Mama, Mamool & Blackberry

In a first of its kind move in India, the Kerala government is handing over Blackberry phones to traffic police so that offenders can be booked on the spot and RTO records can also be retrieved instantly.

Traffic offenders here have to be doubly careful from now as the city traffic police, perhaps for the first time in the country, are armed with Blackberry mobiles, especially designed to track down vehicle details from Regional Transport Office database in a jiffy.

Under the pilot project launched by Kerala Government, complete information about the vehicle and its owner could be instantly accessed by policemen using Blackberry mobile phones, which hitherto remained a proud possession of the elite class, especially top company executives. (Link)

I'm not sure whether the cops would welcome such a high-tech move. The traffic police team needs to be trained in using the Blackberry so that they can make full use of it. Otherwise, there is a risk that the handheld device might become a show-off object. The traffic police normally uses the threat of booking an offence to extract 'mamool' from the public. Will the Blackberry result in lesser bribes and increased productivity? Time only can tell.

Wise Chancellor?

RT Sabapathy Mohan, Vice Chancellor of Manonmaniam Sundaranar University is no stranger to controversy. He owes his post to his allegiance to the DMK and time and again, the man tries to promote the party in his official capacity. Few months ago, Sabapathy Mohan used University funds to congratulate the CM on some achievement and now he has been caught in yet another controversy. The VC was a Chief Guest at a sports event and he seems to have gone out of the way to promote the DMK. 

  

The girls of the winning team were flashing a ‘V’ sign, indicating victory and this seemed to remind the Vice-Chancellor of the two leaf sign of the AIADMK. He suddenly took everyone by surprise when he caught hold of the wrists of one of the players, unfolding the remaining fingers like that of the DMK’s symbol, the rising sun. The incident shocked the woman coach of the team, Balvinder Gour, who was seen trying to stop the Vice Chancellor. Since the players were not aware of Tamil Nadu politics, they too were taken aback by the Vice-Chancellor’s odd behaviour. (Source - New Indian Express)

The same VC was invited to attend a Tamil-related event in Singapore last year and I came to know that the man spoke mostly about the DMK. A man holding the office of a Vice Chancellor needs to maintain certain basic decorum and having such people at the top would only bring disrepute to the state and the university.

One More Indian Fraudster Arrested

It's the season for dubious businessmen to face reality. The man who shot to fame selling electronics (mostly TVs and Hi-Fis) at dirt cheap prices in the 90s is the latest Indian businessman to end up behind bars. Kabir Mulchandani has been arrested in Dubai for duping customers in real estate transactions. Back in the 90s, Kabir ran a firm called Baron International and sold cheap electronics products under brands like Akai, Aiwa and TCL. The TVs used to be priced around Rs 10K when most other brands used to cost upwards of Rs 20K. Kabir also made a name for himself bundling the different products and offering unbelievable exchange offers. The fact that he couldn't run a brand for more than 2 years, probably hinted that his model was not sustainable. Since the brands didn't last long, he lost the consumers' trust since people had concerns about after sales service and repairs. It looks like Kabir's family had moved to the Middle East after running up huge debts in India. 

Scores of investors have been allegedly defrauded of over US$ 100 million by Mulchandani, chairman of `Dynasty Zarooni'. At least 10 members of an `investment club,' which last year promised huge profits from the company's preferential access to real estate deals, have lodged complaints against Mulchandani, his Emirati business partner, Hilal Al Zarooni, their joint venture `Dynasty Zarooni' and two other employees. 

Investors say Mulchandani in March received subscription fees of US$ 81,697 (Rs 40 lakh) a month from 12 members. He promised them returns of US$ 272,242 (Rs 1.3 crore) a month after six months, or US$ 1,633,453 (Rs 8 crore) in September. Zarooni is reported to have denied any participation in, or knowledge of, a fraudulent scheme. "One hundred per cent I deny this, there is nothing illegal whatsoever,'' he said. (Link)

Does Your Name Need Cosmetic Changes?

Altering names because of numerology is nothing new. The interesting trend over the recent years is the type of changes which people make to their names. It's pretty common to come across additions like a and e. Some of the examples are Raadhikaa Sarathkumar, T R Baalu and S Ve Shekher. A popular film comedian who makes fun of social evils also patronizes numerology and prefers to use Vivekh.

