manoj bhatt

whats so special about name plates?

2011-12-21T01:29:00.000-08:00

If you think that name plates are some boring rectangular plastic or metal shapes mounted on your door or wall, you are missing something. I highly recommend that you have a look at Suman's studio at http://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/sumanstudio/ and it will completely change your notions. Absolutely fantastic piece of affordable artwork, tastefully crafted nameplates that demonstrate a fine blend of art, culture and communication.

Musings of a middle class executive

2011-08-19T20:28:00.000-07:00

...on my way to office...what a horrible traffic man!!!......how can I show solidarity with Anna Hazare, the civil society and the Jan lokpal bill? ....may be i should do a day long dharna in front of my computer?....that's really easy...online activist - no stakes, no accountability...in any case, boss is now a days acting like a moron....no salary hike no promotion no bonus.....who wants to work here yaar........but the market is really bad...already sent resume to all the headhunters but no response.....I hear they are doing day long fasts in Nitin's office...that's pretty cool. Can we count this in CSR? May be yes, i can add this to my CSR achievements in the annual PMP...Too much corruption in India.... I pay all my taxes but what do I get? This company has bloody no tax savings scheme, for everything tax is deducted at source...at least spare per diem yaar....our society must change....but we need real revolutionaries in the neighborhood....oh no, i am not asking my kids to join politics, thats a place for criminals and corrupt, Rinku and Mini must go to IIT/IIM.....that way they will have a better chance to go abroad....oh, we have reached office...another long day...need to take a day off tomorrow , builder wants 20K for khata and it has to be paid in cash only...chalo achcha hai, khata aane ke baad flat ka price thoda bad jayega... Anna Hazare tum sangharsh karo, hum tumhare saath hain..!!

Pranav Mistry: The thrilling potential of SixthSense technology | Video on TED.com

2010-05-20T10:40:00.000-07:00

Pranav Mistry: The thrilling potential of SixthSense technology | Video on TED.com

Water is precious !!

2009-07-04T06:16:00.000-07:00

Cash is king

2008-11-02T00:02:00.000-07:00

Sequoia Capital recently made a presentation to its portfolio companies about how to try to survive an economic downturn. Here's the presentation:

Sequoia Capital on startups and the economic downturn

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: depression recession)

Finally....Hard Rock Cafe in Bangaluru...

2008-03-01T04:36:00.000-08:00

Yeah...it true. (No live band yet...).

http://www.hardrock.com/locations/cafes3/menu.aspx?LocationID=514&MIBenumID=3
Enjoy Maadi !!

Orient-Express v/s Indian Hotels (Taj)

2007-12-26T21:29:00.000-08:00

Read Orient Express' letter to Taj at:

http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000355/4034082.search?query=orient+express+letter+to+taj+

and Indian Hotel's reply to Orient Express at:
http://www.businessworld.in/content/view/3248/3343

EmPower Research launches first-ever study on the Indian Contract Research Organization (CRO) industry

2007-11-03T06:09:00.000-07:00

EmPower Research, LLC, a pioneer in the field of Business Research and Information Consulting, launched its first-ever study on the Indian Contract Research Organization (CRO) industry.

The report titled ‘Indian Contract Research Industry’ (CRO-nicles) captures the industry’s current position, trends, challenges and its outlook by speaking to the top line industry executives first hand.India currently stands as one of the highest ranked emerging countries in global contract research in the pharmaceuticals industry followed by Italy and China, and is expected to grow by 20% compounded annual growth, over the next five years. Over 30 global top-ranking contract research organizations (CROs), including Quintiles and Kendle have set up centers in India.Several major pharmaceutical companies are also setting up new centers, expanding their existing centers, or revisiting their India-centric strategies after a long time lapse. Today, as with every outsourced activity, clinical research has evolved as a major driver for the Indian CRO industry.The key highlights of the report include an overview of the Indian clinical trials market, its size, and costs incurred, advantages and future outlook. The report examines the clinical trials market scenario, critical success factors driving the industry and key issues related to government regulations and governing clinical trials. In addition, the report also explores the outsourcing opportunities, industry dynamics and anticipated changes in the industry.As part of the report, profiles of 27 major Indian CRO companies covering aspects like services offered, key people, clinical phases and financials for the last two years are also presented.This report will be useful to Contract Research Organizations, pharmaceutical companies, venture capitalists (VCs) and leveraged buyout (LBO) firms, pharmaceutical educational institutions, research bodies, industry experts, associations and industry consortia, in understanding the booming Indian CRO industry.

About EmPower Research

EmPower Research, LLC (http://www.empowerresearch.com/) provides high quality, cost-efficient, customized research and analytics to clients across industries. It has offices in the East and West Coasts of USA and in Bangalore, India.

