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Horse power: Inside the Meerut centre where India’s Asian Games medallists trained

Sports

At the Army Equestrian Node, riders and horses are forging strong bonds and training hard, because their mission is medals.

It’s 7 am at the Army Equestrian Node in Meerut Cantonment and instructors are calling out to Jai, Jeet and Tarzan — “Kadam, kadam (Step by step)!” “Aagey badh (Move forward)!”

Their trainees are all Army horses, each paired with a rider also from the Army. By the time they’re done, man and horse will be able to canter together in form, clear hurdles with grace and execute a set of skilled movements from memory.

Those are precisely the events that won three young Army riders from here a first-of-its-kind silver medal in the team equestrian event at the Asian Games in Jakarta two weeks ago. The win — by Rakesh Kumar, Captain Ashish Malik and Jitender Singh along with civilian Fouaad Mirza — is still all anyone here can talk about.

“I was watching it on TV at the cantt,” says Risaldar Dinesh Kumar, 44, a rider at the Node. “I jumped up with happiness when they won. We drove down to Delhi to pick them up at the airport, and gave them a grand welcome with garlands and an Army band playing. They have done us proud.”

They weren’t the first — a total of 15 Army men have won bronze before this, in the 1986 Seoul, 1998 Bangkok, 2002 Busan and 2006 Doha Asian Games, all in the team equestrian events. There were individual wins too, a gold and a silver in 1982.

The recent wins have been a particular thrill for the Equestrian Node, because their mission is medals.

TROT PROPERTY

There are Army horse training centres across the country, including in Karnataka, Haryana, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh. But the Equestrian Node at Meerut is the only one that trains show horses.

It was set up in 2001, and later came under the Army’s Olympic Mission wing, which prepares young talent from within the force for the Olympics. Army riders and horses that show exceptional talent are deputed to the Node to train.

The Equestrian Federation of India (EFI) eventually selects the best for international competitions. The EFI also helps with sponsorships. This year, for instance, Jitu Verwani, chairman and managing director of the Embassy Group and VP for finance at EFI, sponsored the Indian equestrian team, including their six months of training in France with the two-time French Olympian-turned-coach Rodolphe Scherer.

Trainers at the Node also include international experts, as well as experienced Army riders.

The logic of this node is that there are few other places where Indians can afford to train in this field. Unless you’re in a posh riding club, or in the Army, winning an equestrian medal is out of bounds.

This formula seems to be working. Aside from the medal winners, several Army riders from previous batches have also qualified for the Asian Games.

YAY OR NEIGH

There are currently 14 riders and 28 sporting horses training at the Node. Daily drills start at 4.30 am and cover cantering (a controlled, 3-beat gait), show jumping (clearing fences and hurdles elegantly), and dressage (in which horse and rider perform skilled movements from memory). The facility has blocks of fences with mirrors affixed on them so riders can see their posture and correct it.

We take care of our horses, they are like our babies,” says Lt Col Amit Sinsinwar, 36, an Army rider currently training here. “My first walk in the morning is always to the stables to check on my horse, followed by yoga and meditation.”

Each horse gets a cubicle lined with grass and fresh hay so they can sleep comfortably. There are fans for when it gets hot, and vets on call round the clock. The horses even get radio-therapy to increase circulation.

“In bad weather, we have special treadmills the horses can use for exercise,” says training officer Lt Col Bharat Singh. There’s also an underwater treadmill with jet sprays, for hydrotherapy.

“A horse is just like a young child. You need to be careful in dealing with them,” says Lt Col Singh. “If they are being naughty, you reprimand them by using a slightly harsher tone. But you also need to show them affection; hug them, talk to them and shout encouraging words like ‘Shabash ghoda!’.

One of the few civilians who’s a regular on the campus is Ramesh Chand, 52, from Meerut city, who has tended the stables for 17 years.

“I can just take one look at a horse and know if it is tired, sick or hungry,” he says. “I felt so proud when the men won medals for the country. My favourite horse here is Wonderboy, age 24. He’s old, just like me.”

source: http://www.hindustantimes.com / Hindustan Times / Home> Other Sports / by Jayati Bholan, Hindustan Times / September 09th, 2018

Power of transformation wins laurels for Meerut company

Business & Economy, Records, All, Science & Technology

The zeal to excel can transform fortunes. This is proven in the case of Transtron Electricals, a transformer manufacturer, which is among the country’s top 100 small and medium enterprises.