One normally notices such changes to individual names in the field of politics, film industry and business. It's surprising to see even listed companies adopting numerology. The case in point here is Karur K.C.P Packkagings Ltd. The man behind this company is called K C Pallanishamy. The company Chairman might have probably got a bulk discount from the astrologer for changing his name and the company name.

Actor Jeeva is now Jiiva. I wonder whether the actor's fortunes have changed after the import of 2 i's. Another name which caught my eye is TN Congress President KV Thankgabaalu who has added the letters k and a to his name. Few other names which attracted attention are Gangai Amaren, Premgi Amaren and Rajhesh Vaidhya.

One of the strangest uses of numerology that I have come across is that of Sathyajyothi Films Thyagarajan. The man uses a dot before his first initial and his name reads .T.G Thyagarajan.

To the best of my knowledge, it looks like the people mentioned above have used numerology to revitalize their names and careers. If there is any factual inaccuracy in the above, do bring it to my attention so that I can make amends.

Do respond on some of the unusual 'numerological' names that you have come across. Please ignore Pondicherry names (like Coomarasamy) which are real names and are not connected with numerology. I am also interested in knowing whether the people who have changed their names have really attained success post the name change.

Accused #2 in Satyam Fraud: Srinivas Vadlamani

Although Ramalinga Raju has absolved his entire senior management of any wrongdoings, it is common knowledge that a financial crime of such magnitude could not have been committed without the knowledge of the bean counters. The person in focus here is Srinivas Vadlamani, the Chief 'Fraud' Officer of Satyam. Willingly or unwillingly, Srinivas has been party to the accounting irregularities at Satyam. Ramalinga Raju is lying when he says that his CFO and other top management were not involved. Given where things stand, Srinivas should have either been sacked or he should have resigned on his own. The more time he is given to remain in Satyam, he could cover up or hide some of the irregularities to protect himself or some of the other executives. Alteast the interim CEO Ram Mynampati should have mentioned that he is appointing a new interim CFO to assist him. The CFO has lost the trust to continue in his current role and nobody (including the ineffective Board) seems to be bothered about throwing Srinivas out.

Update: Interim CEO Ram Mynampati informs during the press conference that CFO Srinivas Vadlamani has not been in office for the past week. Srinivas has sent in his resignation today and the Board is yet to act on it.

Satyam's Books Were Fudged, Raju Resigns

After the aborted Maytas deal, questions were raised about the future of Satyam and its current management and there were lot of rumours in the Indian media about the likely candidates who might acquire / merge with Satyam. In what can be termed as a dramatic turnaround, Satyam's chairman Ramalinga Raju has resigned after admitting some serious irregularities in its books. Among the frauds are some time tested tricks like inflating sales, inflating profits and understating liabilities. The inflated profits led to the huge pile of 'fictitious' cash in the balance sheet. This 'cash' was the one which was to be used for the proposed Maytas acquisition. The unusually large amount of cash (that too lying in their Current Account) on Satyam's balance sheet had raised some concerns earlier. Satyam management never did anything to allay these fears. It looks like the worst has come true.

Satyam Computer Services' decision to keep large amounts of excess cash in current accounts which do not yield interest income is raising eyebrows and prompting questions about why it has been growing the hoard of idle surplus money. 

As speculation increases about the amount of available cash that is being shown in the books of India's fourth largest software exporter, at least one major brokerage firms saying it has concerns about cash utilisation at the Satyam, describing it as "baffling." (Link)

The full text of Ramalinga Raju's letter to the Board is available on Livemint site.

He said that the balance sheet has inflated cash & bank balance of Rs 5040 crore. No board member had any knowledge of the real situation as against books. The balance sheet was inflated and accrued interest of Rs 376 crore in the books is non-existent.

He further writes in the letter that Rs 1230 crore was arranged to Satyam, which is not reflected in books. 

Raju in his letter further said that the Q2FY09 reported revenues of Rs 2700 crore Vs actual revenue of Rs 2112 crore. The Q2FY09 operating margin reported was Rs 649 crore against Rs 61 crore. The Q2FY09 numbers had Rs 588 crore of artificial cash in books.

