In&Around

A Newsletter of The Richards Town Residents Association

Bangalore January -March 2012

wishes all residents a happy

Easter & Ugadi festival

RTRA

Richards Town
Not for sale

Vol. 8, Issue 1

Neither too old nor too young nor too unknown Little did the world dream that on the heels of the 1936 Olympics would come the tragic events of the Second World War. For 12 years of the Olympics lay dormant. Then in 1948, when some calm had been restored to the world, a new set of athletes travelled to London to improve on all the pre-war records. Two athletes a housewife and a boy wonder were to become the foremost heroes of the London Games. Even from childhood, there was something unusual about the cute little Dutch girl. Fanny Koen. Her childhood skills in athletics set her in the rank of genius. By the age of 16, she was blitzing every track and winning every race in Holland. It was then that Jan Blankers saw her run in an 800 meter race. He recognized in her a born sprinter and offered to coach her as well as marry her. By the time the war was over and 1948 had rolled around, she was almost 30 years old and the mother of two children. Sports writers in London widely agreed that such a matron could not be expected to put on much of a performance. Fannys flying feet quickly made a mockery of their worlds. First, she won the 100 meter race, then the 200 meter race in 24.4, and finally the 80 meter hurdles, setting a new Olympic record of 11.2 secs. The frosting for the Flying

Dutchwoman came in the relay race. It happened this way. The Dutch team was floundering in the 400 meter relay race. Marvelous Mama, as she was now reverently known, was placed as anchorwoman; but by the time, it was her turn to carry the baton, her team was in the fourth place. To win she must run those last 100 meters like a whirlwind. Rapidly she came on, closing the gap separating her from the Australian leader, Joyce King. Would there be enough time for her to take the lead? There was! In almost the last stride, she whipped past King

to win the event and capture the attention of fans all over the world. She had to share her glory, however, with another athlete the teenaged Robert Bruce Mathias of Tulare, California. He had barely made the U.S Team by some daring competition in the southern Pacific A.A.U games in Los Angles. With very little experience, he had won the decathlon tryouts with its wide range of events: the 100 meters and 400 meter runs, the 110 meter high hurdles, the running broad jump, the running high jump, the discus, the 16 pound shot put, the

javelin throws, the pole vault and the 1500 meter run. Sixteen days later, he had qualified for the Olympic team by winning the national A.A.U decathlon championship at Bloomfield, New Jersey. Now, eight weeks later, he was the boy wonder competing against the worlds greatest athletes in London. Amazingly, when his score for the decathlon was added up, Mathias had 6,386 points and his nearest rival 6,264. It was a tremendous performance for one so young competing against the worlds best and most experienced athletes.

The ensuing London Olympics is certain to throw up new heroes. Our very own Hockey Team is back in the Olympic Gold hunt. We wish them the very best and shall root for them from the living rooms, glued to our TV sets. Our Womens Team, sadly missed out qualifying for the London Olympics in the finals. Let us not lose heartin this issue, read the story of the Indian Womens Hockey Team of the early 60s, many of them from our very own side of Bangalore. The Chak de Girls of Frazer Town. Pradeep

Chak De Girls of Fraser Town

by Jacqueline Colaco
The film Chak de India made waves this year, but little is known that it was the fraser town girls who were in the spotlight of Indian womens hockey during the 60s and 70s. led by the famous Elvira Britto who captained both Mysore and India, and flanked by her sisters Priscilla, Rita and Mae, also in the team from the area were Gabrielle Pinto, Joyce Browne, Julianna Kurien, Rajiney Chainaney, Margaret de Conceicao, Shirley Titus, Tara Jani Sait, Shoba Sreedharan, Usha Naidu and Jacqueline Colaco, to name a few. Mr. V.V. Naidu, our then coach is now 89 years old and we ourselves are either senior citizens or on the verge thereof. Mysore, at that time boasted of at least six of its team representing India, with Elvera as the Indian Womens Hockey Team Captain. My family used to fondly call me legs eleven because I played hockey. Little did I imagine then, that I would have to substitute the hockey stick for a walking stick in later years, when I was struck with rheumatoid arthritis. I started playing hockey at the age of thirteen, with a hand-me-down stick from a friend of my father, Rev. Fr. Pat Aranjo. by fifteen, I was selected to join the Mysore

State team in the company of such greats as Elvera and Rita Britto, Heather Faville (former Miss India), Patricia Rathnaswamy, Shirley Briggs, Nirmala Mandanna,

Durdhana Gill and Joyce Browne to name some teammates. this was in 1964 and mysore were national champions continuously (Continued see Page 3)

In & Around Richards Town

Editor Speak
1. The Richards Park has a fresh bore well on the western side of the park perimeter. This translates into a much-needed relief for the plants within the park area, which depended on water tankers for its existence. 2. Some footpaths have been refurbished; the quality of workmanship may raise an eyebrow or two, but a relief nevertheless. The Davis Road footpath is under renovation, with red tiles and adequate number of shoulder drains. This work is under progress for quite a while.we will get there sooner than later! 3. The underpass opposite the Frazer Town Police Station is now motor able. Thanks to the initiative of the Traffic Inspector of the area, and some inputs by the residents representatives. 4. The connectivity on Pottery Road, opposite the Abattoir, is much smoother. The black topped bitumen has brought much relief to residents of the area. 5. Your Association is handholding the authorities for setting up of a pre-paid Auto Stand opposite the East Railway Station. 6. The shortage of water in the area is being managed. An effort to identify all the main Water Valves, its operators and a regulated timing is being attempted, so that just about everyone gets an equal share of this precious resource. The valvemen and their mobile numbers are being captured and their operations monitored. The water tankers, who fleece residents, need to be kept at bay. These are some of the many relevant action undertaken by your resident representatives. Much more needs to be done and we need hands to assist in paperwork, follow-up and supervision of works ongoing. Citizens, awake and participate. Be the change you want to see around you. Pradeep

