K Satchidanandan, Writer

A book that means a lot to you?
There are many books that mean a lot to me but I would name the Holy Bible – especially stories from the Old Testament and Genesis because they throw up several very interesting and accurate human aspects. I also like the moving stories from Exodus. The Holy Bible is a book that means a lot to me also because it talks about the life of Christ, his message and his sacrifice. I deeply respect it for all the human emotions and aspects it offers.

Your favourite genre?
Poetry. You know, I wanted to be a poet. I read a lot of fiction, too, but poetry is the genre I prefer, because it is the best way for me to express emotions.

Your favorite character?
My favourite character is Ivan Karamazov from Dostoyevsky’s novel The Brothers Karamazov. I particularly appreciate the kinds of relations he makes with people.

How many books do you own?
In my library, I would say 8,000.

An underrated book?
Moby Dick by Herman Melville, because it’s really good at drawing human friendships and situations.

An overrated book?
The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga.

The book you bought last?
The Way to Paradise by Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa. I also always enjoy science fiction!

Last book read?
The last book I read was the same, The Way to Paradise.

A book you wish you’d written?
Canto General by Chilean poet and diplomat Pablo Neruda, because it’s an extremely poetic history of Latin America.

Rahul Mahajan, Reality TV Star and Politician

What’s your earliest memory?
When I was little, my family and I lived in a town where there were a lot of rich families. But my mother still came to pick me up after school, something other rich mothers would never have thought to do. That’s my earliest memory.

What was your relationship with your parents, and especially with your father?
My father and I had a very close relationship. You know, he used to say that when a boy reaches 21 or 22 years of age, he becomes an adult. At that age, the relationship is no more about a father and his son but that of friends.

One month after your father’s death, you were hospitalised for a cocaine overdose. How do you feel about that now?
I can’t discuss this. I can’t explain all these medical things, I am not a specialist. However, I think that life is made of good and bad moments. This was a bad one. But now, I am in a good one. I did Bigg Boss, I am going to participate in the next TV show Rahul Dulhaniya Le Jaayenge. Maybe I’ll find love in this show, who knows?

What do you think of love and marriage?
I think love and marriage are two different things. Love is not the only reason to get married. Marriage is much bigger than ‘love’. I definitely believe in marriage.

Do you think you’ll find your soulmate on TV?
I definitely think I could find a girl in this show. There will be 16 girls, selected out of a 100 or so, from different sets of society, so it can’t be that bad for me! You know, I’ve been married once already – not an arranged marriage but with a girl I knew for years and chose myself. This time, I’ll be in a select social circus and I think it is a good way to find someone who matches me. I am really excited about it. Furthermore, I want to make a career in the media. So, this will help my career too! Of course, there are other means to meet girls, but TV is at the centre of family lives now. I like the idea of being filmed 24/7 because it gives me the opportunity to show everyone who I really am.

And what kind of woman are you looking for?
First, I am looking for a genuine woman. Second, I think a woman looks for a good husband – a wise and kind person. I also think parents should give all they can to their children, and that’s also important in a marriage.

Maximum Tribute

The late King of Pop’s brother was in Mumbai to record a tribute to the city, and he will be back for a commemorative tour, says ADELINE BERTIN

Musician Jermaine Jackson, the elder brother of the late Michael Jackson, has been in Mumbai since October 2 to record a tribute, called “Go Mumbai City,” and shoot a music video with long-time friend Pakistani singer-composer Adnan Sami. “We were supposed to record the song in LA. But on Adnan’s suggestion, we decided to relocate to Mumbai and make it a tribute to Mumbai. I'm so glad we did that. Mumbai is such a vibrant city,” explains Jackson.

He added that his visit to Mumbai represents the culmination of a decades-old fascination with India: “India is a part of my life and soul. The food I’ve loved for many years, the unbelievable fashion and the beautiful music are all things I’ve always admired. It’s great to be a part of this wonderful spirit and culture.”

