The spring or the ‘Jhira’ flows continuously, carries sweet water and fills in a pond where pilgrims take a dip at Bidar, says S.Vishwanath
Bidar is a lovely town with a salubrious climate. Closer to Hyderabad than to Bangalore it is a remote yet beautiful outpost of the State. In this land over 500 years ago Guru Nanakji set foot. At the request of the local people it is said, he created a spring which flows to this day with sweet water. The Gurudwara Shri Nanak Jhira Saheb, two kms from the bus stand, was established at this site in a nice valley, surrounded by laterite hills on three sides.
Continuous flow
The spring or the ‘Jhira’ flows continuously, carries sweet water and fills in a pond where pilgrims take a dip. Part of the towns business comes from these crowds who gather at the spot built around water. It stands to reason therefore that special attention should be paid to the spring and great care taken of this water resource. The Gurudwara itself has organized the tunnel and the point where the spring emerges very well. A glass panel enables viewing, yet protects the spring from desecration.
by Special Arrangement / The Hindu
However, science, and particularly the science of hydro-geology, should come into play, and quickly. The recharge zone of the spring, the surrounding hills are being built upon at an unprecedented rate. Septic tanks and soak pits are sending the waste-water generated into the ground. The surface is being crusted up with roads and buildings preventing the seepage of water into the ground.
It is likely that the sacred ‘Jhira’ will first be contaminated by the bad water and if steps are not taken quickly, may also run dry due to lack of recharge of waters in the hills.
We should not allow such a sacred spot to suffer such a fate. It is in the interest of society, the hospitality trade and the governments to intervene quickly, commission a study, understand the geology and take the necessary steps to preserve the waters. Science and spirituality need to talk fast. That would be water wisdom for Bidar.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features>Habitat / by S. Vishwanath zenrainman@gmail.com / January 03rd, 2014
It is 5am and a biting cold wind sweeps through Kumbarhalla, a remote village located 10km from Jamakhandi, India’s Mecca of cycling. The sun is still a long way from topping the horizon, but 24-year-old Mahadev Kurani alias Madappa, a national-level cyclist, silently slips out of his dingy house with his Singapore-made Trek bicycle.
(Mahadev Kurani mortgaged…)
Racing against time, Kurani pumps the pedals hard as he zips on the Bijapur-Dharwad state highway on his way to Jamakhandi. He is joined by several other riders on the stretch, but while they head for the Jamkhandi stadium to hone their cycling skills, Kurani turns towards the Jamakhandi bus stand where he works as a security guard at one of the ATMs of anationalised bank.
Olympians would say that it’s the journey rather than the destination that makes the event so special. Kurani, though, wonders if he would ever arrive. A national cycling champion with four gold medals to his name, Kurani believes he has plenty more to give. But stuck in mounting debt, he had to give up cycling to help his family make ends meet. The daily sprint to work at the ATM serves as his only means of keeping in touch with the sport.
He draws a pittance — Rs 4,800 — in salary every month, much of it goes towards repaying the Rs 60,000 mortgage taken against his family’s acre of land. The money was borrowed six years ago from a local financier to fund his bike. The rest is given to his mother to take care of the family.
“What to do?” Kurani asks rhetorically. “If I do not work, we will lose the acre of dry farmland that was mortgaged to buy my bicycle. The land is the only hope for my family. Being the eldest, I have to look after my parents, brother and sister. The priority is to settle the loan as the interest piles up by the day. There was a time when I hoped the state government would recognise my achievements, but all I got was disappointment and insults. The creditors are not bothered with all these stories. I simply have to settle the debt or we will lose our land. So I had to join as a security guard.”
Kurani was drawn to the sport when he was in Std VIII. Success stories of several other cyclists from Jamakhandi spurred his dream of becoming an international athlete. He began by covering between 50 and 100km on an ordinary cycle. Soon he began to participate in state and national-level events. His dream began to take definite shape. The imported cycle was procured in 2007.
“I was initiated into the sport by my grandfather when I was in high school,” Kurani said. “He was a national-level cyclist and he motivated me to take up cycling. While in school, I took part in several national and state-level cycling competitions, either borrowing cycles from friends or using an ordinary bike. There are basically two types of events in cycling: Velodrome events and cross-country races. Both require different kinds of cycles. But I used to practise both events on the same bike. It was only when I was selected for the international race in Chennai that I had to buy an imported cycle to stay on par with the competition.”