Indian banking leader, HDFC Bank, selects Misys Summit FT to focus on innovation and to bring derivatives products more quickly to market

2007-04-27T02:14:00.000-07:00

20 March 2007 – Misys Treasury & Capital Markets announces today that HDFC Bank, recently named as the “Best Bank” in India1, has selected its award-winning solution, Misys Summit FT, to process interest rate derivatives. Misys Summit FT was chosen because of the clear return on investment to HDFC Bank and its excellent reputation as well as Misys’ experience of over 17 years delivering solutions to the interest rate derivatives market.
Misys has built a strong development and product support office in Bangalore for its solution offerings in the banking and treasury and capital markets sectors, and has grown its team to over 1,000 people since setting up there in 1998. HDFC Bank was founded in 1995, backed by Housing Development Finance Corporation, and was one of the first new generation of commercial banks in India. Its mission is to be a world-class Indian Bank, expanding its business according to customer demand and continue to innovate in all parts of its business, especially the treasury operations segment. HDFC Bank is the first Indian financial institution to select Misys Summit FT since the company opened the Indian sales office in Mumbai recently.

The bank’s strategy is to be an innovator in the interest rate derivative market and become the de facto standard in India for interest rate products. To achieve its objectives, it needed a sophisticated solution to work across the whole bank, from front office through to the back, enabling it to bring products to market faster and increase margins. The first phase will see Misys Summit FT implemented for interest rate and currency derivatives processing, covering a wide range of vanilla and exotic instruments.
“We have grown significantly since starting operations a decade ago,” says Mr Sudhir Joshi, Treasurer, HDFC Bank. “We aim to maintain that growth and ensure we remain an innovator in the Indian and global markets. We chose Misys Summit for its strong front-to-back real-time features, from deal capture, pricing, analytics and hedging through to risk management and STP and we believe that it will have an immediate positive impact in our day-to-day operations. It will also ensure we achieve our goal not just in interest rate and currency derivatives, but in other areas of the treasury and capital markets business in the future.”Prabhakar Saxena, General Manager – Sales and Distribution India, Misys Treasury & Capital Markets, adds, “We already have many of India’s major financial institutions as Misys customers in the retail and corporate banking market,. To complement this, we have also recently established a sales team specialising in the treasury and capital markets in India. This is enabling us to satisfy the increasing demand from Indian banks for product innovation in this buoyant market sector and to operate on a more global basis. We look forward to working with HDFC Bank and enabling it to keep ahead of the market in India. As our business grows and our sophisticated solutions are chosen by similar forward-thinking institutions, Misys is well positioned to become the leading banking solution provider in the Indian market.”
1 Amongst others, “Best Bank in India in 2006” (Euromoney) and “Best Listed Bank in India” (Businessworld)
For further information please contact

Prafull Sawant
Prana Public Relations
Off: 22884046
Cell: 98925 65480
E-mail: prafull.sawant@pranapr.com

Raam Kumar
Prana Public Relations
Off: 22884046
Cell: 98201 77907
E-mail: ram@pranapr.com

Edward Taylor
Global Head of Public Relations
Misys Banking Systems
+44 (0) 777 55 66 561
E-mail: edward.taylor@misys.com
About HDFC Bank Ltd
Promoted in 1995 by Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC), India’s leading housing finance company, HDFC Bank is one of India’s premier banks providing a wide range of financial products and services to its 9.6 million customers across hundred of Indian cities using multiple distribution channels including a pan-India network of branches, ATMs, phone banking, net banking and mobile banking. Within a relatively short span of time, the bank has emerged as a leading player in retail banking, wholesale banking, and treasury operations, its three principal business segments.
The bank’s competitive strength clearly lies in the use of technology and the ability to deliver world-class service with rapid response time. Over the last 10 years, the bank has successfully gained market share in its target customer franchises while maintaining healthy profitability and asset quality.
As of December 31, 2006, the Bank has a network of over 583 branches and over 1,471 ATMs in 263 towns/cities.
For the quarter ended Dec 31, 2006, the bank reported a net profit of INR 2.96 billion (Rs295.6 crore), 31.7% higher over the corresponding quarter of previous year. Total deposits were at INR 667.49 billion (Rs.66749 crore), over 0% higher. Total balance size too grew by 32.5% to INR 896.08 billion (Rs.89, 608crore).

Leading Indian and international publications have recognized the bank for its performance and quality. For further information, visit http://www.hdfcbank.com/

About Misys plc
Misys plc (FTSE: MSY.L), the global software and solutions company, is one of the world’s largest and longest-established providers of industry-specific software. Founded in 1979, Misys serves the international banking and healthcare industries, combining technological expertise with in-depth understanding of customers’ markets and operational needs. In banking Misys is a market leader, with specialisms in both the treasury and capital markets and core banking areas, having over 1,200 customers, including all of the world’s top 50 banks. In healthcare Misys is also a market leader, serving more than 110,000 physicians in 18,000 practice locations, 1,200 hospitals and 600 home care providers.. Misys employs around 6,000 people who serve customers in more than 120 countries. For more information, visit http://www.misys.com/

salaam bombay !

