, would also acquire “social patents” to win over (or at least, confuse) the anti-patent lobby.
The process to obtain such patents is almost the same, but the implementation phase is different. As for Mr. Jim Brown, that’s not his real name and he is not even a real person. However, we hope there are several Jim Browns working on their inventions on this day and at this hour, so that society would benefit sooner or later. In fact, everyone should patent their inventions. Because inventions are inventions, regardless of the intentions.
CopyleftA copyleft is to copyright, what a social patent is to a patent. If you apply the principles and motivations of the social patents to a copyright, it will be termed as copyleft. In other words, the copyright material is developed and used for social benefit, but the rules of copyrights are used against profiteers. This can also be used by companies to highlight their actions on social responsibility. The process for obtaining a copyright is the same, but the different implementation will make it a copyleft.Again, everyone’s creative output, and fruit of labor must be protected by a copyright, regardless of the ‘direction’ he would choose to go subsequently.

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A Teenage Pregnancy and US Presidential Elections

In this season thick with ideological intransigence, the news that the Republican Party's vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin's 17-year-old daughter is pregnant is symptomatic of how irresolvable the pregnancy-abortion-abstinence debate really is. Conservatives seem to conveniently forget that the other side of the anti-abortion coin, which they frequently toss to settle a profound sociological debate, is abstinence by their own argument. On that score Bristol Palin's five-month old pregnancy pushes conservatives on the defensive, but given the self-serving tendency of any election campaign it is already being projected as a proud moment by the Palins."Our beautiful daughter Bristol came to us with news that as parents we knew would make her grow up faster than we had ever planned," Sarah and Todd Palin said in a statement issued by the Republican campaign.At the risk of casting a lurid light on what is essentially a deeply personal matter, by simple arithmetic Bristol Palin was most likely sexually active well before she was 16, the age at which the US allows its citizens to apply for a driver's license. At the very least, her daughter's teen pregnancy puts Sarah Palin, who is the Governor of Alaska and a strong anti-abortion advocate, in a potentially untenable situation.A mother of five children herself at 44, Sarah Palin is fast emerging as a darling of evangelical Christians who not only strongly oppose abortion rights as a license to murder but in many ways oppose family planning. For them the news that not only will Bristol Palin keep her child but even marry the young man who fathered it is a cause for celebration. In their eye, by that one act Sarah Palin has infinitely reinforced her credentials as a conservative. This is notwithstanding that the same conservatives strongly favor abstinence as a way to reduce teenage pregnancies. Given the intensity of the debate and the profile of the girl's family it appeared next to impossible that the boyfriend, identified only as Levi, had any option but to agree to marry her.It is odd to herald the rise of the first ever female nominee for vice president by the Republican Party when one considers rather curious credentials of the Alaska governor.A lifelong membership of the doctrinaire National Rifle Association (NRA), support for the introduction of creationism in school curriculum as a counterbalance to the theory of evolution and opposition to of women's right to choose are some of the more obvious features of her political philosophy that make Palin a very peculiar but inevitable choice. A former second runner-up in a local beauty pageant with a passion for hunting merely add to Palin's sparse political profile.Republican presidential nominee John McCain had to do something truly out of the ordinary in order to take the intense spotlight away from his Democratic rival Barack Obama, whose acceptance speech at his party's convention was treated as a combined performance by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and John F. Kennedy. Short of unleashing groupies on to the stage the Democratic Party did everything to strengthen his rock star appeal. McCain had no choice but do come up with a running so far-out and yet so conventional that he would regain some of the lost ground. It has been reported that during the vetting process, McCain and his campaign staff knew about Bristol Palin's pregnancy. It is a measure of how much McCain wanted to stand out that he chose to oversaw a potentially disastrous issue and went ahead in choosing Palin. Quite expectedly Palin had already come under some harsh media glare even before the news of the pregnancy became known. Well known comic and host of The Daily Show Jon Stewart described Sarah Palin as McCain's "third wife", while the more acerbic TV commentator and comic Bill Maher called her a stewardess. Her daughter's pregnancy is bound to make the divide between the conservatives and liberals even wider and more acute with neither side giving any quarter to the other. What is more the climate of invective is bound to become more intense.Obama has been measured in his response to the news saying it "has no relevance to Governor Palin's performance as a governor or her potential performance as a vice president." He also pointed out that, "My mother had me when she was 18. How a family deals with issues and teen-age children - that shouldn't be the topic of our politics. "So," he added, "I would strongly urge people to back off these kinds of stories."