He said that he is prepared to subject himself to law of the land and face the consequences. The account manipulation started several years ago. An attempt to eliminate the manipulation was failed, he added. (Link)

Although corporate frauds and accounting irregularities have come to light in the west (Enron), this is one of the biggest of its kind in India. If a company of the scale and repute like Satyam indulges in such activities, there may be numerous other smaller frauds happening in the small and medium sized listed companies which may never be unearthed.

Normally, the first one to face the flak in such a circumstance would be the auditors. We saw it in Enron where Arthur Andersen was in the spotlight. Similarly, PriceWaterhouse Coopers (PWC) would have to face the heat over their involvement in this whole issue.

Raju's excuse that the accounts were fudged and profits were overstated to project that thecompany was financially stable and to ward off any takeover attempt because of the negligible  promoter stake is simply unacceptable. It is like saying that I copied in the exam to avoid being scolded by my parents and teachers. 

Satyam's future looks bleak in its current form. DSP Merrill Lynch, which was appointed to look at strategic options has also backed out. There is also the risk that lot of the contract renewals might not come through because of the credibility issue. In this economic climate, taking over a company with over 50,000 people is not an easy task. The buyer needs to work with a lot of unknowns and it is going to be a fire sale.

If all this drama had not happened, Maytas acquisition might have gone through and that might actually have benefited the shareholders as real assets were to be infused by parting with the fictitious cash.

How soon can we expect Ramalinga Raju to be arrested?

Seeking Foreign Accreditation

Ramachandra Guha on the general craze for seeking an overseas stamp of approval and also about Sri Sri Ravishankar:

I recently wrote a piece in a Delhi magazine about a Bangalore-based holy man lobbying for the Nobel Peace Prize. Among the mails I received was one which enclosed, as proof of the holy man’s holiness, the English translation of an article in an obscure Finnish weekly which praised him and his works. My article had made it plain that I too counted Bangalore as my home town and place of residence. Why then did the correspondent suppose that I would place the verdict of a Finnish magazine above the evidence of my own eyes? (Link)

Matchmaking For The Well-heeled

The people behind Bharat Matrimony have launched a new matrimony website targetting the HNI (High Networth Individuals) segment. 

Elitematrimony.com, launched by Consim Info Pvt Limted, formerly known as Bharat Matrimony group, is all about the elite read money getting married. With a membership fee of Rs 1 lakh for six months, it considers only people with deep pockets and entry is by invitation only.

Giving details, Murugavel Janakiraman, founder and CEO, Consim Info, said: “Once the applicants send in their requests, the team will verify the details, check their background and see if they fulfil the criteria.” The criteria is simple. You need to be either from a rich and established business family or a celebrity, a sports star, an IAS officer or a socially well-known person. Another category is high net-worth individuals - people with a more than healthy bank balance and an enviable portfolio. (Link)

To be considered as Elite, people need to justify why they think they are elite. Looks like Relationship Manager is the new word for what was commonly referred to as "Marriage Broker". My guess is that the HNI segment is more likely to be well connected and hence the need for them to seek an arranged marriage through EliteMatrimony.com would be lesser. Further, whenever middlemen are involved in the matchmaking process, there is a high likelihood that half-truths and lies would come in as the middlemen are incentivized when they strike a deal. It is probably cheaper and more effective to search for suitable brides and grooms directly through BharathMatrimony.com than paying Rs. 1 lakh and entrusting the search to a Relationship Manager. It remains to be seen whether having RM's similar to that in the Private Banking industry can succeed in the Matchmaking market. Let's see if Murugavel Janakiraman can come up with a winner this time.  

Designer Bags For Hire

We have heard of book rentals, video rentals and car rentals. Somebody went ahead and thought of a business that rents out bags to fashion-conscious women. The next time you wan't to be spotted in a Coach, Prada or a Louis Vitton, you should probably consider Thatbagiwant.com.sg, a recently launched luxury bag rental service in Singapore whose prices are cheaper than the real purchase but not really budget. I think the primary targets would be women who want to try out different brands and bags (flippers). Given the amount of fakes and lookalikes that are in circulation, one of the challenges the business might face is the need to check whether the returned bags are original. 