Dear Residents, The month of March sees frantic activity in the civic space. Budgets are given a look-over by the powers to be, and if sums of money does lie dormant all these months, is spent quickly, sometimes wisely too. On the other hand, Resident Welfare Association such as RTRA, prepares for a round of meeting with the Civic Agencies, to chalk out the requirements of the area for the new financial year ahead. Wish-lists are prepared after much deliberation amongst the resident representatives, shelves of paper requests and justifications are prepared and submitted for consideration of the civic services providers. Over the last few years, this exercise has resulted in much needed improvements to our area; perhaps, even a status quo with some cosmetic changes has resulted in enhancing the quality of life for the area citizens. Take a quick reality check of recent activity:

FOOD MART SUPER MARKET

FREE HOME DELIVERY
No. 14. VIVIANI ROAD, FRAZER TOWN BANGALORE 560 005 PH:

25465214, CELL: 9980151360

Presidents Report
Dear Fellow Residents, At the outset, I wish you and family a very Happy Udagi. May the New Year bring contentment, peace and success in all our endeavours. Your Association is spearheading improvements in this part of Bangalore. We do see change happening, sometimes it does take time, a lot of time and effort too. We see integrity deficit, trust deficit and hard work deficit in the system, which looks after our city. The RTRA spends a good deal of time cajoling, encouraging and follows up work with various agencies that provide us the amenities. We have our share of success and disappointments when work progress slowly. Rest assured, we shall continue steadfast, to do our best to bring about a change that we what to see around us. John Pinto

Secretarys Report
D e a r Residents, Davis road footpath work is getting completed, hopefully the work turns out better than the work done on Viviani Road . I fail to understand how can a engineer approve of footpath work where the drainage slabs are placed four inches above the other level of the footpath . The footpath is divided into two sections one four inches above the other which makes it hard for people to walk. A simple leveling of the slab section would have made the footpath level and easy to walk, but I think you cannot expect simple solutions from the BBMP engineers. It is quite frustrating to tell the BBMP engineers what to do and still the work is not done properly. The footpath opposite HABITAT SERENITY APTS in Viviani Road is sloping at 30 degrees , how do you expect any normal person to walk on them. The Contractor has done his job and gone away and now it is the residents who has to suffer, the reason for the slope is that water may not stagnate during monsoon. There is more rainfall in Mumbai than in Bangalore but I have not seen any footpath in Mumbai sloping 30 degrees. The debris from the drainage pipe laying are still lying on Viviani Road opposite Adams Hall and the road has still not been asphalted. It is now more than six months since the work got completed. We have given complaints to the BBMP / POLICE regarding the Hawkers opposite INDIA CEYLON MISSION on Pottery Road but no action is being taken. It looks like this side of Pottery Road will also turn out like the other side opposite the slaughter house. The footpaths were levelled and tiled so that the Hawkers can have a level playing field . The two Hawkers are occupying around thousand square feet of footpath and Road with Tempo and Trucks. The road opposite the slaughter house has been asphalted after a very long time hope to a have smooth journey on this road. The railway overbridge connecting Pottery Road to Ratansingh Road has finally been rectified with the cables being neatly tied and the walkway being cleared of all pipes. After seeing the footpath work done on Wheeler Road extention we had requested our MLA Mr Prasanna Kumar that we would like to have the same type of footpath on Davis Road , We are thankful to Mr Prasanna Kumar, our Corportor and Mr Manjunath AE BBMP that the work carried out on Davis Road is of a better quality than the other footpaths. TheRichards Park has a new borewell. This is the on western side of the park and the yield is good. We hopefully should have park clean and green once again. This is the outcome of the constant follow up and interaction of the RTRA with the BBMP Horticulture Department. - P.K. Shetty

New Drain Cover over underpass, Frazer Town.

Ill design Footpath, Viviani Road

Asphalted Road oppsite abbatoir, Pottery Road.

Footpath encrochment by vendors, Pottery Road, Oppsite India Ceylon Mission

Poor excution of Footpath, Viviani Road

Davis Road Footpath under progress.

In & Around Richards Town In & Around Richards Town

HIGH COURT RULING ON CDP ZONING

Verdict barring shops in residential areas stuns, creates flutter A High Court verdict of January 25th is both a stunner and relief for frustrated citizens in Bangalore. Whether it will be implemented and how, remains to be seen. In a major ruling, the High Court has ordered that commercial buildings not be allowed in residential zones in Bangalore from now on. The court passed the interim order on January 25th in a case filed by Citizens Action Forum (CAF), Sadashivnagar RWA and 12 individuals in 2008. Petitioners had challenged BDAs Revised Master Plan (RMP 2005-2015), based on Action Forum; a city based federation of civic groups and is one of the key petitioners on the litigation. Very quickly, it got forwarded onto other lists run by civic activists and the word was out. The verdict, despite being an interim one, is a stunner, especially for frustrated citizens in Bangalore. Civic champions from Rajrajeswari Nagar to Koramangala to Sahakarnagar and Whitefield have long since railed that the city has come under rampant and even reckless commercialisation, lead to gobbling up of land. Bangalore has also witnessed a pushback from civic champions, both in the courts areas mentioned in the 95 CDP should left as such, going forward. Advocate for petitioners Aditya Sondhi, speaking toCitizen Mattersover telephone, say those officials will have to abide by the order from this week. The Bangalore Revised Master Plan 2005-15 volume 2 is very large sized, weighty and hardbound document that may require two people to carry. It costs Rs.5000 to get it at the BDA. Pic: Meera K. Koramangala-based Menon, is pleased with the order. Within a residential zone there can be specific areas where some kind of commercial activities can happen, but it cannot happen everywhere. Wthout the requisite infrastructure in place (water, sewage, roads, public transport), an area cannot and should not be commercialised, leading to a living hell, he says. Dr A Ravindra, former Karnataka chief secretary, ABIDe member and chairman of the governmentappointed committee in 2009 that studied commercialisation of residential areas, was also stunned at the order. The RMP is a statutory document and city cannot go back to 1995 in legal terms. It is not clear how the order will be implemented. I have to study the order first, he says. Mixed zoning in RMP was introduced partly to regularise what had already happened (1995-2005), surmises Ravindra. Long story In the PIL filed in 2008, the petitioners, all Bangaloreans, had challenged the Karnataka state governments approval of the RMP itself. It pointed out that no development plan for the city could be formulated without the involvement of BMRDA, as per BMRDA Act. The BDA got involved in formulating the RMP and the BMRDA was not. Also government ignored changes to the draft RMP recommended by BMRDA, petitioners had claimed. Also, the public had filed about 7,200 objections on the draft. The then state government had constituted a review committee under P S S Thomas, Former Advisor to Planning Commission, to look into the plan. The committee disagreed with proposed zonal regulations, designation of roads in residential areas as commercial axes etc. But the draft was approved ignoring all these, allege petitioners. Menon however, would not rejoice at the verdict. The fight is far from over. This is an interim order; even full orders of the court are often not implemented, he is quick to add. Hearings will now be held on the fate of commercial properties that have already come up in mixed zones after the RMP was notified. The High Court will take this on in its next hearing, when counsels for the state government and BDA will

