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CONGRESS -
We procured Gandhi Items Through Mallya: Govt [Ambika Soni]
I BID MY OWN ................................ : [VIJAY MALLYS]
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BANGALORE: In 2003, as a 'proud Kannadiga', Vijay Mallya, chairman, UB Group, brought back to Karnataka Tipu Sultan's sword from England for Rs 1.5
crore. Two years later, he put down a million pounds at a Sotheby's auction in London to purchase some more Tipu items, like a silver-mounted flintlock sporting gun. Circa 2009, as a 'proud Indian', he bought Mahatma Gandhi's metal-rimmed glasses, sandals, pocket watch, bowl and plate for $1.8 million in a controversial New York auction.
Speaking to TOI on his stunning coup, Mallya talked of his interest in bringing back items that are part of India's heritage. Incidentally, Mallya acted alone. The government, which is taking credit for the return of the Gandhi items to India, didn't contact him either before or after the auction.
Excerpts from the interview:
How do you feel about winning the Gandhi items at the auction?
I did what I felt I had to.
What made you want to do this?
This is nothing new for me. I had earlier bought the sword of Tipu Sultan. I always believed that items of great heritage value should be owned by India and restored to India. I have already committed to gifting Mahatma Gandhi's items to the government. Hopefully, without having to pay import duty.
Why didn't you announce earlier that you would be in the fray?
I was testing my internal system. Everything about me and my group these days leaks and I have become the favourite whipping boy for the Indian media. I wanted to see if we could keep this a secret and it worked. It looks like I have now learnt the art.
What was your first reaction when you heard you had the winning bid?
I was completely in the loop. Tony Bedi was on the floor and I was on the phone with him. Frankly, the price was going up so steeply, I was rather relieved when it got over. The guideline price was just $20000-30000 and it was rising so fast. But, let me tell you, there is no right price for Gandhi's items which are part of our national heritage. These are items of emotional value. One can't put a price to it.
Did you know that Dilip Doshi (the former Indian spinner) was bidding against you?
No, I did not know that. He is a good friend of mine. He called me after the auction and congratulated me. The auctioneer had said there were over 30 registered bidders. I couldn't second guess them all.
Has the Indian government been in touch with you, either before or after the auction?
No. Neither before or after.
Are you waiting to hear from them?
No, why should I? As soon as I get delivery, I will take it to Delhi and present it to the government.
Is the legal position over the Gandhi items clear given there was an injunction against the auction?
I spoke to the auctioneer about it. The injunction was against conducting it. The auction went on regardless. Now that it is over and I have bought the items, I would now say the injunction has lost its relevance.
What's the status with Tipu's sword and other items that you bought?
All Tipu items, including the sword, are in San Francisco. I would love to bring them back to India. I would love to have a Tipu Sultan museum, either in Mysore or Bangalore. I can't bring them now as they will levy duty on that.
If the government reconsiders the position and allows duty-free import, I would love to bring them back and put it for public display. After all, they are a part and parcel of India's heritage. They are now in packed wooden crates in my custody in San Francisco. It makes no sense.
Are you interested in buying or bringing back more India related memorabilia?
I will decide as and when they become available. I can't make a blanket statement.
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Showing posts with label Amazing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Amazing. Show all posts
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Thursday, March 5, 2009
About Human Brain
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Things You Didn't Know About Human Brain
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4 Mar 2009, 0800 hrs IST
At birth, all of your baby’s organs – the heart, lungs, kidneys are fully developed, but smaller than an adult’s organs, except one - the brain. Things you didn't know about human brain (Getty images)
Between the sixth week and fifth month of pregnancy, your baby’s brain grows about 100 billion cells! Some of these brain cells are connected at birth, but most are not. During the first five years of life (and afterwards at a slower rate), your child’s brain is hard at work connecting these brain cells.
More than three quarters of it is made of water. Scientists tell us that there are times when certain parts of the brain can learn new information more easily than at other times. They call these times windows of opportunity. Some of these windows open and then close during the first few years of life.
