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Goa goes traditional on Ganeshutsav

Far from Mumbai’s raucous Ganpati celebration, many devout Hindu families in Goa celebrate the festival with dignity and quiet faith.
by Gajanan Khergamker and Sriddhi | gajanan@draftcraft.in, www.draftcraft.in

Ganeshutsav is Maharashtra’s most prized…and Mumbai’s landmark festival. In sharp contrast to the psychedelic ‘lighting’, the colossal ‘mandaps’ and endless sea of crazed dancers accompanying the ‘visarjan’, lies the festival’s traditional, family-centric avatar in India’s smallest state, Goa. The idols here are all made of mud and clay as a rule.

So, however far and wide a family’s members move beyond their ancestral homes in Goa, come Ganeshutsav, they make a beeline for their roots. Reliving the joint family saga, almost all Hindu families across Goa bring the God of Knowledge home for at least five days. The ‘hall’ is decorated with multi-hued plastic ribbons forming a play of patterns on the ceiling leading to the murti usually bought from the Maharashtra-Goa border at Sawantwadi.

In a modest house at a quaint Arambol in North Goa, Sarika Naik rushes to complete her daily chores and pre-pooja formalities before the pundit arrives. Work doesn’t stop for Sarika but there is a spring in her step as she hurries about offering tea to guests, getting the pooja samagri in place and attend to her in-laws visiting for the five-day fiesta.

Ganeshutsav is the Goan Hindu’s most cherished festival. It binds families together during this period. Unlike Mumbaikars, Goans prefer celebrating Ganeshutsav in the most traditional manner. An idol of Lord Ganesha is established in the ancestral home and all members of the family and the extended family come together to live in the house for the entire duration of the festival. A daily pooja takes place in the presence of a pundit and traditional meals, which include puri–bhaji and neori (known as karanja in Maharashtra) and modak.

In contrast, in Maharashtra, particularly Mumbai, Ganeshutsav is perceived as an opportunity to display stark commercialism and vulgar show of pomp and wealth. Often, Sarvajanik Ganeshutsavs are organised to extort monies from local businesses who pay up more for fear of reprisal rather than devotion. The money involved in even creating a Mumbai Ganesha Mandap complete with decorations and security is phenomenal.

And opposed to the pack-and-go kind of Ganeshutsavs celebrated by families in Mumbai for a series of reasons that include lack of space, dearth of time and a shift in values systems, most Goan families have been celebrating Ganesha Chaturthi for generations together.

Putting profit on the back-burner, Goa shuts shop during Ganeshutsav. Bars down their shutters, hotels operate at bare minimum for local needs and markets open up just for a bit for essentials during this period. “It’s a holiday for a full 11 days during Ganeshutsav in the whole of Goa,” says Francis Fernandes, a resident.

It was Lokmanya Tilak who had initiated the public celebration of the festival which went on to be known as the Sarvajanik Ganesh Utsav. Over the years, families started installing the idol at home for shorter periods of time. And, today almost every Hindu family in Goa has its own Ganesha idol during the festival. The Ganeshutsav celebrations in Goa are predominantly traditional and family driven as opposed to the commercial extravaganza in Mumbai.

The mostly fish-eating families do not cook any fish or meat, even abstain from the use of onion or garlic during the five days they house the Lord. Alcohol, a tax-exempted commodity consumed widely in Goa, is strictly prohibited during this period. After installation of the idol, the next most important day is that of visarjan. Once again, unlike Mumbai where the idols are carted along public roads amid fanfare and cacophony, in Goa, families of an area get together and meet at a pre-determined place where all the idols are placed in a tempo or small truck and transported to a local water body which may be a lake or a nearby river side where they are collectively immersed.

In Mumbai, the installation and immersion is an ear-splitting public affair. Few families manage to get the Lord home for a range of reasons. The families here are nuclear in nature and with the constraints of time and lifestyle, Ganeshutsav too assumes urban proportions. It is a social festival in Mumbai, where even traditional aartis are mixed with bhangra beats.

