Vol.LXVII No. 04

We sincerely regret to inform our members and friends that programmes for the second part of March 2020 and

of April 2020 stand postponed and will be rescheduled owing to the Government's directive following the

outbreak of the Corona virus. The Canara Union thanks members for standing by and will be in touch with them

by email.

Programmes for the month of April 2020

April - 2020

'SWAMI NITYANAND' (1962) charcoal by PREMI S ULLAL

PRAKASH AROOR

I want to begin by offering sincere thanks from the Canara Union to all our

members and wellwishers for fully supporting our decision to postpone or

cancel events planned in these two critical months of March and April.

COVID-19 seems to have taken over our lives and we wait for the time to

pass. I hope it won't be a long haul as, especially, old people, the poor,

wage-earners and all sorts of businesses are finding it very hard to cope.

Bacause we are battered with bad news and growing tensions, I feel like

moving into humour. So here goes. In the 1970s, when we lived in

Chennai, our favourite newspaper charmed and amused us by writing, on the edit page, about

groundnut agriculture in Zambia. What was so funny about this? It was the time when

communal tensions were at their height, there was destruction everywhere, and everyone held

their breath about what would happen next. And here was this newspaper diverting the subject

to groundnuts!

Since then, for my wife Usha and me, 'growing groundnuts in Zambia' has become a common

expression used when, while there are raging negative events around us, we choose to speak

about something else, sometimes something trivial! In this spirit, I won't talk here about

COVID-19. (It is serious and we are going through times of high anxiety, but so much has been

written and said that to add more information would be to increase that anxiety.)

Listening to the news has always occupied an important part of our day. The older among us

will remember people who read the news on the radio. Who can forget Melville de Mellow,

Surojit Sen, Roshan Menon and Lotika Ratnam of All India Radio. We would wait to listen to

them and can still 'hear' their voices! Then there were Neethi Ravindran, Tejeshwar Singh, Rini

Simon, Vinod Dua, Geetanjali Aiyer, Komal G B Singh and others of Doordarshan. We had our

favourites, and sometimes I confess we weren't always concentrating on the news they were

reading!

This reminds me of my colleague Ganesan. He would be glued to Doordarshan Tamil every

time Shobana Ravi read the news. 'So beautiful, so beautiful,' he would tell us. One evening, he

said, in the hearing of his wife Chitra, 'Ayyo, what has happened to Shobana? She has a pimple

on her chin, poor thing. Can you see it?' Some days later, when we visited them, Chitra

laughingly told us this story. 'Here I am suffering for years with great pain in the knees—and

he's worried about Shobana's pimple!'

Back to the coronavirus. Do take all care and follow the advice given by the Government,

doctors and many agencies. God bless us all!

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We are very grateful to the following for the donations made by them:

1. Rs. 50,000 (Rupees Fifty Thousand) towards Canara Union Distress Relief Fund by

Shri Ramesh Amruth Savoor.

2. Rs. 50,000 (Rupees Fifty Thousand) towards Canara Union Students Scholarship

Fund by Shri Ramesh Amruth Savoor.

3. Rs. 10,000 (Rupees Ten Thousand) towards Canara Union Student Merit Scholarship

Fund by Shri K. Srinivasa Raghavan in memory of Shri Gurunandan Savoor.

4. Rs. 10,000 (Rupees Ten Thousand) towards Canara Union Student Merit Scholarship

Fund by Shri K. Srinivasa Raghavan in memory of Smt Gayathri Nadkarni.

5. Rs. 10,000 (Rupees Ten Thousand) towards Canara Union Student Merit Scholarship

Fund by Shri K. Srinivasa Raghavan in memory of Shri and Smt Anant Sirur.

6. Rs. 1,00,000 (Rupees One Lakh) towards Canara Union Distress Relief Fund by

Dr Hema Roy Chowdhury in memory of her parents, Shri Mohan Umanath Hattikudur

and Smt Padmini M. Hattikudur.

NEW MEMBER

We welcome the following Associate Member into our fold:

Shri Pranav Prakash Hattiangadi

Annual Membership Subscription fees

All members are requested to pay their annual membership subscription fees for the year 2019-20 along with the arrears at the Canara Union office at the earliest.

04

STUDY CIRCLE REPORT, 23 FEBRUARY 2020Kanchan Rathna (née Belthangadi): 'MY BRUSH WITH ART'

Reported by JYOTI CHANDAN TALGERI

The Study Circle talk My Brush with Art, by Kanchan Rathna (née Belthangadi) was a

fascinating presentation of the journey of an artist. A visual artist by profession, Kanchan has

successfully created her own unique identity in the world of art. After studying commercial

art from Nirmala Niketan, Mumbai, she had the good fortune of training under renowned

artists like Shri T Kaladharan and thereafter, with Russian mentor, Anna Korobitsina.