RTRA NEWS
be present. There will be a separate order for these properties, says Sondhi. By Navya P K, Subramaniam Vincent 1. Accidents will happen in the best regulated families. (Used by Sir Walter Scott in 1823.It means that even the most efficient organization is not infallible. It is used as a consolation for mistakes made) 2. Any port in a storm. (In times of difficulty or danger any refuge is better than none) 3. Blessed is he who expects nothing, for he shall never be th disappointed.(Alexander Pope, who wrote this on oct 6 1727,in a letter to John Gay, described it as a ninth beatitude added to the eighth in the scripture.ref is to matthew,5,3-10. 4. Boys will be boys. (Boys are boys, said the Latin proverb and th employ themselves in boyish matters. On 7 June 1981, when Israeli air force destroyed a newly built, to be commissioned Iraqi nuclear reactor on a secret raid, a surprised and shocked president Ronald Regan just said the above proverb. 5. Call no man happy till he is dead. (This cynical proverb suggests that life is bound to be so bad that no living person can ever be happy) 6. Call a spade a spade. (Speak plainly and to the point, saying exactly what you mean and using the simplest terms. In Arnold Bennetts novel, the card published in 1911, Mrs. Machin says: ye can call it influenza if ye like. There was no influenza in my young days. We called a cold a cold. 7. Desires are nourished by delays. (The longer we are kept waiting for something, the more we want it. 8. Do not wear out your welcome. (A similar proverb A constant guest is never welcome) 9. Every ass likes to hear himself bray. (The donkey ass is supposed to be fond of its own ugly voice. In the same way, foolish people seem to be fond of their own voices, since they talk too much. 10. Every why has a wherefore. (There is a reason for everything) (Excrepts taken from the book ENGLISH PROVERBS EXPLAINED by Ronald Ridout & Clifford Witting) Dr Flemingson MDS, georgedentalclinic@gmail.com

3 3

ENGLISH PROVERBS EXPLAINED

which land use zones are demarcated. A division bench of the court lead by Chief Justice Vikramjit Sen asked the government to go back the citys master plan of 1995-2005 for limits on commercial activity in residential areas. News of this emerged first when an email urgently summarising the interim order was sent by Vijayan Menon on January 25th afternoon on the Save Koramangala mailing list. Menon is a member of Citizens

and on the streets, wanting to restore sanity. At the heart of the litigation is the concept of mixed zoning that was introduced in the current RMP (Revised Master Plan 2005-15) . Mixed zones could have commercial buildings in areas that were previously marked as residential in BDAs 1995-2005 CDP. The High Court ordered that such commercialisation should be stopped and that residential

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In & Around Richards Town

Continued from Page 1 from 1960 to 1968. Our theme song was five pennies, which we sang as we ran on to the field for a match. I played for Mysore till 1968, during which time I captained the state Junior and Bangalore University teams. Thereafter, I went to Mumbai to work with Bank of Baroda and was selected to represent Mumbai and moved on to represent India in 1971. It was fun playing hockey in Bangalore. There were three main clubs Bangalore Sporting ( to which I belonged), Eagles and I club. Most of our tournaments were held on BRV Ground (now Chinnaswamy Stadium) or Sullivan Police Ground. There was keen competition among the teams and to get selected for the State Team

Chak De Girls of Fraser Town....

and was tough. The KSWHA was managed by the late Mrs. Gool Tarapore, who would throw a sumptuous party at her regal residence on spencer Road, after every national win. The late Mrs. Britto and Mrs. de Conceicao were the other grand ladies who motivated us by their motherly prodding. The veteran dapper V.V. Naidu was our coach, (as strict as Shah Rukh Khan in chake de) ably assisted by V.J.De Cruze and A.MacBride. We played the game for the sheer love of it. Even when representing the State, all we were given was one pair of shorts and shirt, and perhaps a stick. God help if we had to play matches on consecutive days our clothes would be starched with perspiration. If a stick broke, hopefully one of the substitutes would lend hers. One shining treat after State practice was the trip on our cycles to Nilgiris for a tall glass of cold milk. And when we won a tournament, we would celebrate at Breeze Restaurant also on Brigade Road. The winning cup would be filled with beer and sipped by all, as we munched on masala dosai topped by a cup of coffee. We practised twice daily and I cycled to and from Fraser Town with another trip to college sandwiched between. We often had practice against the boys of Royal Hockey Club or the officers of army units. Tea parties at the army mess after practice were something to look forward to, with handsome young army guys dancing attendance on us. These were the thrills and frills for us no money nor endorsements; but what I learned from those days has stood me in good stead through life to be a leader as well as a member of a team; to be competitive, but not cut throat; to be sporting and gracious, both on and off the job, and to play the game of life, for the sheer love of it!

Einsteins Puzzle
Einstein created such puzzles not to test out intelligence but to get rid of all the students who wanted him as an advisor. It is not likely that there is any truth to these stories. Wherever this comes from, it is a nice riddle. Let us assume that there are five houses of different colors next to each other on the same road. In each house lives a man of a different nationality. Every man has his favorite drink, his favorite brand of cigarettes, and keeps pets of a particular kind. The Englishman lives in the red house. The Swede keeps dogs. The Dane drinks tea. The green house is just to the left of the white one. The owner of the green house drinks coffee. The Pall Mall smoker keeps birds. The owner of the yellow house smokes Dunhills. The man in the centre house drinks milk. The Norwegian lives in the first house. The Blend smoker has a neighbour who keeps cats. The man who smokes Blue Masters drinks beer. The man who keeps horses lives next to the Dunhill smoker. The German smokes Prince. The Norwegian lives next to the blue house. The Blend smoker has a neighbour who drinks water. The question to be answered is: Who keeps fish?