2006-07-12T10:23:00.000-07:00

A day after: Mumbai returns to normalcy
..........The morning after the devastating blasts on the Western railway line, life is back to normal for the ever-resilient Mumbaikars............Mumbai residents are sending out a clear message that the city will not be cowed down by terror. Incidentally, none of the political parties have called a bandh. (NDTV)

I miss you, Mumbai! and I have the highest regards for you, Mumbaikars!!

The English Divide

2006-07-11T00:49:00.000-07:00

Courtsey: NDTV

Barkha Dutt
Managing Editor, NDTV 24x7
Saturday, June 24, 2006

One of the most awkward - and yet, strangely compelling - things about journalism is that sometimes your work makes you hold a mirror to your own life. This past week, a quiet, but determined 16-year-old became an unexpected reflection of my education. I have always believed that my school and college years were the first architects of my personality; like every middle-class Indian, I take pride in where I studied and what I was taught. And yet, the gentle idealism of this young girl made me pause to wonder: Had my public-school education been shamefully elitist? At first, the story seemed straightforward enough. Garima Godara, a CBSE topper, with an astonishing 97.6 per cent had taken the entrance exam for the Delhi Public School (Dwarka), the school closest to her village. The daughter of a police constable who earned less than Rs 6,000 a month, the school's fees would have been a problem. But the family was undeterred; perhaps there would be a scholarship or a loan; surely the school would be keen to admit the girl who had topped the national capital's merit list. Garima's proud father had spent months battling the entrenched patriarchy of his peers, fending off nosy neighbours who gossiped about why she didn't spend enough time in the kitchen. Now, he was even more determined to give his daughter the best education her marks could buy. This could have been the story of New India and its emerging, self-made middle class; a proud milestone for a country that dares to dream.Instead, here's what happened: DPS turned her down. Her results were good, it conceded. But marks aren't everything, said the school principal to NDTV, and besides, her English was poor, and just didn't cut the grade.Later, listening to Garima in the studio, it was hard not to feel both angry and moved. Angry because of the obvious injustice: not only was she as bright as her results indicated; there was nothing about her spoken English that suggested that she would have been unable to keep pace with the syllabus.Yes, she spoke with a regional accent that some would consider insufficiently sophisticated. But there was no doubt that she could not only follow a complex argument, she could also make herself understood to any English speaker. But it was her calm that was almost heart breaking; a quiet courage that belied her teen years. It was almost as if we were more outraged and indignant than she was. During the course of the programme, a principal from a well-known school in Dehradun called in, offering her admission and a scholarship; others promised to get DPS to change its mind. But betraying only the slightest sense of hurt, she said firmly that her aim now was to show DPS that she would do better than any of its students. She had already got herself admitted to another school, and DPS could quite simply, take a walk. As she spoke, viewers clearly shared my anger. The online poll showed that 90 per cent of viewers believed that the English language exerted a disproportionate influence over the education system. Yet, were we all being hypocritical and dishonest? This time it was DPS under the microscope, but were any of us any different? Let's say she continued to do outstandingly well in school. The next stage would be college. I pictured her trying to take the entrance interview at my old college, Delhi's St Stephen's. Would she get in? And even if she made the cut, how would other students react to her presence? Would they admire her for her academic brilliance? Or would they snigger at her accent, titter each time she made a grammatical error and then, melt away, leaving her alone to find her own friends? Garima's story is a metaphor for India's twisted tryst with the future. I learnt after the programme was over - and it is significant that neither she nor her parents brought this up themselves - that she is an OBC. For some months now, as the debate over reservation has raged, opponents of the quotas have made the same point again and again: we should be a society where merit matters. It's a compelling argument, and one that I have personally supported. But what do the anti-quota street fighters have to say now? Here's a girl who competed in the mainstream, her own Hindi medium DAV pitched against the trendier, richer, big names. But her merit was swallowed up by prejudice. Is it any wonder then that supporters of reservation believe that the system is stacked against them, and that merit is a con-word used by upper-caste tricksters?Her story is also a scathing comment on the class divide in India. It is fashionable for marketeers and economists to talk about the burgeoning middle class. Each day a new figure is conjured up to demonstrate the size of the Indian market, and the clout of the new middle class; is it 250 million this week or has it already reached 300 million? We embrace these statistics, because we like the idea of India as this century's favourite financial destination. We feel flattered when Time magazine puts our country on its cover, and we talk glibly, especially to foreigners, of social mobility and how the gap between the rich and poor is closing; we argue that India's tomorrow is being built by its industrious and enterprising middle class, and we feel like the future is unfolding, right here and right now.But here's what we never admit. We're just the worst sorts of snobs.The social mobility of the last decade has meant that the new middle class does not consist of people like us. Instead, it is made up of people like Garima, who we still find excuses to exclude; we sneer at their lack of Westernized sophistication; make fun of their accents, and we try and ensure that our children have nothing to do with theirs.Finally, Garima's story exposes India's paradoxical relationship with the English-language. Nobody in the world speaks English like us. We have our own idioms, our own words and our own accents. We pretend to love our own English and brag about how it is India's great selling point; the reason we dominate the global outsourcing business. But of course deep down we know that our English is not the English that the West really wants. And so, each time we talk to Britons or Americans, we subtly alter our diction and inflection. When we set up our call centers, we drop the subtlety entirely and start accent classes to teach our young people to abandon the speech patterns of our own society and to migrate to a virtual, linguistic middle America, where they become impersonators of people they will never meet and never know. But within India, we still treat our own English as the great social decider. We laugh at regional accents, smirk at those who make grammatical errors and feel most at home with those who talk like us. Everyone else belongs on the other side of the English divide. And as it turns out, the other side of the class and caste divide as well.Maybe we cling so tightly to this tiny community because secretly we are just insecure. Outside of our little bubble, India is changing. Every major institution in recent times - Parliament, the bureaucracy, the military, our colleges and schools - is being forced to re-write the rules. A new breed of Indians who no longer look towards the West for self-affirmation, is making its presence felt. We like to call this a decline in quality. But actually, it's the rest of India waiting to get in.How long are we going to keep the gates shut?