The zeal to excel can transform fortunes. This is proven in the case of Transtron Electricals, a transformer manufacturer, which is among the country’s top 100 small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

The company’s motto, “It has to be ‘The Best’ because it has our name on it”, inspires the owners and the staff.

Situated in Meerut’s Partapur industrial area, the unit won the ‘India SME 100 Award’ in August. It is among the four SMEs of Uttar Pradesh to have made it to the list of the country’s top 100 such firms.

Transtron managing director (MD) K N Singhal says the company was selected for the honour out of over 33,102 SMEs of the country.

“It was indeed a matter of pride for us, receiving the award from union ministers in Delhi,” he says.

Singhal claims he has never compromised on quality. He says he has refused to accept advice to use raw material of an inferior quality to bring the cost down.

He reiterates, “Quality is our biggest strength and that is why we proudly announce ‘it has to be ‘The Best’ because it has our name on it.”

The Singhal family has deep roots in Meerut and has been living here for over 100 years.

After graduating in science from Meerut College in 1970, Singhal obtained a Bachelor of Electrical degree from Agra University in 1975. He received job offers from various government organisations but because of his bond with his native place and his father’s ill health, he chose to stay here and joined a transformer manufacturing unit ‘Electra India’ in Partpaur as assistant engineer (quality control).

Soon, he was promoted as director (technical) and got an opportunity to travel to many countries on business before he resigned in 1997.

Singhal says he took the step so that he could utilise his experience to start his own venture.

After providing consultancy in transformer design for a year, he established ‘Transtron Electricals Pvt. Ltd.’ in Partapur in 1998 with a seed capital of Rs 10 lakh.

His contacts with clients of his previous unit helped him build his own network and Transtron got its first order to supply transformers to Nepal in 1998.

Initially, the company manufactured 200 KVA transformers. By 2005, the company was making 5000 KVA transformers. For the last four-five years, it has been making 10,000 KVA transformers.

Singhal says, “Success is not far if your vision is clear and if you don’t fall prey to greed.” The company has 80-plus employees. He claims Transtron`s transformers are ‘energy efficient’ and many skilled workers of Electra India joined him after closure of the company.

He also says his wife Renu Singhal contributed a lot to his success but she died in 2008. Now his sons Sidharth Singhal and Abhinav Singhal help him in his business.

He minces no words in saying that delay in payment by government departments is the biggest hurdle in growth of SMEs in UP. He explains that 80% business of SMEs depends on government orders and they receive payments in six months, instead of 45 days, as prescribed under the rules.

The SMEs have to procure raw material by paying cash and it takes more than two months to manufacture a transformer and complete the testing procedure, he says.

Appreciating the union government’s ‘ ‘Make in India’ policy , Singhal says, “It has the potential to change the country’s industrial scenario.”

“Our aim is to make a genuine contribution in government policies for ‘electrification of India’, especially in the rural areas. We insist on giving trouble- free service to clients at least for 25 years with each transformer.”

After serving as executive council member of the Indian Transformers Association for years, Singhal has now been elected its treasurer.

He also believes in serving society and bears expenses of many underprivileged girls.

He is also involved with an NGO which conducts eye operations for marginalised sections of the society.

“I do it for my satisfaction. I don’t want any publicity for it,” he says.

“Be honest and dedicated to your mission and Mother Nature will help you in every possible way,” he advises budding entrepreneurs.

source: http://www.hindustantimes.com / Hindustan Times / Home> Lucknow / by S. Raju, Hindustan Times,Meerut / September 07th, 2018

It may be the end of the note for this village of wedding musicians

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All

There are 90 bands based in Kabirpur, UP. Changing wedding trends and noise norms are seeing demand for their music dip. ‘We can’t sleep at night thinking of what will happen,’ says an elder.

You’re as likely to have a DJ at your wedding as you are to have an asli wedding band, and this is not music to the ears of Kabirpur’s villagers.

This village in Uttar Pradesh is also called Band Baja Gaon. Almost every household here is engaged in the brass band business. Elders say the tradition goes back about 200 years, to the era of the nawabs.

There are 90 bands based in Kabirpur; the highest tally for any village in the state, they add. In a village of just 2,500 people, that’s about 1200 musicians.

“Our day starts with music and ends with it. It’s what made our village famous,” says Gurucharan Lal Sahu, 58, one of the oldest bandmasters here.

