Month: November 2014

Categories
Trends

‘Free housing’ will not benefit Mumbai: Study

Praja Foundation’s White Paper on Mumbai’s housing situation reveals a multitude of slums, homeless people and a complete lack of planning.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

In the recently held Assembly elections in Maharashtra, all the political parties acknowledged that one of the main problems that Mumbai faces is ‘Housing’. Governments in the past, including the current Government, have all come to power promising the citizens of Mumbai solutions to this problem.

The Special Township Policy, Cluster Redevelopment and Slum Rehabilitation Scheme, among others, are all projects which the Government has put forward; but unfortunately, these have not delivered much for the citizens of Mumbai – 52 lakh Mumbaikars still stay in slums!

Releasing its first White Paper on ‘Status of Affordable Housing in Mumbai’, Nitai Mehta, Managing Trustee, Praja Foundation said, “Praja through its ‘Praja Dialogue’ project has been engaging the citizens, the elected representatives and the Government on issues that concern the citizens of Mumbai. Education, health, crime, civic issues and working of the elected representatives are the topics on which we engage with them. This year we are adding ‘Affordable Housing’ to this list.”

Affordable housing is one of the most important issues faced by Mumbai and Mumbaikars, and it is also the most complex and challenging problem of this city.

What the study finds

As per the Praja White Paper:

– 11.36 lakh households stay in slums in Mumbai, out of a total of 28 lakh households

– 15,274 homeless households

– 57 per cent households live in one room

– 8 per cent households do not even have one room, but share a room with others

– Only 203,624 units of public housing were created between the year 1995-2014

– Average cost of a 269 sq. ft. house (at minimum ready reckoner rate) is 12 times the median annual income of Mumbaikars, whereas the norm is that it should be less than four times the annual income.

Milind Mhaske, Project Director, Praja Foundation added, “The political-social-industry discourse to solve the problem of housing revolves around two extremes: one, provide free or hugely subsidised houses and second, increase FSI (Floor Space Index) thus increasing supply and rationalising costs. Since 1995 about 203,624 lakh affordable houses have been added to the stock, whereas we need atleast 11.57 lakhs houses as of today. This estimate does not even take into account the future requirements. Clearly, ‘free’ housing schemes are not providing the remedy.”

Explaining why increasing FSI (Floor Space Index), i.e. building more dwellings on the existing land is a very flawed and lop-sided solution, well known town planner and one of the earliest proponents of ‘Navi Mumbai’, Shirish Patel says, “Proponents of higher FSI in Mumbai are not taking into account aspects of density, crowding and its impact on quality of life. Increasing FSI and building more dwellings translates into need for more amenities such as road space, open spaces, educational institutions, health care facilities, work spaces and so on; and this calls for more land. Thus, if more land is provided you end up again diluting the FSI or if not provided, then you end up cramping more people in the same space without any concern for infrastructure and amenities.”

(Pictures courtesy Praja Foundation and upload.wikimedia.org)

Categories
Deal with it

Watch out for this ‘cancer van’ in Mumbai

Recently inaugurated by CM Devendra Fadnavis, the mobile van will offer free diagnostic services and will tour the State, too.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

Cancer is a huge threat to India today. It is killing increasing numbers of Indians every year, and many more are found to have the disease. Several succumb to it owing to lack of proper diagnosis in the early stages of the disease.

It is this latter element that is a big worry for health professionals – the lack of proper diagnosis, which enables the disease to spread unabated and become difficult to control at an advanced stage. Keeping this in mind, the Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis recently inaugurated the State’s first mobile cancer van that will tour all over Maharashtra and travel to other parts of the country as well.

Conceptualised and operationalised by the Mumbai-based Shri Subhaschandra Runwal Education Foundation and the All India Marwari Yuva Manch, the van is said to be fitted out with the latest equipment and know-how required in cancer diagnostics. Patients will be screened and tested for free, and additional inputs on their condition will also be sought with a research laboratory based in Canada. Said an official connected with the initiative, “The van will travel all over Maharashtra, and also Assam, Rajasthan, Meghalaya, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. We are hoping that our initiative will help in the fight against achieving a cancer-free India.”

Categories
Event

Celebrate Bandra returns with 40 artists

The much-awaited ‘Celebrate Bandra’ festival will showcase the work of 40 Indian artists all around the suburb from November 22.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

‘Celebrate Bandra’ is back.