Mumbai is such an “incredible city” for this Jackson that he is already planning that the Maximum City will feature in an upcoming worldwide tour to commemorate the late “King of Pop”, who passed away on June 25 at the age of 50. Bhushan Kumar, the head of T-Series, at whose studio Sami and Jackson recorded the song, said that while visiting the only Indian city where Michael had performed (in 1996), Jermaine wants to connect with Mickael Jackson fans in India.

Of course, the attractions of Mumbai did not mean that Jermaine didn’t visit the usual tourist magnets: he went to see the Taj Mahal in Agra and then visited Jaipur with Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty. Some things never change.

Bear Hug

This shelter offers sloth bears, rescued from being performing animals, a chance to live without constant pain, says ADELINE BERTIN

The sight might not be as commonplace as it once was, but it’s a familiar image in small towns and villages across most of the country: sloth bears being made to dance for the delectation of a motley audience, which is then asked to ante up for the show.

What the bug-eyed audience doesn’t know — and the kalandars, members of a nomadic community that often works with animals, do not want tourists and viewers to ever see — is what lies behind the piece of leather that covers the bear’s snout. The bear isn’t really dancing: a red-hot iron needle has been thrust into its nose, and a rope threaded through it. Since the wound never has a chance to heal, when the rope is pulled, the bear rears in pain — and that’s the dance.

After the government banned dancing bears in 1998, activists Geeta Seshamani (Delhites know of her from Friendicoes, the dog shelter she co-founded there 30 years ago) and Kartick Satyanarayan, founders of Wildlife SOS, established the Agra Bear Rescue Facility in 2000. This was done with the help of the Uttar Pradesh Forest Department, to try and bring an end to the 400 years old practice of dancing bears in India.

Rani was the first bear to come into the facility in December 2002. Since then, the rescue centre has grown, and now it’s the biggest bear centre in the world, with a total area of 160 acres,270 bears and about 70 staff. The idea is to provide the bears with medical treatment and care. “The way we treat, socialise and rehabilitate them needs to be done keeping in mind their psychological trauma and their past,” explains Satyanarayan.

In the first three months, each bear undergoes a quarantine period, during which it’s vaccinated and given plenty of tonics and fruit to build up immunity levels. Then, the bear is moved to a large socialisation enclosure, where it can interact with others.

Unfortunately, the bears can never be completely rehabilitated — which means releasing them back into the wild because, as Satyanarayan points out, “their teeth have been knocked out and their claws removed to be sold as amulets”.

Of course, it isn’t enough to just bring in the bears: part of the rehab process is providing the kalandars with an with an alternative livelihood option, so that their incentive to trap bears and use them for dancing is reduced. So, part of WSOS’ demit has been to launch social welfare projects to help this marginalised community. “We did not expect we would end up doing this. But we are quite thrilled because when we look back, we see a huge success,” says Kartick.

Now, from one dancing bear sanctuary in Agra, WSOS has expanded to four sanctuaries. “In 1997, there were 1200 dancing bears in India; now, we only have about 95 to 200 such bears left,” says Satyanaryan happily. WSOS hopes to have brought in all of them by Christmas this year. If that goal is achieved, it will indeed be the perfect Christmas present— for the bears, and indeed, for India.

Tyranny - at Home

Home meant to be a refuge, but for this family, it turned into imprisonment. ADELINE BERTIN reports.

In a cruel reminder of the Austrian father who imprisoned his daughter for 24 years, repeatedly raped her and fathered at least seven children, 60-year old Francis Gomes locked, beat and starved his wife and daughters for seven years. Gomes was arrested and sent to 15 days in judicial custody by a Mumbai court on October 1, after police had rescued three of them two days earlier with the help of NGO Anand Rehabilition Centre from their second floor flat in Naigaon (west), while “dad” was away…

Thane police inspector Ashok Pawar said that, “After preliminary investigations, we arrested the accused, Francis Gomes, for causing hurt to the victims and wrongfully confining them.” In his statement, Gomes claimed that his “wife and daughters were mentally unstable. I was taking care of them.”