Buying an imported cycle was no easy decision for Kurani, coming as he did from a family that struggled to make ends meet. His father, Manik, worked as a peon at an ITI college in Bagalkot and his earnings barely took care of his own needs in the city. The rest of the family relied heavily on the acre of land for a living.
“I did not want to miss out on an international race in Chennai, so I decided to buy an imported cycle by raising a loan,” Kurani said. “When none came forward to give me a loan, I mortgaged the land and bought this cycle from Singapore for Rs 60,000. Every year I had to pay an interest of Rs 18,000 failing which I would lose my land. Initially I began repaying the loan with whatever money I won at competitions. But it was not enough as considerable money was spent on my travel and maintenance of the cycle. In fact, to support the family, my younger brother gave up schooling and began working. We still fell short.”
Though he finished 14th at the race in Chennai, Kurani refused to be put off. The following year he finished 5th, but by then his bike, while still streets ahead of an ordinary bike, had become outdated for international competitions. He still continues to cover 150 to 200 kms in four to five hours with a maximum speed of 45 km per hour merely by pedalling to work. He hopes to get back into competitive cycling in a few months once the loan is repaid. He says he tried securing a constable post with the police and a job in the Railways under sports quota, but both moves didn’t work out.
“Meanwhile, I kept winning medals at both nationals and state level events in various states,” Kurani said. “So far I have won four gold, three silver and four bronze medals at the national level besides several state awards.”
source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Bangalore> Security Guard / Bangalore Mirror Bureau / August 03rd, 2013
Commuters, near City Railway Station, are at the receiving end of auto drivers ever ready to fleece them. But Monday morning was different.
If first impression is the last impression, then those who come to Bangalore, especially early mornings, and have to depend on autorickshaw for commuting, will have a poor opinion of the city.
On Monday, at 4.30 am, with the temperature hovering at 15 degrees in Majestic area, it was like any other winter day: Auto drivers waiting with relish for their prey. The difference on this nippy day was a sub-inspector from Upparpet Police station who took it up on himself to, well, make a difference.
The cop, Shivaswamy, took guard near City Railway Station and KSRTC bus stand, stopped every auto he found not metered down and ferrying passengers. His three-hour vigil fetched him 19 violators, as the word spread among auto drivers in the vicinity of his solo campaign in and around the City Railway Station/Majestic area.
Whenever he found an auto in the wrong, he would immediately call a constable over on the phone and seize the vehicle which the driver has to get possession of again after paying the penalty at the court. The surprise drive found bizarre rates being charged: In one case, an auto driver charged Rs 50 to ferry a businessman from Chennai from Anand Rao Circle to Bell Hotel, less than a kilometre.
Shivaswamy ensured the passengers of the autos were not left stranded, by finding alternative autos for them, and giving them his mobile number to call, to ensure they were not cheated again.
Unfortunately, even some passengers did not fully back the sub-inspector. A passenger told Bangalore Mirror, ”The auto drivers take us around the city and finally drop us to the place we have asked for. Instead of coughing up hefty sums and wasting time going round and round, it is better to talk to them about what they want and get into the autos.”
This passenger could be an aberration in a city where most commuters would only hope for many more Shivaswamys round the clock.
The charge against overcharge
Passengers blamed
Police caught an auto ferrying a single woman without turning on the meter. It was plying on the road between the BMTC and KSRTC bus stand. When stopped, the driver tried to blame the passenger. Shivaswamy switched on a digital camera and asked the customer to explain what happened. The lady, Shailaja, told the police that she is new to the city. The auto driver asked her to pay Rs 70 for taking her from Malleshwaram to the Railway Station. Finally, he agreed to ferry her for Rs 50. The police calculated the fare would be Rs 30 rather than Rs 50. She was directed to take the subway to the railway station. She said, “I was shocked when the police stopped me, but realised that they were actually helping me. If police everywhere help passengers, auto drivers will not harass us.”
Rs 70 for walkable distance
Another auto was stopped in which passenger Shivram, a 26-year-old businessman from Trichy, was travelling. He said, “I came to meet a vendor. The auto driver asked me to pay Rs 70 from Anand Rao circle to Bell Hotel.” The distance is walkable and at the most, the driver could have collected the minimum amount of Rs 25.