http://www.ndtv.com/columns/showcolumns.asp?id=1043

Explore my professional network on LinkedIn

2006-04-19T04:44:00.000-07:00

Sangita Joshi (Co-founder and Director, Empower Research): Major publications, citations and references

2006-03-04T02:52:00.000-08:00

What they don't teach you at biz school (Parenthood can teach skills that may otherwise take years to acquire and hone, says Sangita Joshi)http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/life/2002/04/22/stories/
2002042200200400.htm
High five (Bangalore-based marketing professional Sangita Joshi, however, believes that colas helped highlight the price point to the consumer. "I think the consumer hadn't yet been so sensitised to the price point. Their media weight really threw open the gates for other manufacturers to come and piggyback on the Rs 5 price point.)http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/catalyst/2004/09/09/stories/
2004090900210100.htm
Packaging unveiled (Protection, longer shelf life and security are the functional features of packaging. But there's more to it, notes Sangita Joshi in the first of her two-part article)http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/catalyst/2004/07/01/stories/
2004070100060200.htm
Gaining the advantage (Packaging that makes it convenient for consumers to handle the product and re-use it can give the brand an edge, says Sangita Joshi.)http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/catalyst/2004/07/08/stories/
2004070800050200.htm
When in Rome ... (How does a marketer approach a large market divided by culture and geography?)http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/catalyst/2004/04/15/stories/
2004041500030200.htm
The game of the name (A name can inspire, excite, motivate and entice; it can also repel, bore, confuse and polarise. Make sure your brand carries the right name and the right associations. An analysis and some pointers from Catalyst.)http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/catalyst/2002/08/15/stories/
2002081500050100.htm
There's lots more to a name (With technological advances it will become increasingly difficult to `win' in the market based on product-based attributes alone. Brand names will need to focus on higher order end benefits and help set the aspirational tone for brands with appropriate names)http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/catalyst/2002/08/22/stories/
2002082200100200.htm
M&As: Good, bad or ugly? (What is the magic formula for MNCs acquiring Indian brands? What motivates them, how do they make it work, and in the end, is it really worth it? )http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/catalyst/2002/07/11/stories/
2002071100080200.htm
The agony and the ecstasy (Globalisation is supposed to result in corporate growth, modernisation, consumer satisfaction and cost reduction. While local firms are forced to improve their technology and product quality, foreign companies pressurise and assist local industry to improve quality. Last week, this column dealt with some case studies of multinationals acquiring Indian businesses and delved into the reasons behind mergers and acquisitions. The concluding part deals with the impact on the host country and offers insights into how M&As could be successful)http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/catalyst/2002/07/18/stories/
2002071800050200.htm
Who's buying at factory outlets? (The increasing presence of factory outlets along with the high-profile retail mall presents an inconsistency in the consumer's shopping behaviour where she is willing to buy an expensive salwar kameez in a boutique but shops for her walking shoes at the Nike factory showroom.)http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/catalyst/2003/06/05/stories/
2003060500070200.htm
Face value (A celebrity is used to impart credibility and aspirational values to a brand but the celebrity needs to match the product)http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/catalyst/2003/04/24/stories/
2003042400170200.htm
The great outdoors (How should you remind consumers your brand is alive and kicking? )http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/catalyst/2004/03/04/stories/
2004030400050200.htm
Getting the recipe right (Why do so many new products and brands fail? Make sure every element in the marketing strategy is right, from concept to launch to distribution. )http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/catalyst/2003/11/13/stories/
2003111300090200.htm
The demotivated dealer salesman (Reward for performance and longevity, better compensation and regular training programmes would make the Indian dealer salesman more competent and effective than before)http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/catalyst/2003/06/19/stories/