Kanchan shared her journey with art through a beautifully compiled photo essay. Born in

Belgaum and brought up in the Steel City Bhilai, her tryst with art started very young, when

she would often spend time doodling. Her interest in art was encouraged by her family and

circumstances seemed to have paved a path for her towards taking up a professional art

career, under the able guidance of her uncle, renowned animator, Padmashri Ram Mohan.

She made a special mention of her Professor at Nirmala Niketan, Shri Kumthekar, who saw

potential in her and pushed her into exploring sketching. She joined her uncle's 2D cell

animation studio, Ram Mohan Biographics, where she got an opportunity to work with a lot

of ad campaigns and the very popular Meena series. After getting married to a naval officer

Ajith in 1998, she had to move to Kochi, which brought her back to commercial art projects

and an illustration project with the magazine, The Week. Gradually moving towards fine art,

she found a mentor in Shri T Kaladharan, who encouraged her to participate in art

exhibitions. Soon after, as she accompanied her husband who was deputed to Project

Vikramaditya to Russia, her search for an art mentor led her to the Russian artist, Anna

Korobitsina. Anna reintroduced her to the very basics of sketching and painting and

Kanchan's love of portraiture. This helped Kanchan rediscover herself as an artist, more

confident and courageous to try newer, bigger formats.

Kanchan has since then been a part of many group as well as solo art exhibitions, some of

which were the Kochi Art Biennale 2014 where she worked in collaboration with the British

artist, Hew Locke, and the Worldwide Art Movement in Kochi. She has been actively involved

in workshops and art exhibitions as a part of “Ishika” a group of women artists in Kochi and

Orthic Art Studio, Kochi. Kanchan has created commissioned works for the Navy, INS Tarini

and INS Ranvijay; her biggest corporate project of 21 paintings commissioned by Hotel

Holiday Inn, is worth a mention.

Her talk was followed by pertinent questions from the audience, which comprised many

artists and art-lovers.

Kanchan continues to use her creativity to support many NGOs, helping children find joy in

art and also creating opportunities for enthusiasts to explore their artistic leaning. We wish

Kanchan the very best in her future endeavours! As Maya Angelou once said, “You can't use

up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.”

SPORTS NEWS - BRIDGE

Durgadas Kallianpur and G. Rajendra won the second prize and Prakash Kundapur and J.

Jana won the fourth prize in the Pairs event at the Century Club's Annual Bridge Tournament

held on 15th February 2020. The team comprising Durgadas Kallianpur, Girish Bijoor,

Koushik Mukherjee and Uttam Gupta won the third prize in the team event. Prakash

Kundapur, senior member of Century Club distributed the prizes.

The team comprising Durgadas Kallianpur, Girish Bijoor, C. M. Kulkarni and

G. Rajendra won the second prize in the inaugural Tricon Infotech Bridge Tournament

conducted in Bangalore on the 8th March 2020. All the four players are Canara Union

members. 22 teams participated in this event.

05

PREMI S ULLAL

PORTRAIT OF A LADY

Tell us about childhood influences while

growing up. How did your interest in art

begin ?It takes me eighty odd years down memory

lane. My dear father, Kandlur Pandurang Rao

(popularly known as K. P. Rao), a scientist,

was Chief Executive of Tata Oil Mills

Company (TOMCO) at Ernakulam, then part

of the Madras Presidency. The famous

cooking vegetable oil, 'COCOGEM' was his

brainchild.

It was he who first sensed my penchant for all

things beautiful, attractive, artistic—and my

irresistible passion to reflect them according

to my own childlike perception, whatever,

wherever, however it be. The slate,

notebooks, floors, walls, you name it. The

As narrated to PAVITRA ULLAL and Usha Aroor

We wanted Amma/Pachi to talk to us freely and so we gave her some questions on the basis of which she could tell us about herself.

06

07

sylvan surroundings of the calm cool

backwaters, the jetty outside our bungalow

were my childhood haunts. My mother

Umabai would often accompany me and

watch me dotingly. My parents, I realise now,

far from finding fault, discreetly began

loading me with drawing books, colour

pencils, crayons, paints, brushes and art

books, all of which whetted my voracious

appetite for art and established me as an

accredited artist, both at home and school.

Art education, special areas of interestMother Superior Mary, my English teacher at

St Theresa's convent, Ernakulam, guided

and mentored me. Later at Elphinstone's at

Mumbai, my lecturers, Ms Wood and Ms

Shroff, mentors who moulded me, would

invariably read aloud my essays in the

classroom, which though embarrassing,

only pushed me to work harder and stay at

the top. As a result, my pursuit of art took a

back seat.

