dlf city news may 2015

CitynewsCityCitydlf

`50 May 2015 Vol. 9 Issue 2

WRITING IT RIGHT

citY Authors EXPrEss

THEMSELVES

IN STYLEP-30

TRAVEL TALK PAris cAlling

FAcE oF thE Month GAGAN SINGH

GOLF AND THE CITYnEW burst oF EnErgY

IN GURGAON Tradition & Evolution GoHand in Hand

P-8

IN GURGAONTradition & Evolution GoHand in Hand

P-8

THE GAON

SUPER HIGHWAYHIGHWAY

OF DEVELOPMENTHARYANA CHIEF MINISTER OPENS

SIKANDERPUR FLYOVER& CYBERCITY UNDERPASS

P-16

Letters: [email protected] @DlfCityNews DLF City News Citynews.dlf

I May 2015 I 03Citynewsdlf

The decks have been cleared for a smoother ride in Gurgaon with the opening of the Sikanderpur flyover and the Cybercity under-pass. They were inaugurated by Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar as part of the HUDA-DLF public-private partnership project for the Sector Road which will take the city’s road connectivity to the next level when complete.

Gurgaon is not just about the high-rises that catch your attention the moment you enter. Go into any of the several villages tucked away behind modern, planned neighbour-hoods and you understand what symbolises the city’s evolu-tion. The villagers here stick to their traditions, be it food or culture, but many of them are taking advantage of the oppor-tunities coming their way in the form of better healthcare, education and employment opportunities.

In People, we profile Aman Bathla, a pianist who has made it to the Guinness Book of World Records. We also catch up with Gagan Singh, a veteran of the corporate world. Elsewhere in the edition, we look at what it takes to become a successful author as we talk to some well-known writers from the city.

Our column on Travel this time takes you to Paris, a city with a rich history and culture. We also go sightseeing closer home, visiting the Lodhi Gardens, a lush green getaway within the heart of Delhi.

VINAY JHAEditor

RNI No.: DELENG/2006/19254

Editor Vinay Jha

dEsign & Production Asia Media Design

AssociAtE Editor Meenakshi Sharma

sEnior AssistAnt Editor Dikhya Tiwari

sEnior FEAturEs WritEr Reena Dhankher

contributor Rahul Ahuja

Photos The Deep Images

MArkEting, Ad sAlEs & distribution Touchpoints Marketing Services

Printed and published by Vinay Jha on behalf of DLF Utilities Ltd, Shopping Mall, 3rd Floor, Arjun

Marg, DLF City Phase I, Gurgaon -122002

Printed at G.H. Prints Pvt Ltd, A 256, Okhla

Industrial Area, Phase –I, New Delhi - 110020

Envee Media is not responsible for the loss of or damage to unso-licited artworks and photographs, including transparencies and

products, manuscripts or other material of a similar nature. The writing, artwork, photographs, graphics and illustrations

published in this magazine may not be used or reproduced without a written permission from Envee Media. While

all efforts have been made when it comes to the content compiled for themagazine, Envee Media

assumes no responsibility for the effects arising there from

Citynewsdlf

CONNECTING GURGAON

I N S I D E

MAY 2015 VOL 09 Issue 2

Faces

Neighbourhood Gurgaon’s Villages 8

66 Last WordSee you again, an emotional track paying a tribute to Paul Walker, tops the music charts

22 Aman BathlaBathla is known as one of the fastest and finest classical pianists around today

62 Muzaffar AliThe man who made the classic Umrao Jaan talks about his next, another period film

64 Akki’s Plans!Akshay Kumar wants to expand his martial arts training programme with more teachers

34 Events Calendar

55 New Age Learning

56 Guest Column

59 Helpline

60 Status of Projects

61 The City Elders

65 Movie Previews

Residents of villages in and around Gurgaon continue with their traditional way of life but look to seize the opportunities available like access to healthcare, education and jobs

Sky WArrior 26Air Marshal Denzil Keelor has done it all, from daring air operations during war to initiatives for the youth after retirement

28 Face of the MonthGagan Singh, CEO, Business - India & Chairperson, Sri Lanka operations, JLL, talks about 30 years in the corporate sector

35 Happy FeetDancers put their best foot

forward and provide a surge of energy at the India Fiesta Latina

MUST READ

Golf Expo 38Players and experts talk about taking the game to the next level at a symposium-cum-expo on golf

36 All about MusicBaisakhi witnesses a musical extravaganza with concerts by Kanika Kapoor and an Indo-western Sufi rock band

37 DLF EPLDLF employees display

their skills in a cricket tourna-ment

MUST READ

Travel 42It’s not just about seeing the Eiffel Tower, a trip to Paris is incomplete without soaking in the local culture and cuisine!

40 Nurturing TalentDLF Foundation awards

young scholars for their excellence

MUST READ

Citynewsdlf

Sightseeing Lodhi Gardens 35 Wine & Dine Summer Food 50Lush green complex in the heart of Delhi offers a quick getaway from the stress of city life

Light, crisp or cold, with presentation which at-tracts and flavours that refresh–summer food rules!

For Advertising, Please Contact: 9810563407

Page 7 >>> Page 24-25 >>>

06 I May 2015 I Citynewsdlf

Sunshine yellow mustard fi elds, never-ending stretches of golden wheat and lip-smacking fl avours of bajre ki roti and chhaach (butter milk) hark back to the Gurgaon of yore whilst conjuring delightful visions of village life in Haryana. While city folk satisfy their rustic cravings by visiting their village or heading to the nearest dhaba to relish sarson ka saag, for the villagers who are living on the fringes of a modern Gurgaon, these two disparate worlds are slowly merg-ing, leaving them better equipped to handle dramatic changes in their lifestyle and thought processes.

thE old And thE nEW

The dignifi ed village patriarch in his spotless white, perfectly starched dhoti –kurta with the impressive pagri (saafa) which lends a regal touch stands out as much as do the womenfolk in their ensembles of volumi-nous ghaghras with practical pocket shirts matched with colourful voile chunaris.Be it Badshahpur on Sohna Road, Chakkarpur and Sikanderpur near MG Road, Jharsa near Medicity or Nathupur close to Cybercity, Gur-gaon’s uniqueness comes from an interesting rural-urban mix that re-sults from a unique combination of a corporate existence that is inter-estingly poised on the fringes of a fl ourishing village life.

As winds of change sweep across Gurgaon villages, the charming sim-plicity of Dharmender Dagar is refreshing as he shows us his house in village Badshahpur, which was built in the 1940s and is the one he still retains. “We like to live like this only,” he points out.

But while they may not compromise on their village lifestyle, they can hardly avoid the infl uence of a fast-paced city life which brings in its wake some challenges but mostly evolution through positive outcomes.

rural gurgaon continues to shine while evolution and growth in a positive sense is not compromised

by REENA DHANKHER & MEENAKSHI SHARMA

GurGaon’s VillaGesneighbourhood

rural gurgaon continues to shine while evolution and growth in a positive sense is not compromised

by REENA DHANKHER & MEENAKSHI SHARMA

Cherishing The‘GAON’

In Gurgaon



rustic FlAVour

Festivities are on in full swing at the Jat household of the Dhillons who have booked a hotel venue and a caterer. Members of the family share wistful memories of traditional village wed-dings where celebrations lasted for 10 to 15 days. “A full-time halwai would make delicious yellow laddoos of desi ghee from the time the Bya ki chitthi (mar-riage confirmation) arrives till the day of the actual wedding,” explains Kam-lesh Dhillon, who cannot understand the trend of modern deejays and much prefers the rustic singing of the village lugai (women).

“Marriage fun began with Saang which was full of naach-gaana and nautanki where ladies posed as men while sharing wicked jokes,” she says as she harks back to those village memories of pheras and bidai at the bride’s home where she left actual hand prints on the walls unlike the city where a chart paper necessarily takes its place.

“Sankrant, holi, teej or diwali - every auspicious occasion also merits seedha

(gifts and sweets) which include suits, kheel and pataasha sent with love and blessings to every married daughter’s home,” explains Sarpanch Anil Yadav. “Men and women sing at the top of their voices, literally jumping with joy at tra-ditional Haryanvi weddings in Gurgaon villages near the modern colonies,” laughs Anju Khatri, who finds these celebrations very different from modern marriages at plush hotels with a revolving stage!

WoMEn’s EMPoWEr-MEnt And inclusiVE groWth

Prem Dhandhi from village Bhora Khurd in Pataudi recalls those days when men would beat up their wives and leave them to the mercy of their mother-in-law and sister-in-law even for their meals. “Women did so much work all day with no rest at all. But now I see the next generation seems to be changing and men have started listening to their wives,” she explains.

A Haryanvi lady police officer who chose to remain anonymous tells us that while her immediate family is proud of



her achievements, “Even today I can’t step out in my uniform as some villagers are not that open and we are brought up in a restrictive way”. These and other mind-sets are slowly changing

DLF Foundation, the philanthropic arm of DLF Ltd, has very active outreach programmes which bring technology and medical health to the poorest of the poor in the villages. Most villages flank-ing the townships have primary health centres and schools which provide free education and medicines and involve them through awareness campaigns that focus on issues that range from hygiene to environment, women empowerment to employability.

Just as the scholarship schemes for the girl child encourage further studies for girls, public health campaigns ensure that alcohol and drug abuse are curbed in a rapidly-changing society. So while Commander Ranvir Singh Dhankar, who retired from the Indian Navy, says “Education has improved and enabled everyone to secure his or her goals”, Gunjan Foundation Founder Sushma Singhvi, who runs the DLF Swapan Sarthak School near Nathupur village is concerned about the lack of openness that continues to keep village folk from

being more liberal.On the one hand, Singhvi is happy to

see parents recommending girls learn martial arts but on the other, she says, “The thought process is changing but the sad part is that most of them after the age of 13-14 years send their daughters in the villages scared of the lack of security in the city for females.”

Modernity and advancement are cer-tainly tinged with caution, agrees Anil Kumar as he says, “Though villagers encourage girls to study till graduation, they are skeptical of liberalism and want them to teach and follow decent working hours and a safer environment”. Adds Rameshwar Dayal of village Bora Khurd, “Many women teach in government schools and yet attend to household work and look after the children’s education”.

Singhvi believes that rising molestation and rape cases have somewhere made them apprehensive for education beyond a point. “The government needs to take effective steps for security of women.”

trAdition And EVolution

While Balraj Yadav is concerned that children who would touch their elders


Kids are Different

Yours Deserves Personalised Tuition

Admissions Open for Gurgaon centers South Point Mall Devinder Vihar (Sec 56)

DLF phase IV Sispal Vihar (Sec 49)

95990 30463Founded by education pioneers from IIT, IIM & Harvard, Vidyanext combines great teachers and the latest learning technology to provide kids the individual attention they need to get deep subject understanding and top marks. We’re so sure you’ll like the course, we’ll return your money if you don’t. Vidyanext operates in over 30 centers across Gurgaon & Bangalore. www.vidyanext.com

CBSE, ICSE grades 4 to 10 (Maths & Science)

Call now for free trial

Personalised Tuition



feet and take their blessings in the villag-es now say ‘Hi’ papa and ‘Bye’ Mummy, Commander Dhankar says, “A lifestyle change has happened very steadily and there is a broader outlook towards things while aspirations have changed dramati-cally”.

From time immemorial, the Jats have been associated with agriculture or have joined the armed forces. In recent times,

thanks to a steady rise in land cost, real estate has gained immense popularity. This has brought education, employment and empowerment in its wake.

MCG counselor Rama Rani Rathee is optimistic. “Villagers now want their children to study and have started in-vesting huge amount of money in educa-tion. My daughter has studied and works abroad and there is no pressure on her

for marriage in the same community,” she points out.

As you drive past the Gurgaon villages, it is worthwhile to remember that besides the village food, tube well baths and color-ful dances, the real village life of Haryana is about community support systems and maintaining a balanced quality of life.

Dharmender Dagar cautions, “Villagers greet each other and are there for support in bad times, but in cities people don’t even know their neighbor.” Commander Dhankar sums up the phenomenon when he concludes, “Community involvement and support within a village needs to be nurtured unlike modern society where people confine themselves to their homes.”

A combination of many factors like bet-ter education and opportunities and the active involvement of NGOs, corporate volunteers and the civil society is slowly but steadily ensuring that the Gaon in Gurgaon continues to shine while evolu-tion and growth in a positive sense is not compromised ø

“The trend of multi-grain breads in cities is new but we have been mixing wheat barley, soy-abean and gram flour to get the original taste of multi-grain chapattis for decades,” says Rajesh Yadav.

So you have Gochni ki Roti and Missi Roti made with a combination of gram and wheat flour, all of which are accompanied by Chhaach and topped with Nuuni Ghee. Authentic bajra rotis need the chulha which in turn needs dried twigs of the mustard plant and uplas made from cow dung. The bajra is ground manually to get the authentic taste.

Villagers also love the chutneys made with combinations of green or red chilies with garlic and curd. These chutneys are prepared according to recipes passed down the genera-tions. What’s also been passed down the gen-erations is the Rayee, which is used to produce fresh white butter.

A typical morning in a village starts early with cha or sweetened milky tea. And they also choose to end the day on a sweet note with a lump of jaggery and a glass of milk!

Food, The Haryanvi Way


INFRASTRUCTURECOVER STORY

Commuter Comfort Sikanderpur Flyover, Cybercity Underpass

Inaugurated

The inauguration of the Sikanderpur flyover and the Cybercity underpass by Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on 18 April is another feather

in DLF’s cap as it ensures a hassle-free experience for commuters travelling to Gurgaon’s office and residential hubs.

Vishal Nagi, who lives in Faridabad and

works in Gurgaon, cannot remember the last time he reached his Cybercity office in Gurgaon on time. The recent inaugu-ration of the Sikanderpur flyover has

The aIm Is To provIde a hassle-free commuTe and cuT down on Travel TIme In The area by DCN Bureau



certainly allowed him to get that much required work-life balance. “I had never managed to reach my Cybercity office in time because I use the Faridabad-Gur-gaon highway everyday and inevitably get stuck at Sikanderpur Chowk. Even though I was leaving my home at 8.15 am, I ended up reaching late. Now, my travel time has reduced by 20 minutes and I end up reaching half-an-hour earlier than usual so I get time to enjoy my coffee and breakfast,” says a delighted Nagi.

