The Hindu Business Line : Outsourcing old age!

Dr Sheilu Sreenivasan, President of the Dignity Foundation, which champions the cause of senior citizens, and Hiro Shroff, former journalist and author, hosted a special reception for Deborah Moggach, novelist and screenwriter who was in town to participate in the Kitab International Literary Festival. Moggach had an interesting proposition to make: She suggested outsourcing the elderly to India because "the weather's awful in Britain, pensions are shrinking; and it's cheaper to go on a budget holiday to Goa than take a train from London to Edinburgh. And, the Indian sun, low costs and traditional respect for old people will suit the elderly just fine."

Her ex-husband used to be Editor of an influential publication in Karachi where she wrote articles for Pakistani newspapers and her first book, You Must Be Sisters, a coming-of-age, autobiographical novel. She returned to England to write 14 more; her latest novel, These Foolish Things, is a black comedy about old age. Set in Bangalore and — in her story — a retirement hotel called Dunroamin, the novel is being adapted for the widescreen by the makers of the Oscar-winning film The Queen.

The Kitab Fest also served as the ideal platform for the launch of the first title in the HarperCollins Poetry series — C.P. Surendran's new collection of poems, Portrait of the Space We Occupy. Nicholas Pearson, Editorial Director, Fourth Estate UK, released the book at the well-attended event at the Oxford Bookstore.

Designed to win

The dictionary defines "design" as "thoughtful creation". Once upon a time the word was largely confined to the confabulations of academics and engineers, now it pops up everywhere, affecting our purchases and life. Recognising this, the British Council floated a competition, which attracted hundreds of entries from all over India. Priya Patil, a 27-year-old fashion/accessory designer from Mumbai was announced winner of India's Creative Future 2007 at a gala event at the NCPA recently. She won a glass bowl designed by Gillies-Jones and £3,000.

Aparna Rao of Applied Fiction, an interaction design studio based in Bangalore, won the award for the most Pioneering Vision. Sheetal Sudhir, Broadcast Designer and currently Head of on-air promotions of Channel [V], was awarded for Outstanding Entrepreneurship. Nila Madhab Panda, who represents a multimedia organisation based in Delhi, was awarded the prize for the Greatest Journey Since April 2006. The winners were selected from 18 shortlisted candidates.

Dr S.S. Badrinath of Sankara Nethralaya, Chennai, bagged the Indian Merchant Chamber Juran National Quality Medal 2006 for lifetime achievement for leadership in Quality Health Care and his contribution to the field of Social Responsibility. Three organisations — Datamatics Technologies, Mumbai, National Education Society and PT Indo Liberty — won the IMC Ramakrishna Bajaj National Quality Award 2006 in their respective categories. The winning company in the overseas category was Flex Middle East FZE, Dubai, UAE. The results of these keenly contested annual awards were announced by a panel of judges chaired by Bajaj Group chairman Rahul Bajaj. The panel comprised Novartis CMD Ranjit Shahani, LN Welingkar Institute director Dr Uday N. Salunkhe, and Deloitte Haskins & Sells Joint Managing Director Dileep Choksi.

Doggython days

2007 is Year of the Boar (Ding Hai) in China; 2006 was the Year of the Dog. The other day, someone on an online group accused animal welfare NGOs of doing lucrative business which another member thought was just too ridiculous! Can such vile things be said of Good Samaritans? But what can one expect after 40 dogs were poisoned in Thane and demands have been made for exterminating all strays. The latter demand comes from no less than two august judges of the Mumbai High Court who complained of dogs barking through the night in the vicinity of their Malabar Hill apartments. But won't dogs bark at the sight of strangers? Animal lovers however can take heart from the fact that a group called Brand One organised a doggython at the Shivaji Park with John Abraham, Dia Mirza, Isha Kopikar, and Boman Irani among others in attendance. Bow Wow Bollywood!

Ensemble encore

Kodaikanal International School, the century-old co-ed school which offers IB Music at the Diploma and Certificate levels, came to Mumbai for the first time with 60 talented musician-students. The school's Advanced Choir and String Chamber Ensemble performed at three concerts, including one for students from 25 schools. Choir Director Christopher Ostrander's original rendition of Saint Saens' Carnival of the Animals accompanied by his readings of Ogden Nash's poetry, premiered at the St Andrew's auditorium and the NCPA's Experimental Theatre where a small but appreciative audience consisting of parents and corporate honchos gave a standing ovation to the performers.

Kingfisher flew the 66-strong group of musicians and chaperones including KIS Director Geoffrey Fisher, Music Department Head David Perkins and KIS spokesperson Nancy Sanderson from Bangalore to Mumbai where Furtados provided the musical instruments, and the Taj Mahal Hotel hosted the pre-concert receptions. The choir's repertoire includes pop (Beatles) and jazz (Duke Ellington) and it was lovely to hear one of my favourites, Pie Jesu. Brahms also featured on the menu with a piano solo by Kum Seok Jung and a clarinet solo performed by Won Tae Chae, adjudged top musician at the AMIS Festival in Paris last year. Both Ensemble and Choir joined to perform Vivaldi's Gloria and Beethoven's Fantasy for Piano, for the grand finale.