At ThatBagIWant.com, you do not have to earn a 5-digit salary to carry the bag you desire. No, they are NOT your second-hand or imitation goods. In fact, all the bags are purchased from authentic boutiques themselves. So then you sceptically ask, “How come it is much cheaper?”

With the rental option, customers can rent often at half the cost of buying the bag, before moving on to another "it" bag.

Some women also use this service to check out a particular bag they're thinking about buying. (Link)

The interesting snippet here is that the bag rental business has been started by a former policeman who has personally witnessed lot of people shop lifting such bags from boutiques and retail stores.

In'toll'erable

The toll plaza on Old Mahabalipuram Road (OMR) seems to have started off on a negative note with complaints pouring in from various sections. It has also provided good photo opportunities to the photo journalists who seem to have had a day out capturing the long queues and the disgruntled passengers / commuters. As expected, lot of the complaints are from people who reside in that stretch where the Toll Road is located as they don't seem to have the necessary documentation to access their homes. If I remember correctly, very similar problems cropped up when the ECR Toll plaza was commissioned sometime back. 

With every vehicle taking about 3-4 minutes to cross any of the five toll plazas located on and off Rajiv Gandhi Salai, vehicles lined up one behind another closely. Due to the slow movement at the main toll plaza in Perungudi, the traffic jam extended up to almost the TIDEL Park junction. Consequentially, several employees reported late for work.

Frayed tempers and heated arguments were also witnessed with many of users, particularly autorickshaw drivers, questioning why they should pay the toll. (Link)

With employees of companies located on the IT Corridor facing more hassles it is high time companies start thinking seriously about telecommuting. (Photo Courtesty: New Indian Express)

Fabulous news for 'Scrabulous' brothers

Kolkata boys Rajat and Jayant Agarwalla of RJ Softwares can now heave a sigh of relief as Hasbro has dropped its case against the Agarwallas for copyright infringement. I think both sides have lost because of this battle. RJ Softwares launched Wordscraper (for Facebook) and renamed their website as Lexulous.com. I'm not sure whether the response for Wordscaper would have measured up to the popularity of Scrabulous. The Official Facebook version of Scrabble has also not managed to garner a substantial audience. 

The Scrabulous site launched in 2005 and the game was added to Facebook in 2007. But a Hasbro representative told CNET News in July that the company waited, "in deference to the fans," to file its lawsuit until it launched its official Scrabble Facebook app earlier in July. That version was created by Electronic Arts and is used by a mere 8,900 daily users. (Link)

Caught in such a Lose-Lose situation, I think it was wise enough for Hasbro to withdraw the case.

Flying In A Private Jet To Beg For Money

The US automobile industry is facing its biggest crisis ever and the head honchos of the Big 3 Auto makers (GM, Ford and Chrysler) are lobbying hard for a government bailout. The CEOs of these companies were in Washington DC recently to meet up with the government authorities. The 3 CEOs flew to Washington DC in their own private jets and this has attracted widespread criticism at a time when their companies are in dire need of cash. Critics say that the CEOs should have gone for commercial airlines or jet-pooling instead of flying in 3 different private jets from Detroit to Washington DC. 

Some lawmakers lashed out at the CEOs of the Big Three auto companies Wednesday for flying private jets to Washington to request taxpayer bailout money.

"There is a delicious irony in seeing private luxury jets flying into Washington, D.C., and people coming off of them with tin cups in their hand, saying that they're going to be trimming down and streamlining their businesses," Rep. Gary Ackerman, D-New York, told the chief executive officers of Ford, Chrysler and General Motors at a hearing of the House Financial Services Committee.

"It's almost like seeing a guy show up at the soup kitchen in high hat and tuxedo. It kind of makes you a little bit suspicious."

He added, "couldn't you all have downgraded to first class or jet-pooled or something to get here? It would have at least sent a message that you do get it."

When contacted by CNN, the three auto companies defended the CEOs' travel as standard procedure.