The year 1954 was an eventful one. We lost

dear Papa. My elder sister, Krishnabai, 9

years older than me, then specialising in

perfumery science in Paris upon her return,

got appointed Head of the perfumery

division of the House of Tata. I myself

graduated in English Literature with

Honours and then got a job at Telco. But for

Bala Ganapati, pencil, 1966 Sri Ramana Maharshi, pencil, 1992

Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, oil, 1964

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, charcoal, 1965

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all the encouragement from all the big

people in TATA—Mulgaonkar, Narielwala,

J.R.D.Tata himself—and elastic working

hours, so considerately sanctioned, I would

never have stepped into the J.J. School of

Art. And luckily for me, J.J. and Bombay

House were very close.

At J.J., Mr Adarkar was my mentor who,

upon coming to know I was also a

breadwinner for the family, advised me to

study commercial art. But it was only in

Mangaluru, after my marriage in December

1961 to Srinath, an advocate by profession

and an ardent lover of the arts, that I took up

fine arts seriously.

Veena Sahasrabuddhe, watercolour, 2007 Jaya Nagarkatte, mixed media, 2015

Landscape, crayon, 2007Rajasthani Flautist, watercolour, 2010

My Guru, Lakshman Kamath Shevgoor, was

running his school at Car Street, very close

to our own house at the Mission High School

Road. He was as much a hard taskmaster as

an ideal role model and an inspiration to all

his students, Prema Koundinya (nee

Baindoor), and Lata Basrur (nee Trasi),

being two other Saraswats besides me. I am

happy that my Guru was genuinely pleased

with all my work, in whatever medium it

be—pencil, charcoal, watercolour, oil.

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Subjects you focus on in your paintingsPortraits have fascinated me the most—the

more weather-beaten, wrinkled, furrowed

the faces, the better! But truly speaking, any

face that exudes light from within, I find

irresistible.

Oils have given me the greatest satisfaction.

Lately, I do watercolours too, perhaps only

because they take less time.

After moving to Bengaluru, I have spent

some time at the Chitrakala Parishat.

Thereafter, with the children growing up, I

have made only Tanjore paintings and a few

portraits for friends in watercolours.

I do not understand modern art. But of

course, I am proud that my eldest daughter

Shreela Gokarn's digital paintings have

already made their way to art exhibitions in

Barcelona and Paris, besides art galleries in

India. My youngest daughter, Tejaswini

Amladi in Mumbai is also very good with

Tanjore style paintings. My daughter Pavitra

Ullal, an architect, was a protégé of the

world renowned Dr B.V.Doshi and has her

o w n a r c h i t e c t u r a l p r a c t i c e . M y

grandchildren are associated with art,

performance and music.

What do your paintings mean to you?Well, what do my paintings mean to me? I

have not ever asked myself this question.

Now that you have asked me, l find I have

turned to my drawing board, whenever I was

happy, sad, tired, needed to be alone, or felt

too lazy to do anything else, in fact, for any

or no reason.

Of course, I could not have done it but for

Srinath and all my near and dear ones.

The Lady with the Lamp (ref. Haldankar) oil, 1963

10

THE STORY OF CONZERV

Excerpts from the book by LIFT OFF: TRANSFORMING CONZERV

and (Westland 2019)HEMA HATTANGADY ASHISH SEN

In 1996, Hema Hattangady took over as CEO of Conzerv, a family-owned business

based In Bangalore, manufacturing digital energy meters. Over the next twelve years,

she grew it to India's largest energy management company. Lift Off is an inspirational story

of grit and determination, and best business practices.

Conzerv's culture centred on 'well-being' and on 'growing giants'. It impacted not only the Conzervians

and their families but the entire gamut of stakeholders. Built on lived values and ethics, the Conzerv

culture contributed to a new dimension to the meaning of making a difference. Making a difference is

not only about you making a difference, but also about transforming mindsets…Conzervians continue

to make a difference wherever they are. And that is why, especially in a fractured world, the Conzerv

story needs to be told.

ASHISH SEN (from the Preface)

'Corporate culture is what ends up determining how hard your employees work, how far they will go

out of their way to help out a co-worker in trouble, what lengths they will go to in order to satisfy

customers. This culture cannot be transmitted by writing it all down in a manual somewhere or

exhortatory speeches by managers; it is transmitted in a thousand little interactions that show more

than they tell…

MEGAN MCARDLE, The Disadvantages of Working from Home

Friends and business acquaintances who knew my story had often asked me to write a book on the story of Conzerv.

My friend Munira Sen had for years brought participants to the Conzerv facility for a module called 'Passion and Resonance'. After I exited from Conzerv she remarked what a pity it was that the story still remained untold.

'Who will want to write it?' I asked her.

'Why don't you ask Ashish?' she said. Ashish Sen has been a theatre personality, community radio expert and writer for several decades.

'Not a bad idea at all!' I said.