Answer : In the Next Issue

TRAFFIC HIGHLIGHTS
K. K. Uppal - Jt. Secretary
Repair of the underpass was pending since past 6 months; the shoddy work done by BBMP did not last more than a month. We had been requesting with BBMP/JC East and the EE-BBMP this be repaired by the same contractor as it was substandard work. However, there was no action taken. Ultimately, Mr Kasim Raja, Inspector Traffic, Frazer Town, took initiative and personally got the underpass repaired . Now there is smooth and without any bump flow of traffic for which he should be commended. His pro activeness in organizing this repair is laudable. By this initiative he has demonstrated that he is willing to take up and execute work which will help a smooth flow of traffic. RTRA and its committee would like to place on record its gratitude to him for his commendable action taken. We hope that he will continue the good work being done and we are always willing to support him in other works too. At the interactive meeting held with the Traffic Police a proposal was initiated for the installation of PELICAN LIGHTS opposite East Railway Station and St. Charles High School for easy crossing of pedestrians and school children. A Pre-Paid Auto stand Opposite East Railway Station will be installed shortly for the convenience of passengers and the local public. The Inspector advised all to call and report autos that demand excess fare or do not want to ply. Mr Kasim was requested regarding the haphazard parking of pre-paid taxis on Hall Road, which he promised to look into.

Yes folks. Write in to us. We would love to publish and share your views with our residents.
Write to the Editor: esinnas@yahoo.com

DO YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY?

DO YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO SELL?

Let us have the ad matter. It will do your business a whole lot of good. Our newsletter reaches over 10,000 households and decision makers. The fee is tiny, the pay back H U G E! We can also assist and prepare the ad material for you.
Advertise tuitions, job vacancies, items for sale, etc., in our Classifieds.

DO YOU WANT TO PROMOTE A PRODUCT?

Offer discount coupons, promotional flyers, Dine-in discounts, etc. In and Around Richards Town is the best media choice. Heres the arithmetic 10,000 high disposable income households x 4 plus persons per household. Thats a cool 40,000 eyeballs in and around Richards Town, Frazer Town, Cox Town, Lingarajapuram, Banaswadi, etc. Grab the opportunity to assist a dynamic Residents Welfare Association with proven credentials and at the same time acquire a customer base. To Advertise in In and Around Richards Town - Contact: P.K.Shetty : Mob: 9738870033 K.K. Uppal : Mob: 9341228845 K.G.Shashidhar : Mob: 98450 03126 Zaffar Sait : Mob: 96321 76226 Become a MEMBER too & assist your Town to become Clean and Green. Membership fee is just Rs.100/- per annum. This fee goes to defray expenditure of various inputs to aid and assist the civic agencies to improve our City. Be a part of the change you WANT to see around you.

The RTRA would like to congratulate Mr. P. RAJA IMAM KASIM Police Inspector (Traffic) Pulikeshinagar who was awarded the BEST COP OF THE YEAR 2011 by the Karnataka Police National News Journal on 2.12.2012

In & Around Richards Town

RTRA took the initiative to regulate use of PA system to reduce noise pollution in our area.
Translation of BBMP EE Pulikeshinagar letter dt 3.3.12 addressed to KG Halli Police Inspector
Sub. Request for not granting permission to hold programs in Charles School play ground which comes under the jurisdiction of K.G.Halli Police station Ref: 1) Letter from your office K.G.Halli P.S/CC/21/2012 DT 06.02.12 2) Letter from this office no K.P.A /KPA/PR 536/2011-12 DT 09.02.2012 3) Complaints from RTRA 4) Chief EE (East) no P/7467 DT 10.02.2012

With regards to above, the St Charles School Play ground in ward no 60 Sagaypuram, permission is being granted by BBMP to hold social awareness and religious programs which are being held 2-3 times every month. In these programs mostly organised by Christian organisations, senior citizens and local people have complained that the use of loud speakers by them is causing trouble and it is causing adverse effect in children who are studying for examinations in the months of Mar/Apr. So, the request to BBMP is not to grant permission considering all these factors. The above issues were discussed with Chief Engineer(East)-BBMP and they have come to a decision that while giving permission ,it has been said that the organisers should not cause any noise pollution by the use of loud speakers beyond a certain decibel level. If the organisers are found to have disobeyed this rule and have used loud speakers above the permitted level, the local police can take action against them. The form enclosed herewith has the same rule- nr 9 and if the organisers disobey this rule the police dept should take action. A copy of the form is attached herewith Sd/EE Pulikeshinagar BBMP.

Rule 9 of the form used to give permission: QUOTE: The use of loudspeakers should not disturb the local residents. In case the loud speakers are being used beyond the prescribed decibel level; your program will be stopped by the concerned police officers UNQUOTE by K.G.Shashidhar, Vice-President

By Sheila Venkat

DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM!!!!!!!!

The Story behind the picture of the Praying Hands

Back in the fifteenth century, in a tiny village nearNuremberg, liveda family with eighteen children. Eighteen! In order merely to keep foodon the table for this family, the father and head of the household, a goldsmith by profession, worked almost eighteen hours a day at his trade and any other paying chore he could find in the neighborhood. Despite their seemingly hopeless condition, two of the elder children,Albrecht and Albert, had a dream. They both wanted to pursue theirtalent for art, but they knew full well that their father would never befinancially able to send either of them to Nuremberg to study at theAcademy. After many long discussions at night in their crowded bed, the twoboys finally worked out a pact. They would toss a coin. The loser wouldgo down into the nearby mines and, with his earnings, support his brother while he attended the academy. Then, when that brother who wonthe toss completed his studies, in four years, he would support theother brother at the academy, either with sales of his artwork or,if necessary, also by laboring in the mines. They tossed a coin on aSunday morningafter church.Albrecht Durerwon the toss and went off to Nuremberg . Albert went down into the dangerous mines and, for the next fouryears, financed his brother, whose work at the academy was almost an immediate sensation. Albrechts etchings, his woodcuts, and his oils were far better than those of most of his professors, holding his handsclose to his right cheek, he said softly, No, brother. I cannot go toNuremberg . It is too late for me. Look ... look what four years in themines have done to my hands! The bones in every finger have been smashedat least once, and lately I have been suffering from arthritis so badlyin my right hand that I cannot even hold a glass to return your toast, much less make delicate lines on parchment or canvas with a pen or a brush. No, brother ...for me it is too late. More than 450 years have passed. By now, Albrecht Durers hundreds ofmasterful portraits, pen and silver-point sketches, watercolors, charcoals, woodcuts, and copper engravings hang in every greatmuseum in the world, but the odds are great that you, like most people,are familiar with only one of Albrecht Durers works. More than merely being familiar with it, you very well may have a reproduction hanging inyour home or office. One day, to pay homage to Albert for all that he had sacrificed, Albrecht Durerpainstakingly drew his brothers abused hands with palmstogether and thin fingers stretched skyward. He called his powerfuldrawing simply Hands, but the entire world almost immediately openedtheir hearts to his great masterpiece and renamed his tribute of loveThe Praying Hands. The next time you see a copy of that touching creation, take a second look.Let it be your reminder,that no one - noone -ever makes it alone!