The auto driver Shivu was not carrying any documents. He was booked for overcharging and driving without valid documents. His auto was taken to Upparpet traffic police station. Shivram said, “I don’t know how much it would cost for the distance. This is the first time I am coming to Bangalore. I realised I am being cheated when police stopped the auto.”
Didn’t realise time
At Shanthala Circle, Shivaswamy found an autorickshaw without the meter turned on, carrying a passenger. The auto driver had charged Rs 220 to bring the passenger to Majestic from Hebbal. The passenger, Varun Kumar, said, “I work for a private firm in the city. I am from Puttur. When I asked the driver to take me to Majestic, he demanded Rs 250 and I agreed to pay him Rs 220.
Auto driver Jagadeesha said, “I did not realise that the time is 6am now, so I charged him one-and-half.” But his story did not convince the police. The auto was seized. The driver was even found driving without displaying his identity card in the auto.
Just across the road
Another auto driver, Arul Das, had charged Rs 50 to passengers who wanted to go to Shantala Circle from KSRTC bus stand. Once again, it was just across the road. The family said they were from Kolar. They had gone to Dharmastala and were on their way back to Kolar. Though Shantala circle is next to KSRTC bus stand, the driver took the family on a ride across Gandhinagar before dropping them at Shantala Circle.
Wrong direction
Sreeraj from UP works in a private firm in the city. He was travelling from Majestic to Koramangala and was asked to pay Rs 130 by the driver, who had refused to turn on the meter. When police caught him at Majestic, the driver was found to be taking the passenger in the wrong direction. He had kept his display card near the tools compartment rather than in front of the passenger seat. Sreeraj said, “I regularly take auto from Anand Rao circle to Koramangala. The auto drivers take us around the city if we prefer metered fare. So when the auto driver asked me for Rs 150, I brought it down to Rs 130.” The auto was seized by the police for excess fare and for not displaying the identity card. Police arranged another auto for Sreeraj.
Escape attempt
In another incident, when an autorickshaw driver was asked to stop by Shivaswamy at Gandhinagar, the driver managed to escape. Shivaswamy chased the driver Anand and caught the auto (KA02 AB4363) near Shantala Circle. Two passengers who were in the auto were put in another auto as they had to catch a train at the City Railway Station. The auto driver, a resident of KP Agrahara, was fined for reckless driving, driving without licence, demanding excess fare, driving without display card and without uniform.
WRITE TO US: If you face any issue with auto drivers, write to us with subject line as ‘Auto Problem’ at bmfeedback@gmail.com. We will take it up with the authorities.
source: http://www.bangaloremirror.com / Bangalore Mirror / Home> Bangalore> Cover Story / by Chaitanya Swamy HM , Bangalore Mirror Bureau / December 24th, 2013
S.R. Krishna Murthy’s wife Amrita being consoled by a relative at their residence in Bogadi yesterday.
Mysore :
The last rites of city’s music critic and Star of Mysore & Mysooru Mithra columnist S.R. Krishna Murthy (70), who died in the Bangalore-Nanded train fire mishap in the early hours of Saturday last, were conducted at the cemetery at the foot of Chamundi Hill in city last night amidst rituals.
Krishna Murthy was among the 26 passengers who perished in the fire mishap that occurred near Kothacheruvu in Anantapur District of Andhra Pradesh on Saturday (Dec. 28) morning.
The mortal remains of S.R. Krishna Murthy, popularly known as SRK, was brought from the mortuary of Victoria Hospital, Bangalore, to Mysore at about 6 pm yesterday and kept at his residence in Bogadi for some time to enable family members, relatives and friends to pay their last respects.
Krishna Murthy, who had occupied seat No. 9 in the B 1 (AC) bogie that caught fire, was initially suspected to be missing, before he was declared dead on Monday.
Though, a body among the unidentified corpses kept at the mortuary of Bangalore’s Victoria Hospital matched his features, the authorities decided to go for a DNA test, when S.R. Krishna Murthy’s elder son S.K. Vinay, a Wing Commander with the Indian Air Force, Bangalore, gave his blood samples for the test.
However, the family finally succeeded in convincing the authorities with the photographic evidence of the gold chain with a heart-shaped pendant he was wearing, to hand over the body to them.
The gold chain was gifted to S.R. Krishna Murthy by his children when he turned 60, it is learnt.
Krishna Murthy leaves behind his 90-year-old mother Annapoornamma, wife Amrita, sons Wg. Comm. S.K. Vinay and S.K. Sanjay (of Bhasange Balaga), daughter Anupama and a host of relatives and friends.