The inauguration of the flyover and underpass was a celebratory ceremony for the millennium city of Gurgaon which saw words of appreciation from the Hon’ble Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar. He acknowledged the contribu-

A Premier Institute for CBSE, ICSE, JEE, PMT & CPT

U79/17, DLF Phase—3, Gurgaon (Near Phase 2 Metro Station) Tel : +91 124 3926025, 9650912288

Email : [email protected] | web : www.equalsign.in

Admission Open for Session 2015-16


tion of DLF when he remarked during his inaugural address, “DLF is a 70-year-old organisation, which has entered its fourth generation with Rajiv Singh. DLF has been an integral part of Gurgaon’s development and its contribution to the upgradation of the city’s infrastruc-ture is commendable. I congratulate the group for the inauguration of the under-pass and fl yover and at the same time request them to continue their services for the people of Gurgaon and reach out to the whole of Haryana as well”. State PWD Minister Rao Narbir Singh and Ed-ucation Minister Ram Bilas Sharma who were present at the venue were equally appreciative.

Rajiv Singh, Vice Chairman, DLF Ltd responded with confi dence and humility and said, “I really appreciate the Govern-ment of Haryana for supporting us in up-grading the infrastructure of Gurgaon. We will surely fulfi l the expectations of the Chief Minister and the citizens of Gurgaon and Haryana.”

The fl yover and underpass have been built jointly by HUDA and DLF Ltd un-der the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) mode. About 1.5 million people are ex-pected to benefi t from the fl yover that starts from Sikanderpur and ends at the Rapid Metro Phase II station. The three-lane, one-way fl yover, which is 740 meters long and 11 metres wide, aims to provide


commuTer speaKNAVEEN SAINI: I travel from Delhi to Udyog Vihar very often and for me this is a blessing. There used to be a constant jam here which took hours to clear since the junction had cars going towards DLF Phase-1 and MG Road. The flyover will at least avoid this.

SARABJIT HALDAR: The time that I used to take to reach Sector 14 and old Gurgaon from Sikanderpur will reduce by at least 15-20 minutes as I can now take the flyover instead of going through the Sikanderpur crossing.

SANDEEP SHARMA: The flyover will avoid jams and speed up the movement of vehicles but I wish it was longer and two-way also.

PUNEET NARANG: The biggest benefit of the flyover for me is that I reach my clients in Cybercity that much faster. Earlier, I found the Sikanderpur cross-ing very irritating because there was such a mad rush in that narrow lane but now when I use a smooth new road, it is a visual delight with a beautiful view that makes me feel I am in a foreign country like Singapore.

MEHR SINGH: Stays in Saket and travels on the MG Road, is another happy commuter who was pleasantly surprised that the flyover cut her com-muting time. She did not need to enter Sikanderpur at all as she took the flyo-ver from the Guru Dronacharya metro station side!


a free fl ow traffi c movement and prevent possibilities of traffi c jams which often obstruct movement of vehicles for hours on this stretch from South Delhi and MG Road. Similarly the underpass, which is 384 metres long, smoothens the traffi c fl ow to Cybercity.

Talking about the benefits that the fly-over will provide to commuters, Rohit Malik, Director, DEDL (DLF Estates De-velopers Ltd) said, “The flyover will cut travel time from as much as 15 minutes to three minutes on this stretch. The objective is to provide optimal solution for traffic movement in the area based on present and projected traffic de-mand in future. The advantage of this project is evident before the commuters and they can look forward to hassle-free commuting, saving both time and energy and also with reduced levels of air and sound pollution.”

Sikanderpur Chowk, one of the busi-est crossings in Gurgaon, handles traf-fic merging from Mehrauli, Faridabad, the residential sectors of Gurgaon and Cybercity road. With the opening of the flyover and the underpass, commuters have finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The flyover is a part of the 16-lane high-speed road project where 8 under-passes are being built. The main aim be-hind this project is to offer sustainable infrastructure to residents right from the National Highway till Sector 55-56. The integration with the Rapid Metro will be an added advantage to ensure faster commuting on this stretch. There is a provision of LED lighting through-out the fl yover and a plan to plant 5000 grown trees, within the corridor with world-class landscape. There will also be a dedicated corridor for underground utility service ø


AMAN BATHLAPEOPLE

Captivating piano notes reverberated at the Epicentre followed by a standing ovation as pianist Aman Bathla en-tertained the audience with an enthralling performance which was hailed by Trinity College London’s India Coor-dinator Anjali Mata as a “scintillating act of well thought compositions with a theme that revived memories of yes-teryears.”

Bathla’s romance with piano notes started young in life. As a kid, he loved playing various musical instruments such as the flute, drums, guitar and the mouth organ but the piano, to him, was the most alluring. As he grew up, Bathla realised that he could never give up on his love and that was when he decided to leave the comforts of a well-established family business to make a career as a pianist.

Notwithstanding the struggles, he pursued his passion. And, today he hasn’t just earned the reputation of being one of the finest classical pianists of the country; he is also considered the ‘fastest pianist’, having played 804 notes in a minute! The feat helped him make it to the Guinness Book of World Records, breaking the previous best of 765 notes in a minute.

A resident of South City I, Gurgaon, Bathla, who also runs his institute ‘Aman Bathla’s Passionotes The Piano School’, firmly believes that music is his passion, not a job. “Every note I play energises my body and refreshes my mind while every composition I create, feeds my soul,” the 35-year-old points out.

Bathla, a self-taught pianist till 2010, completed a two-year diploma course in piano playing and performing arts from Naval’s Academy in Greater Noida followed by a sound en-gineering course from Alap Production House in Mumbai in 2012.

“His music is about feelings, warmth, emotions and catch-ing the right mood. Currently, he is working on giving back-ground music for meditation tracks and radio jingles.” says his proud wife Shilpi Bathla.

“Life in the beginning of my career was very difficult since I had left a 63-year-old established business. But my faith in Lord Shiva and hard work helped me overcome all obstacles. And, today I am in a position where I can do my bit for mankind through music,” says Bathla, who feels blessed to have a supportive wife and two lovely daughters. “When I left my family business, she was the only one who encouraged me. Her inspiring words gave me strength at every step,” recalls Bathla. The pianist now wants to make compositions based on Indian classical music for pregnant women as it is has been scientifically proved that music plays an important role in foetal development.

P. Aruna, a teacher from D.A.V Sector 14 who attended his performance at Epicentre, believes Aman’s calm and com-posed personality adds to his passion as she says, “It was a spiritual and musical rendezvous which mesmerised us.” Her friend Usha Sekhri agrees, “Aman’s compositions con-nect each one of us with the divine energy that he himself believes in.” ø

35-year-old amaN Bathla, who lefT hIs famIly busIness To romance wITh The

pIano, has earned The repuTaTIon of beIng The fasTesT and one of The fInesT ClassiCal piaNists In The counTry

by rahul ahuja


A Love Affair With Piano Notes

A fit and sprightly gentleman who belies his age as he chats cheerily and makes light of his decorations with a mischievous smile “I have always been a kind and non-violent soldier,” Air Marshal Denzil Keelor has led a brave and charmed life.

An action-packed career which saw him participate in the Goa Operations in 1961, Nagaland Operations in 1969, Indo-Pakistan wars of 1965 and 1971 and the Sri Lanka and Male Operations in 1987 has been followed by an equally eventful post-retirement tenure.

Air WArrior Keelor has a sparkle in his eyes as he recalls those early days when he studied at the La Martiniere College, Lucknow and joined the Indian Air Force in 1954 from where started those challenging Air Force missions. “I have been wounded in battle, bailed out of the aircraft twice, brought back seriously damaged aircraft thrice, lost the canopy of my plane and suffered decompression but flew the damaged aircraft back to base twice...among other adventures,” he relates light-heartedly.

An exceptional fighter pilot and a capable leader, he has held key opera-tional and staff assignments. He has earned recognition for gallantry and distinguished service of an exception-al order, receiving four Presidential awards from four consecutive Presi-dents of India, Param Vishist Seva Medal (PVSM), Kirti Chakra (KC), Ati Vishist Seva Medal (AVSM) and Vir Chakra (VrC) and four commendations from the Chief of Air Staff, thus mak-ing him one of the highest decorated officers in the country.

Recalling an experience which got

him the Kirti Chakra, he narrates in a matter of fact way the sequence of events while flying a MiG-21 U trainer on 27 March 1978 when, due to structural failure. the canopy of the aircraft detached and flew off. Then a Group Captain, Keelor felt sudden decompression and loss of control, but managed to fly back to base and execute a safe emergency landing without the canopy. The same year, on May 17th, during firing trials, one of the 23 mm cannon shells exploded causing extensive damage and total electrical failure to his aircraft but he successfully executed an-other safe landing back at his airbase.

BrotherS iN ArmSThe Keelor family is studded with heroes and the story of two brothers, Denzil Keelor and late Wg Cdr Trevor Keelor, both of whom got Vir Chakras, is indeed absorbing. It was on 19th Sep-tember 1965 when Sqn Ldr Denzil Keelor was providing fighter escort to Mystere aircraft during a strike mission in the opera-tions against Pakistan. His section of four Gnat aircraft was en-gaged by four enemy Sabre jet aircraft and the battle was fought

at a height of less than 2,000 feet from the ground where enemy anti-aircraft guns were also active. Under his guid-ance, his subsection leader shot down a Sabre jet aircraft. Thereafter Sqn Ldr Keelor himself engaged another Sabre jet and crippled it. Throughout these operations and till today, Keelor has been a source of inspiration to his team and these qualities combined with his courage and devotion to duty got him the Vir Chakra.

The interesting twist here is that his brother was honoured for a similar feat of shooting down Pakistan Sabre


ACM DENZIL KEELORPEOPLE

A TrueBrAVeHeArTan InTeracTIon wITh aIr marshal denzIl Keelor, pvsm, KIrTI chaKra, aTI vIshIsT sewa medal and vIr chaKra. by meeNakshi sharma

IN THE WAR“I have been woundedin battle, bailed out of

the aircraft twice, broughtback seriously damagedaircraft thrice, lost the

canopy of my plane andsuffered decompression”


jets during the 1965 war, making this the first time that brothers won Vir Chakras for identical feats.

KiNd heArtClearly, this Air Warrior with a kind heart continues his coura-geous streak with his love for humanity and the less privileged in his continued association with worthy causes.

“My aim is to use sports as a catalyst to transform society,” says Keelor, who was the special guest at the Scholars Conclave organ-

ised by DLF Foundation at New Delhi last month. As president of YMCA for 10 years and Chairman of Special Olympics Bharat, he continues to influence the youth towards his cherished beliefs of achievement and excellence. As the conversation comes to an end, he has the last word. “I believe in values of inclusion, ac-ceptance and recognition,” he sums up, expressing appreciation for the DLF Foundation’s mission of education for all.

Be it the Indian Air Force, the Special Olympics or the chal-lenges that life brings, Air Marshal Keelor is a true warrior with his heart in the right place ø

PEOPLE

FACE OF THE MONTH

PEOPLE

Tell us about your corporate journey. I have been part of the corporate world since I quali-fied as a Chartered Accountant and started my first job with Ranbaxy in 1980. I had moved from Mumbai to Delhi in 1978 and unlike Mumbai, Delhi was very tough for a woman professional but things have changed now. In 1996, I came back to Delhi as a senior professional and found the atmosphere very open and welcoming to-wards women in the field of finance. The corporate world with the best mentors (mostly male), who have had confidence in my abilities and pushed me to achieve greater heights, taught me every-thing that I stand for today.

What are the strategies required to survive in the cor-porate jungle? As a woman, one has to work hard to convince her sub-ordinates, peers and superiors of her competence. I also believe that we, who have chosen to pursue corpo-rate careers and raise a family, need to compete with ourselves. We have to set our own targets and assess our performance against them. We need to understand that being good at work and making sure we deliver are absolutely essential for our growth. We will only get respect, growth and accommo-dation with competence.

What are the challenges that women employees face at their workplace? Unconscious bias is a big challenge. It is often a boy’s club that tends to ‘get comfortable with more of their own’. Senior management has to be extremely con-scious of this to ensure an inclusive and nurturing workplace for women. Fortunately, the subject of gender diversity and inclu-sion is now getting a lot of attention in India. The business imperative and the advantages of having women in senior management and boards are being understood and discussed. Women also need support at various phases in their lives when the temptation to quit workforce is huge. Companies need to be sensitive and provide flexibility at such times. The concept of GRTW (Gradual Return To Work) is what companies today are open to.

H aving spent over 30 years in the corporate sector,

Gagan Singh firmly believes that when it comes to the cut-throat world of business, there is no better survival kit than competence

gagan SINGHceo, business - India and chairperson, sri lanka operations, Jll

WRITING IT RIGHTFEATURE


Call it destiny or design, city-based au-thors have made sacrifices and faced nu-merous challenges in turning authors. We speak to some of them to discover why they gave up high-flying corporate

careers, comfortable government jobs and popular TV stints to follow that pas-sion for weaving stories out of words.

Gentlemen officers to Novelists

Navin Gulia’s decision to turn author was destined. He was at the Indian Mili-tary Academy (IMA) when a freak acci-dent during gymnastics paralysed him from the neck down making him turn more resolute and very introspective. He then went on to do all the things that were considered impossible - an achieve-ment for which he has been honoured with numerous awards including the

Bitten by the Writing Bug!gurgaon based auThors share The hIghs and lows of TheIr chequered road To auThordom.by meeNakshi sharma

KulpREET YAdAvWhile he met with some success withthe literary journal Open Road Review

which published short fiction, he knew hehad embarked on a

rocky road


prestigious Presidents National Role Model Award.

His autobiography In Quest of the Last Victory has seen prolific sales of one lakh copies even as he moves to the sec-ond edition. Gulia is not just a successful writer and a role model for the different-ly-abled but for everyone who must find that courage to pursue their dream.