The latest edition is scheduled to begin on November 22, 2014 and will go on till November 30, 2014. The festival that began in 2003 was conceptualised with a view to bring people together through world-class entertainment that is free of cost and accessible to all. In the process, it showcases professional talent and provide a platform for budding talent to grow. This year it promises to be bigger and better.

Art has always been the major highlight of ‘Celebrate Bandra’. This year, visitors can spot extraordinary art forms at unexpected venues that will fill up the entire suburb, in and around Bandra. This year, 40 national artists from various cities have come together to create art works all around the suburb. Curated by renowned art curator Minali Thakkar, Art Head of the festival, ‘Celebrate Bandra 2014’ will see exciting functional, public interactive and visually appealing installations like benches, 3D street art as well as light art displayed at Carter Road, Bandstand, MET, parks and other such public locations.

Each art installation have a message to convey; for example, MET will have a huge web light art installation which is an artistic take on the current textology and Whatsapp trend. Minali says, “We wanted people to notice art in an unconventional setting. People will bump into a complete new world in their daily life setting through art and that would be a welcome change from their mundane life. Art has the energy to bring people together, emit positive vibes and bring a change in small ways and we hope to connect people through art.”

Artists are working round the clock to create art works on ground, rocks, grass, and windows using materials like fishing nets, rubic cubes, balloons and metal scrap, to name few. Be it the huge limousine or an armour skirt and choli designed to protect women, the organisers claim that each art piece will mesmerise viewers and leave them with a food for thought.

For all the art lovers and enthusiasts, ‘Celebrate Bandra’ will also host an Open Air Art Classroom in a setting where one can sketch, paint landscapes and create designs. Don’t forget to get your art bag along. This will be held on daily basis during the tenure of the festival at 4.30 pm at Carter Road Promenade and Bandstand Promenade.

Categories
Deal with it

Take note of Indian folk artistes, Bollywood: Santosh Sawant

Noted folk music artist and now film director, Santosh Sawant wants Bollywood to feature more folk music to popularise it.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

Maharashtra has a rich tradition of folk music but many popular forms of folk music entertainment such as Bharuds, Gondhals, Lavanis, Povadas, Bhaleris, Palanes and Artya have slowly gone off the radar, and are now on their way to extinction. It is a sad state of affairs indeed, that people have forgotten the folk forms peculiar to their home States, as Hindi film music pervades our collective music consciousness.

Actor, filmmaker and music composer Santosh Sawant, aka ‘Pawa’ (meaning ‘flute’ in Marathi), wants the new BJP Government in Maharashtra to save folk singers in the State who are struggling for survival. ‘Pawa’ is a gifted folk singer himself, who tried, unsuccessfully, to gain acceptance in Bollywood – owing to his non-mainstream voice. He is known as a foremost exponent of ‘jhamela’, a form of folk song that throws light on the complexities and tragedies of life. “But I persevered and cut an album with the help of T-series in 2010,” he says. “It was called Voice of The Heart. I am now ready to launch my debut Hindi feature film project titled Jhamela which will showcase the life of a folk singer.” The film is inspired by Sawant’s own life and details jhamela as an art form, among other things. “I hope to make folk music more popular through this film. I shall first show it at 45 renowned international film festivals before showcasing it in India,” says Santosh.

Why the spotlight on folk music?

‘Pawa’ is an engineer by qualification who was born in Ratnagiri but who came to Mumbai for higher studies and stayed on. He had a successful career in the machinery exports business, but his love for music often made him restless. “I was born in the idyllic Kolisare in Ratnagiri, which has lush green hills on one side and pristine virgin beaches on the other side. People here were totally disconnected from the modern world, and I grew up in a culture of folk music, folk dances and folk plays which were displayed during the Jalsa, a local fair prevalant in Konkan,” he remembers, adding that his performances at these fairs earned him the ‘Pawa’ nickname.

'Pawa' performs on stage (1)He claims he has an acting degree from London, and speaks with bitterness of how Bollywood shunned him because “they didn’t want to take a chance with an actor who dabbled in folk music.” Today, he says he works to further the cause of folk music in India and abroad.

Incidentally, during the recent State Elections, the BJP was said to employ around 200 folk singers to campaign for it. Says ‘Pawa’, “I want the BJP to continue its association with folk singers through scholarships, donations and other forms of support.

“Maharashtra’s zestful folk music has the power to hold the audience spellbound. Folk songs have often formed an important part of Indian movies and some of them are memorable to the day. They are melodious, tug at your heart and often end up having repeat value. While folks songs from different regions have gained mass popularity, it is the original folk singer who somewhere down the line faded into oblivion. Rarely has Bollywood rallied around any folk artiste to give them mass coverage and publicity. I think Bollywood should stop neglecting folk singers.”