Now, changing wedding trends are threatening their way of life. Traditional songs are no longer in demand. “People nowadays are more interested in soulful numbers, rather than the ones we are well-versed with. People want more instrumental and soothing songs, which our self-trained-musicians can’t provide,” says Sahu.

A UP government order on noise pollution issued in January feels, to them, like a final blow. The order outlaws, among other things, the conical speakers mounted on trolleys that have been the pride of Kabirpurs band-baja-walas. With a heavy heart, the Band Association of Kabirpur directed all bands to remove the high-decibel speakers from all trolleys.

“Their sound would travel almost a kilometre,” Sahu says wistfully. “Since we took them off, customers have been saying our trolleys are missing the thump they used to have. We don’t have any answer to give them.”

Sahu, who is also president of the Band Association, is joined by another bandmaster who points out that the trolleys have been banned entirely in cities like Delhi. In May 2015, the Agra district magistrate banned the movement of band trolleys on traffic-prone routes. In 2010, the Delhi traffic police issued strict rules for marriage processions, banning them on busy roads, and at roundabouts.

“Our village has more than 90 trolleys. We can’t sleep at night thinking of what will happen,” says Bahadur Ali, 52, owner of Mastana Band. “Besides Lucknow, people from neighbouring districts like Unnao, Kanpur, Barabanki, Faizabad, Hardoi and Sitapur would come here to join the business.”

BACKWARDS / FORWARDS

Initially, Kabirpur used to have ‘sada bands’, made up of a small group of musicians, on foot, playing a handful of instruments. By the 1920s, the brass bands with speakers and trolleys came into vogue.

“Bands are not traditionally part of Indian culture,” says Roshan Taqi, a historian and author of several books on Awadh’s culture and heritage. “They were introduced by British and some nawabs and kings who admired the British and their way of life began to form Indian versions of their bands.”

After independence, these musicians returned home to their villages and some began rendering their services to commoners, Taqi adds.

The practice of hiring bands for Indian weddings had already taken hold in the previous century, along with many other practices associated with Western weddings, such as printing invitation cards. And so the wedding bands became a status symbol and thrived.

“I still remember the times as recent as 2005 when commoners, bureaucrats and government people would queue at Kabirpur to hire a band for wedding functions, and they were ready to pay hefty sums,” says Master Parmanand, 55, owner of Rangeela Band.

Until 2009, booking a trolley used to cost around Rs 25,000 to 35,000. “Now, you can get one for just Rs 6,000. By the end of a wedding or function, each person earns barely a few hundred rupees,” says Munna Lal, 50, bandmaster of Afsana Band.

Beneath the angst over the fading of the music, is a larger concern that they are being left behind in other ways.

There has been little development here. The village has no secondary school; the nearest hospitals and colleges are in Lucknow, about 25 km away. Though the village is on the bustling Sultanpur Road, it has few roads of its own.

“Ours is one of the most backward villages” says Master Parmanand. “Many governments have come and gone but nothing in the village has changed. We don’t want this life for our children, so we don’t try to stop them when they go to cities far away to live and work.”

source: http://www.hindustantimes.com / Hindustan Times / Home> Lifestyle> Arts & Culture / by Oliver Fredrick, Hindustan Times / August 19th, 2018

This Varanasi-based start-up is offering a crash course to ‘groom’ daughters-in-law

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy
Representation Image

A Varansi-based start-up has designed a three-month special crash course to ‘groom’ potential daughters-in-law. The three-month course promises to train women, boost their communications skills and heighten their confidence.

The course has been initiated by Young Skilled India Start-Up which is incubated with the Malviya Nav Parivartan Kendra of IIT-BHU based on demands of parents. The CEO of the start-up clarified that initiative wasn’t officially linked to IIT-BHU.

Named ‘My Daughter, My Pride’, the course was designed with Kashi-based Vanita Institute of Fashion and Designs after conducting a survey. They said they had received ‘tremendous response’ from the public and parents during the survey.

Jatin Srivastava, who runs another start-up said: “It is true that businesses do cater to any legitimate demand in the market. But one has to be careful in dealing with social and public issues. Personally, I do not endorse any such project which is aimed at making money at public cost.”

source: http://www.dnaindia.com / DNA / Home> India / by Srawan Shukla / September 03rd, 2018

Lucknow diary

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All, Science & Technology

Two medicos brought laurels to Lucknow by their selection for Dr BC Roy Award in the category of eminent medical teachers.