Kulpreet Yadav is another gentleman officer who followed a road less travelled when he quit his armed forces job even though, by his own admission, he went through “bad experiments with his first two novels.” While he met with some suc-cess with the literary journal Open Road Review which published short fiction, he knew he had embarked on a rocky road. Yadav struck gold with his latest novel Catching the Departed which he admits has finally ‘put him on the right track’ primarily because of “the strong central character of Andy Karan.” So while Kulpreet believes that in a novel one should “disassociate oneself from one’s own character”, he also agrees that his training and experience as a dynamic coast guard officer who has been part of so many campaigns has helped him etch strong characters.

Creative jingles to popular fiction Gurgaon-based Anuja Chauhan best known for The Zoya Factor set in the high pressure world of Indian cricket, Battle For Bittora based on the heat and dust of the Lok Sabha Elections and Those Pricey Thakur Girls based on pre-liberalization New Delhi is a writer who appeals to the youth. A background in advertising with success in campaigns like Pepsi, Kurkure, Mountain Dew and Nokia has been in-strumental in that journey.

In the same spirit, Gurgaon-based Amit Shankar, an adman with three dozen in-ternational awards, refused to be limited by a client brief. This versatile combina-tion of a musician and a corporate con-ceptualised books like Flight of the Hil-sa, Chapter 11 and the recently launched Love is Vodka, A Shot Aint Enough - all of which have been received exception-ally well by the readers and the critics.

While a stint in the advertising world is satisfying, it cannot beat the high of writ-ing says Shankar, who recalls that Kerala vacation when a “story literally planted

itself ” on him. Like Yadav, he insists that it is not necessary to base it on your life because “you get biased, and start justi-fying,” and yet his book Chapter 11 ex-plores the corporate sleaze, a throwback to his days at Corporate Gurgaon.

Describing Gurgaon as a unique city which “has both a Striker and an Ahata, Audis and autos, high-rises and lack of sewage, and the landscape changes dra-matically on the other side of the high-

AmIT SHANKARAn adman with

three dozen international awards,refused to be limited

by a client brief

WRITING IT RIGHTFEATURE


way,” Shankar acknowledges the per-sonal influence in writing. For instance, it is his closeness with his mother and grandmother that finds his book doing well with women. He also makes the best use of his corporate background when he approaches writing like a project. “I create timelines and flow charts. It is a systematic process where I put a face to every character to be able to describe them in greater detail and have all the nuances put correctly,” he asserts, even

though he refuses to re-read drafts. More important, Shankar believes that just as one need not get married just because everyone else is doing it, writing accord-ing to this young man must only be done for the “charm of creation!”

Journalism to entertainment Trained journalist Anna M M Vetticad couldn’t agree more and while she gave up a lucrative TV career, it was that very experience that sowed the seed of creativity in her. “Writing is very in-tense,” she admits, as she tells us that if it weren’t for her family caring for her, she wouldn’t have eaten or stepped out of the house during the writing of her first book, Adventures of an Intrepid Film Critic which has been well-received.

This book is a labour of love which pre-sents an account of every single Bolly-wood film released in the National Capi-tal Region (NCR) in one year proving her point that, “Cinema is a reflection of society. Even our jokes reflect your preju-dice and liberalism.” As a columnist and commentator on cinema, women’s rights and social issues, she believes cinema reflects one’s world view and cites some fun songs from recent films which ac-cording to her, “at a sub-conscious level legitimise stalking!”

Reflecting on her role as a film review-er, she affirms that the best critics look at the films from a social and political context. “From the time writing about films was about gossip magazines to the time of quality writing where film reviewing has become a serious subject, it has been a huge battle, to fight for space”, argues Anna.

Her columns in The Hindu Businessline continue to look at Indian society through the prism of Bollywood as she affirms, “Producers don’t spend on women-cen-tric films. And yet films with women have made money like Kahaani and Mary Kom.” While she feels Hollywood is slightly better, she also points to the re-cent Oscars to prove that the best picture nominees are male- centric! Her future plans include a book of fiction which she has to re-write as “I have grown as a per-son and my writing about the heroine has changed because of my life experiences”.

While her first book is non-fiction, she does agree that writers reflect themselves

ANNA m m vETTIcAd“Writing is very

intense,” she admits, as she tells us that if it weren’t for her

family caring for her, she wouldn’t have eaten.


not in being modelled that way but in their way of looking at the subject. “All charac-ters can’t be us because how then can we write about other eras. But the way I look at the person is a reflection of me.”

A road Less travelled Gurgaon-based Manjul Bajaj stumbled

into writing after working in the field of rural development and the environ-ment. While she did find it challenging to get her writing into publishable form, she calls this an internal battle and feels it has been “relatively easy”. Her debut novel Come, Before Evening Falls was accepted by the first publisher she sub-mitted it to and was shortlisted for The Hindu Literary Prize in 2010. Her next book, Another Man’s Wife, a collection of short stories, was well received and also shortlisted for The Hindu Prize in 2013. “The biggest challenge has been finding readers for my children’s book Elbie’s Quest. It’s an idiosyncratic tale and works best when adults and children read it together and getting to that read-

er profile hasn’t been easy,” she explains.An avid reader of literary fiction, she

confesses that there are ‘many, many writers whose work she admires deeply’. “To name a few – Alice Munro, Toni Mor-rison, Amitav Ghosh, Nadeem Aslam and Tan Twan Eng; But I would say none of these have been role models. The writ-ers who have influenced my writing more are perhaps those I read when I was young – Lewis Carroll, Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters and Somerset Maugham. Shyam Benegal’s early films have also

been a huge influence,” she adds.While her first novel set in Rohtak in

Haryana deals with the issue of honour and honour killings, she believes Gur-gaon did influence the choice of subject. Her future plans include Nargisa’s Ad-ventures, the second book of her Rang-eeli Duniya series for children and a his-torical novel set in 16th century Punjab.

Manjul insists that a writer should “take care to write a little bit every day. No amount of wishing and planning alone can make you a writer - you have to write regularly and consistently. And keep handy on your bookshelf the books/essays/articles/poetry that you admire. Every now and then measure yourself against them with honest eyes.”

Adds Sreemoyee Piu Kundu, a lifestyle editor-turned author whose books Fara-way Music and Sita’s Curse have met with success, “Believe in the story you are telling, instead of worrying your head off about finding a publisher. Fol-low writing as a passion and not as an easy route to become a Page 3 celeb”. ø

mANjul BAjAjWhile she did find it challenging to get her

writing into publishable form, she calls thisan internal battle

and feels it has been relatively easy

EvENTSAROUnd TOwn

32 I June 2014 I Citynewsdlf

e v e n t sMAY 2015

16th

M

ay25

th M

ay O

nwar

ds10

th M

ay

Literary Workshop 16th May 4 pm to 7 pm the atara, a-29/10 DlF phase 1

Salsa Nights Monday, Tuesday and Thursday 9 pm Onwards the Wine Company, DlF Cyberhub

Dhinchak Night Every Wednesday 8 pm Onwards sodaBottleOpener-Wala, DlF Cyberhub

Club III 25th May Onwards (Monday to Friday) 11 am to 3.30 pm summer Camp for kidsat the poolside

Club IV

10th May 12.30 pm to 3 pm I palmsmother’s day lunch Buffet

by DCN Bureau

‘In touch with yourself ’ - this was the thought behind a two-day work-shop on art and embroidery organ-ised by textile artist Gopika Nath at Epicentre recently.

Having studied design in London, Nath was always inclined towards painting creative designs on sarees and eventually fell in love with embroidery. A guest faculty with NIFT for over 20 years, she has been holding regu-lar workshops to encourage skills of craftsmen and help them express their thoughts through embroidery.

“The objective behind holding such workshops is to encourage the idea of expressing oneself through art and em-broidery. We all sang, danced and talked to find our ‘voice’. I believe if you want to say something you will find a way to say it,” Nath told DCN.

The workshop was able to introduce the participants to the use of thread and fabric as an art. Slides were also shown to guide them. One of the participants, Ayesha from Jamghat, said, “I always dreamt about mountains, water and trees and today my work depicts that.”

She had used thread for mountains, green wool for tree and blue cloth to de-pict water. While another participant, Rani, had drawn a girl in trouble, a boy seeing light was the theme for Ritu. The participants from Salaam Balak Trust had also taken keen interest to express their thoughts by weaving threads and pasting cloth as an art. And, while the creative hands were busy working, ‘I have a dream’ from ABBA kept being played in the backdrop, a song each par-ticipant could relate with ø


WEAVINGmagic With thread


EvENTSAROUnd TOwn

The energy was palpable at the Leela Ambience Gurgaon which saw rhythm and soul of a completely exuberant kind as hundreds of professional and amateur dancers from all over the world converged from 11th to 13th April for the 4th Edition of India Fiesta Latina (IFL).

Salsa, bachata, contemporary, hip-hop, jazz and belly dancing – Latin spins, sways and moves gave such a dizzying surge of energy that it transformed cor-porate Gurgaon into a salsa capital for three days thus marking its presence on the global salsa circuit.

Founders Sunil Chopra and Neeraj Maskara were delighted that their labour of love had become even bigger than im-

agined. “My wife and I discovered the Latino dance forms a few years ago in Miami and got hooked on to it and IFL was born of the desire to learn and dance with the master. Like us many Gurgaon

corporate couples are also discovering the joy of salsa,” said Chopra.

Three days of dance workshops and performances marked the India Fiesta Latina with a creative interpretation of ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ called ‘So You Know You Can Dance’ - a competi-tion that saw performances by couples from Kolkata, Chennai, Italy and Serbia as well as group dancers from IIT Delhi, and two all-women groups. Talented dancer and show host Moe Flex kept the audience hooked with his clever emcee-ing while the judges had a light hearted banter with the contestants.

While there was no dearth of glamour at the IFL, it was also a great place to learn from the best as improver, intermediate and advanced workshops on pachanga, ‘fun’ salsa moves, jazz funk, salsa ‘dips’ and ‘tricks’, rumba, afro rumba, afro Cu-ban, ‘bachatango’ and Latin jazz kept eve-ryone on their toes.

While Adolfo and Tania walked away with the top honours, ‘Full Project’, Andrea and Silvia and ‘Euphoria’ and a host of talented dancers left an indelible mark on every vis-itor and participant ensuring that the 4th edition of IFL lived up to its promise, “See the stars, learn from the stars, dance with the stars, and be a star.” ø

the three-dAy iNdiA FieStA LAtiNA GiveS A dizzyiNG SUrGe oF eNerGyby DCN Bureau

Ifl Sweeps Gurgaon oFF itS Feet

EVENTSAround Town

‘Flames’ For Kingdom Of Dreams

Kingdom of Dreams celebrated Bai-sakhi with ‘FLAMES’, a musical concert that got together singers like Kanika Ka-poor of Baby Doll fame, DJ Virus, J Star, Raftaar and Deep Money. It was an even-ing full of music, fun, dance and food.

The evening began with Tejas enter-taining the audience with his brilliant magic. After Tejas, it was DJ Virus who set the mood for a rocking party with his upbeat music. The biggest attraction of the show, however, was Kanika, who has been creating waves with her singing, be it Baby Doll or the very recent, Chittiyan Kalaeeyan.

Talking about the spirit of Baisakhi, she said, “Baisakhi is something I have been celebrating for years. I attended a Baisakhi lunch with my dear friends, where we had a great time playing with

colours. I celebrate every festival to thank God for what we are today. It’s a festival of happiness and celebrates life”.

Like Kanika, Deep Money too rocked the audiences with his Punjabi composi-tions making people dance to his Dope Shope and his latest track Ranjha, which he has done with Hard Kaur and Akhile-sh Chauhan as his partner.

After Punjabi numbers, the atmosphere was further electrified with rap music as Raftaar stepped onto stage.

With the audience getting different tastes of music on one platform, there was celebration in the air……every-where!

Sufiana Mood For Cafe Sababa

It was an Indo-western Sufi rock band that wooed the audience with its scintil-lating music at Café Sababa. The Vedas band has been performing on English

and Hindi tracks with emphasis on Sufi music.

They started with popular Sufi num-bers of artists like Kailash Kher, Atif Aslam and Arijit Singh. With tracks like Teri Deewani, Aadat, Sayonee, Dahleez Pe, Piya Basanti Re and Tera Hone Laga Hoon, the band also made the audience get up and dance to the Sufi tunes.

Talking to DCN, Varun Dhaundiyal of Vedas said, “We love the Gurgaon audi-ence who enjoy music genuinely. They love to request for their favorite num-bers which range from old tracks like Gulabi Aankhen to the latest ones like Samjhaavan”.

Shilpa Baweja, a guest, told DCN, “The way they sang Sayonee and Aadat literal-ly gave me goose bumps. Moreover, Café Sababa is a tastefully designed and great place to be in. The seating outside was very comfortable and the pleasant weath-er made it all the more enjoyable” ø

by DCN Bureau

Gurgaonites Celebrate Baisakhi The Musical Way


The MillenniuM CiTy iMMersed in a MusiCal exTravaGanza as GurGaoniTes wenT inTo a fesTive Mood To CelebraTe The joyful spiriT of baisakhi lasT MonTh. froM soul-sTirrinG sufi nuMbers To pulsaTinG roCk MusiC, The CiTy played hosT To a nuMber of evenTs To CoMpleMenT The fun and Glory assoCiaTed

wiTh baisakhi CelebraTions


DLF 5 Sizzlers defeated Gurgaon Dy-namos by 56 runs to win the DLF Em-ployee Premier League (EPL) with the final match drawing enthusiastic cricket lovers at the Sportive India Ground de-spite a drizzle.

As the employees took a break from their projects and meetings to display their skills on the field, the spectators, a large number of whom comprised young ladies, cheered for their favourites, add-ing colour to the finale.

The Sizzlers won the toss and elected to bat on what appeared to be a perfect pitch. The Dynamos bowled with tre-mendous fire and the Sizzlers were three

wickets down in a span of five overs. However Gautam Arora and Raghbir Singh settled down to a winning part-nership of 139 runs in 66 balls, which changed the face of the game.