Krishna Murthy, a Civil Engineer by profession, was a native of Saragur in Chamarajanagar District. He had served in different places before retiring from Karnataka Power Corporation (KPC) at Karwar, as Assistant Executive Engineer, Civil. It was only after his retirement that he settled in Mysore and began his tryst with music.
Many musicians, artistes, dancers and theatrists from city including Pt. Indudhar Nirodi, Dr. Vasundhara Doraswamy, Dr. H.R. Leelavathi, Madhuri Tatachari, Rama Bennur, R.N. Srilatha, Raja Anantakumar, Virabhadra Hiremath, Sarog Mukherjee, Krupa Phadke, Shivashankar, Somashekar, Srikanta Gundappa, members of Bhasange Balaga and others were among those who paid their last respects.
Union Railway Minister Mallikarjuna Kharge, expressing shock over the train fire mishap, announced a compensation of Rs. 5 lakh to the family members of each victim.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / December 31st, 2013
The city’s lit-loving lot headed to a star hotel in the city to attend the launch of Manreet Sodhi Someshwar’s book, The Hunt for Kohinoor, on Saturday.
Sheraton Bangalore Hotel at Brigade Gateway was packed with book lovers who wanted to get a chance to meet the author and get a copy of the book. We spotted Munira Sen at this event, as well as Rubi Chakravarti and Imtiaz Furniturewallah.
source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> Entertainment> Events> Bangalore> Bangaloreans / TNN / December 24th, 2013
Her approach towards her passion is special. While many pursue things of their interest as a hobby, she decided to make her passion her job. Dance is what she loves most as she believes it is a brilliant form of communication and says doing what she loves most and also teaching the same to aspirants around her has filled her with a sense of fulfilment.
Pooja Joshi is the artiste and teaching and performing varied varieties of dance forms is what she does at her dance studio in city — Beyond Taalas which she loving has called a ‘creative factory.’ “It’s my first baby,” says the mother of a 6-month-old, “I started the institute in 2011 with an aim to provide a platform to the talented dancers in city to help them bring out their best and ever since I did, I have been thoroughly enjoying learning, teaching and performing dance.”
Pooja who has completed her Masters in Business Administration, initially worked as a lecturer at colleges in city while doing which she yearned to come up with something of her own and be an entrepreneur. And being married to Snehal Igloor — yet another talented dancer helped her give shape to her thoughts. “I loved teaching but I always felt I should do something of mine as dance had been my passion since childhood,” gushes Pooja who started dancing at the age of four, adding: “I discussed it with my husband who was full of encouragement and I took the risk of starting off the dance studio which is shaping up well with time.”
Taught at the studio are about 10 different forms of dance that include pure Bollywood, hip-hop, Latin-American and salsa to name a few.
Pooja is well trained in all the forms of dances taught within her studio. While she is a trained Bharatanatyam dancer, she has also had the privilege of learning Bollywood dance form from none other than the ace dance choreographer of the Tinsel Town — Saroj Khan herself. “I went to attend a dance workshop by Saroj Khan at Bangalore where I got an opportunity to get trained under her. Apart from this, I have attended several other workshops and have learnt all forms of dances taught at my Studio,” Pooja adds.
The artiste also invites talented and renowned choreographers from Mumbai to teach students at her studio, apart from conducting exclusive dance classes for women and kids which she says are a platform for them to open up, apart from learning the technicalities of dance. “Being a woman, I started an exclusive women’s batch as I always felt women never get an opportunity to open up and express themselves as they spend most of their time doing things for their families within the four walls of their homes.” And the batch was an instant hit where she saw women shed all their inhibitions and dance with happiness Pooja says, who feels happy that she was successful in achieving what she wanted to.
What’s more, the dancer says she has also made everyone at home including her parents and in-laws dance at a family wedding just to help them understand what she does and how wonderful dancing can be. “And they all loved doing it,” she says, who is glad that they have all been very open minded and supportive and not conservative like most others.
Pooja has given over 70 performances so far, apart from having been rewarded several times by varied organisations in recognition of her talent and expertise as a danseuse and choreographer. And at an age so young, Pooja has managed to train several talented people who also have gone on to start their own dance institutes and studios which fills Pooja with a sense of pride. “I am glad I have trained people to a level that they have established themselves. ”
Pooja is a resident of Vijayanagar in Mysore and can be contacted at her studio or on Mob: 98862-41091.