In contrast, at Goa, it’s a family affair with daily poojas, ethnic food, local bhajans and traditional aartis. It is not that there aren’t any Sarvajanik Ganesha Mandals in Goa: every village in the State has at least one, like Mandrem’s Sarvajanik Ganeshutsav Mandal which keeps an 11-day socially-driven celebration so that Goan families from the area can participate after the five-day immersion of their own Ganesha. The celebrations include regional songs and dance, folk songs, bhajans, ghumat arti, kirtan, drama, etc. Local ‘heroes and performers’ are felicitated and lectures are organised to inspire and motivate the youth.

Sarvajanik in the true sense as it aims to achieve public good.

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Kharcha paani

Cheaper to buy space in city malls?

ASSOCHAM report finds that mall space in Mumbai and other metros has dropped by 30% rental value with lower footfalls.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

Rising inflation and higher living costs have taken a toll on our favourite pastime: shopping. Tighter budgets are prompting many Indians to stay away from shopping malls. This has resulted in lower footfalls and high losses for retailers. On the other hand, if you are looking to buy shop space in a mall, now might be a good time to do it.

As per a new study published by ASSOCHAM (Associated Chamber of Commerce and Industry in India), a “slowdown in consumer footfalls, coupled with online shopping that provides convenience of delivery at door steps, have led to troubles for the shopping malls which are suffering 20 to 25% vacancy rates and 30% drop in rentals in the last one year.” The study finds that this trend runs parallel to a global one, where declining footfalls in retail space in over 200 shopping malls across the US, UK and other countries has lowered commercial space rentals. In the US, the malls are facing 46% vacancy rates whereas malls in UK are impacted by 32%.

“On the other hand, the  Indian e-commerce industry appears to be unaffected by the demand slowdown and is likely to clock a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 35% and cross the $100-billion mark in value over the next five years,” the study finds, pegging the e-commerce industry in India presently at $17 billion.

Continuing on the strong growth momentum of 2015, the e-commerce industry is estimated to see a 72% increase in the average annual spending on online purchases per individual in 2016 from the current level of 65%, the study said. Online shopping mainly focusses on purchasing electronics, books, music, apparel, sporting and outdoor goods.

“It is true that the online shopping has shown handsome growth while the brick and mortar malls are witnessing slowdown. It looks that the growth in e-commerce looks impressive because of quite a low base and increasing penetration of internet,” ASSOCHAM Secretary General DS Rawat said. “The brick and mortar outlets on high streets and inside malls are trying to hold on through lower prices and deals. In India, sales in shopping malls have dipped by 25 to 30% and footfalls by 15 to 20% compared to the same period last year.”

There were around 50 operational malls in 2005, a number that rose to 610 in 2015 in top 10 cities. Additionally, with improvement in infrastructure such as logistics, broadband and Internet-ready devices, there is likely to be a significant increase in the number of consumers making purchases online, the study said. It estimates around 65 million consumers in India to buy online in 2015, as against around 40 million in 2014.

“The challenges of suburban sprawl, worsening automotive traffic, rising fuel prices and the increased difficulty of time management in modern families have made going to the mall a planned activity,” adds the paper.

Mobile technology is also having a huge impact on brick and mortar retail. Amazon recently reported that roughly 8 to 10% percent of their total sales are being generated by mobile devices, and expect this trend to continue upwards.

(Picture courtesy www.indiantravels.com. Image is used for representational purpose only)

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Hum log

This man is God for many Borivali senior citizens

Mark D’Souza has been delivering free lunches to senior citizens in IC colony since 2012; numbers of lunches are steadily increasing.
by Ravi Shet

At the core of our struggle to make money and acquire status in life is the basic human need for daily food. Most of us are lucky to receive two square meals a day, but while we have enough to eat, we take our meals for granted. Not so the countless senior citizens who are either too poor or too ill to feed themselves. What happens to these people, who do not receive daily meals?