Luckily after listening to my story in April 2016, Ashish said he would love to research and help write the story.

Ashish met nearly a hundred people, including Conzervians, consultants, suppliers, distributors, advisors to get their experiences and stories.

[In late August, he] had just completed most of his interviews, the latest being in flooded Mumbai where fifteen Conzervians and two distributors had come on their own dime from remote corners of two states of India to talk about Conzerv.

Even before he caught his breath, Ashish burst out, 'What do you say about a company that lives on, even though it doesn't actually exist? How could you have sold this company?! Even I am overwhelmed by the way these folks still feel!’

I was taken aback. 'Why? What did they say?' I asked.

‘Well, the first thing was they all used similar phrases to describe Conzerv. Unusual, given their diversity! The second thing was how strongly they still feel for Conzerv. Third, they spoke of having felt total ownership. That it was easy to go beyond for colleagues and customers. ''We were a family” and “we felt we owned the company” were common motifs.’

That, in a nutshell described the culture of Conzerv.

As if on cue, just months after this discussion with Ashish on culture, we heard from one of our longest-serving sales managers, Chainesh Patil who is now in a senior sales position for Schneider Electric:Chainesh said he had got a call from an old customer, a textile mill in a remote town where he had installed a Conzerv product 14 years earlier. The mill owner needed some help with the product.

Chainesh said 'Sir, thanks for calling. Conzerv was bought by Schneider Electric 7 years ago but I will visit you and see how I can help.’

Although that model had been replaced with a newer model by Schneider Electric, Chainesh said he was so sentimentally attached to the product, he decided to drive the 270 km to the site when he could just as well have not gone.

An electrical fault had made the product stop working. Chainesh got it going quickly and was delighted to see the product start working as if it were new. He came back with an order for the newer version of the product and couldn't wait to share his joy with Ashok and me!

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CULTUREExcerpts from Chapter 14*(*excerpts edited for length, for reasons of space)

One distributor recalled that when our flagship product had failed at a key site, Ashok had come with a replacement, worked with the customer to analyse the fault and keep in touch long after the problem was fixed. Perhaps this is a good example of transmitted-through-action culture that McArdle talks about. (See second quote at the head of the article.)

As 'growing giants' (see the Ashish Sen quote at the head of the article) became a fundamental cornerstone of our HR policy it seems to have built a lasting community. Ashish saw the conversations in the Mumbai hotel echo across the country and outside, wherever Conzervians find themselves today.

Jayavant Desai, Head of Finance for ten years at Conzerv recalls: team work was one of the key things responsible for Conzerv's phenomenal growth. Conzerv's value system was called IPACT, which stood for Integrity, Professionalism, Caring and Team work. We did not like silos or empire building. Anyone who had something to say could say it or challenge any functional head with cause. As a result it was team spirit, not just within the department but across the entire organisation. This resulted in a lot of bonding

between the departments. People at Conzerv had the habit of giving respect to all, from the CEO to the chaiwala.

Even today Ashok and I keep in touch with as many people as we can, wishing them for their birthdays or anniversaries. That 'passion and connect' helped us create a 'psychological contract' with people which went miles beyond an employment contract, according to our coach and HR advisor RR Nair.

It wasn't always like this! The culture in the early years at Conzerv was very different. We lived in turbulent times with a turn-around that was still underway. There was no team to speak of. And when we did hire, we had to let go of more people than I cared to count, either for lack of integrity or for incompetence. It took us many mistakes and many years of setting systems in place before I could start showing faith in people. Once there, it became a part of our culture: to empower and to trust. (This didn't always work so well: we had some of our intellectual property stolen by people we had intrinsically trusted).

I also learned as I grew as a leader that it was very important to have real conversations

12

Conzerv shop floor (2004)

13

the weddings of their children, of interest-free loans for houses and college education. As the conversation flowed, it became clear that we could not be boxed into 'labour' and 'management'; that as employers we had given aid and assistance from our hearts and not because any Act told us to. BUT we would have to go by the Industrial Disputes Act if the situation warranted that step. And then the levers of control would go into the hands of industrial relations experts, lawyers and courts. Is that what we wanted? Really?

Silence followed. And then tears of relief from having stepped back from the abyss that unrest would have plunged us all into; and tears of gratitude that we had rediscovered the strong bond we shared before it was too late. In the hour that followed they gave us a written statement that they had been coerced into signing a charter of demand and that it was therefore invalid and to be treated as withdrawn.

The family at workWe encouraged spouses, twins, siblings, even parent and child to work with us as long they were qualified for the job and met all the criteria. Many of them had been rejected in larger companies citing a policy that discouraged people from the same family to work in the company. One of the many stories that worked out well was of this young to-be-wed couple Pradeep and Ekta.