Gau Raksha Bandhan

Muslim women marked the occasion of Raksha Bandhan by tying rakhis to cows at the Lord Shiva temple near Kudiya Ghat in Rumi Gate area. To encourage Muslims to protect cows, BJP MLC Bukkal Nawab organised the event. “We have taken the vow to protect the cow as ‘Gau Raksha’ is important. The time has come to work in this direction,” said the women. They felt that it was a high time that the poor and the farmers were educated about the significance of rearing cows for social, economic, religious, environmental and health benefits.

Lucknow connect to Mars Mission

Lucknow will have its own pie to contribute to the prestigious Mars Mission India as two students of APJ Abdul Kalam Technical University (AKTU) have been selected in the astrobiology section of the project. Satyam Pratap Singh and Utkarsh Singhal will be working on the project where the model fulfils the demand of a Rover, weather information and self-protection system of the project. As per Utkarsh, the duo will be taken to the University of Edinburgh, the UK for a week to test their models in the Mars-like atmosphere. The prototype developed by Satyam will study the environment like temperature and humidity, while Utkarsh’s prototype will try to capture a 360-degree view of Mars.

Medicos bring laurels

Two medicos brought laurels to Lucknow by their selection for Dr BC Roy Award in the category of eminent medical teachers. Director, Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Prof Rakesh Kapoor and King George’s Medical University vice-chancellor Prof MLB Bhatt were selected for the prestigious and highest recognition for medical practitioners in India. The award was instituted by the Medical Council of India (MCI) in 1976 in memory of renowned physician and former West Bengal CM Dr Bidhan Chandra Roy. “It is one of the most prestigious awards in the medical fraternity, and I am honoured to have been selected for it,” Prof Rakesh Kapoor said. Prof Bhatt attributed his success to the cooperation of his faculty members at the KGMU.

Gelling through drums

It was an opportunity to get synchronised with peers, colleagues and teammates in a unique way through ‘Drum Jam’ in the city. Organised by CII and conducted by Young Indians, Lucknow chapter, it was the first session of its kind to distress colleagues while gelling together. The session offered some great amount of listening. It focused on strategising skills, problem-solving approach and creating vibrations for colleagues to rhythmically align with organisational goals. During a two-hour session, members played the drum spontaneously without any prior training. No formal introduction session of participants was organised but once the session began, everyone coordinated with each other and played the drums in a synchronised manner.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Nation / by Namita Gajpai / September 02nd, 2018

Scent per cent: Temple floral waste to be put to fragrant use

Agriculture, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Green Initiatives / Environment, Science & Technology

The Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Avadh University, Faizabad, on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the famous Naka Hanuman Garhi temple, Faizabad, for collection of floral waste from the temple for producing exotic itra (traditional, natural perfume), incense sticks and fertilisers.

The university would collect the floral waste for this purpose, said Mahant Ramdas of the temple after signing the MoU.

Prof Manoj Dixit, vice chancellor of Avadh University, said the university will soon help recycle bio degradable refuse into exotic itra (traditional natural perfume), incense sticks and even scented havan ingredients.

Devotees offer about 200 kg flowers and 50 kg tulsi (basil leaves) at the temple every Tuesday and Saturday.

They offer 50 kg flowers on the remaining five days.

Mahant Ramdas said he was delighted that the university had come forward to sign this pact with the temple as it was becoming difficult to dispose of such a large volume of floral waste.

“We are happy that students will collect the floral waste and produce itra out of the flower juice,” he said.

The university had already signed an MoU with the Kannauj-based Fragrance and Flavour Development Centre (FFDC), he added. Production of itra and incense sticks will begin anytime this year, he said.

“We are waiting for the machines to come from Kannauj,” said prof Dixit.

“The students will learn to produce itra from flower juice, incense sticks from dry flowers and fertiliser from leaves. The move will not only help in disposal of floral waste but also generate employment for locals,” said prof Dixit.

The Avadh University has prepared a detailed proposal in association with FFDC, Kannauj, for this purpose. with whom they signed MoU earlier this month.

There were nearly 10,000 big and small temples in Ayodhya that accounted for 10-12 quintal floral waste daily, said Jaswant Singh, professor in environmental sciences department of the university. He is in touch with FFDC for the project.