— AN
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles / December 30th, 2013
The presidents and vice-presidents of the City Municipal Councils (CMCs) of Shimoga, Tumkur and Bijapur, which have been upgraded as corporations, will don the role of mayor and deputy mayor and the members will become corporators.
The State government on Friday gazetted the notification upgrading three CMCs as corporations. The State Cabinet in September this year had given its nod for giving the three CMCs the status of corporations as their population has crossed the three-lakh mark as per the 2011 census.
The government is likely to grant Rs 100 crore each for the development of these corporations.
With the upgrading of the CMCs, the total number of corporations in the State will rise to 11. The others are: Bangalore, Mysore, Mangalore, Gulbarga, Hubli-Dharwad, Belgaum, Davangere and Bellary.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> State / Bangalore, DHNS – December 21st, 2013
Dr. Paniveni Udayshankar is seen receiving the Indira Gandhi Sadbhavana Award from former Union Minister M.V. Rajashekharan at a function held in Bangalore recently. Agriculture University Vice-Chancellor Dr. Narayana Gowda GEPRA Secretary Pasha and others look on.
Mysore :
Dr. Paniveni Udayashankar, a Professor in Physics at NIE-IT in City, was presented with the Indira Gandhi Sadbhavana Gold Medal Award for individual achievement and service to the Nation.
The award, instituted by Global Economic Progress and Research Association (GEPRA), a non-government organisation in Tamil Nadu, has been presented to Dr. Paniveni for her ‘Outstanding contribution in the field of Education and Research’.
The award was conferred on Dec. 14 at a function in Bangalore, attended by Former Union Minister M.V. Rajashekaran, Minister for Agriculture Krishna Bhyre Gowda, Agricultural University Vice-Chancellor Dr. Narayana Gowda, Minister for Food and Civil Supplies Dinesh Gundu Rao, District and Session Judge Justice V. Padmanabha Kedilaya and other dignitaries.
About 40 participants all over India were selected in different fields.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / December 29th, 2013
Karnataka cricketer Manish Pandey (right) at a promotional event in Chennai on Thursday | R Ravishankar
Best known for being the first Indian to score a hundred in the Indian Premier League (IPL), Manish Krishnanand Pandey has been instrumental in getting those big runs for Karnataka in the Ranji Trophy this season. With two hundreds and a couple of fifties, this 24-year-old has along with compatriot Lokesh Rahul has steered Karnataka to the top of Group A, which boasts of bigger teams like Mumbai and Delhi.
Speaking on the sidelines of a promotional event here, Pandey said that the current squad desperately hoped to end Karnataka’s Ranji Trophy drought. “It’s been 14 years since we won Ranji and it’s high time we did something about it. We have been doing well this year as a unit, the batsmen have been in form while the bowlers are doing their job. Everyone’s been on their toes. We have a young squad and have learnt from our mistakes,” he said.
Karnataka last won the Ranji Trophy in 1998-99 and the closest they have come to winning it was in the 2009-10 season, when they lost to Mumbai by a mere six runs in the final. “I have been playing Ranji for the last 5 years. We lost to Mumbai by six runs and I missed on my 150 by six runs. That’s the closest we came to winning the trophy. It’s one of my best knocks ever but also disappointing that I could not take my team through then.”
Pandey hopes to change the fortune in his team’s favour this time around and feels a few more good knocks would take him closer to making the India squad. “This season, I have already scored two hundreds and both have come on green wickets, which have been bowler friendly. It has given me a lot of confidence. I have a feeling that this year we will go all the way. I need to work harder to make the India squad. I can’t take anything for granted. Two to three bigger and better performances would help me get closer,” he added. Karnataka next play Mumbai in Bangalore on December 22.
The right-hander, who has been part of Pune Warriors since 2011, hopes to return to his former team Royal Challengers Bangalore now that the Pune outfit has been scrapped from the IPL.
“The Pune Warriors team is not there in the IPL. The new rule is that a lot of players will be going under the hammer in the auction. My heart is at my home, so I would definitely want to play for my home team RCB. Let’s see how it goes.” On the prospect of playing alongside Chris Gayle, Pandey added: “To play with Gayle is a big thing. It will be a good competition and I would get to learn about his batting technique and mindset.”