The number of balls that were lost due to their smashing hits spoke volumes about their cricketing abilities. The Siz-zlers scored 198 thanks to the unbeaten maiden century by Gautam Arora, the first ever in DLF EPL. The Dynamos, de-spite a good batting line-up, were bowled out for 142 runs with Arun Dagar and Dheeraj Singh from Sizzlers bowling fiercely.

The trophy and prizes were presented to the winning team by Director DEDL, Ro-hit Malik. Also present at the event were

Surinder Mohan from Corporate HR and Murari Sharma, Sumitabh Bhatnagar and B S Negi from HR, DLF5.

Captain of the winning team Atul Oberoi told DCN, “We had put in a lot of hard work in the last one year practic-ing every Sunday. Since we won the toss, we had aimed to cross the 150 mark to put pressure on the chasing team and all team mates put up fabulous perfor-mances.”

To this, added Lovleen Arora, the man behind the strategy planning, “We had decided our strategy in all three disci-plines and followed the plan.” Gautam Arora, who was declared the man of the match, said, “It was a dream to win after a long wait.” ø

An enthusiAstic crowd turns up to wAtch the chAmpionship finAl.

DLF 5 Sizzlerswin dlf epl by 56 runs

by DCN Bureau

EVENTSAround Town


As the city played host to the Indian Golf Industry Association (IGIA) Sympo-sium cum Expo on April 15 and 16, Club 5 at DLF 5 turned into a golfers’ paradise with experts from all across the globe congregating for the gala event.

The syMposiuMThe symposium featured extensive in-teractions with speakers from within the country and abroad including those from the Asian Golf Industry Federation (AGIF). Director of National Golf Acade-

my, Chandigarh, Jesse Grewal hailed the event as the first teaching conference in India which was all set to further popu-larise the cause of golf. Talking about the prospects for golfers in Gurgaon, Grewal, who is a fan of the DLF Golf Course, told DCN that better driving ranges and par-ticipation from young people who were not necessarily from golfing families had seen a burst of energy and Gurgaon had the right mix of courses and people to make it even more popular.

In the same spirit, Col SK Sinha, Chief

General Manager of Aamby Valley City, who also endorses the DLF Golf Club and rates it ‘excellent’, said that ‘course qual-ity, professional management, trained staff and good club house facilities’ are necessary prerequisites for becoming popular with golfers.

“The future is in private golf courses but the Government has a huge role to play in making it possible”, he ex-plained, while pointing out that 80 % of the country’s golf courses were owned by the Armed Forces and more munici-

by DCN Bureau

Golf all The wayGurgaonites’ love for golf

witnesses a new high.


pal courses were required. “In Gurgaon, private golf courses like

DLF Golf Course have made it possible for most of us to pick up a golf club and develop the game,” he said. According to him, “golf isn’t an elitist game”. Rather, he pointed out, it was a one-time invest-ment in equipment which could last for 10 years! “Golf was initially picked up by the ambitious middle manager who needed to be globally smart. It has gradu-ally become a great place to link up for business,” he added.

On promoting ‘Golf Tourism’, while Sinha said that India had a long way to go as compared to China and other Asian countries, he still believed that the game carried huge potential and was almost “aspirational.” He went on to explain, “The way you play the game of golf is the way you play the game of life.” To this, Grewal added, “Like life, golf is different every day.” He pointed out that the love for golf was a passion that needed to be nurtured.

Maintaining that the game made one look within, Sinha said, “It reminds you that you can neither blame anyone nor take credit and just as you are alone on the golf course, you will be on your own in life too”.

The expoThe fourth edition of the annual India Golf Expo (IGE) attracted a lot of cur-rent and potential golfers while Asian Golf Industry Federation (AGIF) mem-bers Atlas Turf, Club Car, Ernie Els De-sign, Golfplan, Hunter Industries, Jacob-sen, Rain Bird and Toro were among the exhibitors.

Jaydeep Chitlangia, President of the Indian Golf Union, said, “The expo has been a catalyst and driver for the growth of the Indian golf industry. It presents all stakeholders a great opportunity to in-

teract and exchange ideas, gain perspec-tive and food for thought on the trends in the industry.”

Delivering the closing address at the expo, Aakash Ohri, IGIA’s President, said, “It is our intention for next year to make this bigger, better and with even more substance. The Indian Golf Indus-try Association is pleased and honoured to organise this annual golf expo and symposium which has grown to become South Asia’s largest gathering for the business of golf. We hope to welcome new members because the stronger our body is, the better it will perform.”

The other highlights of the week includ-ed presentation of a Lifetime Achieve-ment Award to Jeev Milkha Singh and Lifetime Contribution Award to Pawan Munjal, Vice Chairman, CEO and Manag-ing Director of Hero MotoCorp, a major golfing sponsor. Singh, described as the greatest flag-bearer of Indian golf for more than two decades, said, “I am ex-tremely honoured and humbled to receive this award from the IGIA. I commend the association for working tirelessly to ex-pand the reach of golf in India.” ø


Taking a step forward in its contribu-tion to the upliftment of underprivileged children, DLF Foundation organised the Annual Scholars’ Conclave 2015 at Air Force Auditorium, Subroto Park. Held under the aegis of its flagship initiative Talent Nurturing Programme, the Schol-ar’s Conclave celebrated the endeavours and achievements of its students while giving a platform to the scholars, faculty as well as mentors to narrate their educational progress.

The event recognised 14 high achievers with plaque, cash awards and certificates of commendation while appreciating high achievers, partner schools, best teachers and mentors and resource persons.

The Talent Nurturing Programme works towards the education of children from disadvantaged and marginalised communities who

often give up their education for lack of funds and family support while the an-nual conclave is an opportunity for stu-dents, faculty and mentors to share their scholarly journey.

The programme has already supported 733 bright underprivileged rural and ur-ban scholars with over 559 being school scholars. Out of these, over 334 rural school scholars have been assisted in

shifting from local government schools to reputed private schools with good in-frastructure and academic performance. 174 professional scholars have also been supported in the category of MBBS, En-gineering, IT, Fine Arts and Sports. Of these, 45 per cent are girl scholars.

Over 49 villages and 27 government schools in Gurgaon are covered in the school programme. In addition, five

states including Haryana, UP, Ut-tarakhand, Punjab and Delhi are covered by the professional schol-arship programme.

The conclave began with the cer-emonial lighting of the lamp by Chief Guest Dr Leena Srivastava, Acting Director General, TERI and former Vice-Chancellor, TERI Uni-versity, Guest of Honor Air Mar-shal Denzil Keelor, CEO, Special Olympics, India, Lt. Gen (Retd.)

DLF FOUNDATIONSoCIAL QuoTIEnT

Shaping the FutureAnnual Scholars’ Conclave Honours

Talented Underprivilegedby DCN Bureau


Rajender Singh, CEO, DLF Foundation and Sanjay Baxla, Senior Vice President Human Resources, DLF Ltd.

While appreciating the remarkable ef-forts of the scholars, Dr Srivastava said, “I appreciate DLF Foundation’s efforts towards the upliftment and education of these children who otherwise would not have found their way into good public schools or professional colleges.”

Lt. Gen (Retd.) Rajender Singh, CEO, DLF Foundation in his inaugural ad-dress stated, “Our country has given top scientists, engineers, and doctors to the world. I urge all my scholars to dream big and chase their dreams with all enthusi-asm and zeal.”

The young achievers recounted their ex-periences as they were being felicitated for academic excellence like Sonu Yadav said, “Because of the scholarship programme, I have gained more confidence. My aca-demic and interpersonal skills have im-proved tremendously through various programmes introduced by the foundation in my school. Some of the programmes I regularly participate in include PTA meet-ings, annual scholar meets, one to one counseling sessions and talks by inspira-tional leaders.”

Sonu’s father Raghunandan Yadav, added, “Like other low income parents I, too, was overwhelmed by diminished self-esteem, depression, and a sense of powerlessness

and inability to cope but the scholarship has touched and changed Sonu’s life who otherwise would have found it extremely difficult to pursue his dreams.”

The conclave also witnessed dazzling cultural performances by the young scholars, who were seen brimming with enthusiasm. Scholars of Jhankar School presented Chandalika - a rivet-ing dance drama based on the story of an untouchable who re-discovers her self-esteem.

A record number of 800 DLF scholars, their parents, school principals, college faculties, DLF employee volunteers, in-stitutional partners, youth workers and media participated in the conclave ø

The following awards were conferred during the conclave

l Scholar of the Year - Ms. Pooja Rani & Ms. Heena Rai

l Best Partner School - Jhankar Sr. Secondary School, Gurgaon

l Best Teacher - Ms. Barnali Mukher-jee , Drona Public School

l Ms. Helen , St. Paul’s Schooll Ms. Chadni , Jhankar Sr. Sec.

Schooll Best DLF Sahyog Volunteer – Mrs.

Parvinder Kaur & Mrs. Nidhi Passi

PARISTrAVEL TALK


You stroll on the banks of the River Seine to get anywhere really in the heart of Paris and also just because it is so beautiful and romantic; you leg it across the world’s most famous street, the glam-orous Champs Elysees; you take short cuts by walking through the immaculate Tuileries garden, and when museum hopping, well you actually just hop from one to another.Paris is divided into arrondissements or administrative districts – 20 of them. They are arranged in a sort of spiral with the 1starrondissement in the centre and then the 2nd and 3 rd, in a way that, say the 9th is next to 18th , but quite far away from 11th and 12th. We stayed in a stun-ning apartment booked through AirBnB in the 17th arrondissement and till we reached Paris worried that it would be far away from the heart of the city.

an eveninG in parisWhen we stepped out on our first even-ing there, we knew we had chosen well. The imposing Arc de Triumph, doppel-ganger to our India Gate and one of the must-see monuments in Paris was only a seven-minute stroll away. We stepped into an underground pedestrian tunnel

that took us to the base of the Arc – you can buy tickets here to climb to the top of the Arc - and emerged across on the Avenue de Champ Elysees. Both the Arc and Champs Elysees are in the 8th arron-dissement.We made that walk many times over in the next few days. But on that evening, new to Paris, excited to be in the city of poetry and philosophy, the city that has starred in hundreds of movies, we stepped out on to the famous street at dusk. A spectacular red hued sky slowly gave way to the inkiness of the night. A musician with a flowing white beard played the accordion, its sweet notes wel-coming the lights that were now being switched on. Soon the Avenue de Champs Elysees was bathed in twinkling streets lights and neon from cafes and restau-rants and theatres and stores of luxury brands that line the boulevard.

MeeTinG Mona lisaThe Avenue de Champs Elysees is about 2 km long. At the other end – really seen as the beginning of the street – is the 1st arrondissement. Cut through the Tuiler-ies garden, say hello to a statue of Julius Caesar and you emerge on the bank of

Passport To

Paris

one wAlks in pAris. A lot. for tourists, there is just too much to

whizz paSt And miss in A city where world FaMOuS builDingS

And sites live cheek by jowl by VINaY JHa


the Seine.The Louvre, one of the world’s largest museums and arguably the most famous, is on the right bank of the Seine. Its most famous resident is the Mona Lisa, and at any given time, her room has a crush of fans standing on their toes to get a glimpse of the painting if they could manage to elbow their way to the friend. After the hype of years the Mona Lisa can underwhelm; it is a small painting. Some of the other exhibits at the Louvre are far more impressive. To do even basic justice to the museum, you would need a full day. But if you are on a museum fast forward and also want to pack in the Musee de Orsay and say, the Musee Rodin – where Auguste Ro-din’s The Thinker or Le Penseur sits in a garden – you don’t need to travel too far.The Musee de Orsay is just across the river on the left bank. It is housed in an old railway station and that alone makes it worth the visit if you are not much

into the impressionists. If you are, you will find works of the top masters of that genre at the museum.

The CiTy of loveYou could cross the Siene to the other side via the Pont des Arts bridge, also called the lock bridge because of the thousands of locks that lovers have over the years attached to the bridge. Days before we visited Paris, a portion of the bridge col-lapsed under the weight of the locks and it as closed to pedestrians. It was open again when we were there, but we chose not to add to the locks. Others were not quite bothered and we saw several peo-ple attaching locks. There were reports earlier this year that the administration installed glass and wooden panels on the historic foot bridge to prevent more locks from being added, provoking anger. The bridge has for years been central to Paris’ claim that it is the city of love. We crossed the bridge several times during

CITY’S ARTERYThe Siene runsthrough Parislike an artery,

pouring life bloodinto the city


PARISTrAVEL TALK

our stay and even chanced upon a bride and groom at a wedding there.

TowerinG presenCeWe saw the bride and groom again that evening, this time at the Eiffel Tower. If you have time only to make one visit, do so in the evening. It is magical to watch the lights come on and the tower lit up resplendently in moments. Do check the timings of the last trip up the tower on the lift before you visit. The Eiffel domi-nates the city and its view of it is spec-tacular.At the base of the tower, people gather to watch musicians perform as the lights come on. A dance troupe performed an energetic routine on the evening we were there. Paris is a city of artists and they display their skills without inhibition. Everywhere. Musicians play on street corners, in pedestrian tunnels, at famous landmarks. Painters display their signed

paintings on the banks of the Siene. They paint the Eiffel, the 12th Century Notre Dame Cathedral, the famous caba-ret Moulin Rouge – immortalised on cel-luloid and golden as ever, more than 100 years after it was founded.And they paint the Siene, the river that runs through Paris like an artery, pour-ing life blood into the city.

landMarks GaloreAn inextricable part of the Paris expe-

rience is a tour of the Latin Quarter or Quartier latin, in the 5th and the 6th ar-rondissements, around the Sorbonne. This is the university area, the hunting ground of the more literary minded and the young and free spirited. Some of Paris’ best bis-tros dot this area and a portion of our group made a beeline also for Shakespeare and Company, the famous book store.In Paris, almost everything is famous. At least two members of our family wouldn’t budge from under a sign that said Place Jean-Paul Sartre et Simone de Beauvoir, celebrating Paris’ best known

RICH LEGACYVersailles has a

grand royal châteauthat bears testimony

to how richFrench royalty was

So Little Time, So Much To Do!

