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DIMENSIONS VOL.11, ISSUE 3, MAR 2019

A Journal of A N Prakash Construction Pro ject Management Consul tants Pvt . L td

IN This Issue FROM THE MANAGING

DIRECTOR’S DESK

EDITOR’S NOTE

MILESTONES

CREATIVITY

DAMPNESS IN BUILDINGS

IN LOVE WITH CHANDIGARH

– THE CITY BEAUTIFUL

MANAGEMENT LESSONS

FROM THE STREETS OF INDIA

INATTENTION TO RESULTS

MASALA DOSA

APPENDIX

Cover page photo: Architect’s impression of CMR University Entrance, Bangalore

THE ISSUE OF DIMENSIONS IS FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION ONLY

We have recently, on the recommendations of few PICs, commenced involving Project Managers (PMs) to attend the weekly CRISP meeting for at least a month.

The purpose of this exercise is to expose PMs to the various challenges and issues the seniors and PICs face on a day-to-day basis and sensitize them to management’s problems and challenges.

Few of the topics discussed are:

Various projects and different clients and their issues.

Company’s cash flow challenges and the importance of collecting fees on time.

HR issues such as identifying and recruiting engineers, inter-project transfers.

Potential projects and BD activities.

I sincerely hope this will open the eyes and ears of the PMs, who are the future of this company and bring about a sense of responsibility towards other aspects of the company apart from the routine.

During my visit to various sites, when

asking the staff if they are reading the

Newsletter, there were positive and

negative responses. One question

which the staff asked was whether

there is anything new here that is not

found on the internet.

Ask any of the contributors of articles

and they will tell you about the effort

taken to collate the information in a

form that would be useful and

interesting to the reader. If this is

understood by the reader, it will

probably create more interest so that

some benefit is derived from the

articles.

An example is the Advanced Excel

Lesson published in some of the issues.

It is certainly possible to learn about

excel from books and from the

internet too. But it is to make learning

easier that it is given in such a simple

format.

On the other hand there was positive

feedback like the one from

Subramanian K, SIC of Corteco, who

said that the article on Empathy as a

soft skill was found to be very useful

both in the professional work as well

as personal life.

FROM THE MANAGING DIRECTOR’S DESK Editor’s Note

DIMENSIONS VOL.11, ISSUE 3, MAR 2019 2

A Journal of A N Prakash Construction Pro ject Management Consul tant s Pvt . L td

Birthdays in the month of April

NAVEED AHAMED A, Pullela

Gopichand, 2nd April

SELVARAJ S, Fomra, 3rd April

DIVYA K, Bangalore HO, 7th

April

MURALI M, Bangalore HO,

10th April

GIRI PRASAD, Corteco, 18th

April

MAHESH S, Bangalore HO,

20th April

DEBENDRA DAS, USL –

Neempada, 20th April

PRASANNA KUMAR M,

Hyderabad Office, 23rd April

MAHENDRA GODBOLE,

Bechem, 28th April

Birthday celebrations –

Mar 19

Suresh B L wishing Swastika on her birthday

on the 8th March

B L Suresh wishing Varsha on the Women’s

day – 8 March

Birthday of Mohd. Rizwan was celebrated

on the 15th.

A N Prakash and Uday Prakash at the

Birthday celebration of Mohd. Rizwan

Yogesh Kumar & B N Somashekar wishing

Roy Zacharias on his birthday on the 16th.

A N Prakash wishing Roy Zacharias on his

birthday - the 16th.

Indoor Games

Carroms being played during the Lunch

break by Nataraj, Shanthkumar and team

and Lijesh. (Spectators – Mary & Ambika)

Nemmadi Activities

Business Network International of which R

Suresha is a member of one of the local

chapters has recognized him as ‘Hero of

the Month’ for the maximum 1-to-1

meetings

Our heartfelt condolences to

Prasanna Kumar M, whose father

passed away on the 8th March.

MILESTONES



Prizes:

The prize for Best Answer to the question

asked in last issue of Dimensions was

awarded to Jitendra Bhardwaj

Jitendra Bhardwaj of CBR (at IISc) receives

the prize from Dimensions Editorial Board

member Divya K

NATIONAL SAFETY DAY CELEBRATION

at CORTECO - 4 MARCH 2019

Tool Box Talk

SIC Subramaniam being examined during

the medical camp

Lunch for staff & Workers

Felicitation of Workers & Staff

Awards:

Parsons SIC H S Ravi’s son Nikhil stood

first in the National Level Vedic Math

Competition

Wedding:

Shashi Kumar Dushetti (of Jayabheri –

Hyderabad) weds Aneela, 9 March

Praveen, Ganesh, Chaithanya, Shashi

Kr., Aneela, Ravi Raj, Sanjay (L-R)

Shashi Kumar and Aneela

Wedding:

H M Shivaraj SIC of CMR University,

Ladies Hostel weds Chaithra at Birur

on 15th March.

Shivaraj and Chaithra during the

reception

Shivaraj tying the knot

Shivaraj and Chaithra during the

ceremonies after the wedding

Chaithra and Shivaraj



Know Your Project

For the Sustainable Way of Life

Ramky One Galaxia are luxury

apartments in the Nallagandla

Gachibowli region of Hyderabad. The

main attraction of this apartment

complex is that it has all required

infrastructure like schools, hospitals,

parks, restaurants, banks & ATMs,

petrol pumps, railway station, office

complexes and shopping mall are all

in the neighborhood.

Probably, many of your friends are in

the other apartments in the locality,

making it the hub of activity.

The Developers are Ramky Estates

and Farms Ltd., who have been

developing properties in other

locations of Hyderabad, in addition to

making their presence felt in other

cities of Chennai, Bangalore, Vizag

and Warangal.