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How Chandrayaan-1 is raised to higher orbits

Chandrayaan-1 could have been fired to reach the moon, which is about 3,84,000 km from earth, in one shot. But that was not done. Instead the spacecraft is being moved towards the moon in increasingly elliptical orbits with an apogee (farthest point from the earth) increasing many times more than the perigee. “We could have done it one shot, but there is a possibility of missing the moon,” said M. Annadurai, Project Director of Chandrayaan-1 to this Correspondent. “So we have adopted an incremental increase in the orbits’ perigee.”
That probably explains why the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has decided to settle for five increasingly elliptical orbits before Chandrayaan-1 reaches the moon’s sphere of influence. Why is the firing always undertaken at the perigee position?

Firing at perigee “To increase the apogee, we must fire at the perigee . And firing should consume less energy. So the firing is done at the perigee,” Dr. Annadurai explained.
One more reason to fire at the perigee is to ensure that the spacecraft can be tracked by 3-4 ground stations. “The spacecraft is allowed to complete one or more orbits till such time 3-4 ground stations can track it. But we will fire it at the earliest opportunity,” he said. But not always can one assume that the firing will happen as planned. So any change in this will in turn affect the apsidal line (imaginary line that connects the apogee and perigee). This should be corrected and maintained if the rendezvous with the moon is to happen.

Increasing the apogee And what ensures that the apogee increases many hundred kilometres after every firing while the perigee changes by only a few kilometres? “When the firing is done exactly at perigee, the velocity increases and the apogee keeps increasing. There will be no change in the perigee position,” he said. But firing the spacecraft exactly at the perigee position is only theoretically possible. This results in a small change in the perigee altitude.

Duration of firing “It is not an instant firing [at the perigee]. It takes a few hundred seconds to complete the firing,” he said. But great effort is however taken to centre the firing around the perigee position. For instance, the first firing to take Chandrayaan-1 from the initial orbit to the first orbit (with an apogee of 38,000 km) took about 1060 seconds to complete. The second firing to take the spacecraft to the nearly 75,000 km apogee took 920 seconds. And the third firing to raise it to about 1,65,000 km apogee took 560 seconds. The fourth firing to take Chandrayaan-1 to 2,67,000 km will take about 190 seconds and finally the last raise to 3,80,000 will take 150 seconds. Though the original plan was to reach 2,00,000 km apogee in the third orbit, ISRO could only raise it to 1,65,000 km. So will that lead to any problems? “This can be made up for in the next firing,” Dr. Annadurai said.

Use of propellant Will the change in the orbit-transfer strategy from five-and-half days to nearly a fortnight lead to increased fuel consumption and hence reduced mission life? “The amount of propellant required to fire the spacecraft to 4,00,000 km is less, whether it is done in one shot or in stages. And the propellant is used only for changing the orbits and not for orbiting around the earth,” he explained. Orbiting around the earth is mainly through the gravitational force of the earth. But the gravitational influence of sun and moon would still play a role, though minor. Since the spacecraft goes around only for a few days in each orbit, there will not be any change in the orbits and hence the need to use propellant to correct the orbits would not arise.
But that will not be case when Chandrayaan-1 orbits the moon for two years. “There will be a need to correct the orbit once in two weeks to maintain a 100 km circular orbit,” said Dr. Annadurai.

Less energy required While earth’s gravitational force will exist even when the spacecraft moves further and further away from the earth, the force will decrease with distance. “So firing it to the fourth and fifth orbit will require less energy,” said Dr. Annadurai. “Since some propellant is already used in the previous firings, the overall mass would come down. So the effort required to fire reduces.”

Reverse firing Five-and-half days after the fifth firing, Chandrayaan-1 will have its rendezvous with the moon. Chandrayaan-1 will get nearer to the moon on November 8 when it reaches the 3,81,000 km apogee. Though the moon’s influence will be predominant, the velocity of Chandrayaan-1 has to be reduced to enable the moon to capture it. Else, it can fly past the moon. Once captured by the moon’s gravity, the velocity of the spacecraft has to be reduced to help it reach its final destination of 100 km circular orbit around the moon. This is achieved by reversing what was done to raise its orbits. “First, the firing is resorted at both perigee and apogee positions. And the firing takes place only after the orientation of the spacecraft is reversed — turned 180 degrees,” he said. While the momentum of the spacecraft allows it to move in the same direction, the reverse firing helps it to reduce the velocity. The reduction in velocity is again undertaken in an incremental manner to reach the predetermined 100 km circular orbit around the moon.