Some ways that your child moves can actually improve her learning! When your baby crawls, your toddler plays patty-cake, or your preschooler dances with scarves, both sides of the brain are put to work. This is important because both sides of the brain are used in many learning skills. So movement can help prepare your child to learn.
Never shake your baby! Shaking may cause your baby’s brain to swell, bleed, or bruise. Also, don’t throw your baby into the air, even though you are just playing. Hurting your baby’s brain by shaking or throwing may cause learning disabilities, blindness, seizures, mental retardation and even death.
Positive emotions enhance memory. Diet activates memory. Aromas and colours also stimulate mental alertness and memory.
Our bodies release harmful chemicals under stress, these chemicals are not good for the brain. The brain needs to be properly hydrated in order to be alert.
Small muscle exercise stimulates brain growth. No wonder children are fidgety, constantly moving their fingers and toes! The more multi sensory the activity, the more likely the child is to process the learning activity.
Sleep time is important for brain development, as the brain organises all material, otherwise can lead to confusion and loss of what is learnt.
Breast-feeding your baby for the first twelve months of life can boost her IQ by up to 8 points. If you can't breast-feed or have to stop early, be sure to use a commercial infant formula that is fortified with brain-boosting nutrients.
Feed your toddler an optimal diet to enhance brain growth. Even a flight deficiency in a key vitamin, mineral, or nutrient (such as iron, iodine) during the time when the brain is going through its spectacular growth spurt can result in a lower IQ, poor test scores, depression, and even teen drug abuse down the road.
If a child is stressed out, unhappy, under-stimulated poorly nourished, or exposed to brain toxins in the environment, important neural connections will die, his brain will be less efficient and simply stated, he will not be as smart.
(Inputs from Swati Popat Vats; Director Podar Jumbo Kids and Podar Education Network, Mumbai)
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Things You Didn't Know About Human Brain
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4 Mar 2009, 0800 hrs IST
At birth, all of your baby’s organs – the heart, lungs, kidneys are fully developed, but smaller than an adult’s organs, except one - the brain. Things you didn't know about human brain (Getty images)
Between the sixth week and fifth month of pregnancy, your baby’s brain grows about 100 billion cells! Some of these brain cells are connected at birth, but most are not. During the first five years of life (and afterwards at a slower rate), your child’s brain is hard at work connecting these brain cells.
More than three quarters of it is made of water. Scientists tell us that there are times when certain parts of the brain can learn new information more easily than at other times. They call these times windows of opportunity. Some of these windows open and then close during the first few years of life.
Some ways that your child moves can actually improve her learning! When your baby crawls, your toddler plays patty-cake, or your preschooler dances with scarves, both sides of the brain are put to work. This is important because both sides of the brain are used in many learning skills. So movement can help prepare your child to learn.
Never shake your baby! Shaking may cause your baby’s brain to swell, bleed, or bruise. Also, don’t throw your baby into the air, even though you are just playing. Hurting your baby’s brain by shaking or throwing may cause learning disabilities, blindness, seizures, mental retardation and even death.
Positive emotions enhance memory. Diet activates memory. Aromas and colours also stimulate mental alertness and memory.
Our bodies release harmful chemicals under stress, these chemicals are not good for the brain. The brain needs to be properly hydrated in order to be alert.
Small muscle exercise stimulates brain growth. No wonder children are fidgety, constantly moving their fingers and toes! The more multi sensory the activity, the more likely the child is to process the learning activity.
Sleep time is important for brain development, as the brain organises all material, otherwise can lead to confusion and loss of what is learnt.
Breast-feeding your baby for the first twelve months of life can boost her IQ by up to 8 points. If you can't breast-feed or have to stop early, be sure to use a commercial infant formula that is fortified with brain-boosting nutrients.
Feed your toddler an optimal diet to enhance brain growth. Even a flight deficiency in a key vitamin, mineral, or nutrient (such as iron, iodine) during the time when the brain is going through its spectacular growth spurt can result in a lower IQ, poor test scores, depression, and even teen drug abuse down the road.