‘Towards Sustainable Growth’ is the

logo of Ramky Group and how this is

demonstrated is by having a sewage

treatment plant with facility for

recycling, landscaped gardens and

Rain water harvesting system.

Artist’s impression of the Amphitheatre

as it will appear once completed

Oriented in the East-West direction,

half the flats are east facing and the

other half facing west. The Built-up

areas are in the range of 1260 to 1860

sq,ft per apartment.

The amenities offered by the project

are a power back-up facility, a

playground for children, an intercom

facility, a club house and a sports

facility, to name a few.

A unique facility planned to be

provided here is the Futsal, which will

be the first of its kind among

Hyderabad’s gated communities.

An image of a Futsal game in progress

Futsal is essentially football with a twist

(and a lot less number of rules), it's a

five a side game which includes one

goalkeeper for each side, with a

much smaller pitch, mostly played

indoor stadiums and a (slightly)

different ball. With the small nature of

the pitch, the players playing in the

game need to have much more close

control and better technique on the

ball.

This and other amenities like a Fully-

loaded Gymnasium, swimming pool,

Tennis court and a half-basketball

court will inspire residents to keep fit.

Some of the features here, not usually

found in an apartment complex, are

that all buildings are Vaastu

Compliant and a Visitor’s lounge is

located in each tower.

A Jogging track, Children’s play area

and Senior citizen lawn cater to the

segment usually not taken much care

of.

Another distinctive feature planned

for is a Garbage Disposal System

through chute.

Each building will have

a garbage chute system which allows

residents to dispose of items on their

floor.

A garbage chute system on each

floor means that trash will not build up

in an apartment where it can attract

pests or become a health hazard.

A garbage chute system is a long

vertical space passing by each floor in

a building. It includes a door on each

floor where residents can dispose of

their garbage into the chute. This door

is usually contained in a small room on

each floor. Garbage placed in the

chute drops to a compactor or

dumpster at the bottom.

Working on this stimulating project is

the dynamic team from ANPCPMC

pictured below. They are also the

champions in SOP Compliance, being

at the first place by scoring 97.5%

compliance during the last Audit.

The PMC Team: (Left to Right) Khaja

Hussain S, Arjun Kumar K, Prasanna Kumar

M, KVSS Ramakrishna, Hariprasad K,

Sangamesh C



CREATIVITY

SREEVATHSA B R, HO

What would you do to earn money if

all you had was five dollars and two

hours? This is the assignment that Tina

Seelig Ph.D., gave students in one of

her classes at Stanford University.

Each of fourteen teams in her class

received an envelope with five dollars

of “seed funding” and was told they

could spend as much time as they

wanted planning.

However, once they cracked open

the envelope, they had two hours to

generate as much money as possible.

Each team had also been allotted

three minutes to present their project

to the class, at the end.

What would you do if you were given

this challenge? When most groups are

asked this question, someone usually

shouts out, “Go to Las Vegas,” or “Buy

a lottery ticket.” This gets a big laugh.

These folks would take a significant risk

in return for a small chance at earning

a big reward.

The next most common suggestion is

to set up a car wash or lemonade

stand, using the five dollars to

purchase the starting materials. This is

a fine option for those interested in

earning a few extra bucks while

spending the 5 dollars in two hours.

But most of Tina’s students took

seriously the challenge to question

traditional assumptions—exposing a

wealth of possibilities—in order to

create as much value as possible.

How did they do this? Here’s a clue:

The teams that made the most money

didn’t use the five dollars at all. They

understood that five dollars is

essentially nothing and decided to

reinterpret the problem more broadly:

What can we do to make money if

we start with absolutely nothing? They

tapped into their talents, and

unlocked their creativity to identify

problems in their midst—problems

they experienced or noticed others

experiencing—problems they might

have seen before but had never

thought to solve. So what did they

do?

Team 1

One group identified a problem

common in a lot of college towns—

the frustratingly long lines at popular

restaurants on Saturday night. The

team decided to help those people

who didn’t want to wait in line. They

paired off and booked reservations at

several restaurants.

As the times for their reservations

approached, they sold each

reservation for up to twenty dollars to

customers who were happy to avoid

a long wait. As the evening wore on,

they made several interesting

observations.

One of the observations was that the

female students were better at selling

the reservations than the male

students, probably because

customers were more comfortable

being approached by the young

women. They adjusted their plan so

that the male students ran around

town making reservations at different

restaurants while the female students

sold those places in line.

Team 2

This team took an even simpler

approach. They set up a stand in front

of the student union where they

offered to measure bicycle tire

pressure for free. If the tires needed

filling, they added air for one dollar. At

first they thought they were taking

advantage of their fellow students,

who could easily go to a nearby gas

station to have their tires filled.

But after their first few customers, the

students realized that the bicyclists

were really grateful. Even though the

cyclists could get their tires filled for

free nearby, and the task was easy for

the students to perform, they soon

found that they were providing a

convenient and valuable service. In

fact, halfway through the two hour

period, the team stopped asking for a

specific payment and requested

donations instead.

Their income soared. They made

much more when their customers

were reciprocating for a free service

than when asked to pay a fixed price.

For this team, as well as for the team

making restaurant reservations,

experimenting along the way paid off.

The iterative process, where small

changes are made in response to

customer feedback, allowed them to

optimize their strategy on the fly.

Team 3

Each of these projects brought in a

few hundred dollars, and their fellow

classmates were duly impressed.

However, the team that generated

the greatest profit looked at the

resources at their disposal through

completely different lenses, and

made $650.

These students determined that the

most valuable asset they had was

neither the five dollars nor the two

hours. Instead, their insight was that

their most precious resource was their

three-minute presentation time on

Monday.