Like many other major corporations, all three have policies requiring their CEOs to travel in private jets for safety reasons.

"Making a big to-do about this when issues vital to the jobs of millions of Americans are being discussed in Washington is diverting attention away from a critical debate that will determine the future health of the auto industry and the American economy," GM spokesman Tom Wilkinson said in a statement. (Link)

Junior Vikatan on Saravana Bhavan case

Follow up post on Saravana Bhavan Shivakumar's involvement in US Visa Fraud.

Junior Vikatan has a cover story on the same topic with lot of juicy info about the relationship between Shivakumar and his dad Annachi Rajagopal. It also highlights the irregularities going on in some of the overseas operations of Saravana Bhavan.

நம்மூரில் உணவு பரிமாறும் சர்வர்களுக்கு டிப்ஸ் கொடுப் போம். ஆனால், வெளிநாட்டு உணவகங்களில் அந்த டிப்ஸ், சர்வர் முதல் அடுப்படியில் இருக்கும் ஊழியர்வரை போய்ச் சேர்கிற மாதிரியாக ஏற்பாடு செய்யப்பட்டிருக்கும். ஒவ்வொரு உணவகத்திலும் ஒரு பெட்டி இருக்கும். அதில் விருப்பப்பட்டவர்கள் தங்கள் டிப்ஸைப் போடலாம். இரவானதும் அதை உணவக ஊழியர்கள் பிரித்து எடுத்துக் கொள்வார்கள். இப்படித்தான் சிங்கப்பூர் சரவணபவன் கிளையிலும் நடந்து வந்தது. ஆனால், சிவகுமார் பொறுப்பேற்ற பிறகு, டிப்ஸ் பெட்டியைத் தன் வசப்படுத்திக் கொண்டார். அது நிர்வாகத்துக்கே சொந்தம் என்று சொல்லத் தொடங்கினார். இதனால் ஆத்திரமடைந்த ஊழியர் ஒருவர் சிவகுமாரை ஏக வசனத்தில் பேச, இருவருக்கும் கைகலப்பு ஏற்பட்டது. அது அந்த ஊர் போலீஸ் வரை போக, விவகாரம் சீரியஸானது. பிறகு அந்த ஊழியரின் குடும்பத்தினரிடம் பேசி, கணிசமான தொகை கொடுத்து ஏகப்பட்ட சலுகைகளையும் கொடுத்து சமாதானப்படுத்தினார் சிவகுமார். (விகடன் வழியாக)

Saravana Bhavan involved in US visa fraud

Unlike South East Asian countries, it's not easy obtaining visa to the West. R Sivakumar, son of Saravana Bhavan owner Annachi Rajagopal has been arrested in Chennai for submitting improper information for taking some staff to work in the US. I guess it's probably easy (in relative terms) to take chefs to foreign shores but it gets a bit difficult if they try to take waiters and other support staff.

R. Siva Kumar (40), one of the proprietors of Saravana Bhavan hotels, was taken into custody by the Crime Branch CID police here on Saturday night. He was accused of furnishing false information to obtain a U.S. visa for four persons.

According to CB-CID sources, Siva Kumar had tried to secure visa for four persons on the pretext of taking them to the U.S. on a fun trip. During interview at the U.S. Consulate, officials found that their profile did not match with what was actually provided. (Link)

Most of Saravana Bhavan's international expansion has been with the help of Hot Breads Mahadevan. I wonder whether Sivakumar consulted Mahadevan before trying out such tactics. With money power on their side, I won't be surprised if Sivakumar is relieved from this case pretty soon.

Update:

According to Times of India, the people involved in the visa fraud were cooks and were about to be taken to the US under the guise of attending an industrial expo.

The four men, he had claimed, were production executives proceeding to Chicago for an international industrial fair on packaging and processing. But US immigration officials found that they were supervisors employed in his restaurants at Chennai and UAE to help customers. According to police sources, Sivakumar claimed that the four were being taken abroad to help him purchase advanced packaging equipment.

Last Monday, the four met US Consulate officials for an interview. “During verification, Consulate officials found that the four employees had very little knowledge about catering machinery and that Sivakumar had falsely prepared documents and given them false designations only to get them into the US. Anthony K Ramirez, assistant regional security officer at the Consulate, lodged a complaint with the CB-CID seeking action,” a senior police officer said.