2003061900050200.htm
The search for an Indian retail model (Western retailmodels don'treally suit the Indiansituation andconsumer behaviour.Catalyst starts aseries whichdiscusses theoptions as well as the pros and cons. )http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/catalyst/2004/10/21/stories/
2004102100090200.htm
The issue of retail formats (Convenience store, supermarket, department store, hypermarket, discount and speciality store! Which one would suit our market? A mix of supermarket and discount stores, says the author. This is the second part of the article on retail models for India. The first appeared in the Catalyst issue dated October 21, 2004)http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/catalyst/2004/10/28/stories/
2004102800180200.htm
The recipe for retail success (The dos and don'ts about wooing customers and making them come back to your stores. This is the third and concluding part of a series of articles on retail models in India. The first two appeared in Catalyst issues dated October 21 and October 28, 2004. )http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/catalyst/2004/11/04/stories/
2004110400090200.htm
Price: The great leveler (When the Indian consumer guns for value, he is actually talking price. So, are marketers equal to the task?)http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/catalyst/2004/05/13/stories/
2004051300080200.htm
Changing face of outsourcing
http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/Jan252006/
avenues1342192006124.asp
...and now PR outsourcing! (Empower Research plans to increase its headcount in Bangalore to 100)
http://www.ciol.com/content/news/2005/105111515.asp
Outsourcing becoming knowledge outsourcing ("KPO, simply put, is BPO but at a higher level in the intellectual value chain," writes Sangita Joshi, co-founder of the KPO consulting firm EmPower research in the Deccan Herald, an Indian daily newspaper. "The crux of KPO is to provide value to the client primarily in business critical and strategic decision making processes.")
http://www.upi.com/Hi-Tech/view.php?StoryID=20060130-123944-6179r
Word has it that the next industry to be riding the outsource-to-India wave will be Public Relations……One of the first companies to enter the brand new domain of PR services outsourcing was EmPower Research, a BRIC (Business Research and Information Consulting) organisation that offers analytics services to PR firms in North America. Contends Sangita Joshi, Director, EmPower Research, “The PR Industry is changing - and drastically so. From being a tactical ‘manager’ of media relationships, it has evolved to being a more strategic, proactive constituent of the integrated marketing communications of a company - which actually cultivates and analyses public opinion rather than just manipulating it.”
http://epaperdaily.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=VE9JQkcvMjAwNi8wMy8wMSNBcjAzMTAw&Mode=HTML
&Locale=english-skin-custom
Ten years after: The B-School graduate then and now.
Catalyst, The Hindu Business Line, September 6, 2001
http://www.blonnet.com/businessline/catalyst/2001/09/06/stories/
1906o051.htm
Using customer service as a strategic tool
Catalyst, The Hindu Business Line, July 26, 2001

View Sangita Joshi's profile

Exploring Uttaranchal Himalayas

2006-02-25T03:27:00.000-08:00

The most reliable commercial establishment in Kumaon region is Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam. This is owned by the uttaranchal governemnt, is very professionally managed and is capable of taking care of most of your requirements specially in the remote areas : http://www.kmvn.org/

Similar level of professional excellence in Garhwal region is demonstrated by Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam: http://www.gmvnl.com/newgmvn/

You can also refer to the website of Uttaranchal Government, department of tourism for some information. However KMVN and GMVN are the official operational agencies to provide tourism related services.

Uttaranchal Tourism: http://www.ua.nic.in/uttaranchaltourism/

There are many beautiful places specialy the reserve forest areas where KMVN and GMVN donot have a presence. Uttaranchal Forest Development Corporation has a number of forest rest houses which were originally built for exclusive use of touring forsest officers. Thanks to new liberal government policies, these beautiful rest houses are now available to public in general.

Uttaranchal Forest Development Corporation : http://www.uafdc.org/accommo.html

Be a responsible tourist. Dont pollute the ecologically fragile hill regions during your visit.