Yes, all too often this question is being thrown at me. Now, those who have been quizzed like this - please raise your hands. There we go, quite a number of hands raised. Good. Now let us tackle this issue or should I call it a syndrome. Whatever, lets just talk about it and try to get some answers. I have always wondered why a person would say - DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM. Instinctively I am tempted to respond - NO, I am sorry but I really do NOT KNOW WHO YOU ARE. Do you want to shoot me for not knowing? Or, is it memory loss (most politicians develop this when arrested poor chaps!!) and you are relying on me to give you the answer? And, if you DO NOT KNOW WHO YOU ARE, then why are you picking my brain and wanting me to tell you WHO YOU ARE. Well, if I do, you may not like my answer so lets stop right away. Please do feel free to tell me WHO THE HELL YOU ARE. May be it is a manner of threatening common people like us. In the first place, why are we being subjected to such threats in life? As if living in this city and minding ones own business isnt threat enough? People asking this question are

either bullies of the first order because of their connections with the mafia, politicians, relatives in high places, ill-gotten or even well-gotten wealth gone to their heads, lower levels of the bureaucracy etc. They just want to flex their muscles and frighten us. The syndrome has spread to evenordinary people like ourselves in the neighborhoodand vendors in commercial places.And if by chance you confront them in any manner, at once you will hear the familiar phrase thrown at you .DO YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE TALKING TO? Why are these goons asking us this question repeatedly? Its simple, when caught or confronted in a situation in which they cannot find a way out, this question gives them an easy way out. In short it means - nobody mess with me. It is even used by people who have held positions in the past, live in the past, and continue to think that they are great and throw their weight around by asking you this question without blinking an eyelid. This squad has even converted me and now I want to be the one asking the question DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM, instead of being asked by others. Oh!Oh! WHY THIS KOLAVERI DI.!!!!!

Aspire to inspire before you expire.

and by the time he graduated, he was beginning to earn considerable fees for hiscommissioned works. When the young artist returned to his village, the Durer family held a festive dinner on their lawn to celebrate Albrechts triumphanthomecoming. After a long and memorable meal, punctuated with music andlaughter, Albrecht rose from his honored position at the head of thetable to drink a toast to his beloved brother for the years of sacrificethat had enabled Albrecht to fulfill his ambition. His closing words were, And now, Albert, blessed brother of mine, now it is your turn.Now you can go to Nuremberg to pursue your dream, and I will take careof you. All heads turned in eager expectation to the far end of the table where Albert sat, tears streaming down his pale face, shaking his lowered headfrom side to side while he sobbed and repeated, over and over, No ..no...no..no. Finally, Albert rose and wiped the tears from his cheeks. He glanceddown the long table at the faces he loved, and then,

Some sit and pontificate about

In & Around Richards Town

whether leaders are made or born. The true leader ignores such arguments and instead concentrates on developing the leadership qualities necessary for success. In this article, we are going to discuss fiveleadership traitsor leadership qualities that people look for in a leader. If you are able to increase your skill in displaying these five quality characteristics, you will make it easier for people to want to follow you. The less time you have to spend on getting others to follow you, the more time you have to spend refining exactly where you want to go and how to get there. The five leadership traits/ leadership qualities are: 1. Honest 2. Forward-Looking 3. Competent 4. Inspiring 5. Intelligent These five qualities come from Kouzes and Posners research into leadership that was done for the bookThe Leadership Challenge. Your skill at exhibiting these five leadership qualities is strongly correlated with peoples desire to follow your lead. Exhibiting these traits will inspire confidence in your leadership. Not exhibiting these traits or exhibiting the opposite of these traits will decrease your leadership influence with those around you. It is important to exhibit, model and display these traits. Simply possessing each trait is not enough; you have to display it in a way that people notice. People want to see that you actively demonstrate these leadership qualities and will not just assume that you have them. It isnt enough to just be neutral. For example, just because you are not dishonest will not cause people to recognize that you are honest. Just avoiding displays of incompetence wont inspire the same confidence as truly displaying competence. The focus of each of these five traits needs to be on what people see you donot just the things they dont see you do. Being honest isnt a matter of not lyingit is taking the extra effort to display honesty. Honesty as a Leadership Quality People want to follow an honest leader. Years ago, many employees started out by assuming that their leadership was honest simply because the authority of their position. With modern scandals, this is no longer true. When you start a leadership position, you need to assume that people will think you are a little dishonest. In order to be seen as an honest individual, you will have to go out of your way to display honesty. People will not assume you are honest simply because you have never been caught lying. One of the most frequent places where leaders miss an opportunity to display honesty is in handling mistakes. Much of a leaders job is to try new things and refine the ideas that dont work. However, many leaders want to avoid failure to the extent that they dont admit when something did not work. There was a medium size organization that was attempting to move to a less centralized structure. Instead of one location serving an entire city, they wanted