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cricket> News / by Krithika Gopalkrishnan / ENS – Chennai / December 20th, 2013
Gita Gopinath is seen with first Indian Nobel Laureate Dr. Amartya Sen. Dr. Sen is seen reading a book written by Gita’s grandmother about their family.
To be listed as one of the ‘25 Smartest Indians to look out for’ is no mean achievement for a 41-year-old! The very mention of it makes this intellectual powerhouse blush, as she brushes it aside, wondering how these lists are made! But those who added her, know for sure why Gita Gopinath, deserves to be there.
A Mysorean and a Professor at the renowned Economics Department of Harvard University, she is the first Indian woman after Nobel Laureate Dr. Amartya Sen and the fourth woman in the Department’s history to be granted tenure. Sharing office space with Dr. Sen, Prof. Gita works in the area of international macroeconomics and finance and her field of expertise is regularly showcased on the global scene.
A mother of a 10-year-old, she strongly believes that a woman can successfully juggle home and work with the right kind of family support.
A BA in Economics from Delhi University (Lady Shriram College), MA from the Delhi School of Economics and University of Washington and a Ph.D from Princeton University, Prof. Gita was also chosen as one of the Young Global Leaders in 2011. But it all began in Mysore.
An economist who enjoys Bollywood films and gossip as much as she delves into the financial crisis in the world, Gita is married to former classmate Iqbal Dhaliwal, a Director of Policy at Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab at Department of Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She is the daughter of T.V. Gopinath an Industrialist in city and Viji Gopinath who runs a play home in Kuvempunagar. Here, in the first in our series ‘Mysoreans making us Proud’ we feature this remarkable achiever, as she traces her journey from Mysore to Harvard. Excerpts…
Star of Mysore (SOM): You have so many firsts and prestigious assignments to your credits. How best do we introduce you?
Gita Gopinath (GG): A Professor at Harvard…That’s how I introduce myself!
SOM: You spent your formative years in Mysore, which is still considered as the ‘country cousin’ of the big metros. Did you also have the ‘small-town’ girl feeling when you moved to Delhi?
GG: Yes…. I did my Bachelors in Delhi University and when I went from Mysore to Delhi I certainly felt that way. Most of my classmates were from main brand schools in Delhi. They seem to have a lot more global exposure. They were very good at debating and other kinds of things…They seemed to have a lot of confidence. Coming from Mysore I did feel like I was a small fish in a big pond.
However, one thing I was always good at is, I was never apologetic about my background and I didn’t get intimidated by people coming from so-called better background.
For all the ‘small town’ folks out there, to succeed, I think it’s a combination of not being apologetic about your background and also learning from your environment. At no point should you be intimidated, always believe you are your own person and you have a lot to contribute. At the same time pick up all the good things that are available. If you engage in self-doubt, then you’ll never have the confidence to grow.
SOM: Economics has always been called a ‘dismal science?’
GG: Oh! That goes back a long way. The original kind of Adam Smith’s idea of Economics was that there was no real role for policy in initiating an economic outcome. In that sense it was called a ‘dismal science’…where you would have bad times and you would just have to live with it. But that changed a lot over Kaynes’ revolution and now we don’t think that way. We think there are ways of fixing problems with policy interventions.
SOM: In India, pursuing Economics as a career-building course is not considered a viable option?
GG: Yes and No actually…If you think of Delhi University, its one of the most sought after subjects. This notion that it is not an attractive option for a career is more true outside Delhi and Calcutta Universities. In terms of future careers, Economics is still very strong in places like Delhi.
SOM: You mean there’s a lot lacking in the colleges outside these cities?
GG: I just think that there is not enough depth in the Universities that teach Economics. Except for about 3-4 schools in India, Economics is not taught the way it should be. Say for instance, in the US, even if you studied in the 50th ranked US University, you would still get very good education in Economics.
Economics has changed a lot over time; we have had a lot of mini revolutions in Economics. If those tools are not being taught, then it’s not quite useful.
SOM: There is a lot of parental pressure not to pursue Arts…
GG: What people observe is, if you do Economics from one of the smaller Universities, you don’t really end up getting good jobs.
Also here students enroll in Economics as a last resort and so it’s not surprising that they don’t end up doing very well. It’s true that people should be less obsessed with professional courses but it’s also true that to make it more attractive, there should be good quality education in Economics.