Since our trip last summer, friends planning a visit to the city have asked how many days are enough

to see all of paris. i reckon a hectic three months will allow you savour much of what the city has to offer. perhaps.

we had eight days. and a motley crew with radically different ideas of how best to optimize our paris trip. the nine-year-old for instance was focused completely on the trip to paris Disneyland. this meant that one of the eight days was reserved for that visit. the oldest in the group, a senior citizen, is an artist and avid art student and was clear that most of her visit would be spent in the many museums of the city or then studying the city’s breathtaking ar-chitecture.

at least two in our group were keen to spend long hours soaking in the literary atmosphere of a city where the likes of James Joyce, Ezra pound and Earnest hemingway found inspiration to write.

what we did agree on was food, and paris is a foodie’s delight. From crepes on the run, bought off the pan just about anywhere, savoury croissants and a many glasses of wine at the cafes and bistros that dot the city’s sidewalks to a memora-ble three-course French dinner at a lovely restaurant right across the street from our apartment, called the au petit Marguery Rive Droite.

but paris in eight days was going to be a challenging task and planning out each day helped


intellectual couple. While on people, some of Paris’ best known denizens are buried at the Père Lachaise cemetery, a big draw for tourists. Jim Morrison, the 26-year-old rockstar, did not quite live in Paris, but he died there in 1970. His grave draws the most people, though if you have time, you could go right across the large cemetery to where Irish novelist and playwright Oscar Wilde is buried. Midway there is the grave of pianist Chopin and many other famous people. Closing time is observed strictly in Paris so do plan to be near an exit gate around then, to avoid a rush.

A visit to Jim Morrison’s resting place was a must-do for our rock-crazy kids, and they were also delighted to learn that an important place of the Morri-son fans’ pilgrimage in Paris is 6 Place Tristan Bernard, where he stayed a night. Our address in Paris was 7 Place Tristan Bernard.We traveled to Versailles – made famous by the treaty signed there a century ago -in the suburbs of Paris for a day-long trip.It has a grand royal château built and expanded by a line of French kings, all Louis’ - an imposing palace that bears testimony to how rich French royalty was. The unending gardens are immac-ulately maintained and at a far end is a smaller chateau, the Petit Trianon, built for Madame de Pompadour, the powerful mistress of Louis XV, and used later by the queen of Louis XVI, Marie Antoi-nette, widely credited with sparking the French revolution with her thoughtless remark – “Let them eat cake.”Another day was spent at Disneyland. The Paris Disneyland is, well, yet an-other Disneyland. If you do not have a kid clamouring to visit, you can just skip it and give another day to strolling aim-lessly in Paris ø

For those who are Paris bound for a holiday, a few tips:

MAP: Be armed with a detailed map, it helps enormously. SHOES: Carry comfortable walking shoes. TRANSPORT: Make use of the public transport. We found ourselves very well served by the Paris Metro and the RER train service, the latter especially when we travelled to Disneyland and Versailles.

TRAVEL TIPS


LODHI GARDENS

Tucked between the popular India in-ternational Centre (IIC), India Habitat Centre (IHC) and the India Islamic Cul-tural Centre (IICC), the Lodhi Gardens is

not just the green lung of South Delhi. It also offers a smorgasbord of experiences that includes open air exercising options, the visual treats of flora, fauna and horti-

culture and architecture with a rich his-tory. Exquisite cuisine at the Lodhi res-taurant next door completes a visit.

The complex hosts visitors from all over the world as its aesthetic appeal and historical relevance cuts across reli-gious faith and cultural divides. For the convenience of the visitors, the gardens have multiple entry points all around Lodhi Road, Amrita Shergill Marg and Max Mueller Marg with parking space. Dexterous parking manoeuvres with as-sistance from the vendors and drivers get you your desired spots and you can then focus on being overwhelmed by the sight of greenery and wooded abundance.

peep inTo The pasTThe legacy of the erstwhile Sayyid dynas-ty which dates back nearly 600 years to the remnants of the Lodhi dynasty with tombs of Sikander Lodhi and some anonymous royalty which is exquisitely decorated pro-vide an evocative glimpse into the past.

The monuments around which the gar-dens are laid out are Muhammed Shah’s

SIGHTSEEInG

A perenniAl fAvourite with Dilliwalas And GurGAonites, this heritAGe site which is A wAlkers’ pArAdise combines history And culture with A serene Ambience; fitness And heAlth with GAstronomicAl deliGhts. by MeeNaksHI sHarMa

A Summer StrollThrough history


Tomb, Sikander Lodhi’s Tomb, Sheesh Gumbad and Bara Gumbad. The tomb of Mohammed Shah, the last of the Sayyid rulers, is the earliest of these and was built in 1444 by Ala-ud-din Alam Shah.

The sound of chirping birds merges with the notes of a flutist who is busy practicing his craft within the Bara

Gumbad and the Sheesh Gumbad which adds to the rich heritage. The Bara Gum-bad and the attached mosque were built in 1494 during the reign of Sikander Lo-dhi. The Sheesh Gumbad or the Glazed Dome, which stands opposite Bara Gum-bad and resembles it, was built around the same time. The Sheesh Gumbad is somewhat smaller in size compared to the Bara Gumbad.

Another fascinating construction in the gardens, which was originally known as the Lady Willingdon Park, is the Athpula bridge (eight bridges) built in the 16th century. The bridge derives its name from the eight piers it rests on and is believed to have been built during the reign of Mughal emperor Akbar. The neat path-ways and jogging tracks crisscross the park in geometrical patterns and have a good footfall. As one meanders further along the walking tracks, the sight of chil-dren, youth and elders playing dodge ball, tug of war and cricket is reminiscent of an inherent desire to be fit.

flora and faunaThe National Bonsai Park with its awe-some collection of dwarf plants and trees is a welcome sight and also a testi-mony to the adroit and skilful gardeners working there. The gardens boast of an enviable aviary and are full of a vari-ety of birds ranging from the common sparrow to the regal owl and the humble egret to the awe-inspiring eagle. During winters, the gardens also play host to a variety of migratory birds. The artificial lake too has a large number of geese and


turkeys which provide a quaint Downton Abbey kind of feel to the entire scene.

ouTdoor GyM It is a pleasant surprise to see a well laid out and impressive collection of exercise machines in the fitness park, which are a fantastic example of everyday phys-ics and punch well above their weight to take on any modern gym. The simple pulley and pull and push mechanisms incorporated in the myriad exercise machines make you break a sweat as you swing, ski and sway to burn excess calories. The young and the old alike try their hand at the machines so thought-fully put up to ensure physical fitness in an al fresco setting.

Avid walkers, joggers and laughter club members literally walk the talk in the salubrious surroundings. The sight of a young child coming to grips with a skiing machine and the senior citizen twisting her hips salsa style on the twister con-trast vividly with the young men gamely pushing barbells and weights and yogic postures of various contortions and age…all united in their common quest towards a sound mind in a sound body.

a MidsuMMer’sniGhT dreaMThe rumble in the tummies after an in-vigorating evening rendezvous at the Lodhi Gardens serves as a reminder to pay attention to the charming next-door neighbour called quite simply and evoca-tively–Lodi, the Garden Restaurant. And, if you do decide to sample food there, you will certainly go back with pleasant

memories of great outdoors with the fin-est continental culinary treat imaginable.

Arguably one of the prettiest restau-rants in Delhi, set among the lush lawns of Lodhi Gardens, this place is perfect to meet friends, curl with a book in a corner or have a romantic dinner date with your beau! Its classy ambience with sweet piped music playing softly in the

background and gazebos and curtained dramatic ‘jhoola’ or swings make this a perfect place for a romantic evening with a twist of culture . Whether you opt for the gazebo style, chariot, bullock cart or normal table style, the solicitous service is always at hand.

The menu selection has just as much class as the setting and you will be given a choice of crispy green salad with fresh tomatoes, thinly sliced pear, crunchy sunflower seeds in a honey-virgin olive oil dressing with ingredients sourced from their very own garden making it worth every delicious bite. The summer friendly cold beetroot puree infused yo-ghurt soup is a must have for its unique flavour as is the delicious sea food paella with pieces of prawns, fish and squids adding a smoky flavour.

Known for its European, Lebanese and authentic Mediterranean cuisine with the addition of kebabs and grills to its popular mezze platters, the Lodi also boasts of authentic desserts like the almond bread pudding with warm tof-fee sauce and home-made fig ice cream which also has home-made ingredients served in restaurant style chic. Add to it the non-intrusive personal service and you can be sure to cherish the overall experience of the Lodhi Gardens whose wooded ambience makes it worthwhile to sit in the beautiful outdoors with a summer breeze swishing away the stresses and strains of life in a metro. A slice of history garnished with mouth-watering cuisine, amazing ambience of floral and avian charm are sure to create sweet summer memories. ø

LODHI GARDENSSIGHTSEEInG

“Gurgaon's Leading Real Estate

Consultancy Firm & Brokerage House”

www.abcbuildcon.in

Call +91 9716030121DLF CrestHigh End Luxury Apartments • VRV Conditioning • Club House • Air-conditioned entrance halls and lift lobbies. • Heated water supply through geysersHigh speed passenger elevators with additional service elevator •Pressurized staircases , lift lobbies and lift shafts, for better fire safety

128 ILD Trade Centre, Sohna Road, Gurgaon 122002T: +91 9899199172 1 +91 9899199175 E: [email protected]

AN ISO 9001:2008 Certified Company

TRUSTED VETERAN BRAND

BEST AFTER SALE SUPPORT

100 % SATISFACTION

GURANTEED

+91 8470930121

Find your Dream Home with

ABC Buildcon

TRUSTED VETERAN BRAND

BEST AFTER SALE SUPPORT

100 % SATISFACTION

GURANTEED


SUMMER FOODwInE & dInE

Come summer and the craving for chilled drinks, refreshingly cold soups, light and crispy salads and delicious main courses and desserts which are not heavy on the stomach begins in right earnest.

From that cute gourmet cafe tucked away behind Mega Mall in DLF Phase 1 in Gurgaon, the busy kiosk at Cyber-greens to the quaint little ice-cream par-lour at Hauz Khas village, we discover some amazing textures and flavours which refresh and nourish while pro-viding that much needed visual appeal which is all the rage this summer.

DLF Cybercity office goers are con-spicuous by their absence at outlets that serve rich curries as they throng salad bars like Salad Chef and Pitapit. Salad Chef was probably the first of its kind in business at Delhi NCR in 1993 when Ran-jan who has a background as a food and dairy technologist decided to quit his job at Unilever to join his brother who was working as a garde manger in the cold kitchen to create dressings for salads and market them. He recalls how they began by packing dressings at home and began

supplying to popular stores like Modern Bazaar.

They faced little competition and that too from the likes of Nirulas Potpourri which was probably the only one in the league. Ranjan calls salads ‘live food which is never fried and served either

par boiled or raw and is light and hygien-ic with dressings that are only in soya, sunflower and olive oil’ as he advises us to pick and choose a salad as an appetis-er, a main or even a dessert!

He laments the fact that it is not so much about health as about economics and that many people do not consider healthy salad as a full meal though the discerning customer is growing. Sum-mer foods must look as good as they taste, he emphasises as he asks us to sample the spinach soup which is puree based, has no cream and oil and is packed with vitamins and minerals.

Salads, he explains, are about “body, tex-ture, dressing and garnish and unless all these factors are taken care of, one can hardly qualify to be a salad chef. There is a perception that healthy cannot be tasty and we challenge that,” he concludes.

GourMeT suMMerGourmet cafes like Atara at A Block DLF Phase 1 in Gurgaon are in demand this summer as they offer the choicest selec-tion of summer foods that includes re-freshing drinks like Masala Shikanjee and Ginger Lemon and some great sum-mery choices from their set menu.

Here food plating is raised to an art form under the supervision of their tal-ented young chef Bhaskar who is very

liGht, crisp, cold And impeccAbly presented – summer food rules And how! by MeeNaksHI sHarMa

Summery

Fresh

committed to light and nutritious food after his stint at Ananda in the Himala-yas and Ista. The five course set menu is a delight and so is their recommended de-licious Prawn N Apple Salad, Aubergine Salad and Watermelon & Feta Cheese Salad which have an amazing combina-tion of sweet and savoury flavours.

A light and lip-smacking zucchini roll, a prawn panacea or even a main course of Spicy Asian Black Cod too do justice to the summery spirit. For foodies who love their Indian menu, try the ajwaini fish tikka and mutton galauti kebab which though filling, are still guilt-free summer food. Round off the meal with their exqui-site Chocolate Crepe and you are so sum-mery fresh you can go right back to work.

i sCreaM for iCe-CreaMSimply called Hokey Pokey, this little cafe in Hauz Khas village gives you some amazing summer food which includes

Chilled Beetroot Soupingredients3 large beets (peeled and cut into medium dice)2 cloves garlic, minced1 tab sugar1 cup non-fat yogurt1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint1 cup Sour Cream1 bunch mint leaves (for garnish)

MethodIn a medium saucepan, combine beets and garlic. Cover with 2 cups water or vegetable stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a sim-mer, cover and cook 10 to 15 minutes or until beets are tender. Remove from heat and transfer beets and their liquid to a mixing bowl. Allow to cool to room temperature. Add sugar, yogurt and mint. In a blender puree the beet mixture. Mix well and Chill until ready to serve. Pour the soup in a bowl. Float a spoon of yoghurt in bowl, and sprinkle with chopped mint

Farm Fresh SALAD (4 portions)Farm fresh greens , tomatoes, pear, sunflower seeds & goat cheesewith extra virgin olive oil & honey dressing

ingredients1 bunch mixed baby greens (rocket, romain loloroso)1 ripe pear2tbs dried sunflower seed2tbs crumbled goat cheese

dressing 1tbs fresh lemon juice, 1tbs honey, Salt, Crust black peppers

Method1. Place the mixed baby greens in a large bowl.2. Peel the pears and cut into thin slices, removing the core and any seeds.3. Add the pear slices, sunflower seed and cherry tomato to the bowl with the greens. Toss with enough dressing to lightly coat everything in the bowl.4. Sprinkle the sun flower seed and the goat cheese over the top of the tossed salad.Serve immediately.