At present, folk music is being practiced in the approximately 50 Kala Kendras across Maharashtra, most of them in the Marathwada region. There are around 130 travelling Tamasha troupes that perform seasonally and approximately 15 full-time troupes that perform all through the year. Nearly all of them are fighting for survival.

“The modern film viewer has a warped and skewed notion of folk music as most of it is fed by what various regional and national movie industries are churning out. For example, for the viewer, a Lavani is just another item number adding masala to a movie. To add insult to injury, these dances are performed by mainstream actresses, as no one wants to cast the women who have lived and breathed this dance for centuries,” ‘Pawa’ fumes.

Any takers?

Ask him if anybody’s really interested in folk music these days, and he says, “Of course people are interested, they just need to be exposed to folk music. I have my own band, and we have taken Jhamela all across India and even abroad. We use traditional instruments like harmonium and dholki while staging our folk songs and plays. People love the simplicity associated with our songs which we use to denote the great complexities that human life deals with regularly.”

‘Pawa’ says he hopes his film will find resonance even among the urban viewers. “We need to make our folk music, and our folk artistes, more mainstream,” he says. “It is unfortunate that so many are living in oblivion and poverty.”

Categories
Achieve

Mumbai boy wins State Taekwondo championship

Atharva Samant won two gold medals in the Under 14 category at the recent championship; to represent State in Daman.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

Taekwondo has several takers in Mumbai, especially amongst youngsters in school. Several prestigious championships always receive a good turnout among students, and the recent Maharashtra State Taekwondo Championships were no different.

Chembur resident Atharva Samant won two golds in the championship, in Taekwondo Poomsae and Taekwondo Sparring in the Under-14 category. Atharva is a student of Swami Vivekananda School in Chembur, and trains with the suburb-based coach Shrikant Mishra. Prior to these wins, Atharva has also won top honours at championships in the same category, at national meets held in Nerul, Surat and Amritsar.

Atharva will now go on to represent Maharashtra at a national meet in December 2014 to be held at Daman.

Categories
Tech

Review: Sony Xperia Z3

We check out the new smartphone from the feted Sony Xperia series, the Xperia Z3, and come away very much impressed.
by Manik Kakra | @Manik_K on Twitter

Sony’s Xperia Z series of smartphones is known for its good design and decent performance. The company made several improvements going from the original Z to the Z2, and it is expected to do the same with the Z3. Its financial health is far from being in good shape as of the last 18 months or so, and a lot rides on this device (along with a range of other phones) to improve that state of affairs. So, does the Z3 live up to expectations?

Sony’s Xperia Z3 (D6553) is the company’s latest and best offering. The smartphone follows a similar angular design as its two predecessors, but you will be wrong to say there aren’t any changes made. With rubberised angular edges, slightly rounded (yet flatter than the Z2) sides and overall slim profile, the phone is comfortable for those who are already used to carrying large smartphones. The Z3 also has slimmer bezels than the Z2, meaning more body estate for the screen and less in overall length.

The looks. The front, dominated by the 5.2-inch full HD LCD, has two speaker grills on the screen’s top and bottom, with the Sony logo, sensors and the 2.2 MP front-facing camera and LED light. Coming to the right, you have the microSD card slot and nano SIM card slot housed under a single flap, which still feels flimsy but is slightly better to operate than the Z2’s, and the Power/ Lock key nearer the middle part, Volume keys, which are smooth to touch and protruding just enough to give you good feedback when pressed gently. The dedicated camera key is located just where your right hand (index finger) would be if holding the phone in landscape orientation, with the on-screen navigation keys on your right.

The left side panel locates the microUSB port (under a similar protective flap), magnetic pogo ports for charging the phone using a Sony magnetic dock or for attaching your PS4’s DUALSHOCK Controller to play games. Further down, there is an eyelet for those who still like to carry a thread, a locket, a small cord etc. around their phones these days.

Coming to the back, there’s the 20.7 MP camera on the top left with the LED flash right next to it, NFC and Sony logo toward the middle and the Xperia logo towards the bottom. The whole back panel has got glass on top, meaning fewer scratches, but it’s prone to smudges and fingerprints just like the front. The phone is by no means a compact device, and it probably isn’t meant to be, but there’re a few neat little changes that make it just a bit more comfortable to grip and carry around without losing the Z3’s premium feel and design, and our copper-brown variant stood out just a little more.