SOM: You are the first Indian woman to be tenured at the Economics Department of Harvard University
GG: If you consider the history of the Harvard Economics Department ever, I would be the fourth woman and the first Indian woman.
Right now, we have 40 tenured faculty of which two are women. Circumstances have changed from when it used to be harder for women. What we have there is what we call a tenure clock. After your Ph.D, you start off as a Asst. Professor and you have about 7 years to prove yourself in terms of publications and your impact in the research field. After 7-8 years, you either get your tenure, which is permanent or you leave. It’s either up or out.
Most of us by the time we finish our Ph.Ds, we are 27-28 and for the next 7-8 years, till we are 36 or so, we can’t do anything but focus on writing papers and for women these are the child bearing ages. That becomes very difficult for women, as they have to make a very hard choice. But now what Universities do is, if you have a child, they stop your clock, that means if the typical clock is 7 years, if you have a child you get 8 years.
Universities these days are trying very hard to find good women candidates.
SOM: Clichéd but still… Does being one among the just the two women in a faculty of 40 men bother you?
GG: I don’t think at any point of time I felt any kind of conscious discrimination or any such thing. What’s true is that you go to take classes and you notice that 90% of your professors are men. You go to a conference and 90% of the people in the room are men. And you always wonder what’s this about !
SOM: Would you have preferred more women though?
GG: Oh! Yes. From my experience I do find that women students in Harvard in the Economics Dept. talk a lot more to me, because there is more affinity and they talk about how it is like to have a career, family, a child etc.
SOM: You have been listed among the 25 Smartest Indians to look out for.
GG: (blushes) I have no idea. I am very honoured to be on that list but honestly I have no idea how they come up with that. But nevertheless I was disappointed that there were only 3 women in that list. If I was to come up with 25 bright Indians, I would come up with 50-50. I guess they are trying to reflect the overall sample and probably there were more men who were successful. I don’t really know what it means to be there.
SOM: Okay, what do you think then that makes a woman smart?
GG: Someone who has found an area that they want to be in, work extremely hard to develop an expertise that sets you apart from others. The only reason why I know my Economics well is I spend 15 hours a day studying.
What distinguishes you is hard work and then you become a person who is less indispensable, because you have created this niche for yourself.
SOM: It’s said, a woman has to work twice as hard as a man to be considered at the same level?
GG: That depends on your family situation. If you are married to a person who expects you to work hard in the house and outside of it, it can be very difficult and almost impossible. In my case I have been very fortunate that I have been married to a person who is very supportive.
What’s true though is in professions where there are fewer women than men, you have to work harder in terms of collaboration and network. May be I feel this way because of the country in which I am working. I have not had any experience of working in India in a field dominated by men.
That said, in some ways India does better. Most of the Banking Heads are women, which is not true in the US.
SOM: You had a slightly different view from C. Rangarajan on Higher tax for the super rich?
GG: What I just said was that, in general raising tax creates distortion, in the sense it affects incentives. Most of the evidences, lots of evidences in fact, we see, suggests that it’s better to make tax system more effective, reduce wastage of government expenditure by improving the quality of deliverance of government schemes. You might be better off reducing on wastages in government expenditure rather than going about introducing new taxes. And in India, the tax base in terms of leakages in the tax system is still quite high. To make it more effective is better than introducing unnecessary tax.
SOM: Did you know that BJP plans to get rid of all taxes? It’s just going to tax on bank transactions?
GG: I haven’t heard of that! This is generally called financial tax but it’s not implemented in any country so far.
SOM: You have said that a State can be a welfare State and also business friendly. How do you rate Karnataka in this context?
GG: I must confess that I haven’t gone deeply into Karnataka’s state. In Karnataka, people recognise Bangalore as an outsourcing major. It’s done well on some business indicators. But what I know is that the political situation is quite messy and that’s problematic. In fact I have some figures for you. In a publication by the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation titled ‘Doing Business in India,’ that measures business regulations and their enforcements in India (the study involved 17 cities), Karnataka stands 13th among the 17 cities which come under cities easiest to do business in India. That’s not very encouraging! Ludhiana, Hyderabad and Bhubaneshwar take the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place respectively, while Chennai, Kochi, and Kolkata take the 15th, 16th and 17th places respectively.
SOM: The fall of the Indian Rupee has come in for a lot of flak?
GG: Among the many variables that affect the value of a rupee is inflation. If you look at the rupee with reference to the dollar and compare India and the US, look at in the last 7-8 years, then inflation in India has been higher.