(Recipes courtesy Lodi – the Garden Restaurant)

RECIPE

creatively fresh shakes, jalapeno and sun dried tomato sandwiches with cheese and that unforgettable interactive ice cream experience on the stone cold slab. Just watching them expertly mould and mix ice cream and create flavours is ex-hilarating.

Explains Rohan Mirchandani, “Those who have tasted it, swear by it as we let you mix premium ice-creams with a wide variety of mix-ins from options like chocolate chips, ferrerorocher to

oreo on a frozen cold stone. We use the choicest of finest ingredients which are sourced from their authentic local roots. For example, we get vanilla and coffee beans from Coorg, alphonso mango pulp from Ratanagiri and strawberries from Panchgani.”

He believes Gurgaon and Delhi are ready to experiment and therefore loving their Hauz Khas Village, Ambiance Mall (Gurgaon+ Vasant Kunj) and Good Earth City Centre Mall (Gurgaon). ø



SUMMER FOODWINE & DINE

With her flawless skin, jet black sa-lon hair, an enviable figure and a Paris-ian fashion sense to match, she sits el-egantly cross legged on a high stool in a red cocktail dress with a stole over her bare shoulders. This pretty picture of a mannequin with porcelain skin has been painstakingly created piece by piece by world champion pastry artist Chef Ewald Notter from Switzerland who was

in Gurgaon recently for the opening of the Pastry Arts Academy.

Chef Nikhilesh, the man behind this ambitious academy project, has added this new feather in his cap after the suc-cess of his academy at Malaysia. With ac-tive support of his partners, he has now extended this unique art of pastry mak-ing to Gurgaon as he finds it, “the most appropriate place to have an academy as there are so many expats and Indian en-trepreneurs living here.”

According to the talented Chef Nikhile-sh who has created a strong visiting fac-ulty of about 30 chefs for this venture, the success of the model in Malaysia made him realise that Gurgaon is a good plat-form to cover the burgeoning India mar-

ket. The Gurgaonites seemed to agree as they thronged the newly launched acad-emy and explored the many courses it had to offer.

Chef Ewald Notter was, of course, a nat-ural draw and proved that he is a celeb-rity chef as well as a master craftsman as he worked effortlessly with sugar, which tends to be different in every new loca-tion. Add to it the heat and you know why

he is a champion in Sugar Arts. He tells us that the trends in Sugar Arts

are about “crispy flakes, combination of acidity and the balance of tastes and textures as well as decorations, use of height, light, shapes and the ability to make them look as natural as possible.” Being Swiss, he has a natural affinity for chocolate as he reminds us that they eat more chocolates than any other nation.

He gives us a few tips as he chats with us whilst creating figurines. “While moulding sugar into a woman, make the figure sit up straight if you want her to look young and stylish because you can make a person look young or old, happy or sad in the manner in which you mould the sugar.”

From chocolate workshops to sugar and pastry arts, there is much knowledge available at the academy for both ama-teurs who want to learn from scratch to professionals who want to refresh and up-grade themselves. According to Nikhilesh, “From 16-65, everyone can learn and there is no minimum qualification required.”

A strong background in banquets and a reputation as national champions repre-senting Singapore in Asia, this is a for-midable team with a unique standing in sugar, cake and chocolate industry. They already have a strong presence in Italy, Japan, USA and Malaysia and hope to strengthen their position in India as an academy that offers three, six and nine month courses. ø

Sugar Pastry ArtsComes To Gurgaon

Pastry arts Chef Nikhilesh, the man behind this

ambitious academy project, has addedthis new feather inhis cap after the success of his

academy at Malaysia

Dr. Tapan Ghose, Director & HOD Cardiology, Paras Hospitals, carries with him an experience of over 20 years. He talks about

the risks associated with the Heart.

When is it important to see acardiologist?Heart disease is most common in India

accounting for 40% of deaths, which is more than all forms of cancer combined. People are slow to seek help when symp-toms, which aren’t always intense or obvi-ous, arise. Doctors warn against ignoring possible

warning signs, waiting to see if they go away, or being quick to blame them on heartburn, muscle soreness or other less serious, non-cardiac causes. That’s espe-cially true for people over 65, as well as for those with heart risk factors such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure, obe-sity, smoking, diabetes or a family history of heart disease. “The more risk factors you have, the higher the likelihood that a symptom means something is going on with your heart”.

Basic symptoms - Never to igNore Chest discomfort: Pain in the chest

is the classic and the main symp-tom of heart attack. But not all heart attacks cause chest pain. Heart-related chest pain is often centred under the breastbone, perhaps a little to the left of centre. The pain has been likened to “an elephant sitting on the chest,” but it can also be an uncom-fortable sensation of pressure, squeezing, or fullness. “It’s not unu-sual for women to describe the pain as a minor ache. Wom-

en, more than men, can also experience a burning sensation in their chest, rather than a pressure or pain”. Sometimes peo-ple mistake the pain for hyper acidity.Shortness of breath: Sometimes people

having a heart attack don’t have chest

pressure or pain but feel extremely short of breath. Breathing difficulty especially on exertion can be a marker of heart disease. It is a more important risk marker of heart disease in diabetic, elderly and hyperten-sive patients. Palpitations or irregular pulse: Occasion-

al missed beat can occur but if frequent or associated with other symptoms like dizziness and fatigue, one should con-sult the doctor to rule out structural heart disease. A potentially dangerous heart rhythm abnormality is known as arrhyth-mias. Doctors say that there’s usually nothing worrisome about an occasional skipped heartbeat. But a rapid or irregu-lar pulse -- especially when accompanied by weakness, dizziness or shortness of breath -- can be an evidence of a heart attack, heart failure, or arrhythmias. Left untreated, arrhythmias can lead to stroke, heart failure or sudden death.Fatigue: Excessive fatigue not attribut-

able to other conditions may be an indirect marker of underlying heart

disease. It can be a manifes-tation of both oxygen de-

mand supply mismatch as well disease of car-

diac muscle itself. Sometimes leakage of heart valves may be the cause of ex-cessive fatigue. SWelling: Leg

swelling associated with angina pain or shortness of breath points to coronary arteries blockage, heart muscle disease or heart valve dis-ease. Usually it is as-sociated with bloat-ing, weight gain and decreased appetite.

Spotlight

All That You Wanted To Know About Heart Disease



WILL POOLEINtErvIEW

At a time when conservative methods of teaching are still quite prevalent in the country, Will Poole, Managing Partner,

Vidyanext, believes that the combination of new technology, excellent pedagogy and methodology can enable ‘a funda-mental and much-needed change in how children learn in India.’

In an interview with DCN, he talks about the interactive and far more crea-tive ways of learning and grasping.

Tell us about Vidyanext and its aim?We created Vidyanext because we be-

lieved that there are better and more modern ways for children to learn than the conventional tuition centres. After a successful experience in Bangalore with over 30 centres, we started in Gurgaon six months back. We provide state-of-the-art methods, teaching kids in a person-alised way. What are the methods adopted by

Vidyanext for educating?Every child is different in ways of learn-

ing and what they are excited about. We assess the child’s capabilities and devel-op a personalised learning plan. We then use particular combinations of technol-ogy and teaching in order to enable the child learn at his own pace, while keep-ing his interest intact. We also have a coach to address any doubt the child has.Tell us about Gurgaon as a market

and the challenges you perceive?The growth we see in Gurgaon is very

exciting. The focus on education has driven parents to look for quality and innovative solutions. The foremost chal-lenge is to let people know we are an in-credible and capable organisation that can ensure quality learning experience for their children.

The second challenge is making parents understand why we are unique and why is the combination great for their child. Children are inquisitive, born digital

and for them to take advantage of what we have to offer is easy.

Tabs are the primary technology, the front end of our methods. We can put our technology on to their tabs that they can go home and spend more time learn-ing. We make learning fun for them by giving points on various methods. Given the school system we have, they have to

practice a lot. We give them worksheets that they complete and we give them feedback which enables them to per-form better.

To conclude, the conventional means are a thing of the past and what we hope to achieve is to show parents and the country that there are better ways to learn and they can be adopted widely. ø

To Change The Way India Learns, The AIM of Vidyanext


Dr. Gourdas Choudhuri is Direc-tor and HOD, Gastroenterology & Hepatobiliary Sciences, at FMRI Gurgaon. He completed

his MD (Medicine) & DM (Gastroenterol-ogy) from the All India Institute of Medi-cal Sciences, New Delhi. He talks to DCN about Hepatitis and its consequences.

What does the term ‘Hepatitis’ mean? Hepatitis means diffuse injury to the liver

(hepar means liver, itis means inflam-mation) in which hepatocytes or liver cells die at a fast rate. When this happens, the cells release enzymes such as SGOT (AST) and SGPT (ALT) into the blood stream which accounts for the abnormality seen in liver function test.What are the types of

Hepatitis?There are two broad types:

Acute Hepatitis refers to an illness that occurs in a short span of time characterised by markedly increased level of liver enzymes, usually in thou-sands (normal levels are usually around 40 IU/L) while Chronic Hepatitis is one in which liver damage occurs indolently over more than six months.What are the common causes

of acute Hepatitis? The commonest causes are in-

fection with liver viruses such as Hepatitis A, Hepatitis E or Hep-atitis B. Sometimes, it could be due to a reaction to cer-tain medicines. It is often associated with nausea, loss of appetite, pain in the tummy, jaundice and yellow urine. Most

patients (more than 95%) with Hepatitis A and E recover over four to six weeks with the body fighting and getting rid of the virus and the liver cells regenerating. Rarely, the liver may fail and a person may slip into liver coma.What causes Chronic Hepatitis?Slow damage to the liver can be caused

by certain infections such as Hepatitis B or Hepatitis C, regular high alcohol con-sumption and excess deposition of fat in the liver. Although the degree of liver function abnormality is not that dramatic

in this form, Chronic Hepatitis often leads to a condition of scarring and weakness of the liver called Liver Cir-

rhosis. The risk of developing can-cer of the liver goes up in patients

with chronic liver disease.How does one get to know if one has a weak liver?

Acute Hepatitis is diag-nosed by clinical symp-

toms, grossly elevated liver enzymes in blood test, and fur-ther, by tests to de-tect which virus (A, E or B) is causing it.

Another blood test, called Prothrombin

Time, tells us if the liver is in danger of failing. Chronic Hepatitis is often not detectable clinically, re-quiring tests for diagnosis. Blood test for liver functions (Liver Function Test or LFT) and for Hepatitis B (HBsAg), Hepatitis C (Anti HCV) and a Fibros-can test help tell if there is anything to worry about. If all the three are normal, you have a healthy liver. It is always advisable to detect and treat a liver disease at an early stage to pre-vent Liver Cirrhosis.

Spotlight

All That You Need to Know About Hepatitis


SUSHMITA MALAVIYAGUESt COLUMN

Priyanka Satyawakta, a keen organic gardener, was exploring possibilities for bet-ter organic manure when she began home composting. Vib-ha Sachdev has been compost-ing for the past four years but the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan has finally given momentum to responsible waste disposal. Both are partners in the Daily Dump campaign (www.daily-dump.org).

Satyawakta has been a Daily Dump partner for two years now and composts in her Vas-ant Kunj flat. “It is important to compost – everybody needs to do it. The more green waste from kitchens and gardens is composted, the less mixing of materials at the dump and recovery of recyclable mate-rial (either by raddiwallas or by rag pickers) is possible. It’s a resource, not waste!” she explains

In Delhi, this also applies to leaf composting, as it should be used as mulch or manure. Mulching in Delhi is impor-tant, as there’s a huge vari-ance in maximum and minimum temperatures here and the soil gets eroded. “Unfortunately, we sweep and burn them, thus spend money to add carbon dioxide to the atmosphere,” says Satyawakta.

Sachdev, a textile/craft designer who works from home on sus-tainable earth-friendly products, explains that though the Daily Dump cloning costs are high, and the time and effort it takes are considerable, “the returns are mainly in terms of the satis-faction one derives from doing this”.

SEGREGATION IS KEYThe key to composting is simple - Segregate. Once households are conscious of the importance of segregation, it’s a matter

of time and you know the cor-rect way to compost. While Sachdev moved into compost-ing because she was always conscious of the need for lifestyle choices to minimise damage to environment and her health, she feels this actu-ally applies to everybody. She further stresses, “Unless one makes sure the segregated waste reaches the right desti-nation, it would probably get mixed back together and end up in a landfill. So, it makes sense to reuse what you can, compost organic waste which is generally 60 % of house-hold waste and ensure that the segregated dry waste reaches the right recyclers. Just by doing this, each of us has the power to reduce the pollution from household waste by nearly 90 percent. Composting takes less than a minute every day and if done right, is stink and mess free. And it is therapeutic!”

Satyawakta echoes, “It’s not about the money. There is a satisfaction that I have been

able to get the word out to almost close to 500 customers.” She is aware of the pitfalls too. “Households that have left it to serv-ants have not really taken off and personal interest is important in the initial stage,” she says. Like Sachdev, she knows that it is just a matter of interest. “Over the past few years, the accelera-tors have improved so much that the process has become much easier,’’ Satyawakta explains, She says that people with a basic interest are now able to achieve the right balance of green and brown and get good quality compost in the home composters.