This case has naturally triggered concern and consternation. According to the complaint, Gomes had confined his wife Theresa (55) and daughters Elizabeth (27), Geneviev (23) and Barbara (21), in the house since 2002. Apparently, he was extremely possessive and feared his girls would be raped if they ventured out.

According to Theresa, and the letter Geneviev wrote to the police asking for help two months ago, he never left home without locking the kitchen and the main door of the house, to give the impression that the family was away. For seven years, the women suffered: while the girls were studying, they were often denied food and fresh clothing. The windows had been boarded, denying them sunlight. They also endured violence. For example, when the youngest daughter failed her college exam, Francis hit her so hard that she suffered severe neck injuries. But the women were too scared to tell anyone about their ordeal.

This June, with the help of the NGO, Geneviev managed to escape. But Theresa, Barbara and Elizabeth were too scared to leave, fearing that Francis would successfully hunt them down. In her letter, Geneviev had said: “I feel sad that my mum and two sisters, who are in need of medical care, are still at home.” As the rescued women undergo medical and psychological treatment at a city hospital, police and the judicial system must grapple with such terrible injustice at home…

Troubled Waves

New Delhi: Electromagnetic radiation emanating from mobile handsets has spoilt the growth of agricultural crops and plants across northern Indian states, a recent study has said.

The study - done by scientists at the Punjab University of Chandigarh - states that electromagnetic field (EMF) radiation from mobile phones have choked seeds, affected germination and early growth.

This was, interestingly, the first such study analyzing the impact of EMF on seeds.

Scientists germinated moong dal (Phaseolus aureus) seeds in a closed chamber in which two cell phones were kept on talk mode. The results were surprising. The experiment showed inhibited germination and early growth of the pulse in moong dal seeds exposed to cell phone radiation. Compared to seeds that were not exposed to any radiation, the germination of others exposed to two and four hours of electromagnetic radiation reduced by 18 and 30 per cent respectively. The study also shows that the inhibitory effect of mobile phone radiation was greater on root growth than on shoot growth.

Says Ravinder Kumar Kohli, a member of the botany department of the university and one of the authors of the upcoming research paper: "Our study has shown that cell phone radiation inhibited root growth by affecting respiration of the root and excessive leakage of ions (charged particles)." At the same time, leakage increases because of radiation and ultimately cell membranes break. "This leads to a certain oxidative stress, caused by too much oxygen showing the presence of toxins," Kohli said.

Researchers said this study was necessary in view of the increase of electromagnetic radiation from phones and cell phone towers in the natural environment and its possible impact on ecosystem processes and environmental health.

Another member of the team, Ved Prakash Sharma, found radiation's dramatic impact on chicken eggs, In fact, Kerala researchers had earlier claimed that electromagnetic radiation from cell phone towers had impacted honeybees and house sparrows.

A Curious Journey of the Cuppa that Cheers

New Delhi: More than a decade after India's herbal queen, Shahnaz Hussain, tried hard to sell her face cream to NASA, there are chances of another Indian product making it.

Tea, the world's most widely consumed beverage, could actually be on a NASA space mission if astronaut Edward Michael Fincke gets a clearance from the authorities.

Fincke, married to an Indian from the northeastern Assam state, intends to carry a packet of Assam tea to the international space station during his third voyage, scheduled next year.

Fincke's wife, Renita Saikia, an Assamese girl and an engineer with Nasa, was instrumental in getting her husband the sobriquet of "Assam's son-in-law". During the function, Fincke also accepted the proposal from Assam Tea Planters' Association (ATPA) and North Eastern Tea Association (NETA) to carry along some Assam tea to space during his next mission.

"Mike heartily accepted the proposal, and expressed a keen interest," says NETA chairman Bidyananda Barkakoty.

Last year, Fincke carried the traditional Assamese gamcha (locally made cotton scarf) to space during the Expedition 18 Mission to the International Space Mission (ISS).

Nest Making Little Frog Found in Indian Rain Forests

New Delhi: A Delhi University researcher has found, for the first time in Asia, a rare species of frogs making leaf nest to lay eggs.