to put smaller offices throughout the entire metro area. At the same time, they were planning an expansion for headquarters to accommodate more customers at the main site. The smaller remote offices was heralded as a way to reach more customers at a lower cost and cover more demographic areas. After spending a considerable amount of money on a satellite location, it became clear that the cost structure would not support a separate smaller office. As the construction completed on the expanded headquarters building, the smaller office was closed. This was good decision making. The smaller offices seemed like a good idea, but when the advantages didnt materialize (due to poor management or incorrect assumptions) it made sense to abandon the model. This was a chance for the leadership to display honesty with the employees, be candid about why things didnt work out as expected, learn from the mistakes an move on. Unfortunately in this situation the leadership told employees that they had planned on closing the satellite location all along and it was just a temporary measure until construction was completed on the larger headquarters building. While this wasnt necessarily true, it didnt quite cross over into the area of lying. Within a few months the situation was mostly forgotten and everyone moved on. Few of the employees felt that leadership was being dishonest. However, they had passed up a marvelous opportunity to display the trait of honesty in admitting a mistake. Opportunities to display honesty on a large scale may not happen every day. As a leader, showing people that you are honest even when it means admitting to a mistake, displays a key trait that people are looking for in their leaders. By demonstrating honesty with yourself, with your organization and with outside organizations, you will increase your leadership influence. People will trust someone who actively displays honestynot just as an honest individual, but as someone who is worth following. Forward-Looking as a Leadership Trait The whole point of leadership is figuring out where to go from where you are now. While you may know where you want to go, people wont see that unless you actively communicate it with them. Remember, these traits arent just things you need to have, they are things you need to actively display to those around you. When people do not consider their leader forward-looking, that leader is usually suffering from one of two possible problems: 1. The leader doesnt have a forward-looking vision. 2. The leader is unwilling or scared to share the vision with others. When a leader doesnt have a vision for the future, it usually because they are spending so much time on today, that they havent really thought about tomorrow. On a very simplistic level this can be solved simply by

Are YOU a Leader?

setting aside some time for planning, strategizing and thinking about the future. Many times when a leader has no time to think and plan for the future, it is because they are doing a poor job of leading in the present. They have created an organization and systems that rely too much on the leader for input at every stage. Some leaders have a clear vision, but dont wish to share it with others. Most of the time they are concerned that they will lose credibility if they share a vision of the future that doesnt come about. This is a legitimate concern. However, people need to know that a leader has a strong vision for the future and a strong plan for going forward. Leaders run into trouble sharing their vision of the future when they start making promises to individuals. This goes back to the trait of honesty. If a leader tells someone that next year Im going to make you manager of your own division, that may be a promise they cant keep. The leader is probably basing this promotion on the organization meeting financial goals, but the individual will only hear the personal promise. An organization I was working with was floundering. It seemed like everyone had a different idea about what they were trying to achieve. Each department head was headed in a different direction and there was very little synergy as small fiefdoms and internal politics took their toll. Eventually a consulting firm was called in to help fix the problem. They analyzed the situation, talked to customers, talked to employees and set up a meeting with the CEO. They were going to ask him about his vision for the future. The employees were excited that finally there would be a report stating the direction for the organization. After the meeting, the consultants came out shaking their heads. The employees asked how the important question had gone to which the consultants replied, we asked him, but you arent going to like the answer. The CEO had told the consultant that, while he had a vision and plan for the future, he wasnt going to share it with anyone because he didnt want there to be any disappointment if the goals were not reached. Leaders can communicate their goals and vision for the future without making promises that they may not be able to keep. If a leader needs to make a promise to an individual, it should be tied to certain measurable objectives being met. The CEO in the example didnt realize how much damage he was doing by not demonstrating the trait of being forward-looking by communicating his vision with the organization. The CEO was forward-looking. He had a plan and a vision and he spent a lot of time thinking about where the organization was headed. However, his fear of communicating these things to the rest of the organization hampered his leadership potential. Competency as a Leadership Quality People want to follow someone

who is competent. This doesnt mean a leader needs to be the foremost expert on every area of the entire organization, but they need to be able to demonstrate competency. For a leader to demonstrate that they are competent, it isnt enough to just avoid displaying incompetency. Some people will assume you are competent because of your leadership position, but most will have to see demonstrations before deciding that you are competent. When people under your leadership look at some action you have taken and think, that just goes to show why he is the one in charge, you are demonstrating competency. If these moments are infrequent, it is likely that some demonstrations of competency will help boost your leadership influence. Like the other traits, it isnt enough for a leader to be competent. They must demonstrate competency in a way that people notice. This can be a delicate balance. There is a danger of drawing too much attention to yourself in a way that makes the leader seem arrogant. Another potential danger is that of minimizing others contributions and appearing to take credit for the work of others. As a leader, one of the safest ways to toot you own horn without blowing it, is to celebrate and bring attention to team achievements. In this way you indirectly point out your competency as a leader. Inspiration as a Leadership Trait People want to be inspired. In fact, there is a whole class of people who will follow an inspiring leadereven when the leader has no other qualities. If you have developed the other traits in this article, being inspiring is usually just a matter of communicating clearly and with passion. Being inspiring means telling people how your organization is going to change the world. A great example of inspiration is when Steve Jobs stole the CEO from Pepsi by asking him, Do you want to sell sugar water for the rest of your life, or do you want to change the world? Being inspiring means showing people the big picture and helping them see beyond a narrow focus and understand how their part fits into the big picture. One technique to develop your ability to inspire is telling stories. Stories can be examples from your customers, fictitious examples from your customers, or even historical fables and myths. Stories can help you vividly illustrate what you are trying to communicate. Stories that communicate on an emotional level help communicate deeper than words and leave an imprint much stronger than anything you can achieve through a simple stating of the facts. Learning to be inspiring is not easyparticularly for individuals lacking in charisma. It can be learned. Take note of people who inspire you and analyze the way they communicate. Look for ways to passionately express your vision. While there will always be room for improvement, a small investment in effort and