Display and screen. The phone boasts of a 5.2-inch TRILUMINOUS LCD. Sony’s Z3 comes with two additional display options – X-Display and Super Vivid mode. With the default mode (third one), the screen is bright, has decent viewing angles and gives nice rich colours for most part. The other two modes aren’t really worth it, especially for watching videos where they just over-sharpen characters and the picture loses out a lot. It has a little better visibility than the Z2, but you will have to really crank up the brightness level to read comfortably. The Z3 has a good screen, but it is still not in the league of the One (M8) and the S5, which, in my opinion, are the best 1080p panels for Android phones today.

Having said, it’s certainly not a deal-breaker and most users should be fine with it for images, Web browsing and even watching videos.

Camera. The Z3 comes with the same 20.7 MP (BSI sensor) camera (f/2.3) we saw on the Z2. Here are a few sample images

The Z3 supports ISO level of up to 12,800, which is higher than that of any other phone today. Users who are comfortable with trying various settings should find it helpful for low-light conditions. The camera app has a lot of editing modes like Background Defocus, AR Effects, HDR, as well as settings like Exposure, ISO, and resolution. Unfortunately, the camera story is similar to the Z2’s which wasn’t very impressive. Images come out quite detailed in good light conditions, but noise seems to be a downside when shooting with the Z3. It performs just okay in low-light conditions. You may find taking photos in 8 MP mode better than any other, and most users will find the overall quality to be just fine. For those interested, the phone can also take full HD videos at 60 FPS and 4K videos.

Connectivity. The Z3’s GPS, 3G, FM radio work fine, though its WiFi does take 1-2 seconds more to get switched on and connect to a known access point than other phones I’ve tried recently. Call quality on the phone is top-notch with no network reception issues or call drops in between during my usage. I still haven’t tried 4G LTE on a device as there’s no network operator offering such a service in Delhi as of now.

Audio quality. In-ear call is loud and clear and so is your voice for the person on the other side. When it comes to audio quality, the Z3 performs well. The front-facing stereo speakers are no match for the One M8’s, they are still not bad and usable for videos and games. The phone supports native FLAC files support, but I couldn’t check how the bundled headsets perform with it as Sony didn’t send us a pair of those.

Battery. It will be safe to say, the Xperia Z3’s most compelling offering is its battery life. More often than not, the phone lasted me more than day with battery level still around the 15 per cent mark. During my usage, I didn’t have to charge it from zero to full more than once a day except for once when the phone was used intensely for watching videos throughout the day. If on moderate usage, the Z3’s 3,100 mAh battery unit may even give you close to one and a half day of usage. And of course, you can stretch it if you use the built-in STAMINA and Ultra STAMINA modes by sacrificing on the phone’s features.

Software and performance. The Xperia Z3 runs on Android 4.4.4 with Sony’s own Xperia UI on top. The Xperia UI is a known entity on Android space and Sony hasn’t much to what it was on the Z2. Sony could have toned down the number of pre-loaded apps and could have made its own services like What’s New clear of the Google Now swipe-up gesture, but they haven’t.

Under the hood, there is a Snapdragon 801 SoC (2.46 GHz quad-core Krait 400 processor, Adreno 330 GPU) coupled with 3 GB of RAM. There’s about 11 GB of available storage space and you can increase it with a microSD card.

It won’t be wrong to say that this is Sony’s best performing Android phone. The Z3 is smooth to operate, doesn’t stutter when switching from one app to another, can handle full HD videos (may miss on audio sync depending on the codec used) and can handle intensive games without dropping many frames. If you have used any of the last two Xperia Z devices, you will feel at home with the Z3’s software. With similar Home screen setup, icons, Menu launcher behaviour and settings, Notification bar and quick toggles, Lockscreen, Sony’s usual set of widgets and Settings, the Z3 has a familiar monochromatic OS that one often associates with Sony’s Android flagships.

The only downside that Sony really needs to cater here is that this phone requires to be attached to a PC to download and install an OS update. It’s not acceptable that a technology company like Sony can’t provide Over-The-Air updates in this day and age. Having said that, the software and performance part is more than satisfactory, and the whole Xperia package on the Z3 remains one of the best when it comes to Android.

Wrapping our review, the Z3 is one of Sony’s best ever devices. With great battery life, good screen, improved design, decent camera and IP68 rating meaning a water-resistant and dust-proof phone, the Z3 is indeed a compelling offering, and if you’re looking for a high-end smartphone, you should definitely check the Z3 out.

 

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