They decided to sell it to a company

that wanted to recruit the students in

the class. The team created a three-

minute “commercial” for that

company and showed it to the

students during the time allotted to

them. They recognized that they had

a fabulously valuable asset—that

others didn’t even notice—just waiting

to be mined.

What about Team 4, that is YOU?

The five-dollar challenge illustrates the

difference between tactics and

strategy. Although the terms are often

used interchangeably, they refer to

different concepts. A strategy is a

plan for achieving an objective.

Tactics, in contrast, are the actions

you undertake to implement the

strategy.

The Stanford students who bombed

the $5 challenge fixated on a tactic—

how to use the five dollars—and lost

sight of the strategy. “Tactics without

strategy,” as Sun Tzu wrote in the Art of

War, “are the noise before defeat.”

What is the $5 tactic in your own life?

Once you move from the “what” to

the “why”—once you frame the

problem broadly in terms of what

you’re trying to do instead of your

favored solution—you’ll discover other

possibilities lurking in plain sight.

http://www.stanford.edu/

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/creativity

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/gratitude



DAMPNESS IN BUILDINGS This is the second of a two part article by

Dr. Arjun Dass, published by him with

permission from the Director, Central

Building Research Institute, Roorkee

SURFACE TREATMENTS

Alternative to rendering for porous

surfaces, whether flat or vertical, is

application of suitable surface

treatments. These are temporary

remedies and there is limitation in their

choice also. Water repellent cement

paint confers upon the surface a

limited degree of water repellency

and has to be repeated after 2-3

years.

Silicate based coating compositions

possess improved durability and can

also be applied on flat surfaces to fill

up the cracks. The most promising

among the external treatments are

silicone based water repellent

solutions. They do not change the

original colour and texture of the

surface and allow the water present

inside it to go out in the vapour form.

These are water repellent treatments

and do not form coating or physical

barrier on the surface.

The major limitation with these

materials is that unless they are made

indigenously their quality and

availability for mass consumption is a

big question mark. On surfaces where

looks are not important, emulsions or

paints based on bitumen can be used

with advantage.

ROOF WATER PROOFING

Roof waterproofing is carried out with

bituminous sealants and mastics, built

up asphalt/tar and polythene

membranes with bitumen adhesive,

fibre glass reinforced bitumen and

lime concrete terracings.

WATER OF CONSTRUCTION

Water already contained inside the

wall such as water of construction

takes a long time to evaporate

particularly in humid areas and under

ill-ventilated conditions. Normally

evaporation of water on the plaster

work is faster than the movement of

moisture from the core of the wall.

Under such conditions, appearance

of the wall although visibly dry can be

highly deceptive. There is no visual

evidence of a considerable amount

of water bottled up inside the wall

which if sealed up with impervious

coatings will exert enough pressure to

break-up the finish and disfigure the

interior by blistering etc.

REMEDIES

New building should be left uncoated

at least for four weeks after the

completion of curing of plaster. It

may subsequently be either white-

washed or coated with any soft

composition such as distemper.

Emulsion paint or glossy coatings, if

desired, should be given only after a

year or so. Occupied houses should

be kept well-ventilated.

HYGROSCOPIC SALTS

SOURCES

Salts enter into a construction either

through unwashed or improperly

washed sand, which contains them

and is used in the preparation of

masonry mortars or concrete.

Sometimes they are present in bricks

also. These salts are sulphates,

chlorides and nitrates of sodium,

calcium and magnesium. They come

to surface with the moisture, which is

drying out and under conditions of

high humidity attract moisture from

the air and create signs of dampness.

If these salts are in excess they may

even cause the failure of plaster

behind which they get concentrated

and crystallized.

REMEDIES

Repeated washing of the surface

affected by efflorescent patches will

considerably remove the salts.

Alternatively, a poultice or thick paste

of chalk when applied over the area

twice or thrice and removed after 24

hours or so will remedy the problem to

a great extent. Application of silicone

solutions can also be adopted to stop

the salts from coming out on surface.

CREEPERS

Creepers have often been found to

be the cause of dampness in a

building. If the growth of the creeper

is thin, water reaches the wall or in

other components of the building and

the circulation of air being relatively

restricted, evaporation of water from

that area after the rains is slow and

hence it remain there for a sufficiently

long time. In case the growth of the

creeper is thicker, the leaves do not

allow water to reach the wall as they

help in shedding it downwards. Such

creepers, therefore, should be thinned

in rainy season.

Tichoma, Virginia, etc, which cling to

the surface by means of suckers, do

not harm the wall but those which

send rootlets or arteries into the

surface do cause dampness.

CONDENSATION

CAUSES

Condensation is the process of

deposition of atmospheric moisture of

the surrounding air on impervious

surfaces. Some amount of water

vapour is always in the air but there is

a limit to the maximum moisture which

the air can hold. This limit depends

upon the temperature and decreases

as the temperature falls. Under such

conditions extra amount of water

vapour may condense in the form of

water droplets.

If the air is already saturated and

there is a sudden fall of temperature

in a building it may condense on floors

or on those spots of wall which are

comparatively non-porous.

Primary factors for the incidence of

dampness due to condensation are

the operations which produce water

vapour or stream. In a house the act

of breathing, boiling water, cooking or

the use of other heating appliances

and drying of wet clothes inside the

house in wet weather are the

functions which may lead to the

saturation of air with water vapour.

In addition, if the size of the rooms is

small and bathroom, kitchen etc., are

in close proximity and ventilation

being poor, there is every chance of

promotion of dampness due to

condensation.



DIAGNOSIS

Identification of dampness on

account of condensation often needs

close scrutiny of local climatic

conditions, existing surroundings of the

building and location of kitchen and

bathroom etc., with respect to other

living spaces if it is an inhabited house.