In the lives of some of these senior citizens comes an angel in the form of Mark D’Souza (57), a real estate agent based in IC colony, Borivali. With his silver moustache and warm smile, Mark gives off a welcoming aura at first sight. But when you realise that this affable gentleman has been providing free lunches to senior citizens in the IC colony-Kandarpada belt from the year 2012, your respect for him increases manifold!

“I started delivering free lunches to senior citizens from November 14, 2012. I have always been a good planner and I have a lot of energy, so I have never missed delivering a single lunch for even one day since I started,” he beams.

There are free lunches in the world

Mark was born in Mulki, Karnataka and lost his mother at an early age. Staying with relatives and then moving to Mumbai for further studies all came with their own challenges. “I worked in Libya for six years, then I shifted back to Mumbai and set up an estate agent firm,” he explains.

It was in 2012 that Mark pondered over the question of senior citizens who are incapable of cooking their own food. “That’s when I decided that I would start a free lunch service for elderly people in the area. I took Rs 5,000 from my wife Yvonne (a social activist) and she also helped me find suitable elderly people in the area,” he says.

Everything fell into place at the right time, and from an initial five lunches, Mark delivers free lunches to 30 people in the area. Hearing of his work, many friends and well wishers also came forward to donate money, or even steel lunch boxes to encourage his efforts.

What’s cooking?

Mark’s four-compartment dabba comprises five to six chapatis, rice, sabzi and dal. On Wednesdays, there’s egg curry, while he includes chicken or fish curry on Sundays. “We cook the food in less oil, less salt and less spices. But we pack in loads of love and the food is prepared in a hygienic environment,” he explains.

The vegetables are bought daily by the husband and wife, and his cook handles the meal preparation. “I tell my cook, ‘God is watching our actions and we should not compromise on the quality of our work. When it is noon, I start my delivery schedule that goes on till 2.30 pm. It has become a part of my daily routine.” He adds that several security guards of the buildings he delivers in now know him personally and they take the dabbas off his hands and deliver them. “What do I get out of this? The smiles and blessings of the people who eat our food. And the blessings from my friends. These are priceless for me,” he smiles.

You can contact Mark D’Souza at Crrystal Care Service, K 3, Vershi Villa, Opposite IC Bakery, Near IC Post Office, IC Colony, Borivali West. His mobile number is +91 98338 53523.

(Picture courtesy Ravi Shet)

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Hum log

The man who wants to make volunteering sexy

Shalabh Sahai, co-founder and director of iVolunteer, talks about starting the country’s first volunteer service enterprise and taking it places.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

For a country long grappling with a range of issues – from dire poverty to lack of water  and public toilets – it is astonishing to note that we have not yet given a serious thought to a basic idea: Helping with time and skill.

Today, NGOs work for the betterment of society in various parts of the country, and several Indians wish to help out many development projects. How to help is the key question, and many of us take the middle ground by donating money towards social causes. But what about actual, on-ground help?

This question led to the creation of iVolunteer, a platform that engages and connects skilled and passionate volunteers with the right social causes in India and abroad. Co-founded by Shalabh Sahai (39), iVolunteer today partners over 300 NGOs and several corporates, and is best known for its innovative models like Whiteboard, GYAN and Impact Projects suited to the skill-based volunteering context in India.

We spoke to Shalabh about starting iVolunteer and what people are actually signing up for when they take up volunteering for social causes. Excerpts from the interview:

Tell us about starting iVolunteer. Why did you feel the need for it?

iVolunteerI completed my MBA studies in Rural Management from IRMA, Gujarat, and constantly noticed that what was taught in management schools was very different from what actually happened on-ground. It was like we existed in two Indias, with nothing to reconcile the two. This was in 2000, when NGOs were working in silo, and when we founded iVolunteer at this time, we felt the need to break this pattern. Every social cause needs dedicated volunteers, change cannot happen with just NGO work on the ground.