This fits in with the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. The more thoughtful citizens are about their waste footprint, the more they can help the next generation internalise the importance of waste segregation. ø

Internalise Composting

To Help Clean India

Some of the most frequently ob-served dental issues today are of overcrowded teeth, misalignment of jaws and crooked teeth. In such

cases, we may not be able to clean the teeth well, eventually leading to gum diseases. Braces play an imperative role in correct-

ing these kinds of issues and also for den-tal health. The teeth corrected and placed at the right place provide you the most confident smile ever.Talking about braces, orthodontic expert

Dr Heman Verma explains, “The braces ex-ert pressure on the teeth to correct their placement. The extent of pressure is ad-justed by the orthodontist who identifies and tightens them as required.”One of the traditional braces is made

of stainless steel or titanium which has brackets attached by archwires that are tightened by the orthodontist for pres-sure. Rubber bands are used to keep the archwires attached firmly to braces. “To-day rubber bands in bright colours help us convince the young generation, often conscious of braces” adds Dr Heman.One of the most recent trends in vogue

is of coloured braces. Dr Heman points, “These days neon colour braces with

bright coloured rubber bands, which look funky, are in demand and they serve the purpose of correcting your teeth too.” To this, Dr Priyanka Verma adds, “Some peo-ple like the gold look which is also avail-able now.”Invisible braces, however, are the aes-

thetic option that enhances your self es-teem and gives you a confident smile. These braces are mostly recommended to adults and often not advised for children. One of the most recent CAD/CAM tech-

nologies in dentistry is related to ‘lingual braces’. These braces are put behind the teeth and are not easily visible. How-ever, they require a highly experienced orthodontist for their correct fixture. Dr Heman explains, “These braces are a step towards cosmetic dental solution. One aspect that people must keep in mind with these braces is to use wire brushes and floss threads to maintain dental hygiene.”At Dental Stylers, you will spot the most

efficient and experienced team of doctors to provide you solutions with the most professional service and elevated levels of dental technology applied. Dental Stylers will be happy to cure you!

Spotlight

Correct Your Teeth PlacementWith The Right Braces

Dr. Heman VermaOne of the leading orthodontists & implantologists of the country, Dr. Verma spearheads Dental Stylers, one of the most premium dental centres of Northern India with comprehensive education in be-havior management, sedation and anesthesia techniques.

Dental Stylers8 Dakshin Marg, DLF Phase- II, Gurgaon

Ph. 9810296979, 2356609,

2356610, 2351159

Email: [email protected]

www.dentalstylers.com


Ph: 0124–4778873, +91 9810563407 Email: [email protected] City News, 8th Floor, DLF Gateway Tower, DLF Cyber City, Phase III , Gurgaon 122002

Kindly start my supply of the DLF City News magazine for the term I have indicated below:

Please add courier charges: Local Gurgaon delivery: Rs192/- for 2 years or Rs.96/- for 1 year Outstation delivery: Rs.720/- for 2 years or Rs.360/- for 1 year

Name: (Mr./Ms./Mrs.)

Designation Occupation Industry Type

Address

City State Pin(Mandatory)

Tel Mobile Email ID

PAyMenT DeTAILS:Enclosed in my Cheque DD No. ……………………..........… Bank & Branch details …………...............................................….………………….. Payable to DLF Utilities Ltd. Mail the subscription form with your Cheque/DD No. to: DLF City News, 8th Floor, Gateway Tower, DLF Cybercity, Phase-III, Gurgaon-122002 (Haryana). Call: 0124-4778873

DLF City news cover price is Rs. 50/- only. DLF City News is a monthly magazine. Please allow 4-6 weeks for processing your subscription. DLF City News subscription offer is a limited period offer and subject to change. Once the discount has been availed, the subscription cannot be cancelled and no refund will be given. The number of issues and/or size and/or content and/or number of pages and/or design and/or look and feel of the magazine and/or the frequency of publication are subject at the sole discretion of DLF Utilities Ltd. without any prior intimation during the subscription period. Renewal subject to the sole discretion of DLF Utilities Ltd. All subscriptions are subject to actual realization of the payment. All disputes are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of competent courts & forums in Gurgaon/Haryana only. Terms & Conditions apply.

subscRIPTION FORM

Tick One (√) SUBSCRIPTIOn COVeR PRICe yOU GeT OFFeR yOU SAVe

Two Year Rs. 1200 24 Issues Rs. 840 360

One Year Rs. 600 12 Issues Rs. 480 120

Citynewsdlf

FOR ADVeRTISeMenT QuERIEs cONTAcT:

SUBSCRIBE & ADVERTISE UtILItIES

Moh

it Hi

raCE

O, H

unga

ma

Digi

tal

Q&

A

Cyber

Hub

Expe

rienc

e the

best

in re

stau

rant

s,

pubs

and

cafe

sP-5

0

CALL

OF

THE

WIL

D

IN B

OTSW

ANA

CITY

RES

IDEN

TS S

HA

RE T

HEI

R

BITT

ER-S

WEE

T EX

PERI

ENCE

S

STYL

E TI

PS T

O

7City

Cityn

ews

dlfCity

May

201

4 V

ol. 8

Issu

e 2

City

GOLF

City

City

City

Citynew

sdlf

City

City

May

201

4 V

ol. 8

Issu

e 2

City Golf

Capital

Gurgaon

Mohit

Hira

CEO, H

unga

ma D

igita

l

P-28

Q&

A

WIN

D & D

INE

Call of

The Wild

BOTSWANA

Ultim

ate D

estinatio

n

Delta w

hich se

es one

of Afri

ca’s gre

atest

conce

ntratio

ns of

wild

life co

me Ju

ly

P-48

TRAVEL

Wit

h fiv

e La

tin

Am

eric

an c

hefs

P-5

2

FITNESS M

ANTRA

CITY

CYC

LISTS

CITY RESID

ENTS SHARE THEIR

BITT

ER-S

WEE

T EX

PERI

ENCE

S

STYLE

TIP

S TO

BEAT THE H

EAT

7

CYBER CONGRESS

PROPOSED IN SCHOOLS

`50

JUNE 2

014 Vol.

8 Issue

3

TRAVEL

Hong Kong

URBaN FaNtaSY?

Look No FurtherP-48

YOUNG ACHIEVER

Nayani Bhardwaj

CItY SHOOtER

Bags silver at

International

tournament

P-32

+

MULtI-MODaL tRaNSPORt

and commuting optio

ns in

Gurgaon

aCtIvE COMMUtING

IN CYBER CItY

16-lane expressway w

ith

flyovers and underpasses

for a smooth rid

e

WALK

tO WORKDLF CyberH

ub

Promises more

action afte

r receiving

aN aWaRD

FavOURItE

REStaURaNt

CLUStER IN IN

DIa

P-47

WaLK OF HOPE

CaNCER SURvIvORS

SELF-DESIgnED InTERIoRS

CatCH ON IN tHE CItY

`50

TRAVEL

FIJITHE JEWEL

OF THE PACIFIC

P-30

PEOPLE

Baby Halder

RETURNS WITH

another book set

for a release soon

P-24

+

FOR THE GAMEGAME

KEEPING THE FLAG

FLYING HIGH

CLUB CULTURE

THE GOOD LIFE

SECURITY FOR WOMEN

CITY POLICE’S TOP PRIORITY

As FIFA World Cup grabs eyeballs

COACHING ACADEMIES ON THE RISE

City youngsters take to the

game, say it’s all about teamwork

Citynewsdlf

City`50

March 2015 Vol. 8 Issue 12

INTERVIEW

Deputy

Commissioner

TL Satyaprakash

talks about

his prioritiesP-20

COMMUNITY CONNECT

IT’s a lITTlE JapaN

with an interesting

amalgamation oF

culturesin GurGaon

P-47

RIOT OF COLOURS

suraJKunD mela

Young achieVer

RANVEER SAINI

CALL OF THE HIMALAYAS

a white winter holiDaY

Gurgaon Women Aim

FOr ThE skY,

sCrIpT INspIrINg

Stories in

Diverse Fields

All about Resolve and a

Hunger for Success

P-10

Gurgaon Women Aim

FOr sCrIp

Stories in

SOARING

hIgh!

CitynewsCityCitydlfCity50

CityFebruary 2015 Vol. 8 Issue 11

Commissioner LIVING

Farmhouses BecomePreferred Getaways

To Beat The StressP-51

COMMUNITY CONNECTThE ParsI sTOrY Is aLL about preserving traditions

While Embracing nEW Ways

P-43

FACE OF THE MONTH MCg CounCiLLor nisHa singH poetrY in Motion HOOKED ON TO BALLET

TRANSIT LOUNGEsHaHid Kapoor

Terms ofEndearmentDecoding theLanguage of Love

In The Millennium CityFriendship, Relationships& Virtual RealityP-10

SUBSCRIBEYour Favourite Monthly Magazine


DaMini Women’s SOS 24/7 Gurgaon Helpline – 9266 86 1111Connected to 23 Police Stations, Police Call Center 100, Developers Control Room, RWAs and NGOs. Police women helpline at Metro Stations – 8130990038Sewa Kendra internal Maintenance Services: 2560720, 9313308686Plumber/Electrician/Carpenter/Maid servants/Gardeners/Drivers/Painting/Tiling/Water ProofingDen Cable TV: 0124-40502834Srims (free Ambulance Service): 0124-6111111

DiStriCt aDMiniStratiOnT L Satyaprakash (IAS) Deputy Commissioner 0124-2321144Anita Yadav (IAS) Administrator, HUDA 0124-2321650Vikas Gupta (IAS) MCG Commissioner 0124-2220011RS Dalal Director, HIPA 0124-2340413S Duhan SDO(C)–I 0124-2321808Yashender Singh GM, Haryana Roadways 0124-2322391Satbir Singh DRO, Gurgaon 0124-2322877Parveen Garg Civil Surgeon 0124-2322412Balraj Ahalawat Regional Officer, Pollution Control Board 0124-2332775Ashok Divakar Principal, Govt. Girls College 0124-2320783SS Bokan Principal, Dronacharya Govt. College 0124-2320322B M Hooda GM, Telephone 0124-2391818RS Sangwan Information and Public Relation Officer 0124-2321479

In addition, DLF may be contacted on the following telephone and mobile numbers for Single Window complaint resolution:Mr. Surender Ph-I 9266677681Mr. Rishi Pal Ph-II 8130446660Mr. Amit Sharma Ph-III 9582900616Mr. Dinesh Ph-IV 8860390274

IMPORTANT TELEPHONE NUMBERSDlF CuStOMer Care 24/7 Call Center-9266 16 9266Central Control Room of DLF functions round the clock and complaints pertaining to External General Maintenance, Street Light, Water, Horticulture, Safety & SecurityDlF Security Control room:Phase-I 2355591 9266677683Phase-II 2353677 8860771008Phase-III 2350419 9560095439Phase-IV 2392965 7503062758

DlF Community Centre:Phase-I 2352423Phase-II 2351522Phase-III 2350782

DHBVnl Complaint Call Centers and respective Junior engineers for electrical complaintsCategory Location ContactCommon to All Call Center Cell 9891901912, 9911131912, 0124-2314331Phase-I C-15 near Mother Dairy JE Cell: 9540954873Phases -II & III Madhya Marg Phase-II JE Cell: 9540954874, 9540954877Phase-IV Chakkarpur Housing Board 9540954878

ClubsDLF Golf Club 0124-4525252City Club Phase -3 0124-4999100/101City Club Phase-4 0124-4129100/101City Club Phase-5 0124-4949100/101

iMPOrtant COntaCt nuMBerS Commissioner of Police 9999981801Joint Commissioner 9999981802CP (Headquarters) 9999981803DCP East 9999981804DCP West 9999981805DCP South 9999981806DC Office: M: 9999810000 O: 0124-2325500/2321144gurgaon Health Department Directory:Dr. Kamla Singh, Director Health Services Malaria 0172-2587013Malaria Office 0124-4065534

Ambulance Service (dial from mobile) 102Police Commissioner Helpline 999999995310 am – 2 pm (Mon to Friday)Unwanted Obscene Calls: Mr. Anirudh Chauhan 9582226610Police Control Room 100 0124-231610024x7 Anti-ragging helpline 9999981819Women and Children Helpline 0124-2335100Senior Citizens Helpline 0124-2221559Police Commissioner Helpline 9999999953Women Helpline Number 1091Cyber Cell 0124-2222644

To RepoRT SuSpiciouS peRSon oR SuSpiciouS AcTiviTieS ARound you diAl 1090 (Toll FRee 24x7)

HELPLINEUtILItIES

COnDOMiniuMS, COMMerCial & reCreatiOnal (delhi ncR)Building Chief Group Co-ordinator Group Co-ordinator Con. No. E-mail ID Building Manager Contact No. E-mail ID

Gateway TowerEricsson ForumBuilding 9A/BCyber GreensBuilding 7Building 5Building 14Building 6Infinity TowerBuilding 8Building 10Cyber HubDLF CentreSEZ SilokheraIBM SilokheraCentre CourtPlaza Tower SQUAREATRIA

Kuldeep Raghav Sanjay Gupta Ravikant Sharma Hira SinghVarun BajpaiPankaj YadavIshwinder SinghSatish ParasharVirender NegiManpreet SinghRaj KumarArun KumarAshish DubeyAnurag YadavKartar Sharma Panchanan NayakVishnu OjhaRamesh WadehraNeelkamal Maurya

85888 39504 98733 5570599714 487998860614597989934903798994702199873072879987393750498912693219810774637956029777895826748769811890995852739820281306663928527811332813005531981300334798130022916

[email protected]@ap.jll.com [email protected] [email protected]@[email protected]@[email protected]@[email protected]@[email protected]@[email protected]@[email protected]@[email protected]@cis.cushwake.com

Praveen Sharma ([email protected]) (9650666885)

Gaurav Sharma 9971666494Gaurav.S@ ap.jll.com

Venkateswarlu Pusuluri ([email protected]) (8527811644)

Ashok Ruhil [email protected]