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Couture culture

As a nation, we have been brought up on exquisite embroidery and handicrafts. With the onset of a wedding we are introduced to a burst of colours in the form of rich fluid fabrics, precious gems and a feast fit for kings. The finest silks, crepes, and swathes of pure chiffon are to us what 1000 thread count Egyptian cotton is to the world. While the fashion world is rejoicing and reliving the revival of ancient embroideries through international fashion houses like Dior, Hermès and Chloé, our Indian luxury couturiers have inherited this artful skill which has been handed down to us through our Moghul predecessors and have been providing us with timeless couture pieces

.THE DOYENNE OF INDIAN FASHION, RITU KUMAR SAYS, “Luxury has been an inherent part of Indian culture; whether it is jewellery or clothes or even lehengas, we have been exposed to high value pieces from a very early age. We have a 2000 year old culture of gifting silver and precious fabrics, we understand luxury.” Ritu should know, after all, she designer responsible for beauty queens returning with the best national award. She is on every wish list and as her www.ritukumar.com she has dressed some world's most famous from Princess Diana to Khan. Besides being a designer, Kumar has a brand and has a presence every metropolitan city as well as a reach in smaller From her prêt store, Label, bridal collections, every Indian woman knows Kumar creation.IN CONCURRENCE ARE ABU JANI AND KHOSLA. Say the talented “The whole concept of luxury is about rarity. Luxury is also about how something makes you feel a je ne sais quoi that is indefinable, almost intangible. It's an exacting standard and those who demand and know luxe understand that it permeates your entire life. It's about uncompromising excellence.” And this uncompromising excellence is what Jani Khosla have been committed to since s. The designers are part of the Indian designer brigade who have revived various forms of Indian embroidery and used them create their masterpieces. Every piece of work that comes out of their studio is a result precision and a labour of love.
Commenting on their work, “Every Abu Jani-Sandeep Khosla garment is luxe at its best. There are no shortcuts. Voluptuous fabrics, the most intricate embroidery and embellishment and the finest finishes—that's our trademark. And every creation must match up.” Known to be the favourites of the Bachchan family and having had their designs being worn on the Oscar red carpet by none other than Dame Judi Dench, Jani and Khosla are also a favourite amongst the sophisticated in the wedding market. The designer duo, who are famous for their classic white chikankari ensembles, have a presence in the capital city and in Mumbai apart from retailing in London.

ANOTHER INDIAN LUXURY DESIGNER, TARUN TAHILIANI comes to mind with his jewelled ensembles and flamboyant creations. His kaftans are perfect for lounging in yachts on the French Riviera and are even retailed at an exclusive store there amongst other locations around the world

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Dream theme

To make your wedding reception stand out and be the talk of the town, it is no longer enough to just have the best caterers and decorators in town. Theme weddings are the order of the day and wedding planners are going out of their way to come up with ideas for your D-Day to be a memorable one.One can pick from the Abhi-Ash to Raveena Tandon style, or Arabian Nights to Bollywood to Rajasthani to Bengali themes. Weddings have traditionally been a barometer of one’s status. And now, for Gen-X, theme weddings are the in thing.“To usher in this era, we have started to plan theme weddings. It is not only good business for us, but it also allows couples to personalise the celebrations and make it different in their own way,” Vinod Bhandari, wedding planner of Wedding Xtraordinaire, a wedding management company.From the design of the invitation cards to the attire of the bride and the groom – everything must be in sync with the theme.“Good décor makes a difference and so paying extra attention to the minute details to make everything picture perfect is needed,” comments Cheena Vyas, wedding planner of Sparkles.The concept of theme weddings is just about two years old in Kolkata. It adds a new dimension to the wedding day,” adds Riya Dewanji from Sparkles.Since Indian weddings have a gamut of customs and rituals, it is wise to decide on different themes for different days.
While Arabian, Egyptian or even Casino themes go well with the pre-marriage parties like a bachelor’s party or a spinster’s night out, when it comes to ceremonies like aiburobhat, ashirbad, sangeet, mehendi or sagai, it is safer to go traditional.But to steal the limelight on the grand finale, the wedding night can be as unique and imaginative as possible.“One of the most-wanted themes is Rajasthani, where we use loads of colour and try to give a very rich look to the wedding,” says Rajiv Lodha, CEO of Launcherz, a wedding management company.And the most recent trend is taking the guests to a different destination and organising the wedding there. This is much more expensive than the other options.“This year, the tourism board of Thailand took some wedding planners from India as the Thai government is promoting the country as a wedding destination. ‘Go Bangkok’ was one of our big-budget destination themes. It is all about being different,” adds Bhandari. Model Jessica Gomes says: “I am a Roman Catholic and I need to follow a certain colour scheme. I would prefer a crystal theme or a sea theme, using mostly white and blue colour for my wedding. I feel that theme gives a unity to the wedding.”

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