Many people donate money to social causes, but this is an impersonal contribution. Volunteering involves donating one’s time and skill and is more personal. iVolunteer was started with the idea of matching passionate people’s skills and time with a suitable cause.

What were the initial days of starting iVolunteer like?

In a year of starting, we realised that there were many takers for the idea but not many on-ground conversions. The newer generation does not have a history of working with non-profits, so there was a big disconnect. We realised that we would have to handhold both the volunteers and the NGOs initially.

This was a time when the Internet was being accessed mostly from office, so we had a lot of working professionals making inquiries. There was a lot of skill and passion coming to the table, but these were people who didn’t have too much time to spare. We devised a training module to orient new volunteers.

Which causes are people most interested in?

Education and children. In Mumbai, there were many inquiries for children’s education. People expressed a desire to teach for 2 or 3 hours on a Saturday. But we ask each potential volunteer: are you actually willing to volunteer your time every Saturday? What about social commitments? Many people rethink their initial plan after a while. But there are many others who volunteer their skills. When working with an NGO that works with children, for example, we had a volunteer with an IT background develop an app that helps track counsellor attendance. Or another could help with administrative work. There are many areas in volunteering, you just have to pick the one that matches your skill and passion.

Why would anyone go through iVolunteer when looking for volunteers?

Because we match volunteer interests to community needs and we help strategise the volunteering effort. We are able to align volunteers across geographies, skills and time availability. This saves time and cost for corporates and NGOs looking for dedicated volunteers.

Where is iVolunteer currently?

After 14 years, we have now devised different models of volunteering – short term, long term and overseas. iVolunteer sends about 40 to 50 Indian volunteers volunteer overseasevery year to such areas as Nigeria, Mongolia, East Timor, South Africa…they work in the areas of health, HIV/AIDS, NGO management, education, etc. for a little over 1 year. Over 300 Indians have already been a part of this activity.

Then we have India Fellow, a youth social leadership programme. People under 28 years of age work for 13 months in development projects in a rural or urban setting that takes them away from home. This helps them learn about society in a different context.

We also started JobsForGood, which is a platform to get full time talent in the development world.

Why did you start iVolunteer Awards?

Over 14 years of building connections in the country made us realise that nobody recognises the value of volunteering. Even when people like you and I volunteer, we do it secretly because we feel shy talking about it. This mindset needs to change – we must bring volunteering out in the open and celebrate its spirit. The iVolunteer Awards are a way of recognising excellence and best practices in volunteering today, so that a roadmap can be created and others will be inspired as well.

My aim is to make volunteering sexy, because it won’t sell till then. We need to wake up and realise how important volunteering one’s skills and time is to our development story.

 

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Read

Asiatic Library opens its doors to world scholars

Over 200 years old, the Asiatic Library’s treasures will be digitised and stored in DVD and microfilm format for reference.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

The Fort-based Asiatic Library has long been a source of study and inspiration for scores of scholars and academicians. Mumbai and the rest of the State have long revelled in the Library’s bounties. The Library contains valuable resource material, periodicals, books, magazines, newspapers and other published material.

Digitising the Asiatic LibraryHowever, users have rued the fact that the paper format publications were in a state of constant decline. This meant that this treasure trove of information would not be available to subsequent generations of readers and scholars.

This picture is set to change, however. A mega digitisation project is soon to be underway, to make the Library’s treasures accessible to scholars all over the world. The Governor of Maharashtra Ch Vidyasagar Rao on Wednesday, August 5, 2015, inaugurated the Digitisation Project of the 211-year-old Asiatic Society Library in Mumbai.

Under the digitisation project, 1 lakh books, 2,500 manusripts and 1,200 maps will be digitised and the output will be saved in the form of DVDs and microfilms. The project is expected to open up the treasures of the Asiatic Society of Mumbai to scholars in the world.

The Government of Maharashtra has sanctioned Rs 5 crore to the Asiatic Society for the digitisation project.