Dr SD Biju of Delhi University says the discovery of this "rare and endemic species" was made in 2000 in the rainforests of the Western Ghats mountain range in the southern states of Kerala and Karnataka.

The scientist visited the breeding sites for several monsoon months and established the first report from Asia about frogs making leaf nests. "Getting a complete sequence of nesting events is not a simple thing!" admits Dr Biju.

The behavior of the Rhacophorus lateralis is not usual in frogs. These tiny amphibians, which measure up to 12 cm (about 5 inches) in length, make their nests after laying eggs in order to protect them from predators and heat. They roll leaves from top to bottom in order to make a cocoon and produce a sticky substance to close the ends to secure the eggs.

They are different from American and African leaf-nesting frogs since they make their nests after the females have laid the eggs.

The R. lateralis is an endangered species, seriously threatened by coffee as well as other plantations. They are progressively loosing their habitat in the forest. Thereby, "a better understanding of the breeding biology of this frog is critical for its conservation management." Dr Biju, an associate professor of the School of Environmental Studies in Delhi University, has posted details about his discovery on his research website (www.frogindia.org).

Handling Rage

Dr Swati Bhave’s is a serious attempt at dealing with managing anger issues, say ADELINE BERTIN and CAROLE DIETERICH

It’s easy to read, and the cartoons as well as the A to Z format make it simple enough. But to actually use this handbook is not that effortless — because it about managing anger. Anger Management by Sunil Saini and Swati Y Bhave, executive director of the Association of Adolescent Child Care in India and coordinator of development for the International Pediatric Association, does provide very useful tips intended to help people deal with anger issues.

For instance, they point out that it’s much easier to admit to being angry and discuss the causes, rather than letting rage get out of control, particularly with one’s kids. “Be nice to your kids and they will be nice to you and everyone else. Remember your own childhood when dealing with children […] and be more forgiving,” she points out sagely.

For the authors, modern life is a constant competition in which individuals try to get the best in everything. She defines anger as an emotional response when faced with an obstruction in reaching one’s target. But in this striving for success, people forget to be happy. “Parents teach children lots of skills, they spend a lot of money because they want them to be talented. But none of them really bother about their happiness.”

In fact, what people need is to learn how to cope with the negative aspects of anger, emotional aggression (hostility, bitterness); verbal aggression (criticism, jealousy); and physical aggression (assault, domestic violence). “Anger should not be expressed in a destructive manner but in a constructive one: this is anger management,” they point out.

What if you’re in at work and a rage situation develops? “If you are in a meeting and feel that anger is building up, take a break that will […] help you to calm down. Take a cup of coffee/tea, have a snack, as often since hunger triggers anger.”

Most important, however, is the point that anger affects the angry person deeply — and usually adversely so. “An acute episode of anger can precipitate a heart attack or brain stroke and even lead to death,” say Bhave and Saini. In addition, there is a release of adrenaline, which results in shortness of breath, flushing of skin or muscle rigidity.

But if you feel an anger attack coming on and no other techniques are working, here are the top three quick tips to deal with it without serious emotional or physical harm: physical activity, diverting attention or deep breaths while counting to a hundred. Yes, the grandmotherly advice may not have been unscientific, after all.

Make it Better

The crux of social activist Rajni Bakshi’s argument is that the free market can — and ought to be — reshaped with a more social context, say ADELINE BERTIN and CAROLE DEITERICH

We created the market, and we can recreate it. The central point that freelance journalist and social and political commentator Rajni Bakshi makes in her latest book, Bazaars, Conversations & Freedom, is that since the market is fundamentally a human invention, its form and shape can be tinkered with — and indeed, improved upon.

She does this by telling us about the financial wizards, economists, business people and social activists around the globe who have been challenging the “free market” orthodoxy. As they seek to recover the virtues of bazaars from the tyranny of a market model that emerged 200 years ago, the point being made is to demonstrate that a more mindful market is possible. Bakshi does this by detailing the adventures of the free thinkers and mavericks, with in-depth reportage and commentary about pressures for change in northern countries.

