Living on the fast track

The Hindu : Arts / Magazine : Living on the fast track

The historic old city of Bombay is well remembered for being characterised by many fine things — scenic beaches, wide empty roads, gracious colonial architecture, gentle fisher folk and a laidback charm. Fast forward in time and in direct contrast to the past, the present city of Mumbai is defined by crowds, chaos, speed and a multi-cultural ethos. A few vital threads however, continue to bond the past with the present and one of these is the city's one-of-a-kind and now world-famous, dabbawalla brigade. The men in white who deliver hot home-cooked food to customers all across the city have not only been documented on BBC and made their way into the Guinness Book of Records but are now well entrenched as international celebrities representing the great Indian entrepreneurial management success story. But it was not always so.

India’s ‘spiritual’ babas and politics | Deccan Chronicle

India’s ‘spiritual’ babas and politics | Deccan Chronicle

Until last week, Ramdev was one of India’s most famous Yoga gurus, thanks to his daily lessons on Aastha TV, which are reportedly watched by some 30-40 million people nation-wide. The New York Times called him “an Indian who built a Yoga empire, a product and symbol of the New India, a yogic fusion of Richard Simmons, Dr Oz and Oprah Winfrey, irrepressible and bursting with Vedic wisdom”. By Ramdev’s own admission, the man who claims to have renounced all worldly pleasures runs four trusts whose assets run into Rs 1,100 crore, owns a £2 million island in Scotland, and flies around in a private jet. To many that makes him look more like Vijay Mallya, than the Yoga guru and other-worldly sage that he claims to be. And that apparently is just his four trusts and their affiliated companies. Many allege that he has holdings in many shadow companies. For the government, all that was fine. Even Ramdev’s ambition to launch a political party. Until he began to use the UPA’s weakest spot — corruption and black money — as his launch pad.

Ram Charan: India's no-nonsense management guru | Deccan Chronicle

Ram Charan: India's no-nonsense management guru | Deccan Chronicle

India-born Ram Charan, known as one of the world's most influential management gurus, has a simple take on the globe's mounting financial troubles.

"Until people face some constraints, they'll keep pushing the boundaries and creating chaos," the 72-year-old Charan said, shaking his head ruefully as he sits in an armchair at a five-star hotel in New Delhi.

The Hindu : Columns / Sainath : Maharashtra leads in statistic of shame

The Hindu : Columns / Sainath : Maharashtra leads in statistic of shame

Seven-billionth baby to be born in Uttar Pradesh on October 31? - The Economic Times

Seven-billionth baby to be born in Uttar Pradesh on October 31? - The Economic Times: "The world's 7 billionth person, which the UN says will be born on October 31, will join a population more aware than ever of the challenges of sustaining life on a crowded planet but no closer to a consensus about what to do about it.
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www.outlookindia.com | An Interrupted Migration

www.outlookindia.com | An Interrupted Migration: "Why did Chandragupta Maurya go to the south? Legend has it that the emperor of Magadha travelled to Karnataka to spend his last days as a Jain ascetic. A long, curious journey, considering that the cradle of Jainism was very much nearer home. Modern historians conjecture that a great famine might have driven him from what is modern-day Bihar to the southern limits of his empire. Migration from the north to the south in search of food still continues, and is strikingly visible in the rural-urban continuum that is Kerala: ayyos rent the air every time the Oriya ironing man, the Gurkha watchman or the carpenter from Midnapore don’t turn up. And in empty nests left by expat children, old Malayalis lie dying, listening to Nepali or Bhojpuri, the language of their caregivers. In Tamil Nadu, the position is similar, but for another reason. An overtly welfarist state’s munificence is providing free food, clothing, shelter, schooling, medicare and even entertainment (colour TVs) to the poor. With most of their needs met, the locals probably leave job slots open to the labour diaspora of Bengal and Jharkhand."

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Steve Jobs biography: Apple CEO met biological father without realising | Mail Online

Steve Jobs biography: Apple CEO met biological father without realising | Mail Online: "Biographer reveals Jobs met his father in Silicon Valley restaurant
Jobs wasn't impressed by Obama and did not like some of his policies
On Bill Gates: 'He'd be a broader guy if he had taken acid'
Also revealed he regretted decision to delay cancer surgery
Jobs wondered if God existed more after diagnosis"

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