Author: The Metrognome

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Do

Sula Fest 2015: A roundup

Nashik rocked – like it annually does – as it hosted the Sula Fest, its wine, food and music jamboree.
by Salil Jayakar | @Salilicious on Twitter

All roads from Mumbai led to Nashik over the weekend where Sula Vineyards was hosting Sula Fest – its annual wine, food and music jamboree. Naturally, the mood among the revelers was quite high what with all the free flowing wine.

But among the usual wine and cheese tasting tours, the music and the food, here’s our pick of the unusual and interesting…

SulaFest 2015_Prahlad Kakkar at B & BBQEveryone’s favourite ad man Prahlad Kakkar (seated at extreme left in pic) caught us quite by surprise as he deftly took orders and dished out plates of vegetarian and chicken biryani at the food court! The ad man popped up a stall for his office cook who has been making meals for him for the past 40 years. “My cook makes the best biryani. Till some years ago, we had an open house in my office every Saturday where we’d feed 15 to 20 people,” he said.

We were thrilled to see winemaker Hardys at Sula this year who came on board as wine partner. As we sampled their reds and whites with Thai prawns curry and veg ravioli, we got chatting with Mumbai girl Najeshda Deshpande, Sula’s import manager. Born and raised in Vile Parle, Najeshda’s (means ‘Hope’ in Russian) love affair with wine began on a holiday in Australia. “I was done with number crunching and didn’t quite know what to do next. I made friends with wine-making surfers and here I am today,” she told us. You go girl!

Celebrity chef Saransh Goila (in pic on right) who’s quite the regular now at all such dos kept us quite entertained over the two-days we hung out with him. The Cecilia Oldne, Global Brand Ambassador & Head - International Business, Sula Vineyards with Chef Saransh Goilareality TV star is all set to release his first book, a travelogue with recipes from his travels. The 70,000-words tome should be an exciting read, we hope. “My favourite author Ruskin Bond kindly consented to write a few words for me in the book. I’m thrilled!” said Saransh.

By far the biggest draw on Day 1 at Sula Fest was the American indie rock band Young the Giant with the ‘desi’ connect. Lead singer Sameer Gadhia, half-Gujarati and half-Bengali, was studying Human Biology at Stanford before he dived headlong into the music scene. With performances at the Video Music Awards a few years ago and a Top 50 appearance on the Billboard 200 albums chart, this desi boy had the girls swooning.

Chief winemaker Ajoy Shaw took us on a tour of the Sula cellars and we came away quite impressed with their sustainability efforts. The cellar has skylights to let in natural light and also has two entire roofs with solar panels that provide almost 15 per cent of their electricity requirements. With rainwater harvesting, composting, spot application at vineyards and encouraging natural predators, Sula’s green efforts are quite commendable. “Our aim is to reduce our water consumption by 5 per cent every year and do our bit to conserve natural resources,” he said.

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Autism

Showing up when you feel like you can’t

Dealing with autism in your child is more than a daily challenge – but what doesn’t challenge you, won’t change you.
Kamini Lakhaniby Kamini Lakhani

Part 6 of the Autism Diaries – It’s when you go on when you think you can’t that defines who you are

Recently, I had ‘one of those days’. You know, when everything seems to be going wrong. There were difficult meetings, distraught moms, family issues…

The thing about being professional is that you have to ‘show up’ – and show up with a smile!

Meeting 1 was with the family of a 14-year-old, a case of High Functioning Autism, integrated into regular school. What could be the problem? It turns out: plenty. He’s being bullied at school, which is causing him and his parents tremendous stress. Added to this, he has an elephantine memory (not good in this case). So he remembers everything that was said to him since grade 3! He suffers from low self esteem, too. He can’t state one good thing about himself. Imagine how badly his psyche has been affected.

I totally understand what the parents are going through. When you’re just this distance away from ‘recovery’, it is the most painful!  So near…and yet so far. His mother was experiencing a real low that day. In all my years of working with her, I had never seen her break down like this.

Meeting 2 – with a mom of an 18-year-old delightful young lady who has come a long way. Mom was upset after attending a wedding. There was nothing really ‘wrong’. But what was creating turmoil within mom, were her own feelings. Seeing her daughter with her ‘normal’ cousins brought up the pain again. Why wasn’t her daughter like her other cousins? Would she ever make plans with friends and go out? Would she ever get married?