Ramachandra Guha on Shekhar Pathak (The Hindu Newspaper, 15th August 2004)

2006-02-21T00:54:00.000-08:00

ON this, the 57th anniversary of Indian independence, I wish to write about the Indian of my acquaintance who best combines past with present. He is in his early fifties, his name is Shekhar Pathak, and he lives somewhere in the Himalaya — somewhere, but we do not know exactly where. For he is a gumakkad, a traveller and seeker who lives for and loves our beautiful hills — its people, its cultures, its rivers, its threatened landscape. Sometimes Shekhar Pathak is in the upper reaches of the Alakananda valley, tracing the ancient routes of the Bhotiya herders who once traded across the Himalaya with Tibet. At other times he is down in villages by the river-bed, recording the stories of women who participated in the Chipko Andolan. Occasionally he comes down to the burning plain, to speak to audiences in Delhi and Patna about the beauty and tragedy of the Himalaya. And once a year he parks for a few weeks in the hill town of Naini Tal, while he edits and prints a remarkable literary journal on the Himalaya, published in Hindi, and called, simply, Pahar.
I am myself an arm-chair intellectual of the worst kind, for whom a journey out to Chennai is a massive expedition. I stay at home, but through the wanderings of Shekhar Pathak I have come to learn a good deal about the Himalaya. For in the 20 years that I have known him, he has peppered me with letters from locations as far-flung as Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Himachal Pradesh, allowing me to see these places through his eyes.
Postcard journeys
I used once to get postcards from Shekhar Pathak; these have now been replaced by electronic mails. His address is well named for an itinerant on the road: parikramavaasi@hotmail.com Very typical is this e-mail I received on the July 20, 2002. This told me that he had just "come back from a wonderful journey of Qomolongma (Everest). We trekked in Rongshar and Kaama valleys, which are east of Qomolongma, for 10 days. We saw the flowers, rivers, lakes, the Drokpa people, yaks, many gompas, and the real wilderness of this part of the Himalaya ... . It was raining and for many days and we were not able to understand the impact of the great mountains — Makalu, Qomolonjo, Lhotse and Qomolongma — as we were not able to really see them. After continuous trekking for nine days one morning we were able to have the whole range of the great mountains in front of us. It was a lifetime experience. All these (mountains) were talking with the sky but their feet were close to us."
The letter continued: "Then we went to Rongbu glacier side. This is the north face of Qomolongma and the British expeditions tried to reach the top from this side in 1921, 22 and 24. In the final expedition Mallory and Irvive lost their lives. We drove up to the base camp and trekked a further five/six km. We got really wonderful views. All this is captured by me in my diary and photos."
This must have been a hard and exciting trek, but harder and more exciting still was a march completed by Shekhar Pathak this past summer. This lasted six weeks, and extended over as many as 1,100 km. The trek covered the extent of the State of Uttaranchal; starting in the village of Askot, on the Nepal border in the east, it ended in the hamlet of Arakot, which touches Himachal Pradesh to the west. The march went up high hills and down low valleys, and crossed the great Himalayan rivers. The marchers slept in caves and in disused shepherds' huts, waking up to touch the snow on the mountains.
This was, in fact, the fourth time that Shekhar Pathak had traversed his native state. The first time was in 1974, when, of course, Uttaranchal itself did not exist. Four college students took part in the first "Askot-Arakat Abhiyan"; Kunwar Prasun, Pratap Shikhar, Shamsher Singh Bist and Shekhar Pathak. All were participants in what was then a very intense struggle for a separate hill state. In the years since, the four marchers have, in their own ways, stayed true to their youthful idealism. Prasun is a widely respected journalist; Shikhar, a widely respected social worker; Bist, a veteran activist of progressive social movements in the hills.
On the mountain trail
As for Pathak himself, he took a Ph.D. in History, writing a pioneering thesis on the system of forced labour in Uttarakhand. For the past two decades he has taught at the Kumaun University in Naini Tal, where he is now Professor of History. Among the few perks that come with being an Indian academic are long holidays spread out over the year. Where his fellow teachers put their feet up, Pathak takes his back-pack and hits the road — or should we say, the narrow mountain trail. Every year, he must do at least a dozen field-trips small or large; and once every decade, in 1974, 1984, 1994 and 2004, he has undertaken the massive Askot-Arakot padayatra.
For Shekhar Pathak, passion and profession come together in his journal Pahar. "Journal" is probably not the right word, for what we have here is a handsome-sized book in excess of 300 pages, finely designed and with many photographs. Twelve volumes have been printed since the first one appeared in 1983. There have been special issues on the Himalaya in the 18th and 19th Centuries, on the freedom struggle in Uttarakhand, and on travel writing. Other issues have been more eclectic, ranging widely over the literature, geography, and ecology of the Himalaya. In addition to these book-sized volumes, Pahar has produced some 20 topical pamphlets, among which is a masterly analysis of large dams by the Chipko leader Chandi Prasad Bhatt.
The printed volumes of Pahar contain a vast and periodically enriched archive of the Himalaya. As, in its own way, does the mind of Shekhar Pathak himself. A student of mine once spent a week with Pathak, whereupon he named him "Encyclopaedia of the Himalaya". His knowledge of his region is staggering. He has, it sometimes seems, visited almost every valley, and perhaps every hamlet, in Garhwal and Kumaun — and spoken to most of its peoples, too.
Shekhar Pathak is a true "organic intellectual", a man steeped in the history, ecology, legends, and myths of his native Uttarakhand. He has a profound regard for the great men and women the region has given birth to, from the poet Sumitranandan Pant to the campaigning journalist Bishambar Dutt Chandola, from the mountaineer Bachendri Pal to the Gandhian Radha Bhatt. He is himself an authentic hero of the Himalaya, and, beyond that, of modern India, a man who in his person and work helps safeguard, honour and deepen our hard-won, but sometimes carelessly regarded, political Independence.
I have, as I said, dozens of letters from Shekhar Pathak, these written from places I shall myself never see. Once, however, it fell to me to visit a mountain-side he had not been to. I had been invited to a conference in Ecuador, to be held in a small town high in the Andean mountains. Shekhar Pathak sent me a postcard before I left, wishing me bon voyage with a message that was characteristically brief, witty and wise. The message read: "Andes parvat ko Himalaya ka pranam". And so, to the Andes, I carried the profound respects of a worthy son of its great mountain sister, the Himalaya.