If a child is stressed out, unhappy, under-stimulated poorly nourished, or exposed to brain toxins in the environment, important neural connections will die, his brain will be less efficient and simply stated, he will not be as smart.
(Inputs from Swati Popat Vats; Director Podar Jumbo Kids and Podar Education Network, Mumbai)
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Thursday, February 26, 2009
India's Real Slumdog Billionaire
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Kalpana Saroj :
MUMBAI: You could call her India's real life slumdog billionaire. Kalpana Saroj, a Dalit woman who broke social shackles and left her ramshackle home in the poorest part of her village 26 years ago to begin life afresh, today heads a Rs 3,000 crore business enterprise.
On Monday, state Forests Minister Babbanrao Pachpute inaugurated the new plant of her company Kamani Tubes in Wada, around 75 km from Mumbai.
For the 48-year-old Saroj, it was a dream come true. Standing outside the factory premises with her husband Shubhkaran, pilot son Amar, 24, and daughter Seema, 22, she smiled radiantly -- and remembered her painful past.
"Born in a poor Dalit family, I was married off forcibly at the age of 12 to a man more than 10 years older to me," Saroj told IANS. "A year later, I came back to my parents' home. The following year, I tried to join the police force like my father, but I was rejected."
Her attempts to rebuild her broken life were thwarted by other residents of her village, Roparkheda in Maharashtra's Akola district. They accused her of "overstepping social norms and boundaries". She bore the insults for 10 years before leaving the rural slum in which her family stayed to come to Mumbai.
Saroj moved into Ghatkopar here, met a man and married him, but he died in 1989, leaving her to fend for their two minor children.
Undeterred, she began managing her husband's small steel almirah manufacturing unit, launched a construction company and with the realty sector booming, made profits. She ploughed this money into small steel and sugar units.
Her biggest challenge came in March 2006 when her firm, Kalpana Saroj and Associates, took over the ailing Kamani Tubes and turned it around to a profitable enterprise.
A brand leader in non-ferrous tubes, the company was started by Mumbai's well-known industrialist Ramji Kamani, a close associate of the country's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, who visited the Kurla factory twice.
However, a family discord affected the firm adversely. By 1975, it was on a downslide and was declared "sick" after the owners abandoned it.
Later, a court allowed the workers' union to run the company.
The experiment failed. By 1997, the company had run into debts of over Rs.1.6 billion (Rs.160 crore).
Almost a decade later, in March 2006, as per a court directive, Kalpana Saroj and Associates were given charge of the company, its 560 employees and the total debt burden.
Saroj took up the challenge.
According to Kamani Tubes Managing Director M.K. Gore, in an effort to boost employees' morale, she cleared in one go Rs 85 crore in salary arrears totted up over 17 years.
"I was born, grew up and lived in poverty for the first two decades of my life. I know what a worker undergoes when salaries are not paid on time - the bills, the creditors, the fees and other expenses. So it was very important for me to gain my workers' confidence," Saroj said.
Gradually, production resumed and touched 3,000 tonnes of non-ferrous tubes and pipes.
Owing to disputes over the ownership of the 1.8 acre property in Kurla, Saroj withdrew from a long court battle and began scouting for another location outside Mumbai.
"With an investment of around Rs.3 billion, we decided to shift the plant to Wada. We are the first in the country to install two giant-sized Pilger machines of Germany, costing Rs.1 billion," Gore said.
Her next targets are taking up the Kamani production to 10,000 tonnes, diversifying to manufacturing 100 different alloys, and catering to defence and communications requirements.
"Since my son is not interested in managing my business, I may even launch a private airline for him," she laughed.
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Kalpana Saroj :
MUMBAI: You could call her India's real life slumdog billionaire. Kalpana Saroj, a Dalit woman who broke social shackles and left her ramshackle home in the poorest part of her village 26 years ago to begin life afresh, today heads a Rs 3,000 crore business enterprise.