In case of non-residential buildings,

one has to look for the possible

sources of water, vapour and existing

ventilation conditions.

As a general rule, dampness due to

condensations covers all the walls and

takes place at times when there is

substantial change in atmospheric

temperature and humidity. On the

other hand, dampness caused by the

rain is confined to outer walls only and

appears after the rainy spells. It

seldom occurs over the whole area as

water finds its way at one or more

points and spreads laterally.

If the surface is dry, it can be

recognized by the marks of colour

difference in the plaster over the

bricks and joints. Condensation,

however, may cause patchy areas

over the plaster due to difference of

porosity of the surface. Lastly, in case

of rain penetration entire thickness of

the wall is affected while due to

condensation plaster below the paint

film is dry.

REMEDIES

Dampness trouble due to

condensation can be effectively

checked by taking steps which are

essentially preventive in nature.

Efficient circulation of the room air

should be ensured. This can be done

by the strategical use of ventilation

grills, air bricks and exhaust fans near

the top of the wall. In case the

problem is mild, protective measures

such as use of soft or highly

pigmented coating compositions in

thicker layers can be adopted. Use of

porous lining materials such as porous

paper or insulation board will be

beneficial in such cases.

RISING DAMPNESS

CAUSES

The cause of rising dampness in

buildings is the rise of sub-soil water in

walls and floors of the structure from

the ground where water-table is high

or rises during certain periods of the

year. Only those walls are affected

where either no damp-proof course

has been provided or it has become

ineffective subsequently. This problem

is comparatively easy to recognize

since it rises continuously from the

bottom of the wall to a maximum

height of about 1m.

REMEDIES

A temporary remedy which can be

recommended to combat the

problem consists of concealing the

trouble which occurs only during

shorter spells of the year. Visual

barriers such as AC sheet, bamboo

sticks or other panel materials are

fixed in front of the affected surface in

such a way that a gap exists between

the wall and the barrier. Plaster of the

wall from that portion is removed and

the barrier, that is, sheet, etc is

applied over wooden battens

plugged into the wall.

Among the permanent measures

which they have been used are:

Insertion of damp-proof course by

under pinning and by cutting the wall

at DPC level;

Injection of water-repellent chemicals

into the wall at DPC level by drilling

holes at regular intervals along the

length; and

Electro-osmotic short-circuiting.

Experience gained in dealing with this

problem so far indicates that under

present conditions insertion of DPC by

under pinning is the practical solution

howsoever primitive it may be.

Insertion is done in short lengths of the

wall after removing a few courses of

brick at the skirting level. The method

is highly labour consuming, slow and

therefore, costly. Alternative to under

pinning is cutting the wall at the same

level at the joint and insertion of

damp-proof membrane in short

lengths. A special saw, is, however,

required for the cutting of wall. The

saw is easy to fabricate but no

attempts have been made so far by

any fabricator to manufacture it at

commercial scale.

In the injection process, a special

composition made from siliconate

solution and rubber latex is injected

into the holes drilled at DPC level at

about 10-15 cm interval. The solution

spreads horizontally and forms a

water-resistant barrier to prevent the

rising dampness. This method is also

relatively simple but suffers from the

same limitation of silicone availability

as described earlier. Electrical short-

circuiting method has not been tried

in India so far.

CONCLUSION

A general and brief appraisal of the

problem of dampness in existing

buildings and its remedial measures

have been given. The treatment is

oriented more towards the walls

where the incidence of dampness is

common.

The subject, however, calls for critical

perusal from all possible angles and

the matters which need greater

attention are to ensure at the

planning level that the basic designs

of structures take care of water-proof

features keeping in view the materials

and components to be used. This will

include planning and development of

water-proof designs of what are

termed as wet areas in a building

such as bathrooms, WCs and

underground structures like basements

and water reservoirs.

Proper use of materials and careful

supervision during construction play a

key role in the trouble free

performance of these parts and save

considerable maintenance. The

subject also needs intensive efforts in

its propagation and implementation

in the form of refresher courses for civil

engineers and training cum

demonstration for the working

personnel. Exhibitions of

waterproofing materials available in

India should be held at suitable

places.



IN LOVE WITH CHANDIGARH – THE CITY

BEAUTIFUL

Rudresh L, Manjushree Site, Baddi

Recently I completed one year at Baddi,

Himachal Pradesh. During the holidays and

weekly days off, I usually visit the beautiful

city - Chandigarh and learn all lot about it,

which I want to share with all of you.

Ek Akela is shahar mein, Raat mein aur

Dopahar mein – Rudresh beside Sukhna

Lake.

Those wanting to hear the song ‘Ek Akela is

shahar mein …from Gharaonda (1977)

may click on:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Epbj

O-Qdfuc

Chandigarh, the dream city of India’s

first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru,

was planned by the famous French

architect Le Corbusier.

Picturesquely located at the foothills

of Shavlik hills, it is known as one of the

best experiments in urban planning

and modern architecture in the

twentieth century India.

There are lots of reasons why cities

come into being. The first might be a

purely practical one, as is the case

with metropolises founded near fertile

rivers, lakes or land.

Another is religious or spiritual: cities

born on mythical or sacred places,

like Mexico City. Then there are cities

born of ideology or for a name, as

was the case with Alexandria or the

renaming of Russian cities, like

Volgograd to Stalingrad.

Sixty years ago, Chandigarh was

conceived as a city to celebrate the

independence of India. It’s a

monument to the country’s entrance

into the modern world. The name

means “home of Chandi,” the warrior

personified as Parvati, a deity of

fertility, love and devotion.