Both scenarios shook me up. I understand what low self esteem feels like. I’m afraid of the damage and the repercussions on the child. I understand what Mom 2 felt, too. My nephew is exactly the same age as my son – they were born just three weeks apart. As much as I count my blessings, it hurts that my Mohit did not go to university and that he may never marry and ‘settle down’ like his other cousins.

We’re working on the best outcomes for all our families.  At that point of time, both mothers were looking for reassurance and understanding. I wanted to hug them and say “I understand”. What I Dealing with an autistic childdid not want to do was give superfluous advice. It had to be heartfelt. It had to be something that I had experienced, or else, it would be empty.

What had I experienced that helped me emerge from the blues? I thought of my yoga class (my favourite!). Once a month, my teacher gives me a free hand to push my limits and do as many ‘Surya Namaskars’ as I want. I take the challenge to push myself to my maximum limits. I come up with a number that is beyond my capacity. I may feel that I’m about to collapse, that I should stop. But I don’t. I want to nail it. I want to feel the exhilaration and the rush. I want to experience the joy of victory and of pushing myself off the cliff!

So where I am going with all this?

When I achieve something that is physically very difficult for me, it gives me the courage and the confidence to undertake something that is mentally challenging. The mental follows the physical. After a strenuous class like this, my mind state is altered. I can deal with what I’m going through. I’m in a high-life state. The common factor is the determination to continue – especially when the going gets tough.

Here is what my spiritual mentor Dr Daisaku Ikeda says:

“Whether we regard difficulties in life as misfortune or whether we view them as good fortune depends entirely on how much we have forged our inner determination. It all depends on our attitude or inner state of life. With a dauntless spirit, we can lead a cheerful and thoroughly enjoyable life. We can develop a ‘self’ of such fortitude that we can look forward to life’s trials and tribulations with a sense of profound elation and joy. Come on, obstacles! I’ve been expecting you! This is the chance that I’ve been waiting for!”

I’m certainly not there as yet, but I would definitely want to be. We have to remember that we are running a marathon and not a sprint. And that’s exactly what I told these incredible moms. Are we going to ride these waves of adversity, or are we going to drown?

Have you experienced something like this? Have you thrown yourself off a ‘cliff’ and emerged stronger? I would love to hear your view point. And if you have questions related to autism and other learning conditions, feel free to email me at saiconnections01@gmail.com. I will be glad to help.

Kamini Lakhani is the founder of SAI Connections. She is a Behaviour Analyst, an RDI (Relationship Development Intervention) Consultant, Supervisor and Trainer responsible for RDI professional training in India and the Middle East. She is the mother of an adult on the Autism Spectrum. She is also a member of Forum for Autism..

Next: Why we hurt ourselves and people we love and how to fix it.

(Pictures courtesy stemcellforautism.com, www.parentingnation.in. Images used for representation purpose only)

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Learn

Western Railway stops rodent control operation at last minute

The operation aimed at killing at least 10,000 rats at Mumbai Central station; WR stopped the operation at the last minute.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

Here’s an interesting turn of events – today, a pest control company was to conduct a free rodent control operation at Mumbai Central station, after the Western Railway (WR) approved of the drive. However, just before the drive could commence, WR officials reportedly shut it down without assigning a reason.

Said Dr Sanjay Karamkar, owner of Laxmi Fumigation and Pest Control Ltd. “As a part of our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives, our company initiated the process of rodent control at Mumbai Central station at platform 1 to 5 yesterday, February 9, 2015. Considering the menace of rodents at railway stations and their increasing population, this initiative was a boon.We had pledged to catch about 10,000 rodents at the railway station. It was at the commencement of the drive that Western Railway Administration got cold feet about the publicity and the apparent defamation that it would face, considering the huge number of rodents at the station. They then compelled us to abort the process.”

In 2014, the same company had successfully caught 8,000 mice in a hospital in Indore. Dr Karamkar says he had all the requisite permissions from WR for the drive, which was a free pest control operation. “The Railway administration had agreed and granted us the permission, but on the day of the operation when 15 of our representatives were about to begin their operation, they were stopped by the railway authorities and were asked to leave the premises without any explanation,” he claimed.

Dr Karamkar added that despite questioning the authorities, he was asked not to continue with the drive and no explanation was given for the revocation of permission. He also alleged that WR was probably afraid of bad publicity after the drive. On his part, he has issued a written complaint to the Union Railway Minister, Suresh Prabhu, against Western Railway administration, by email.