As Ekta Naik told Ashish: 'My fiancé Pradeep had told Hema I had just graduated with a major in international business. We were planning to get married in a few months. Since Conzerv was planning to set up an office in Jakarta and Pradeep had been identified to head it, Hema wanted to see how I could be brought into the company and work alongside Pradeep in business development in Indonesia. After that first chat, I was hired! In six short months I

with people, and not always about work and targets.

Culture and labour unrestWhen Conzerv was confronted with the threat of politically and externally motivated labour unrest in early 2002, I took the bull by the horns. Some external influencers had been arranging secret meetings with a toolroom operator, hoping to use him as an instrument to foment unrest. Nothing was overt, but there was a palpable sense of unease and anxiety in the entire shopfloor staff, increasing in intensity over a period of a week. Our HR manager at the time was a cautious man who hoped there would be no escalation and that the situation would just die down on its own. I, on the other hand was crystal clear that this unlawful coercion by outsiders to create 'demands' among people who showed their affection and commitment each day they came to work, must be dealt with.

I gathered the large team of operators who had worked in the company for thirteen years in a conference room. I said 'Let's talk. The price of not opening up now is steep and the process irreversible. Tell me what's going on and how we can help…’

The tension just melted. They spoke of how they and their families were being threatened with dire consequences if they did not create and sign a list of demands and submit to the management. They were confused and terrified. How could they ask for more when they didn't want more? And what if the threats were carried out?

The conversation then turned to old times, how the company grew from almost nothing to a respectable size and became a known brand with our combined efforts. How they had grown as families and in skill levels and income. We recalled house-warmings and

14

learned the ropes in Conzerv's regional office in Delhi and then joined Pradeep in Indonesia and started to assist him there. It was a great experience for us to work together and I think we made a successful team. There were many positive spin-offs. It enhanced the feeling of security that develops when you are working together in the same company.’

Her husband Pradeep adds: 'I never thought my wife would be working with me. But if both of you are working together for same organization... you give more than 100 per cent. Hema created a position for my wife with an eye to the future, confident that if both partners worked together, the productivity can be high. She viewed it as an investment not a cost.'

Culture committeesWe learned to use periodic culture diagnosis as a tool to align culture with process, vision, and business plan. We did this by conducting a workshop once in two years across the company to understand [mainly] the actual behaviours/values that were practised by everyone at the work place [and] the behaviours/values demanded by the current vision statement and the three-year business plan.

Open Days in Conzerv

cultural issues underlying the dashboard deviations and identify strategies to correct them.

To make everyone responsive, a massive drive was done across the company to specify response norms for every output that was in the IPOP or Input-Process-Output chart. The norms were in terms of days from the due date. To jolt everyone into action, the deviation report with its red boxes, was projected on the large wall of the main work area in the corporate office so no one could say they didn't know or were not told about the deviation.

There was an electrifying effect of the dashboard and the deviation reports. Responsiveness improved across the board in a matter of weeks.

At the end of each culture diagnosis or internal change management workshop, teams of four to five people, usually in their mid-twenties, were formed. Their mandate was to identify the best process to drive change and to implement the plan of action that was agreed with the senior leadership team. If a senior member was part of the problem, he or she was discreetly counselled by someone from the senior team. These culture committees used the functional dashboard to detect, analyse and eliminate process defects arising out of culture issues. In 2007 for example, the culture diagnosis showed that four behaviours were not uniform across the company and needed to be strengthened to align culture with business objectives: responsiveness, innovativeness or creativity, empowered behaviour and teamwork. Four teams were formed to understand the

Senior team (2008)

15

Usha Lingappa, a Conzervian says, 'What helped me to settle down really fast in such a large organisation, and even gain visibility and recognition for my work, was the manner in which Conzerv taught us to welcome change and indeed thrive in it.'

Others speak of how they had been able to apply the best practices learnt in Conzerv to the new landscape.

The culture of Conzerv changed me too. Over the years I became a better listener, more nurturing and empathetic, more consultative than dictatorial and most importantly, learnt to have faith that people will do great things of their own volition in a meritocracy that is also caring and compassionate.

Learning from childrenWe invited the children of some of our managers to sit in on our review meetings. They were asked to make notes on how the adults conducted themselves and whether they adhered to IPACT, our values code. Then they were sent to the different departments to chat with teams informally. Often they gave out-of-the-box solutions to vexing problems.

Respect for professionals Conzerv ensured it demonstrated a high degree of respect for its professional service providers like its auditors, advertising agencies, advisors and consultants.

Our statutory auditor, the late Badri Narayan who co-founded one of Bangalore's frontline accountancy firms, recalled, 'In all my 35 years of service, clients would never say “You have done a good job.” Clients have always thought audit to be a necessary evil. It is only Conzerv which used to call a “vendors meet” not just to celebrate suppliers of production-related parts but all service providers. Conzerv treated every service provider and supplier as a stakeholder.’