So-called “market forces” are not completely independent and isolated factors: we, as consumers and producers, are all part of the market. “Human processes, movements, philosophies constructed the idea of democracy. Why is it so difficult for us to grasp that, similarly, the idea of the “free market” is created by us?” she asks. Just as we can improve the democratic model, we can improve the way the market system works. Bakshi says that today “we all have to act separately as citizens, and not only as buyers and sellers”. Harking back to the earliest records of buying and selling, about 3500 BC, Bakshi insists on making the distinction between the bazaar and the “free market”, saying that bazaar is a location “where exchange of goods and services comes second to the need to gather”. She considers the “free market” as an idea where exchanges are more indirect and distant.

“Today we believe that for the market to function efficiently, people must be rational characters, or one-dimensional selfish characters,” she writes. But she considers the term “rational” ambiguous: self-interest is rational, but rationality is not only about self-interest. She talks of the doctrine of self-interest by looking at Adam Smith through the eyes of Amartya Sen. “For the market to work in a truly constructive and creative way, companies will have to account for their social and environmental performances, which is at the moment something that is not even on the cards in India.” This is John Elkington’s “Triple Bottom Line” theory, which originated in 1998, in which profit is not only in money terms, but also encompasses social and environmental profits.

The socially responsible investing movement is the concrete form of the Triple Bottom Line theory. Investors following it look for businesses that also generate social good.. So, this is a kind of “trusteeship”, since it incorporates the idea that all wealth comes with responsibilities. Bazaars, Conversations and Freedom is an open quest for possible futures and different cultures of market in which the market will serve society rather than being its master.

A storyteller and social activist, Bakshi’s other books — Bapu Kuti: Journeys in Rediscovery of Gandhi (1998) and The Long Haul: The Bombay Textile Workers Strike of 1982-83(1986)— are often about grass-roots struggles for an alternative, more creative, model of development. “Many times, the future is shaped by what we think is possible and it is determined by openness and freedom of our imagination”, she says. Perhaps the market too can be recast in a more socially responsible and responsive mode by the strength of our imagination. Although to make it better, we may or may not need the services of St Jude.

Peace Prize

An ex-naval officer's tribute to war heroes and terrorism victims borrows from history, says Adeline Bertin

It was built 400 years ago, but its symbolism is as potent as ever. That's why AKB Kumar, a 58-year old former naval officer, has chosen the Taj Mahal as the prototype. Except that his is not a monument to love, it's a monument to the love for peace.

Kumar, who began construction on the Shanthi Mahal (or Peace Palace) in the coastal Kerala city of Alapuzha in January 2008 (slated for completion in by New Year's Day, 2010), says this is a memorial for war heroes as well as the victims of terrorist attacks.

Kumar's Shanthi Mahal is a miniature model of the most famous monument to love in the world. Kumar wanted to erect a monument to those heroes of the army, navy, air force, as well as other paramilitary forces such as the Central Reserve Police Force or the Border Security Force, who have died in action. He also wanted that the ordinary victims of terrorism be remembered.

The four minarets at the corners will represent these forces and the central structure will represent the victims of terrorism. Names of war heroes and those who died in recent terror strikes will be engraved on the walls of the main structure.

This monument carries the following message: "You avoid arms; we provide peace, let us cuddle humanism and cut terrorism, let me embrace concord and expel discord."

Kumar participated in the 1971 Indo-Pak war. It was, however, the Kargil war in 1999 that made him decide to demolish his ancestral house and apply for a bank loan to erect a monument, since he could not help but remember the dead who laid down their lives for our country and the innocent people who lost their lives during various terrorists' attacks.

To help him spread this message of commemoration, a number of retired scholars, doctors, engineers and lawyers will provide help for the widows and poor families of ex-service men by conducting free tuition and providing medical aid.

Could the mini Taj ever become a chip off the old block? Considering its location, that's unlikely. But even if its popularity is only a fraction of the original, it will still be a tribute.