(Picture courtesy moreindia.in)

Categories
Trends

Municipal schools seeing more dropouts every year

A Praja Foundation White Paper projects a 63.6 per cent retention rate for year 2015-2016, lower than last year’s 70.6 per cent.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

It is by now a known reality in Mumbai that most parents are unwilling to send their children to the city’s municipal schools. A recent study by Praja Foundation has revealed that parents are worried about the quality of education provided in the city’s municipal schools, and are hence, unwilling to send their children to these schools.

The Foundation’s White Paper on the state of Municipal schools in Mumbai paints a dismal picture: “In the last five years (2009-10 and 2013-14), 51,649 children have dropped out of the municipal school system, and in the corresponding five years the Municipal budget allocation to the Education Department has more than doubled from Rs 1,255 crore to Rs 2,534 crore. In 2009-10, 10,67,477 children enrolled in Class I in municipal schools, whereas in 2013-14, this dropped to 39,663,” the Report states.

“Infrastructure-wise, BMC schools are 100 per cent compliant. However, when we compare the performance of children studying in BMC schools with those studying in other schools, (Private unaided, private aided and unrecognised), there is a huge difference. In 2013-14, students from municipal schools had a passout rate of 67 per cent compared to 83 per cent for students from other schools in Class X (SSC),” the Report adds, stating further that the highest numbers of dropouts in 2013-14 were in the Hindi medium (17 per cent) and Urdu medium (13.1 per cent).

Praja has also suggested an action plan to tackle the problem:

– More transparency and accountability in the Education Department.

– Empower and strengthen school management committees (SMCs) to improve accountability at the school level.

– Focus on teacher trainings, SMC trainings and capacity building; free teachers from unnecessary administrative duties.

– Rigorous filling out of Continuous Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) reports and inspection reports. Link reports with performance appraisal of respective teachers.

Read the entire White Paper here.

(Image used for representational purpose only)

Categories
Eat

Go on a culinary world tour at Ghatkopar

The World Food Festival will feature all the cuisines in the world at one spot – R City Mall in Ghatkopar. On till February 15, 2015.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

If you’re a fan of world cuisine, you should be making your way to Ghatkopar this week.

R City Mall in Ghatkopar is hosting the World Food Festival from February 7 to 15, 2015, with a delicious and diverse food menu. Visitors to the venue will get the chance to not just sample food from around the world, but also interact with famous chefs.

Apart from the array of food items, there will be also be fun activities to keep visitors occupied, of which the most popular one is learning to cook various dishes at live cooking sessions arranged in the fest.

Vvikas Aroraa, Director Sales and Marketing, Runwal Group said, “At our malls, we constantly endeavour to provide the best experience to our customers with innovative initiatives. Customers at our malls come for world class shopping and entertainment experiences. This Food Festival is a unique way of offering a wide array of cuisines under a single roof.”

Noted food companies are expected to showcase their most popular dishes at the event, and even reveal a few secret recipes. Retailers like Indigo Deli, Punjab Grill, Bowl House, Rajdhani, Banana Leaf, Taco Bell, Yokos, Zaffran and many more are participating in the food festival and offering discounts on their food menu. Few restaurants will set up their live cooking counters, such as Salad and Tiramisu dessert from Sbarro, Malbar curry and appam from Banana Leaf, Thai lemon grass prawns and Burmese Khowsuey from The Bowl House, Mughlai dishes from Zaffran, and Microwave cooking from E-Zone, among others.

Categories
Watch

Watch: ‘The Government Inspector’

The brilliant play about a small money-laundering town and an official arriving to investigate is on at the NCPA tonight.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

If you like humour and intrigue, you cannot miss this play.

The Government Inspector, an NCPA Production in collaboration with Akvarious Production, is on tonight. A group of dysfunctional actors comes together to play a group of small town money-grabbing officials. They get the shock of their lives when they learn that a government inspector is being dispatched to investigate their town and all its local dealings. Gogol’s classic is an energetic comedy of manners, taken one step further by not only satirising corruption in a small town, but also the theatre process itself.

The play has been adapted and directed by Akarsh Khurana, and stars Adhir Bhat, Hussain Dalal, Adhaar Khurana, Dilshad Edibam Khurana and others. The play is on at 7 pm tonight at the NCPA.

(Picture courtesy ncpamumbai.com)

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