Finally, one might ask: if the culture of Conzerv was so special, did it help in smoothing the transition to Schneider? Did it help Conzervians integrate in the new company?

The answers to these questions came in the voices of the people interviewed for this book, from both Schneider Electric and Conzerv.

Also see these links'WE HAVE TO CREATE ENOUGH SPACE FOR STARTUPS TO GROW' (Deccan Herald)https://www.deccanherald.com/business/we-have-to-create-enough-space-for-startups-to-grow-805339.html

'FROM SME TO MNC' (Business Standard)https://www.business-standard.com/article/opinion/from-sme-to-mnc-120021901560_1.html

16

HYDERABAD THEN AND NOW

GUNNU TALGERY

maintained. No flyovers or shopping malls. Green double-decker buses imported during the Nizam's time from Albion, Thorneycroft, Seddon and Leyland of England chugged along, doing their job faithfully. We stuffed ourselves on steaming hot idlies and dosais at Gopi hotel and enjoyed a glass of chilled beer in the lobby of the Parad ise c inema, dur ing the intermission. Cash McCall was the movie, I remember. We started visiting Hyderabad more often in the 1990s when my daughter Deepa married into an Andhra family. The Telugu Desam Party (TDP), during its short stint, transformed the twin cities. It was an era of development. The roads were smooth and the city was clean and the authorities were accountable. I once asked someone if we could borrow Chandrababu Naidu to manage Bangalore's civic infrastructure. Then the Congress returned to power in AP and set about systematically dismantling all t h e g o o d w o r k o f t h e p r e v i o u s administration. And there was no looking back. AND IN 2013 (when I wrote this) We arrived in Kachiguda in the early hours of a November morning. It is impossible to exaggerate the experience of the 30-minute drive to Sainikpuri. I cannot recall anything so scary, so early in the morning. It took me sometime to accept the fact that we were still on the same planet in the solar system where our journey started the previous evening. What is supposed to be a road and an important arterial road was nothing but a

Citizens of my vintage will remember the days of the 1940's and early 50's when the ubiquitous jutka was the popular mode of transportation in Bangalore. The one-horse-powered two-wheeled MPV carried whole families over long distances. Overzealous youngsters who insisted on sitting next to the pilot were treated to frequent fusillades at pointblank range, f rom the nag's turbocharger located under its tail.

The word horse is an exaggeration and a gross overstatement. The poor animal pulling the carriage was always underfed and stood on splayed legs like a Scandinavian coffee table. Many would have heard the legend of 'Subba Shetty's Ghodo'. It was reportedly so thin, weak, frail and undernourished that the animal had no strength to stand on its own legs. When unhitched, it rested against a wall like a bicycle. A gunny sack used to be suspended like a hammock between the wheels of the jutka to carry grass that fed the 'horse' at pit stops.

Now, coming to the title of this piece. Motorists in Hyderabad have adopted this gunny sack technique, invented by Mirza I sma i l o f Mohammadan B lock in Malleshwaram, Bangalore—not to be confused with the legendary Diwan of the erstwhile Mysore state—as an attachment to their cars. Explanation for this will follow. FLASHBACKMy first visit to the twin cities was in the late 1950s when I enjoyed Sujir Jairammam's and Radhe's hospitality in their Tarnaka home, with my friend, the late Heble Ganpati. In those days the roads were narrow but well

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Deepa's garden and fishpond

Cantonment area maintained by the Army.

SIX YEARS LATER After the State was brutally divided, nothing much has changed. Politicians are busy politicking. Development has been put on the backburner. There are more pot holes, more malls, more eatouts, more cars and two wheelers, roads are choked and the traffic more chaotic. Summers are hot and winters are cold as usual. We see candy-striped police SUVs on the roads, hear descendants of the dreaded Razakars making hate speeches with impunity while biryani and haleem continue to draw crowds. But what I admire about the chilli-eating populace who bash each other up over some small issue or the other with unfailing regularity, is the multilingual, multicultural environment in which they live in a spirit of true brotherhood. Bakrid, Diwali or Christmas are celebrated with equal fervor and enthusiasm, with everyone joining the festive revelry. The city dotted with water bodies, has much to be proud of. There are historical monuments, museums and palaces for the art lover, and fabulous shopping. The cuisine gladdens a foodie's heart. Lukmi, khubani-ka-meetha and the typically Hyderabadi biriyani—not to forget haleem during Eid—are the local delights which none can match elsewhere. Equally famous are the melt-in-the-mouth bakery biscuits, pure ghee sweets named after one Reddy or the other, and the unique local lingo – a heady cocktail of Hindi, Urdu and Telugu with a garnish of English. We look forward to our periodic trips to Hyderabad, taking care to avoid the summer months and periods when there is commotion and curfew around Osmania University.