Today it’s the capital of the states of

Punjab and Haryana and it was

thought of as the “perfect city” (if

that’s even possible).

About 300 kilometers north of Delhi,

Chandigarh came into being in 1947,

when the Punjab region was divided

between India and the newly created

Pakistan. The part of Punjab in India,

was without a capital and so the

Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru,

commissioned Le Corbusier to create

a city to replace Lahore, the former

Punjab capital now in Pakistani

territory.

Nehru imagined a city that was

“unfettered by the traditions of the

past, a symbol of the nation’s faith in

the future.” It was a metropolis born of

ideas.

Le Corbusier devised a jewel of

urbanism that survives as a collection

of architecturally modern

masterpieces. Even today, the city is

substantially different from other cities

in India. Every detail of the new

metropolis was carefully planned to

work perfectly.

The architect and his team designed

every detail, from the sculptures of the

Supreme Court square to the door

handles of the offices, and the most

important administrative buildings,

including the Capitol, the Supreme

Court, the Secretariat, Parliament, a

Governor’s Palace and a university.

Chandigarh is a city of open public

spaces, unlike other large and more

motley cities of India. Designed on a

grid plane, it’s based on the plans of

European cities like Paris but also on

the early plans for New Delhi.

But the grid of the Punjab capital also

includes a series of curves, a hierarchy

streets, and lanes for pedestrians and

cyclists clearly designated and

separated by green areas.

A designated commercial street

crosses the city from east to west. All

of the city’s green areas were

designed according to the principles

of the Garden City urban movement.

Though it’s one of the most beautiful

cities in India and a UNESCO World

Heritage site, Chandigarh’s

functionality – and indeed Le

Corbusier’s master plan – is still

criticized. It’s a city alienated from the

rest of the country and its culture, but

also one that’s sterile, expensive and

lacking in social mobility.

Over time Chandigarh has expanded,

surpassing the edges of what had

been the perfect city. In this context,

Le Corbusier’s project still generates

relevant questions about utility and

practicality in the “invention” of a

metropolis, as though it were painting

on canvas.

We know that cities, like living people,

are transformed in organic and

uncontrollable ways.

The act of conceiving and creating a

city from nothing, taking on the role of

demiurges, still amazes for its sheer

ambition and beauty, especially in a

city where every corner was designed

with such care.

But why does one fall in love with

Chandigarh? There are many reasons,

a few of which are explained:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpbjO-Qdfuc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpbjO-Qdfuc



1. Clean, green and safe, there is no

other city in India that is as well

planned as Chandigarh.

Designed by French architect Le

Corbusier, the city is neatly divided

into sectors. The streets are wide and

well connected with beautifully

landscaped roundabouts. It is only in

the past few years that traffic blocks

have become a common place as

more and more people are making it

their home.

2. Nothing compares to the

happening crowd in Sec 17, where

you can simply while away time

nibbling on ice cream.

Yes, even after the city now has

Elante Mall and several other malls

are coming up, Sec 17 remains the #1

most happening place in Chandigarh.

The shady trees, the cool breeze and

the wide open skies above are

relaxing even when the temperature

soar sky high.

3. It only happens in Chandigarh, girls

don’t leave home without their

‘Kineys’ and guys without their ‘Bullts’.

The girls here are very fond of riding a

Kinetic Scotty, which they have

nicknamed “Kineys”, and the guys are

in love with the Bullets, which they

lovingly call “Bullt”.

4. In love or in despair, Sukhna Lake in

Chandigarh is a constant companion

for every person.

People come here to propose, to

date, to enjoy long walks and also to

dump their sorrows.

5. The Punjabi girls in Chandigarh are

the prettiest and most outspoken.

When it comes to being cultural and

embracing traditions, no one can

beat them.

6. Thodi pahadon ki feel leni ho, toh

Himalayan Expressway hai na.

The mountains are very close to

Chandigarh. A half an hour drive is all

that is needed to cross over to the hills

of Himachal Pradesh.

View of the hills from Chandigarh

There are so many hill stations nearby,

such as Kasauli, which is just 65 km

from Chandigarh

Kasauli Circuit House, British period

heritage building

You have the best of both, the plains

for an unfettered living and the hills

and mountains when you want to

rejuvenate yourself.

7. And this is how it looks in the Spring.

You will think that you are in some

exotic land, when the trees are

covered with flowers in all shades of

red and yellow.

8. Chandigarh is surrounded by the

most beautiful countryside, lush with

green and yellow fields of wheat and

mustard.

Thanks to:

19 Things That Make Chandigarh A Really

“KHAAS” City, By Pratima Kalra

A little on Chandigarh, a hand-painted city

where it’s virtually impossible to get lost - BY

FAENA ALEPH, POSTED IN: AVANT URBANISM

https://topyaps.com/author/pratima/

http://www.faena.com/aleph/articles/category/avant-urbanism/



MANAGEMENT LESSONS FROM THE

STREETS OF INDIA

Thejesha MM, HO

In Delhi you could possibly meet a

guide around Agrasen ki Baoli,

jabbering away in impressive German.

When asked about it, he will say,

“Bahut sare log Germany se aathe

hain. Toh hamne ye bhasha seekh

liya! Guide toh bahut sare hain, kuch

alag sa, kuch specialization karna

padta hai!” (There are many tourists

from Germany. So I learned the

language. There are many guides, so

you have to do something different,

like a specialization).

If you do or know only what the others

do and know, why should anyone

come to you?

Do something unexpected. Then

expect it to create stickiness.

Simple creative differentiators can be

used to transform products from also-

rans to pack-leaders, and often a

small tweak within existing boundaries

can result in starkly different products

that are bound to attract attention.