On Monday, state Forests Minister Babbanrao Pachpute inaugurated the new plant of her company Kamani Tubes in Wada, around 75 km from Mumbai.
For the 48-year-old Saroj, it was a dream come true. Standing outside the factory premises with her husband Shubhkaran, pilot son Amar, 24, and daughter Seema, 22, she smiled radiantly -- and remembered her painful past.
"Born in a poor Dalit family, I was married off forcibly at the age of 12 to a man more than 10 years older to me," Saroj told IANS. "A year later, I came back to my parents' home. The following year, I tried to join the police force like my father, but I was rejected."
Her attempts to rebuild her broken life were thwarted by other residents of her village, Roparkheda in Maharashtra's Akola district. They accused her of "overstepping social norms and boundaries". She bore the insults for 10 years before leaving the rural slum in which her family stayed to come to Mumbai.
Saroj moved into Ghatkopar here, met a man and married him, but he died in 1989, leaving her to fend for their two minor children.
Undeterred, she began managing her husband's small steel almirah manufacturing unit, launched a construction company and with the realty sector booming, made profits. She ploughed this money into small steel and sugar units.
Her biggest challenge came in March 2006 when her firm, Kalpana Saroj and Associates, took over the ailing Kamani Tubes and turned it around to a profitable enterprise.
A brand leader in non-ferrous tubes, the company was started by Mumbai's well-known industrialist Ramji Kamani, a close associate of the country's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, who visited the Kurla factory twice.
However, a family discord affected the firm adversely. By 1975, it was on a downslide and was declared "sick" after the owners abandoned it.
Later, a court allowed the workers' union to run the company.
The experiment failed. By 1997, the company had run into debts of over Rs.1.6 billion (Rs.160 crore).
Almost a decade later, in March 2006, as per a court directive, Kalpana Saroj and Associates were given charge of the company, its 560 employees and the total debt burden.
Saroj took up the challenge.
According to Kamani Tubes Managing Director M.K. Gore, in an effort to boost employees' morale, she cleared in one go Rs 85 crore in salary arrears totted up over 17 years.
"I was born, grew up and lived in poverty for the first two decades of my life. I know what a worker undergoes when salaries are not paid on time - the bills, the creditors, the fees and other expenses. So it was very important for me to gain my workers' confidence," Saroj said.
Gradually, production resumed and touched 3,000 tonnes of non-ferrous tubes and pipes.
Owing to disputes over the ownership of the 1.8 acre property in Kurla, Saroj withdrew from a long court battle and began scouting for another location outside Mumbai.
"With an investment of around Rs.3 billion, we decided to shift the plant to Wada. We are the first in the country to install two giant-sized Pilger machines of Germany, costing Rs.1 billion," Gore said.
Her next targets are taking up the Kamani production to 10,000 tonnes, diversifying to manufacturing 100 different alloys, and catering to defence and communications requirements.
"Since my son is not interested in managing my business, I may even launch a private airline for him," she laughed.
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Saturday, February 21, 2009
Woman Delivers Baby on Bus
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KANPUR: In a bizarre incident, a woman delivered a baby on a radways bus on Friday. She had been on her way to hospital when the labour pains
started.
As per sources, Seema (28), wife of Dharmendra Pal and a resident of Kannauj, was coming to a city-based nursing home in Arya Nagar for delivery. However, before she could reach the hospital, Seema started having labour pains and delivered a baby boy on the bus. She was then rushed to a nearby private nursing home in Chapera Puliya.
The hospital authorities informed that both the mother and the baby were fine.
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KANPUR: In a bizarre incident, a woman delivered a baby on a radways bus on Friday. She had been on her way to hospital when the labour pains
started.
As per sources, Seema (28), wife of Dharmendra Pal and a resident of Kannauj, was coming to a city-based nursing home in Arya Nagar for delivery. However, before she could reach the hospital, Seema started having labour pains and delivered a baby boy on the bus. She was then rushed to a nearby private nursing home in Chapera Puliya.
The hospital authorities informed that both the mother and the baby were fine.
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