mosaic of potholes, not ordinary ones, but craters in which a T72 battle tank can cause to disappear without a trace, gun turret and all. On our home-bound ride that morning, first the glove box flew open. Nothing serious. Then, every part and portion of the car that could shake, shook violently. It must have read about 7.2 on the Richter scale. Next, everything that should NOT shake, shook more violently, while Jeevan, our faithful driver (all of 5 feet, he sat on a cushion to look through the windscreen at the world outside) fought with the wheel and rudder to keep the Alto on even keel. He seemed so unperturbed and casual about it. In situations like this, even non-believers become firm believers. I, a firm believer, just closed my eyes and prayed. As if in answer to my prayers, the car stopped at my d a u g h t e r D e e p a ' s g a t e a n d w e disembarked, holding on to our spectacles, dentures, hearing-aid etc. Over the next ten minutes, slowly, very gradually, our limbs stopped shaking and we started moving without holding on to each other.

It was revealed to me much later that on Sundays and public holidays, all major car dealerships send (on request), a mechanic to fit loose parts collected in the car's gunny sack arrangement during the week. The only roads which exist in the city are in the

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FACING LYMPHOMA AND OTHER CANCERSA patient's view

RAMANANDA BELLARE

Diagnosis: Normally, when a person feels fatigue & his RBC & Platelet count drops and there are swellings in the three places mentioned above, Doctor may order Biopsy and if the Biopsy shows presence of Cancerous cells, further tests are done before the treatment starts. This could include Body Scan, ECG, and Bone marrow test. In case of some complication, fully body PET scan could be conducted. Bone marrow Test could be very painful. If the Patient can relax and divert his mind, it would help in overcoming the pain to a certain extent. I must warn that Bone marrow extraction from the junction of Lower spine & Pelvic bone is one of the most pain full procedure. The Anesthetic Injection is given only on skin & muscle, but the thick needle which goes in causes lots of pain. If you are standing outside the procedure room, you can hear patients screaming at the top of voice. My first procedure was carried out by a Post graduate trainee Doctor, who told me to relax the muscle so that the pain will be little less. The Room was full of House surgeons & a few students. By chance the name of the Doctor was Dr. Chitrapur, who hailed from Shirali and his family was living in Chitrapur housing complex. I was joking & talking to him, He was surprised and asked me whether it did not pain at all. I told him my method was ignoring pain was known As Oral Anesthesia- just keep on talking and Joking. I have totally undergone 6 procedures in 11 years, & this attitude helped me to overcome pain.

PATIENT'S VIEW POINT (PROBLEMS, ADVICE ON HOW TO FACE IT) Some Cancers are caused by bad habits or exposures to harsh atmosphere, some cancers happen just by ill luck. Lymphoma is a treatable cancer if detected in time & treated in time. There are two types of Lymphoma, Hodgkins & Non Hodgkins. I had Non Hodgkins. A problem is that it is detectable only in third or fourth stage. Lymphoma is a treatable Cancer, but requires adequate attention. Lymph glands act as policemen and take on infections, but if the infection is too much, the Lymph glands get swollen and over a period can get cancerous. Lymph glands are concentrated around the neck, near the Arm pits & near the thigh junction. In advanced stages can affect the Bone marrow. Unfortunately Lymphoma shows itself only after the 3rd stage & requires treat, which is painful & expensive. Some patients develop, this Cancer in Testis and Prostrate glands. In women it can affect Breast or Ovaries & womb.

Whatever the Cancer it requires, Lots of inner strength to face it. You should think positively. Many patients want to give up half way, because of the pain & costs. You should go to the correct Doctor and have full faith.

One the first day when I was climbing the staircase in Ramaiah Hospital, I read a placard on the wall, which said “God give me only the disease, which I, Doctor & you can cure”. How true.

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Apart from the treatment, you should take nourishing food, plenty of liquids, this helps a lot in your early recovery.

Meditation and improving the inner strength helps a lot. I wish & pray that no one should get this deadly Problem. The worst form of Cancer is Blood Cancer (leukemia)), treatment is also bit difficult, as different people react differently to drugs.

The Family plays an important role, Sympathising too much is not good, and patients may lose confidence in themselves. They must be encouraged to have hope and occupy themselves in various activities. Keeping away from Tobacco, also keeps one safer from this malady. Avoid rooms where there are many smokers, Passive smoke also is dangerous. People with history of cancer should be more careful, they should get tests done periodically

There are some Natural remedies, which also help. Tulsi, Ginger, Haldi, Black pepper, Licorice Simarouba leaves are some of them.

Vitamins like Vitamin E, Calcium, Iron, B complex, and Riboflavin also helps.Lastly I Pray to God & Guruparampara to bless us so that nobody should suffer this problem.