“The idea is to use discarded flowers and leaves by traditional methods for making fragrance and flavour (itra, incense sticks, etc) with the help of local people and the finished product will be given back to the temples,” he further said.

source:http://www.hindustantimes.com / Hindustan Times / Home> Cities> Lucknow / by Rajeev Mullick, Hindustan Times,Lucknow / August 23rd, 2018

A ‘Taj Mahal’ for a husband

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links / Pre-Independence, Records, All, Travel, World Opinion

In Agra’s Roman Catholic Cemetery lies a ‘Red Taj’ built for a Dutchman by his wife

The Taj Mahal has unnecessarily become a standard for all tombs in India. Each monument is unique, yet the comparisons continue. The tomb of Shahnawaz Khan, son of Abdur Rahim Khan-e-Khanan, in Burhanpur is called the ‘Black Taj Mahal’. The tomb of Ibrahim Adil Shah II in Bijapur is called the ‘Taj Mahal of the Deccan’. And I discovered recently, much to my horror, that the exquisite tomb of Itmad-ud-Daula in Agra, also made of marble, is called the ‘Baby Taj’!

So, when I was informed of a ‘Red Taj Mahal’ in Agra, I was curious, not because of the comparison, but because it is located in the Roman Catholic Cemetery and was built for a Dutchman, Colonel John William Hessing, by his wife Anne. This seemed like an interesting reversal of the story that we are familiar with, and when I went there, I discovered that it was.

Comparisons with the Taj

Hessing was born in Utrecht, Holland, in 1739, and came to India as a 24-year-old. He served under the Nizam of Hyderabad and the Marathas, and was later given the command of the first two battalions of the newly raised Scindia army. After the death of Maharaja Mahadaji Scindia, he continued to serve under Maharaja Daulat Rao Scindia. When he could no longer actively serve due to ill-health, Hessing was made the Commandant of Agra Fort by Scindia. He died in 1803, and was buried in the Roman Catholic Cemetery in Nehru Nagar, Agra.

I entered the wooden gate of the premises with excitement as I had seen the red dome from afar. To the right of the entrance was a red sandstone tomb. Of course, it is not like the Taj Mahal, but as it is domed, has vaulted doorways, was built in the Mughal style, and is in Agra, the comparisons are inevitable. It has four slender minarets, attached to the main tomb, its cupolas crowned by pinnacles. The dome with its inverted lotus and finial rises from the centre. There are octagonal chabutras attached to the platform on all four corners. There is a fine carved panel running along the edge on the top and around the drum of the dome. Marble plaques at the main entrance have inscriptions in Persian.

As is the case with all Mughal tombs, the actual grave is underneath. There are many other graves in the corridor outside the crypt. Hessing’s monument, said to have been built at a cost of one lakh rupees, is the most prominent. According to Mathura: A District Memoir by F.S. Growse, a French traveller named Victor Jacquemont, who visited Agra in 1829-1830, had said that the Taj, though pretty, was hardly elegant and that the only pure specimen of oriental architecture was the tomb of John Hessing in the Catholic Cemetery. There is no doubt that he was talking of the time when the Taj Mahal had fallen into disrepair. It was mainly due to the efforts of Lord Curzon at the turn of the 20th century that the Taj acquired its current splendour, but I agree with Growse that Jacquemont views are “warped”. Hessing’s tomb is definitely elegant, but it cannot be compared to the Taj Mahal even on the Taj’s worst day.

Fanny Parkes in her journal Begum, Thugs and White Mughals, edited by William Dalrymple, describes the Hessing tomb as “a beautiful mausoleum” which is “well worth a visit”. It was built by a “native architect, by the name Lateef, in imitation of the ancient Mohammedan tombs”. She writes: “The tomb is beautiful, very beautiful and in excellent taste.” Lateef was apparently an expert parchinkar who used to inlay marble with precious stones as well as draw pictures of the Taj Mahal and other monuments in Agra. Parkes bought a few of them.

In the cemetery

The cemetery is well kept, green, and peaceful. Not many people know of it, so I found no visitors there. The caretakers were cooperative and took me around. The cemetery was originally built for the Armenian Christians who came during the reign of Emperor Akbar. The oldest grave belongs to John Mildenhall, an Englishman who died in 1614.

As I wandered around the cemetery, what struck me was the amalgamation of cultures. There was a grave with Allah and the cross carved on it. Many graves had Latin, English and Persian inscriptions on them. A small chapel had petitions to god by the faithful tied to its door, and window screens similar to what we see in dargahs.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Opinion / by Rana Safvi / September 02nd, 2018