Ramachandra Guha is a writer and historian based in Bangalore. E-mail him at ramguha@vsnl.com
© Copyright 2000 - 2006 The Hindu
Shekhar Pathak is an academician, historian and environmental activist based in Nainital. E -mail him at parikramavaasi@hotmail.com

Basel II - My article in the Hindu Business Line Newspaper, recognised the importance of the "economic capital" framework wayback in the year 2002

2005-12-24T08:06:00.000-08:00

There is no doubt that most banks will benefit from the economic capital framework, which is in line with Basel-II discussions and proceedings. It will provide them with a platform to develop models for managing their businesses efficiently and to compete with the large sophisticated players. To read the full text of this article please see

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2002/12/11/stories/2002121100060800.htm

Nain Singh: The great surveyor

2005-11-19T02:19:00.000-08:00

One of the greatest projects of nineteenth century geography was the Great Trigonometric Survey of India. Bit by bit, the whole subcontinent was mapped with unprecedented precision. The English also wanted geographical information on the lands further north. This was not just out of scientific curiosity: The Russians were expanding their empire into Central Asia, and the English feared that might have set their eyes on India. Thus, the Russians and the English both tried to extend their influence in Asia. Knowledge of geography of the region was of course of utmost importance in this so-called 'Great Game'.
However, in some regions these surveys seemed impossible. Some of the Indian border countries, in particular Tibet, would not allow westerners to enter their country, let alone a British surveying team. In the 1860s, Thomas G. Montgomerie, a captain in the survey, realised that the solution to this problem would be to train natives from Indian border states to be surveyors, and have them explore the region. These would raise less suspicion than Europeans, and might be able to make observations disguised as a trader or a lama (holy man). These native surveyors are called pundits, after a Hindi word for a man of learning.
A number of tricks were developed to enable the pundits to make their observations without being found out. They were trained to make exactly 2,000 paces to the mile. To count them, they used what looked like a buddhist rosary, but instead of the usual 108 beads had 100, every tenth being slightly larger. Every 100 paces a bead was dropped. A prayer wheel did not hold the usual buddhist prayer om mani padni hom, but maps and notes. Pundit Nain Singh also found that these could be used to ward off curious co-travellers: Each time someone came too near, he would start whirling the wheel around and thus pretend to be in religious contemplation. Usually this would be enough to stop others from addressing him. Another way of keeping their observation was to turn them into a poem, and recite that during their travels.
The pundits were given extensive training in surveying: They learned to use the sextant, determine height by measuring the temperature of boiling water, make astronomical observations. They also got a medical training. Despite the precautions and tricks, some of them were sent back, tortured or even executed. But with their travels they managed to map the Himalayas, Tibet and surrounding areas with remarkable precision. Their exploits are still little known and under-appreciated. They deserve to be counted among the greatest and most daring explorers in history.
The first, and arguably the greatest, of the pundits was Nain Singh, a schoolteacher from Village Milam (in Munshyari) in present day Pithoragarh district of Uttaranchal. With his cousin Mani Singh, he left Dehra Dun, the survey's northern India headquarters, for Nepal in 1865. From there Mani returned to India by way of western Tibet, but Nain went on to Tashilhumpo, where he met the Panchen Lama, and Lhasa. During his stay in Lhasa, his secret was discovered by two Kashmiri merchants, but for unknown reasons, they did not report him to the authorities. Nain Singh returned to India by way of Mansarowar Lake in western Tibet. He had done an enormous jog, mapping the trade route through Nepal to Tibet, determining for the first time the location and altitude of Lhasa, and mapping a large section of the Tsangpo, the major Tibetan river.
On a second voyage, in 1867, Singh explored western Tibet and visited the legendary Thok-Jalung gold mines. He noticed that the workers only dug for gold near the surface, because they believed digging deeper was a crime against the Earth and deprive it of fertility. In 1873-5, he traveled from Leh in Kashmir ot Lhasa, by a route more northerly than the one along the Tsangpo that he had taken on his first journey.
Nain Singh’s name, and feats, could now be made public after years of secrecy. In 1876, his achievements were announced in the Geographical Magazine. The awards and recognition soon started flowing in. On his retirement, the Indian Government honoured him with the grant of a village, and 1000 rupees in revenue. The Paris Geographical Society, having heard of his feats, sent him a gold watch (according to Montgomerie, ‘not a very handsome watch, but the Society is not rich, and they meant to pay N.S. a handsome compliment’). The crowning achievement came in 1876, when the Royal Geographical Society honoured him with a gold medal as the ‘man who has added a greater amount of positive knowledge to the map of Asia than any individual of our time’.
Although Nain Singh got the recognition he deserved late in life, it is difficult to imagine what drove such a man to carry out arduous and dangerous work like this, under conditions of near-impossibility, all for a starting salary of rupees twenty a month!