Treatment: This consists of Chemotherapy, they also advice Antibody treatment, this prevents reoccurrence for 6 to 7 years. I took 18 sessions spread over 2.5 years. Reoccurrence happened In my case after 10 years. It is better to get your blood checked every 2 years. & PET Scan every 3 to 4 years in case of doubt. Radiation is also given to remove some tumors. This is also very painful. And has after affects for a month or two.

Costs: This may vary from Hospital to Hospital. Government & Charitable hospitals charge less. Specialty hospitals charge very heavily. Cost of Chemo could be around 10000-15000 per sitting. If Antibodies are given each session costs Rs 1 to 1.5 Lakhs. Present central Government is trying to peg the costs of Medicines. Presently it costs Rs 60000 to 80000 per session. Government is trying to bring it down to Rs 25000 to 30000. If Blood or Platelet transfusion is required, there will be an extra cost. There are some Government hospitals & Private charitable Hospitals where costs can be less.

Fortunately for me the Doctor I found Dr. Nalini Kilara was extremely good. I had further advantage of my late younger brother Dr. Nagendranath, who was one of the top Oncologists in USA. Both of them designed my treatment.

During Treatment, the main problem I faced was severe cramps, which the Doctors said was normal. Fortunately one of our relation suggested 'CRAMPS 200” a Homeopathic medicine, which I find affective even to date.

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Kids Corner

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ANANYA TRASI - 13 years

ANOUSHKA V GANGOLLI - 6 years

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Dear Parents and Children,

We would like to keep the “KIDS CORNER' going every month if possible with paintings, drawing, sketches from children and this can happen only if you send

these to us. Please email them to . meeraphilar79@gmail.com

LISTINGS

We would like to update the LISTINGS that we had started of the availability of services in and around us. Those who cater to any professional services from their homes and would like to be included in this listing, please email brief and

concise details to meeraphilar79@gmail.com

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Painting by 15-year-old TARA K. KHAMBADKONE studying in Grade 10 in

California. Daughter of Krishnanand Prabhakar Khambadkone and Shantha K.

Khambadkone.

INDEPENDENT

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We convey our deepest sympathies to the relatives of those who are no more with us:

Smt Karambar Sumana Bai, 102 years, on 27 February 2020 in Bengaluru

Shri Gurudath Bajekal, 94 years, on 6 March 2020 in Kolhapur

Smt Jaya Kundaji on 6 March 2020 in Bengaluru

Special Programmes: On 21st to 23rd December, we had a series of talks by

Dharmapracharak Shri V Rajgopal Bhatmam on Shiva Sankalpa Sookta. Pattabhisheka

Vardhanti of Parama Pujya Shrimat Sadyojat Shankarashram Swamiji was observed on 13th

February with Bhashya Pathan - Bhagavad gita, Upanishad and Brahma Sutra, Guru Pujan,

Ashtavadhana Seva followed by prasad vitarana. On 21st February, on the occasion of

Shivaraatri, Chaar Yama Shiva Pujan was performed by gruhastha-s while the laity

enthusiastically participated in the stotra pathana led by Smt Sunanda Sagar.

Varga activities: Seven yuvas volunteered from 1st to 7th February, at the Samvit Sadhana

Shibir at Shirali. On 9th February, 6 yuvas performed Devi Anushthana followed by stringing of

Rudraksha Mala guided by Deepika Sorab. On 16th February, 6 yuvas participated in the

recording of Aarambh sessions. One yuva volunteered in the Samvit Sudha stall and five yuvas

offered Bhajan Seva in the program by Shri Omkar Gulvady on 29th February.

Regular programmes: Pujan was performed by Gruhastha-s at Bengaluru Math, in garbha-

gudi every day and in Anandashram Sabhagriha on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays.

Sadhaka-s performed Samoohika Gayatri Japa Anushthaan on Sundays. The series of talks

by Smt Dr. Sudha Tinaikar on Vedanta Dindima continued every Tuesday. Bhashya Pathana

(Bhagvadgita, Upanishad & Brahmasutra) practice is held every Sunday morning. A short 5

minute Ninada practice was a part of all regular activities.

Reported by SAIKRUPA NALKUR

Report on the activities of the Bengaluru Local Sabha for the month of February 2020

FOR RENT2 BHK Flat, Ground Floor,10th Main Road, 13th Cross, Malleswaram, Bengaluru

Interested Saraswats only

For further details Contact: 78928 72744

MATRIMONIAL Alliance invited for my sons Ajit (32) and Ashwin (30) staying abroad,

from CSB, GSB, Konkani speaking girls. Contact Father: Arun Chandragiri on the phone 90193 60505 - living in Dattaprasad Apartments, Malleswaram, Bengaluru.

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