One momo vendor decided that

plain white momos are passé. So she

transformed them into colourful bites

using natural food extracts from

beetroots, carrots and spinach. Now

that’s creative!

Colored momos!

Limited variety, unbeatable quality

Just recently, I was introduced to small

bhajji or pakora vendor in a popular

market in Gandhi Bazaar, Bangalore.

He sells a simple variety of bhajjis

made out of capsicum, raw bananas,

potatoes and green peppers.

At the cost of pricing his bhajjis 50 per

cent above market rate, the vendor,

Praveen ensures that he only uses the

best vegetables.

Each of the bhajjis is the same size

and each vegetable he uses is fresh.

That's also the case with many other

street food vendors -- they do not

compromise on quality, which

explains why they have stayed

popular for decades.

Choose a niche and be the expert in

it.

Revathy, a food and nutrition student,

realised that street food hardly

catered to people with health issues

such as diabetes. So she developed

special recipes using sprouts, green

gram and bitter gourd which she

retails from her small eatery in

Malleshwaram, Bangalore.

Diabetic-friendly street food

Don’t let the world dictate what you

can do.

Daniel D’souza, the owner of Sharon

Tea Stall in Bangalore, didn’t want to

run just another tea stall. So he

decided that there was no reason

why the more exotic teas should be

available only in fancy tea parlours

and out of the reach of an everyday

person on the road.

Sharon Tea Stall in Indira Nagar is a

full-fledged tea parlour in the garb of

a small street-side shack that serves a

wide variety of interesting teas. No

wonder then that his clients include

actors and politicians from across the

state, something he proudly displays

through photographs at the tiny stall.

Try stuff that hasn’t been done before

even if you’re unsure of succeeding.

Sharon Tea Stall

Talk on “Management lessons from

streets of India” by Raghu Raman

Raghu Raman spent eleven

years as an officer in the Indian

Armed Forces , followed by another

eleven years in the corporate sector

before joining the Government

as CEO of the National Intelligence

Grid.

He is also the author of “Everyman’s

War”.

He has given a talk on ‘India unInc:

Management lessons from streets of

India’

This probably is one of the finest

management sessions you could listen

to. Please take out time and listen to

it. More importantly pick just one idea

out of it and implement it. You will feel

awesome. The link is:

https://youtu.be/yQGaoj9Iwro

Thanks for article inputs to:

(a) Ramya Sriram, who is a cartoonist

and writer. She runs The Tap,

where she tells stories visually and

verbally.

(b) Maheima Kapur article “8

entrepreneurship lessons from

street food vendors”.

https://www.facebook.com/EverymansWarBook

https://www.facebook.com/EverymansWarBook

https://youtu.be/yQGaoj9Iwro

http://www.thetap.in/



INATTENTION TO RESULTS

By Siva Rama Krishna A

The book The Five

Dysfunctions of a Team, by Patrick

Lencioni, reveals the basics of

teamwork by using a leadership fable,

a story of a technology company that

is struggling to grow and find

customers. The new CEO on board,

Catherine Petersen, recognizes the

potential of the organization and its

people. However, the executives are

not working together as a team and

therefore impact the entire

organization in a negative way.

The team struggles to accept

responsibilities and come to any

agreement, resulting in negative

morale. Throughout the fable the five

dysfunctions of their team become

evident, i.e. absence of trust, fear of

conflict, lack of commitment,

avoidance of accountability and

inattention to results.

Here we explore the last dysfunction

‘Inattention to results’:

A team can only become results

oriented when all team members

place the team’s results first. When

individuals aren’t held accountable,

team members naturally tend to look

out for their own interests, rather than

the interests of the team. Teams can

overcome this dysfunction by making

the team results clear and rewarding

the behaviors that contribute to the

team’s results.

The primary role of the leader in

overcoming these dysfunctions is

to lead by example and set the

tone for the whole team. This includes

being the first one to be vulnerable,

encouraging debate and conflict,

making responsibilities and deadlines

clear, setting the team’s standards,

and last but not least being clear on

the team’s results.

Below are eight tips that will help your

team overcome an inattention to

results.

8 steps to overcome an inattention to

results

Step 1: Get to know one another

The first step in building an effective

team is making sure that everybody

gets to know one another. Simply

knowing each other’s names is not

enough to produce great work.

Step 2: Define success

If everyone is paddling in different

directions, the boat won’t go

anywhere! Work teams need to have

a shared vision of success.

Stop, reflect and ask team members

to consider the following question:

‘What does success look like for our

team?’ Then discuss everyone’s

answers.

There should be no ambiguity around

the team’s vision of success or the big

goal it is striving to achieve.

Step 3: Set clearly defined, objective

goals and targets

Great teams not only know where

they are going, but they can clearly

see the steps they need to take to get

there.

When you are confident of the team

member’s preferred work styles and

are confident that team members

share the same vision of success, the

next step is to work as a team to

define and lay out a strategy.

To avoid an inattention to results, get

input from team members. They may

prefer to share the workload in a

different way than you would.

Step 4: Celebrate small successes

Big goals and tasks can be daunting,

so break things down into more

manageable tasks.

Smaller goals with visible results can

give confidence and persistence to

keep moving towards the end goal,

and it can avoid an inattention to

detail.

Most importantly, be sure to celebrate

the successes of team members.

Step 5: Focus on effort made

Entrepreneur.com cited an interesting

piece of research conducted by

the University of California, which

found that children who are praised

for their performance are more likely

to take on challenging tasks in the

future than children who are praised

more generally (e.g. ‘you’re a great

girl’).

Too much general praise can have

the opposite effect, and can in fact

demotivate people.

While the research was carried out on

toddlers, it still rings true for adults in

the workplace.

Praise works best when it’s specific to

the effort being made.