awareness will give you a significant improvement in this leadership trait. Intelligence as a Leadership Trait Intelligence is something that can be difficult to develop. The road toward becoming more intelligent is difficult, long and cant be completed without investing considerable time. Developing intelligence is a lifestyle choice. Your college graduation was the beginning of your education, not the end. In fact, much of what is taught in college functions merely as a foundational language for lifelong educational experiences. To develop intelligence you need to commit to continual learning both formally and informally. With modern advances in distance, education it is easy to take a class or two each year from well respected professors in the evening at your computer. Informally, you can develop a great deal of intelligence in any field simply by investing a reasonable amount of time to reading on a daily basis. The fact is that most people wont make a regular investment in their education. Spending 30 minutes of focused reading every day will give you 182 hours of study time each year. For the most part, people will notice if you are intelligent by observing your behavior and attitude. Trying to display your intelligence is likely to be counterproductive. One of the greatest signs of someone who is truly intelligent is humility. The greater your education, the greater your understanding of how little we really understand. You can demonstrate your intelligence by gently leading people toward understanding even when you know the answer. Your focus needs to be on helping others learnnot demonstrating how smart you are. Arrogance will put you in a position where people are secretly hopeful that youll make a mistake and appear foolish. As unintuitive as it may seem, one of the best ways to exhibit intelligence is by asking questions. Learning from the people you lead by asking intelligent thoughtful questions will do more to enhance your intelligence credibility than just about anything. Of course this means you need to be capable of asking intelligent questions. Everyone considers themselves intelligent. If you ask them to explain parts of their area of expertise and spend the time to really understand (as demonstrated by asking questions), their opinion of your intelligence will go up. After all, you now know more about what makes them so intelligent, so you must be smart as well. Your ability to demonstrate respect for the intellect of others will probably do more to influence the perception of your intellect than your actual intelligence. Summary of the Five Leadership Qualities By consciously making an effort to exhibit these traits, people will be more likely to follow you. These are the most important traits that people look for in their leaders. By exhibiting them on a regular basis, you will be able to grow your influence to its potential as a Leader! - by Pradeep

Making Richards Town A Nice Place To Live

N Ahmedali, Past President-RTRA
Ever since we moved into this town in 1996, I have heard so many once upon a time in Richards Town stories that I tend to wonder whether some of them are actually true. But I do remember my father who visited us when we earlier lived in Frazer Town telling us after his evening walk just across Mosque Road Bridge, there is a small town which is so quiet, serene and peaceful. When Rizwan Razack of Prestige brought us to show Mayfair in late 1995, my wife and I were convinced that this would be the place we would like to live in Bangalore! The 1990s saw the transformation of Bangalore from the garden city - pensioners paradise - green city to a hightech, international and the fastest growing city in Asia. And just as any other town, Richards Town too changed old houses gave way to apartments; shops, commercial ventures, traffic, littering, hawkers just kept increasing. Richards Town has also become a transit way for traffic going to other destinations. As many residents may recall the situation worsened when ITC flyover work commenced in 2001 and we had to represent to the Commissioner of Police for relief. With growing population, commercialisation and urbanization this is bound to happen. Often there are traffic jams on Davis Road, and on either sides of Pottery Road near the railway underpasses and Tannery Road junction, denying residents an exit, and getting all the vehicles on these into a trap. Can we stop this growth? Certainly not, but we can definitely manage it. And our association RTRA has and can continue to play a lead role. The residents of our town must realize and acknowledge that but for our association; perhaps we would have had many more offices, call centres and other commercial activities in our town. It was hearting to note that in the residential apartment prices published in the Times of India of November 18, 2011 rating of Richards Town stands fifth highest, ahead of Indranagar, Koramangala, Frazer Town, Jayanagar and others Our town has the scope and the potential to become the leading model town in Bangalore as it is blessed by its location and a legacy of a beautiful park, broad roads, huge green trees and a cosmopolitan middle class population. A little effort by the residents and support for the right cause of the association will make our vision a possibility. Here are a few thoughts: Garbage/Litter: Thanks to the RTRA team household garbage is managed reasonably well in our town. Lets stop littering on roads, pavements, park and also stop others by personally telling them not to so. Embarrass them by picking up the litter they throw yourself and set an example. Some of us have tried it and it works. Lets warn the hawkers/tea vendors that if their activities increase littering, we will take action. Traffic: We could study the traffic flow; we have some experts in Slums: Our association is pursing for adequate resettlement and housing for the slum dwellers on Pottery Road. Once the

In & Around Richards Town

residents installing burglar alarms and reverse horns on their cars. This can be avoided .It is banned in most parts of the developed world. Place of worship:

construction of the resettlement flats are ready, they have promised to remove them from the footpaths. Posters:

We need to build relationship with the concerned authorities in places of worship and help them to preserve the dignity and holiness of the place. They will respect the sentiments and feelings of the residents if approached in the right way. BBMP/BWSSB Workmanship: While our association is doing their best to ensure that repair works on roads, water pipes etc are done as per standard prescribed in their work o r d e r s , residents too can question when shoddy work is done by the contractor. If they do not respond, the residents could take up this matter to the concerned department or let our association committee member know. Lets simply not accept them. Cable contractors: Often the cable contractors lay the cables in shoddy way.

Unauthorized posters are displayed on trees and other places. Normally they give some telephone numbers. Give them a call to remove the posters; warn them that the posters on walls, utility poles and trees are illegal. Awareness: Our paper In & Around Richards Town stands out from

amongst the various others of its kind. It has a class. Through this and other means lets raise the civic awareness of our residents. Periodic social events and fellowship activities will help us bond better and live as good neighbours. Recreation Centre: With growing traffic our residents, especially senior citizens find it difficult to travel to find some recreation. There is a vacant BBMP owned land on Davis road. A suggestion has come to ask BMP to help us build a Recreation Centre/ Club on this land. Most clubs in Bangalore are on BBMP or Government leased land. An attempt can be made to see if this is possible. We are

our town. Is there a need for traffic leading to Hennur Road/ Tannery Road/Nagawara Main Road to transit through the interior roads of our town? The traffic hold up on Davis Road due to the signal at junction of Hennur Road / Davis Road could be studied. The signal timings at peak hours and after Sunday Prayer services needs review. Noise Pollution: Every other day there is some function on the nearby grounds / around our town. It becomes impossible for nearby residents to stay at home due to the deafening noise. The loudspeakers are played beyond the decibels prescribed by law. A united action by the residents can bring pressure on the police not to give permission, if this nuisance is on a regular basis. There are also too many

Many a time they leave the old cables without taking them away. Pull them up, otherwise after a few days just get them removed. Footpaths: On the representation made by our association, the footpaths are being re-laid, but rather slowly. No construction material or work can be carried on public footpaths. You must raise objection to builders using footpaths for storing their construction material and bar bending purposes. Please avoid parking your vehicles or keeping your personal belonging or waste on the footpaths. The footpath is for a pedestrian alone.

blessed with some very committed and experienced members in our town and if we as residents are able to strengthen and support them, the above thoughts can be translated into actions. Fortunately we also have developed good relationships with some of the senior government officials and they have been extending support. Lets work together to make our town a Nice Place to Live.