DLF CITYStAtuS of ProjectS

Name of Project Status

New Town Heights Handover/Finishes in advanced stage

The Primus Terrace/upper floors slabs cast. Rough finishes in progress

Regal Garden Terrace/upper floors slabs cast. Rough finishes in progress

Corporate Greens Possession starting soon

Skycourt 4th-10th floors slabs cast. Club finishing in progress

Ultima GF, 1st and 2nd floor slabs cast in Towers H &L; K; E, J & S

The Crest Structure work in progress. Project has reached 5th floor

PAce of HAbitAtion in GrouP HouSinG

Project Total Occupied %Occupied

Silver Oaks 749 700 93.5

Beverly Park I 158 132 83.5

Beverly Park II 182 171 94.0

Regency Park I 320 273 85.3

Regency Park II 500 445 89.0

Hamilton Court 266 252 94.7

Windsor Court 132 125 94.7

Richmond Park 280 271 96.8

Ridgewood estate 924 831 89.9

Oakwood Estate 322 307 95.3

Wellington Estate I,II and III 555 505 91.0

Princeton Estate I,II & III 918 868 94.6

Carlton Estate I & IV 485 453 93.4

Project Total Occupied %Occupied

Regent House 34 32 94.1

Belvedere Tower 222 202 90.99

Belvedere Park 318 278 87.42

Exclusive Floors 516 500 96.90

Trinity Towers 234 216 92.31

Westend Heights 368 324 88.04

The Aralias 254 200 78.74

Royalton Tower 76 70 92.11

The Pinnacle 280 221 78.93

The Icon 364 330 90.66

The Summit 228 161 70.61

The Belaire 544 448 82.35

The Park Place 1508 1340 88.86

The Magnolias 589 406 68.93

PAce of HAbitAtion in PlotteD ProPertieS

SI. Phase Total No. of Plots Habitation%

1 I 3658 69.38

2 II 3220 67.04

3 III 5462 64.94

4 IV 1626 53.01

Total 13966

STATUS REPORTUtILItIES


Silver Oaks Condominium association – DlF Phase-i 0124-3034146-47Mr. Tariq Raza PresidentMrs. Shalini Sawhney Vice PresidentMr. S.K. Sharma ManagerMr. S.M. Kehair SecretaryMs. Rupali Jain Treasurer

Oakwood estate Condominium association – DlF Phase-ii 0124-4052005Major General A.K. Kher PresidentMr. R.P. Kaushik ManagerMr. Abhijit Malkhani Vice PresidentMr. Gaurav Dua Treasurer

Beverly Park-i – DlF Phase-ii 0124-4011757Mr. P. S Duggal PresidentMr. Sarabjit Singh Dhawan Vice presidentMr. Rajiv Inamdar SecretaryMr. Soumya Dutta TreasurerMr. C B Singh Manager

Beverly Park-ii – DlF Phase-iiMr. Adil Shiavax Nargolwala President 9999270000Ms. Anita Kapur Vice-President 9818078883Ms. Davinder Kaur Secretary 9811059845Mr. Arvind Srivastava Treasurer 9818111000Mr. Ajay Goyal Joint Secretary 9818549665

Belvedere tower – DlF Phase-ii 0124-4068251Ms. Savita Malhotra President 9810063523Dr. Manoj Talwar Vice President 9810056302Mr. Amit Malik Secretary 9811084744Mr. Deepak Sahai Treasurer 9811600888

Belvedere Park Condominium association – DlF Phase-iiiMr. Jai B Yadav Estate Manager 8800308285Prof K Sundaram President 9818621084Col. Ajit Singh Rana Vice President 9650804787Mr. Rajiv Agarwal Secretary 9582210561

ridgewood Condominium association – DlF Phase-iVMr. Sanjay Batra President 9818093097Mr. Vijay Kumar Verma Vice President 9810287402Mr. Deepak Mathur Secretary 9818664883Mr. Amit Dhanuka Treasurer 9810086577Mr. Sunil Kumar Jain Jt Secretary 9911317189

Hamilton, Windsor and regency Park-ii – DlF Phase-iV 0124-2396331Mr. Vikas Gupta President 9810064017Mr. Arvind Roy Vice President 9891357555Mr. K.K. Bhattacharya Secretary 9810016816Mr. Rakesh Sachdeva Treasurer 9810266737Mr. Yogendar Rajput Manager 9871622323

the aralias – DlF5 0124-4144848Mr. Rajbir Sharma Estate Manager 9650493525

Mr. Saurabh Joshi Operations Manager 9650493521

exclusive Floors Owners Society – DlF5 0124-4109536Ms. Pallavi Sawhney PresidentMr. S N Miglani Vice PresidentMr. Apprajeet Bhatia SecretaryMr. Manish Purohit Treasurer

Carlton estate Condominium association – DlF5Mr. N.C. Chatterjee President 9873991945Mr. Arun Verma Vice President 9873757570Mr. L.N. Sharma Secretary 9650029189Mr. Raj Kumar Rathi Treasurer 9810405787

trinity towers Condominium association – DlF5Mr. Jawahar Lal Vij President 9818967911Mr. Rajan Misra Vice President 9910588700Mr. Anuj Chadha Secretary 7838802020Mr. Rajul Kulshrestha Treasurer 9899892911

Summit Condominium association – DlF5Mr. Arun Bharadwaj President 9810725825Mr Ajay Kalra Vice President 9818910123Mr. Dipak Roy Secretary 9810398865Mr. Bipin Sapra Treasurer 9971147072

the Pinnacle – DlF5 0124-4228770 Mr. RC Kesar PresidentMs. Parul Kaushal Vice PresidentMr. Atul Sarin SecretaryMr. Kuljit Singh TreasurerMr. Jai B Yadav Property Manager

Wellington estate – DlF5 0124-2385469 Mrs. Smeeta Roy Jain President Mrs. Sudha Kiran Sinha Vice PresidentMr. Ajay Jain Secretary Dr. Gautam Sen Treasurer

DlF City residents Welfare association (regd.) 0124-4055094, 2561888Mr. H N Chopra President 9899140100Mr. Sudhir Kapoor Secretary Gen. 9811555743

DlF City SeniOr CitizenS COunCil (regD.) 0124-2570417Mr. Ganesh Dutt Gureja President 9810638595Mr. Mohan Gulrajani Secretary Gen. 9818253979

Condominiums address Contact telephone no.Richmond Park DLF Phase-IV Mr. H S Shukla 0124-4272776Royalton Tower DLF Phase-V Mr. Bijendar Singh 0124-4292418Princeton Estate DLF Phase-V Mr. R Bhagchandani 0124-4055277Park Place DLF Phase-V Mr. YC Sharma 9873603572The Belaire DLF Phase-V Mr. Anil Kumar 9811109205The Magnolias DLF Phase-V Mr. Sanjeev Saxena 9654132300

The CITy

YOuR ELEcTED REPREsENTATIvEscONDOMINIuM AssOcIATIONsELdERS

WHO’S WHOUtILItIES



His romance with period films started when he came up with Umrao Jaan. Over 20 years later, Muzaffar Ali is ready with yet another period drama and he is as ex-cited as ever! Although he hasn’t made many films over the years, the acclaimed filmmaker, who is also popular as a poet, artist and social activist, has no regrets. “I believe in making films that impact me and bother me,” he says. We caught up with him when he visited Gurgaon recent-ly. Here are excerpts from an interview.

How did ‘Umrao Jaan’ happen?The film is based on a novel Umrao

Jaan Ada, which was written by Mirza Hadi Ruswa and later translated into English by Khushwant Singh. A classic

story, it wasn’t just a novel. It was taught in the universities too. Based on my own inspirations, the film primarily dealt with the ethos of Lucknow and break-ing of the ethos. I remember Rekha did the entire role with her eyes and Farooq Shaikh was a dream to work with. These kinds of roles came naturally to him. I feel that period was the best in his life. My son, Shaad Ali, was also there in the first scene of the film. Every day of the making of the film was a memorable one.Have you ever thought of making a

commercial film?No. I don’t want to compete in an area

out of my comfort zone. My area is more into culture, art and intense feelings. I prefer to be where I am - interested in

issues that impact me and bother me. My biggest issue is Kotwara where I come from and the first thing that hit me straight in face was the migration from rural areas to urban centres. The film Gaman was based on that issue while Agaman was based on sugarcane prob-lems and cooperative movements. Since it was return to village, we named it Aga-man. Umrao Jaan dealt with the problem of a girl child and most importantly the period of 1857 beyond which things have gone radically wrong for the country. I want people to understand that period in all its shades.Which film of the recent lot have

you liked?There are lots of nice films that have

MUZAFFAR ALItrANSIt LOUNGEtrANSIt LOUNGE

It’s All About Culture,Art and Intense FeelingsThE cREATOR OF ThE cLAssIc Umrao Jaan TALks AbOuT MAkINg FILMs ON IssuEs whIch bOThER hIM.by ReenA DhAnkheR


come up but somehow their recall value is not very strong in my mind; even songs for that matter! Everything put together, I think old movies just sit on your head. Now everything just comes and goes. Pehle toh films chalti thi 25 hafte, ab toh teen din mein faisla ho jata hai. Is there any film you would like to remake out of

the recent ones?I am attracted to certain cultures and would like to

work on the Bengali culture. I feel something like Devdas should be revisited and presented in a very realistic way with modern sensibilities. These days, for remakes, peo-ple are interested only in subjects that have succeeded and are still fresh in everyone’s memory. However, the publicity of a film is a very important aspect apart from the idea. If the idea of the film is strong and it also has a publicity value, there is a chance of it being remade. Your son Shaad Ali is a filmmaker too. Do you

guide him?No, I listen to his scripts but don’t guide him. I don’t want

to take any blame for anything going wrong with anybody. It’s his films so I listen to his scripts and he values my feed-back but eventually he does what he feels is right.What are your future projects?There is a film called Jaanisaar....Jo apni jaan nisaar

karta hai, the publicity for the film has not yet started. The film is ready with a totally new cast, Imran Abbas Naqvi and Pernia Qureshi. Even I have enacted a role in it. It’s a nationalistic film. It’s got romance and revolu-tion both. The film is based on the period between 1876 and 1877, mostly revolving around 1st January, 1877 when Queen Victoria was to be declared empress of India at the Delhi Durbar. The film throws light on how the British were playing a divide and rule then and how a rebellion was brewing. You see, the period of 1857 is very impor-tant for us and we need to understand it and also what happened soon after. That was the idea behind conceptu-alisation of this film. ø

HONOUrs GaLOrEMuzaffar Ali, who belongsto the royal Muslim Rajputfamily from Kotwara, is a

recipient of the Padma Shrias well as the Rajiv Gandhi

Sadbhawna Award.

CELEB TALKENtErtAINMENt


After Rowdy Rathore and Baby, Akshay Kumar is ready with yet another action thriller, Gabbar Is Back. Off screen too, the actor seems to be in action mode, and entirely for a great cause. “I teach Martial Arts to 300 girls every week - from corporate to media to house maids, everyone. But we don’t have enough space. I am going to open more classes in the next couple of months. And it will all be free of cost,” said Akshay at a recent press interaction. He has already trained 10 black belt Martial Artists and wishes to expand his group of teachers. Akshay, who is a sixth degree black belt in Karate and has earned the title of Shihan or master instruc-tor, also wants self-defence to become compulsory in every school. Way to go Akki Baby! ø

Sunny Leone’s Charm

Gabbar is BackOn A Mission!

Sunny Leone has managed what Sushant Singh Rajput, Anushka Sharma and even Amitabh Bachchan could not! Her film Ek Paheli Leela did a brisk business of over Rs. 10.5 crores in just two days, making an opening collection of Rs. 5.3 crores. The figure is much higher than that of Anushka Sharma’s NH10 (Rs 3.35 cr), Amitabh Bachchan’s Shamitabh (Rs 3.5 cr)

and Sushant Singh’s Detective Byomkesh Bakshy (Rs 4.42 cr) on the first day. Directed by Bobby Khan, Ek Paheli Leela is the story of Leela and Meera (both played by Sunny Leone) and the film being panned by critics all over was expected to tank at the box office. But while for the critics, the collections are nothing less than a paheli, Leela for sure is lapping it all up! ø


ENGLISH

Mad Max: Fury RoadProduced, directed and co-written by George Miller, an apocalyptic action film and the fourth in the Mad Max series. The star cast includes Tom Hardy, who plays Mad Max and Charlize Theron.

TomorrowlandA science fiction mystery adventure, the film is directed by Brad Bird and features George Clooney, Britt Robertson and Hugh Laurie. Story is about a genius and a teenager who set out on a journey to unearth a dangerous location Tomorrowland.

San AndreasAn American disaster film, the story revolves around how a rescue helicopter pilot and his wife set out to rescue their daughter from an earthquake location. The film stars Dwayne Johnson, Kylie Minogue and Carla Gugino.

HINDI

Gabbar Is BackA Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Viacom 18 produc-tions, the film is an action drama, directed by Krish and stars Akshay Kumar, Shruti Hassan and Jaideep Ahlawat. Kareena Kapoor Khan will be seen in a cameo.

Bombay VelvetDirected and co-produced by Anurag Kashyap, the film is a crime drama, based on a book by Gyan Prakash, Mumbai Fables. The story is about a boxer, Ranbeer Kapoor and a jazz singer, Anushka Sharma and how their dreams hit realities.

Tanu Weds Manu Season 2Written by Himanshu Sharma and directed by Anand L Raj, the film is a romantic comedy with Kangana Ranaut and R Madhavan revisiting their characters. The music of the film is given by Tanishk-Vayu, Krsna.

MOVIE PREVIEWS

For corporate and bulk bookings (Book minimum 50 tickets) (Timings: 11am-7pm)Phone: 8860003310 email: [email protected]

Ticket also available at

bookmyshow.com

LAST WORDENtErtAINMENt


While Furious 7 has already become the high-est-grossing fi lm in the franchise giving a befi tting tribute to actor Paul Walker, an emotional track dedicated to the star who was killed in a car crash in November 2013 has topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth’s See You Again has also broken two records on Spotify. While Puth admitted he never thought the single would receive the positive response when he wrote the hook, Wiz said in order to write the track, he had to tap into the Fast & Furious series’ themes, which Walker clearly symbol-ised in many ways with his portrayal of Brian O’Conner.

kangana’sNew

AdmirerKangana Ranaut, who is busy promoting her upcoming fi lm Tanu weds Manu Returns, has found a new admirer in Sushmita Sen. The actress, it seems, is very fond of Kangana and also feels that Kangana reminds her lot about herself in her younger days. “I think she is in a very different time than I was. She is pushing the envelope even more than I did,” Sush was quoted as saying in a recent inter-view. “I am very proud of her. Right from the time, I worked with her in my last Hindi fi lm, No Problem, I was mesmerised by her. She is like this switch on-switch off button, a very alive person. God Bless her. She has taken risks in the past and it’s fi nally paying off,” the actress said

See You Again, Paul Walker

dlf city news may 2015

Documents