Step 6: Remind people of their

contributions

To keep people motivated and avoid

an inattention to results, it’s a good

idea to remind people regularly of

how their work is contributing to the

team.

Link the success of individuals back to

the entire team, and show how each

person’s effort is bringing the team

closer to its goal.

Step 7: Encourage people to share

their results publicly

It’s a good idea to get people to

declare their results and objectives in

public, as this holds them

accountable.

It is embarrassing to have to stand in

front of your team and tell them why

you didn’t put in enough effort.

Sharing results makes it more likely that

team members will stick to their

deadlines.

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/249115

https://news.uchicago.edu/article/2013/02/12/parents-who-praise-effort-can-bolster-children-s-persistence-self-belief



Step 8: Keep focused on metrics

To overcome an inattention to results,

keep team members’ attention on

metrics.

A good idea is to write everybody’s

goals and tasks on a project sheet,

and put it on the wall.

Since we are a cricket loving nation,

let is look to this game for examples

on ‘Inattention to Results’.

Does one remember Sachin

Tendulkar’s 100th international

hundred after a tormenting year-long

wait? – but it is undeniable that his

actions in the ODI where he achieved

the feat put India at a disadvantage

and was directly responsible for their

defeat to Bangladesh.

It was in the 2012 Asia Cup that the

moment came, but the manner of

Tendulkar’s ton was instrumental to his

team’s defeat. The right-hander toiled

to 114 from 147 deliveries – just under

half of India’s innings – leaving the rest

to try and boost the side to a winning

score. Ultimately, despite late

boundaries at the death, the 289 runs

made proved not enough as the

Tigers (Bangla Desh) sneaked home to

win by five wickets.

It also added further weight to the

saying that whenever Tendulkar hit a

hundred, India would lose.

This is a classic example of Inattention

to Results.

For such people, Oliver Cromwell

Words in the speech dismissing the

"Rump Parliament" (20 April 1653)

would be appropriate:

You have sat too long for any good

you have been doing lately... Depart, I

say; and let us have done with you. In

the name of God, go!

Now let us look at another example, a

positive one this time, where the

batsman was played not for himself,

but for the team and the country. He

is Krishnamachari Srikkanth. Of course,

not many may remember him but

hear what Bishen Singh Bedi, the

captain of the then team had to say

about his batting:

When he bats, there is thunder and

lightning.

He was anathema to purists of the

game. While taking guard, he snorts

like a horse, twirls his bat as if it were a

club, stands with his feet spread apart

like a duck, and shakes his head like a

bull. And then, he explodes. And

when he does, no one really knows

where the ball is heading.

It might go like a bullet to the cover

boundary, soar high above mid-off, or

crash into the midwicket fence. Sunil

Gavaskar, who is usually at the other

end when it happens, says: "Some of

his shots were probably not in the

book even before B.C." That was

Krishnamachari Srikkanth - India's most

enigmatic and exciting batsman to

date.

Crowds scream like Romans watching

a gladiatorial contest when he makes

mince-meat of the bowling.

But success or failure doesn't seem to

affect his approach to cricket. Says

he: "People like me for the way I play

and not for my records. And I will

continue playing the way I play, only

better. My country is much more

important than my records”

That is the opposite of Inattention to

Results.

A final anecdote on Team work

While passing on streets, it was

observed that two men were digging

pits besides the road. The first was

excavating pits and the other was

filling up those pits. When asked what

they were doing they said: Three of us

were given the job of excavating pits,

planting sapling in them and then

refilling the pits. Today the person who

was to plant saplings is absent, but we

are continuing with our part of the

work.

This simple example will teach us what

‘Inattention to Results mean.

Inattention to Results

--------------

Farewell to A Siva Rama Krishna:

Siva Rama Krishna A leaves

ANPCPMC after having worked with

us for three years. He is the recipient of

the prize for ‘Best Article’ published in

‘Dimensions’ for the period July 2017

to April 2018, in addition he has won

several prizes for the best answer to

the question asked in the Newsletter,

including the prize announced in this

issue!!!

Farewell Get-together for Siva Rama

Krishna by the staff at Jayabheri – The

Summit, Vijayawada – 5 July 2019

A gift from Jayabheri – The Capital

Team. SIC BMV Kumar handing over

the gift as PIC Prasanna Kumar M

looks on.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rump_parliament



By Mary A

The first reference to tho-sai / dosai /

dosha / dosa is in the Tamil Sangam

Literature of the 6th century AD,

followed by another mention by

Western Chalukya king Somesvara III

in the year 1054 AD. However, modern

writers believe that dosa originated in

Udupi in Karnataka. Whatever be the

case, someone decided that the

fermented batter could be tossed

onto a griddle and roasted to crispy

perfection, and to them, we owe a

debt of gastronomic gratitude.

Surprisingly, uttapam (or uthapam)

existed before the dosa — around

1st century AD — and is basically the

same thing, except thicker, fluffier and

usually topped with spices, onions,

curry leaves and chillies, although

modern variations can have more, or

less, ingredients.

A crowd waits for Vidyarthi Bhavan,

Bangalore to open the doors

So what makes a dosa so special? We

start with a simple batter, made by

first grinding uncooked black gram

(soaked in water till the skins fall off)

and rice, which is also soaked (to

break down the starch), in a ratio of

1:3. Some water is added to this

ground up mixture, and it’s allowed to

ferment overnight. This process lends

dosas its slight sourness, but most

importantly, the fermentation process

basically breaks down the starches so

that they are more readily

metabolized by the body. Finally,

more water is added to make a thin,

slightly runny batter that can be

ladled onto a piping hot griddle. The

ladle is used to spread the batter out

in those concentric circles/spirals

we’re accustomed to, and once that

bottom is nice and golden, simply roll

it up (or fold) and serve.