In & Around Richards Town

The Last Post

Of Clutter Clearing....
By JACQUELINE COLACO
start by opening up a large wooden box, a great hideaway for stuff, under what functions as my divan. I was overawed by the surprises that tumbled out; stuff from my parental home in its day I am beginning to think that I need a clutter counsellor, because this area of ones life seems to be the hardest to tackle, especially when you have collected sixty odd years of miscellany around you. But in bottomless box. Lots of crystal/ glass dishes purchased by me during my own sojourn in New York during the eighties. In my last year there, I shopped till I dropped, imagining Id come back to India and live in Buckingham Palace style! Still, the box is handy to plunge into when one hurriedly needs to give a gift, and these collections come in useful. So after this great exercise the box is half full. Great achievement! But wait, I did not close the box as I thought what a waste of good storage space, and so, when on to the cupboards, it was a simple task of clutter reorganization instead of clearing. All that the cupboards contained was precious. Again, the thought of that rainy day which looms in our minds when we have to part with unwanted stuff, popped up large as life. The box thus once again took care of the extras. As a result, I still have loads of unneeded possessions ranging from a Walkman to VCR and TV of ancient vintage, a wealth of LPs and Audio/Video cassettes (believe they are catching the worlds fancy again, so arent I wise?); clothes so out of fashion from decades ago that theyre back in fashion too. An uncountable number of other odds and ends still lie around, especially in the kitchen. Papers too pile up for constant sorting. And what if I add whats stored in the computeranother universe in itself, with CDs and DVDs to boot In the final analysis - well - gold and silver have I none, so what the heck, let me cling on to all these inconsequential treasures collected over my six decades, each of which has a special memory attached to its acquisition! But, but, but a most challenging and niggling task still remains cleansing the clutter of mind, heart and soul (and not to forget that of the body FAT!). A resolution for 2012 perhaps

This is too poignant for anyone who has been to a Military Funeral: Do you know the story behind The Last Post ? If not, I think you will be interested to find out about its humble beginnings...... Reportedly, it all began in 1862 during the American Civil War, when Union Army Captain Robert Ellicombewas with his men near Harrisons Landing in Virginia.The Confederate Army was on the other side of the narrow strip of land. During the night, Captain Ellicombe heard the moans of a soldier who lay severely wounded on the field. Not knowing if it was aUnion or Confederate soldier, the Captain decided to risk his life and bring the stricken man back for medical attention. Crawling on his stomach through the gunfire, the Captain reached the stricken soldier and began pulling him toward his encampment. When the Captain finally reached his own lines, he discovered it was actually a Confederate soldier, but the soldier was dead. The Captain lit a lantern and suddenly caught his breath and went numb with shock. In the dim light, he saw the face of the soldier. It was his own son. The boy had been studying music in the South when the war broke out. Without telling his father, the boy enlisted in the Confederate Army. The following morning, heartbroken, the father asked permission of his superiors to give his son a full military burial, despite his enemy status. His request was only partially granted. The Captain had asked if he could have a group of Army band members play a funeral dirge for his son at the funeral. The request was turned down since the soldier was a

Confederate. But, out of respect for the father, they did say they could give him only one musician. The Captain chose a bugler. He asked the bugler to play a series of musical notes he had found on a piece of paper in the pocket of the dead youths uniform. This wish was granted. The haunting melody, we now know as The Last Post used at military funerals was born. The words are:Day is done. Gone the sun. From the lakes From the hills. From the sky. All is well. Safely rest. God is nigh. Fading light. Dims the sight. And a star. Gems the sky. Gleaming bright. From afar. Drawing nigh. Falls the night. Thanks and praise. For our days. Neath the sun Neath the stars. Neath the sky As we go. This we know. God is nigh I too have felt the chills while listening to The Last Post but I have never seen all the words to the song until now. I didnt even know there was more than one verse I also never knew the story

all earnestness I have made an attempt. Turning sixty, two plus years ago, jolted me into the realization that I had now moved into the fragile bracket of the living, and so it was time to put my life (or should I say after life) in order. In all fairness to myself, I got cracking and within three months had done with the making of my will and instructions for donating my body for medical research, so that my after life clutter causes no dilemmas. Now to the present, which is proving more difficult. I made a behind the song and I didnt know if you had either so I thought Id pass it along. I now have an even deeper respect for the song than I did before. My hair still stands up and I get goose pimples every time... Remember Those Lost and Harmed While Serving Their Country. Also Remember Those Who Have Served And Returned; and for those presently serving in the Armed Forces.. Make this a Prayer wheel for our soldiers....

of elegant entertaining - fish forks and knives, after dinner coffee spoons, some bits of china crockery, an assortment of this and that, other pieces of which had gone to my siblings. As a natural consequence, my memories drifted back to the days of that home, with its houseful of seven children. Those were the days, so how could I throw away these lovely reminders, although redundant as far as now using them in my own home is concerned. Nostalgically, I placed them back in the box. What else came out was easier to deal with an array of steel tiffin boxes- the giveaways from my erstwhile employer Bank of Baroda, every Foundation Day. These I pulled out and have since distributed to eager maids. Hurrah! One step forward. There were other things as well; you cannot imagine how large that box is! I think it was used by my uncle Gerry DSouza, an army man during WWII, because it bears his name painted on top of it. Thereafter I guess my parents found it useful to cart their bulky household from place to place on every railway transfer. Lets not digress however, as there was more to find in this

Edited by : Pradeep E Sinnas - 99456 97276. Designed & Composed by G. Murali - 9945211787. Printed and published at Angel Prints, Kammanahalli Main Road, Blore - 84. Mob: 9739966415 While all due care has been taken, the Editor and Publisher shall not be held responsible for any inadvertant errors.