President of the Society SG Kale is said to have told the Governor that the Library has a collection of 2,55,463 books and bound volumes of periodicals. He further informed that the Library has a collection of more than 12,000 coins including the gold coin of Kumar Gupta, a gold muhar of Akbar and coins of Shivaji Maharaj. The Governor was shown the old manuscripts, antique books, maps and other special collections of the Library including old coins on this occasion.

(Pictures courtesy Raj Bhavan, Mumbai)

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Learn

5 things to consider when getting a new office

We present 5 factors to consider when you get new office space, to create a good working environment for staff.
by Reyna Mathur

Many start-ups don’t have the resources to open shop in swanky locations. At least for the first two years of a start-up’s life, unless it starts doing phenomenal business from the word go, there is no option but to take up a location that suits the owner’s budget. Staff members just have to go with the working space till a bigger, better one is acquired.

Though any person will prefer to work in an upmarket, well-equipped office, many start-ups begin their professional journey as a hole in the wall. However, if the business owners go beyond only economics and look for a space that meets at least the most basic needs of employees, everybody will be happy.

Here are 5 things to consider when getting a new office space.

1.Account for the number of people you are hiring. If the nature of your business is such that staff will have only desk jobs, then you will need more seating space. Some of your staff members may have roving jobs, ie marketing and sales personnel, who will require a desk. However, you can have them share their desks with other staff when they are not at work. If possible, zero in on a space that has seating for at least two extra members in the team, plus a seat for the office boy.

2. Ensure the place has a toilet and water connection. Most offices, especially the ones located on the ground floors of residential buildings do not have water connections, so there will not be a toilet inside the office. Your staff cannot spend the day without a visit to the washroom, and they can suffer health complications because of it. However, if you find that there is simply no scope to put in a toilet in the office, find out what alternate toilet arrangements you can provide the staff. You must consider that if there is no toilet inside your office or a common facility close by, women will be the first ones to refuse to work for you.

Pantry for office3. A pantry is a must. Every office should have a small pantry space, where the staff can brew tea or heat up their lunch or afternoon snacks. If you get an office with a spacious pantry space, your staff will love you for it. People like to share their lunch with each other and sit together and gossip over their afternoon tea, so if there is space to put in a common dining table, it will be a big advantage for your office. However, if there isn’t enough space for a pantry, at least ensure that you create a space for a hot plate, a microwave oven and a storage space for Styrofoam cups, sugar cubes, soup packets, spoons, plates, forks and knives. It can simply be created by segregating a suitable corner with a partition. A small refrigerator is also a bonus.

4. Check all electricity connections. When buying or leasing out an office space, you will need electricity connections for your mains, the air-conditioner, computers, water filters (if there is a water connection), printers, scanners, etc. If there are not enough plug points for all your machinery, you might need to get the space rewired and new points created as per future use. You should also check if the existing connections and fixtures work properly and all lines have been properly earthed. Take a look around to see if there is any existing leakage – if there is, there is a chance of it causing short circuits in the monsoon season. Get it rectified before you move in.

5. Check for security. In today’s times, we have to take care to ensure that our work environments are secure and there is no internal or external threat to the staff. Do not get an office in an area that suffers power outages in the evenings, and look for well-lit access roads leading to the office. Second, inquire what security measures the building has in place for the shops and offices in its premises. An armed security guard who takes down details of all visitors to the office is a bonus. However, if there is no security provided, you can install CCTVs at the entrance door, as well as a live security access door that can be clamped down under five seconds in case of a threat from outside. It is a good idea to install biometric access systems so that only bonafide staff can enter. Also ensure that the front door is fixed with shatter-proof glass panes. Inside the office, you must ensure your employees’ safety and security from theft. If necessary, install a CCTV system to keep a watch on the office floor.

(Pictures courtesy www.alliancevirtualoffices.com, www.tripadvisor.com. Images used for representational purpose only)

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