Inside Vidyarthi Bhavan

For your efforts, you get a dosa, that’s

rich in good carbohydrates, contains

no salt, sugar or saturated fats (unless

you count the ghee), is gluten-free

and contains good leguminous

proteins. Not bad for a recipe that’s

more than 1,500 years old...

The masala dosa is a recent

phenomenon. How recent is a matter

of debate, but it was certainly an

innovation on the humble, household

dosa decades ago, when public

eateries became a familiar sight in

Bangalore and Mysore. It is important

to distinguish between the masala

dosa and the dosa. While the masala

dosa is still a rarity in one's home, the

simple dosa is ubiquitous. In fact, it has

become a standby breakfast or an

evening snack after refrigerators have

helped arrest the ferment of the

batter. While the potato filling is

imperative for a dosa to be crowned

as the masala variety, the ordinary

dosa can go with hurriedly ground

coconut and roasted gram chutney.

Of course, for the eclectic there could

be other accompaniments besides

the chutney, like the sambar, egg

curry, chicken or mutton gravy or

even a stew. Chutney powder with

ghee can also do as a quickie. The

masala dosa is built on the dosa and is

only an exotic adaptation in the

market place.

Over the decades the dosa has had

several cousins, distant and no-so-

distant ones. In the first ring there is

kaali dosa (plain) and set dosa (a set

of three thick dosas). In the second

and subsequent rings there is the

onion or tomato uttapam (spicing up

of an aged batter with vegetables,

onion and green chillies), menthya

dosa (with fenugreek and curd),

pesarattu (an Andhra variety made

with green gram, rice, green chilies

and ginger), ragi dosa (with millet),

halasinakai dosa (a coastal variety

made with jackfruit), aapam (rice and

urad dal fermented with a dash of

toddy) and neer dosa (a coastal

variety made instantly with rice on a

special pan, but without the urad dal).

Even when it comes to the filling, there

have been infinite innovations. The

potato filling has earned a global

recognition. Pesarattu has upma

stuffing inside it. In Goa we have

noodle stuffed dosa spring rolls as well

as the paneer-stuffed variety. The

most exotic in this class of the dosa

that proselytizes it into an integrated

non-vegetarian offering is the keema

stuffed one. All this should make it

astoundingly explicit that the dosa

batter is the most magical of all

culinary inventions in the world that

allows maximum innovations. You

change the stuffing or alter the

accompaniment and it is adopted

into a new culture.

Any woman who is serious about her

cooking and frugal with her kitchen

expense would know how to treat a

fresh batter and a three-day old one

or even the one that has lasted a

week. There is nothing called a stale

batter, which needs discarding. For a

lot of people it has reduced cooking

to easy pouring on the pan. The

batter is also seen as something that

rescues the man when the wife is

away.

Finally, what is the secret of making

the perfect Masala Dosa? The secret

is ‘Practice makes Perfect’, and if you

do not have the patience for that,

you better have the patience to

stand in queue for Vidhyarthi Bhavan

to open its doors.

MASALA DOSA



APPENDIX

Question of this Month is:

In the last Issue (Vol11_Issue3_Feb

2019), the Article on ‘Soft Skill for

Engineers’ had a link to a TED talk by

Primatologist Frans de Waal on ‘Alpha

Male among Chimpanzees.

What does the Chimpanzee Alpha

Male do to the baby chimpanzees to

keep himself in the good books of

their mothers?

Since there is only one correct answer,

the first reply will be given the prize.

Results of Question of the last Month

In the article: Soft Skill for Engineers,

Empathy has been explained in detail,

as a Soft Skill which Engineers should

have. The question of the month was:

Name any other Soft Skill which is

important for an Engineer to acquire

and why you think it is essential. Please

send your replies by 15th Mar.

All the answers submitted were

relevant and important, but we

decided to award the prize for the skill

which we thought was most lacking in

our staff. We hope this will make the

staff keen to develop this skill.

Result of last month’s Q & A: The best

answer was submitted by A Siva Rama

Krishna from Jayabheri-The Capital

site, Vijayawada.

A Siva Rama Krishna’s answer:

Creativity

Creativity is a broad type of soft skill

that can help you develop innovative

solutions to problems at work.

Instructional designers, architects, and

artists are examples of jobs where

creativity is crucial to success.

Types of creative skills are:

Divergent thinking

Inspiration

Imagination

Reframing

Mind mapping

Insight

Innovation

Experimenting

Questioning

Design

G Nagaraju’s (from Myscapes,

Hyderabad) answer:

Communication

Communication skills can be oral or

written and allow you to express

yourself effectively in the workplace.

These skills are helpful in almost any

position but are critical for careers in

sales, human resources, and

management.

Types of communication skills include:

Clarity

Confidence

Respect

Empathy

Listening

Verbal communication

Non-verbal communication

Written communication

Constructive feedback

Friendliness

L Rudresh’s (from Manushree, Baddi)

answer:

Adaptability (or Flexibility)

Adaptability and flexibility are related

skills and are about embracing and

rolling with change.

They are particularly important when

working in fast-pace or constantly

changing work environments such as

public relations, event management,

nursing, and advertising.

Some examples include:

Curiosity

Self-management

Decision-making

Calmness

Optimism

Open-mindedness

Analysis

Self-confidence

Organization

Self-motivation

Editorial team

Roy Zacharias, Editor

Editorial Board: R Suresha, Divya K

We welcome your valuable suggestions,

comments and articles. Mail it to:

[email protected]

Publication of comments and articles are

subject to editorial control and discretion.

http://smallbusiness.chron.com/types-communication-skills-competencies-10651.html

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