To read more about Pundits and Nain Singh, visit following lonks:

http://www.ias.ac.in/currsci/sep10/articles5.htm
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/tibet/ascend/singh.html
http://www.unlockingthearchives.rgs.org/themes/everest/gallery/resource/?id=247

The most comprehensive book on this subject is "The Pundits: British Exploration of Tibet & Central Asia" by Derek Waller. It is an excellent and very well-researched book, for the first time the explorations of the Pundits have been recorded in one book.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0813191009/103-9440871-0009424?v=glance&n=283155&n=507846&s=books&amp;v=glance

EmPower Research: Pioneering “Business Research and Information Consulting”

2005-11-18T00:30:00.000-08:00

EmPower Research is a Business Research and Information Consulting (BRIC) firm based on an offshore model, headquartered in New York City. It was founded in 2004 by a group of four former executives and academics who bring several years of experience in corporate assignments throughout the world, a diverse, complementary skill set and a deep rooted commitment to changing and improving business process economics and efficiency on a global scale.
EmPower’s value proposition is "Highly customized time critical, cost effective, and consulting firm quality research that focuses on providing insights rather than just data". With its differentiating feature being deep industry expertise combined with a strong passion for quality, EmPower Research has acquired a stellar list of blue chip clients including many amongst the Fortune 1000.
EmPower Research specializes in the following Service Offerings: Customized Business Research; Industry Intelligence; Marketing Newsletters; Media Audit; Media Monitoring Blog Analysis, and Strategy Consulting. These offerings can be found in various domains - Telecommunications, Technology, Professional Services, Pharmaceuticals, Retail and Consumer Products, Media & Advertising.
EmPower Research has Business Development Offices in New York and San Francisco, and the main Research and Analysis Delivery Engine in Bangalore, India. The Bangalore office has a strong, growing team of experienced researchers and analysts with graduate degrees from top schools. It also uses a network of industry and functional experts who consult with EmPower.
The EmPower Research Founder Team is comprised of:

Kyung Han: 13+ years in technology, strategy consulting, and Internet project Management; Principal Booz Allen, General Manager MIT OpenCourseWare, Engineer Mitsubishi; BSEE, Duke University; MBA, MIT Sloan School of Management
Debjani Deb: 14+ years in technology, strategy consulting, business development; CSO, GCI Group, Strategy & Business Development, ONI Systems, MAYAN, Engineer AT&T Bell Labs; BA, MS Computer Science, Stanford, MBA MIT Sloan School of Management
Shoma Bakre: 10+ Teaching, Media, Human Resource Management; Director Bus Dev N-Media Inc., Senior Analyst Applied Materials; BA, MA, BEd, MBA San Jose State University
Sangita Joshi: 13+ years in Sales, Marketing, Product Development, Teaching; Visiting Faculty, IIM Bangalore, Sr. Manager, Whirlpool; Brand manager, Gillette; BE, Delhi College of Engineering; MBA, I.I.M, Bangalore

EmPower Research has won many laurels from its clients - these testimonials are proof of the future of the BRIC space, and of the critical role that EmPower Research plans to play in it.
"From our first project with EmPower to our current one, we have been impressed with their amazing turnaround time, the quality of the information received and the turnkey nature of the material. Their work has not only made our new business efforts easier and more impressive, but has also proven to be a great resource for our current clients that will set us apart from our competition": Senior Vice President – Consumer Marketing and Advertising Agency