The other variable is growth and in that dimension India’s growth rate is much higher than the US. It’s come down now, but it’s higher than the US. And by that matrix, India’s rupee should have strengthened. But the question is, which of these two forces were stronger in terms of affecting the value of the rupee.
And when the rupee fell specifically, at that time there was reason to think that the rupee needed to lose some value given the inflation channel was very strong.
But eventually there will be a correction in the rupee. Now that combined with what’s happening externally, besides inflation and besides growth, it matters what’s happening to the interest rate in the rest of the world. When in summer the US said that they would start tapering and the interest rate will go up in the year, for an investor the US becomes more attractive to bring money back in. And we saw withdrawal of money from India going to the US. A combination of all these factors led to the weakening of the rupee. It’s very very hard to predict what will happen to the rupee over a short period of time, better predicted over a longer period of time.
SOM: But the blame was squarely on the ruling government. How fair was that?
GG: I think in this case, the last 3 years there has been a problem with governance in India. There has been a problem with governance in general always. Look at the number of government projects that have been stalled, scams have gone up, bureaucracy has come to a standstill, nobody wants to move anything using scam as excuse. It’s not unfair to blame the ruling government !
SOM: For a layman, how does the future of India seem in terms of the economics?
GG: The layman needs to realise that India’s potential is high. To get the growth to go back up from the low level right now at 4.8% to 6.6 or 7% you don’t have to do very dramatic things say like reforms, get fantastic education for all, change labour laws et al. right away. You need to do all that in the long run.
Right now simpler things like making sure that the projects get going, the ones that have been stalled, put the infrastructure in place, put the investments in place. In that sense it is simpler to engineer growth in India than let’s say in China where it is a bit over invested in infrastructure
Today’s stand is that if there is a more decisive government in power next year, that should be sufficient to get a lot of people interested in India again. So these kind of small things are enough to instil growth again in the country.
SOM: So there’s no big reason for us to feel down and out?
GG: No, the main big uncertainty is what happens next year with the elections. My hope is that even if there’s a bigger coalition but still they will be able to function and be more accepted. My only concern is, if something really messy happens with the Centre and you are going to have another election.
SOM: A photo of your parents also finds a pride of place on your desk? (Industrialist T.V. Gopinath and Viji Gopinath, who runs a Play Home in Kuvempunagar, are her parents)
GG: They are in my heart! They believed I can accomplish much more than what I thought I could. In fact I was in Science stream in PU (Mahajana’s College) and I went to study in Delhi because I wanted to do my IAS. My father called me and told me that there’s something called a President’s Gold medal if you stand first in the Delhi University, after 3 years if you scored the highest, cumulatively … I did win that…He said it as if it was so easy and I never felt it was unattainable. Then he said you should study in Harvard. They kept raising the bar every time and it also helped that my personality is such that I like challenges.
SOM: Do you like to be a role model?
GG: Yes and No. I want people to kind of look at me and see that they too can do it. I want them to see that in international matters they can look like me, an Indian woman, in the sense that I want them to get a lot of confidence.
On the other hand I don’t want them to put me up there. I never did that. I never put anyone on a pedestal.
A lot of what you want to become should come internally. It’s what drives you. One can get inspired, but there shouldn’t be a fan following ! Your strength should come from within and not from anything outside you.
SOM: It’s said Mathematicians, Economists lead a boring life?
GG: I disagree! Of course I enjoy life! Someone who looks at me from outside may find that I’m leading a boring life. I enjoy my life to the hilt. In fact the mathematicians or physicists whom I meet in Harvard lead incredibly enjoyable lives ! It’s just about the definition of enjoyment! I get time to enjoy the smaller nuances of life. Yes I’m a workaholic and I get pleasure from working, but I have time for things I like. I know as much about Bollywood as I know about Economics! Pretty amazing actually and my friends always make fun of me about that.
SOM: Mysoreans are proud of you…How proud are you as a Mysorean?
GG: I spent most of my early years here. Some of my best friends are from Nirmala Convent and they are still my best friends. I liked that I grew up in a small town. You are more empathetic, there’s a little bit more innocence in you which is good and you grow up with some basic principles…like to achieve something you have to work hard for it. I tend to derive pleasure from doing simple things and keeping it simple. So, yes, I am happy I’m from Mysore .
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles / December 28th, 2013