In his complaint, Ramirez said he suspected that Sivakumar had devised a plan to get them jobs in the US after getting them tourist visas and that he had devised a cover — delegates visiting an expo in Chicago — to clear the way. He said he suspected that Sivakumar was involved in human trafficking. (Link)

IBN Live has a video report on the same issue.

Follow-up post relating to Junior Vikatan Cover Story.

Will Rebranding of Jobs Work?

Malaysia's Deputy Prime Minister thinks he can win over the support of the Indian community by giving jazzier job titles.

Ethnic Indian barbers will be called hairstylists and cooks will be referred to as chefs from now on, as part of a “better deal” that would include more jobs, nationalisation of Tamil schools, and regularisation of the stateless, Malaysia’s deputy prime minister and premier-elect Najib Tun Razak has said.

MIC’s long-time president and Razak’s former ministerial colleague S Samy Vellu was present at the function.

“MIC president Datuk Seri S Samy Vellu has asked me to no longer refer to those cutting hair as barbers but as hairstylists. Likewise, Indian cooks will be referred to as chefs,” he said. (Link)

Related Post: A Job Title That's Meant To Impress

Kuruvis in the limelight

The Kuruvi (hand- carrier) menace at Singapore's Changi Airport has made it to The Straits Times. In an article in its Sunday edition, the newspaper highlights the growing problem. Usually there will be a bunch of 5 - 10 kuruvis hanging around check-in counters of airlines not having luggage restrictions. Even full-service premium carriers like Jet Airways and Singapore Airlines are not spared. The primary target of these kuruvis is a single male traveller (mostly Indian workers) with limited luggage. They spot such travellers at a distance and approach them with their request. Just outside the check-in counters there will be multiple trolleys full of LCD TVs, Plasma TVs, Hi-Fi systems and musical keyboards. The average kuruvi is a middle-aged male (maybe pot-bellied) and his shirt is usually not tucked in. This may amount to stereotyping, but this profiling holds good for majority of such touts. 

Mostly male Indian nationals from Tamil Nadu, these touts are known to accost Chennai-bound Air India passengers with light baggage.

They offer money if the passenger agrees to check in items such as rice cookers and large Sony Bravia and Samsung LCD television sets.

Passengers are paid $7 per kg, which works out to about $140 for a 32-inch TV set and $40 for a rice cooker. 

When The Sunday Times visited the airport last Friday evening, we spotted at least six men touting outside Row 6 and Row 10 in Terminal 1, the check-in counters for Air India and Air India Express flights.

Business seemed brisk. More than 10 people holding air tickets were seen carting the TV sets to the check-in counters.

The touts, mostly in their 30s to 40s, tend to target male travellers. According to observers, they turn up at the check-in counters every morning and evening when flights to Chennai depart.

They arrive with airport trolleys stacked with boxes of the items, which they park at one side while they scout for passengers. (Link)

Just before the Diwali weekend, I was at the Jet Airways check-in counter and spotted the kuruvis approaching few educated young men. The passengers refused to carry the luggage. Few other workers accepted the offer and were promised Rs. 1500 upon arrival at Chennai airport. The kuruvis then made some distinctive marks on the packages so that their counterparts can identify the luggage upon arrival in Chennai. Jet Airways is the only India-bound carrier flying from the shining new Terminal 3 which started operations this Jan. The presence of such kuruvis is an eyesore to the new terminal. Once the check-in process was over, the Kuruvis took back their unshipped goods with them. Maybe, it was check-in time for another Chennai-bound flight. (All pics courtesy: The Sunday Times). 

How The Wealthy Cope With A Downturn?

Tabla! is a newly launched free weekly paper in a tabloid format and it reaches out to the growing Indian (expat) community in Singapore. Run by Singapore Press Holdings (SPH), Tabla! is a welcome addition to the Singapore media space. The latest issue has a cover story capturing the agony an Indian American family is going through in the US as a result of the global financial turmoil. A closer read reveals that the article is a syndicated news item from LA Times.

For months, Mona has anxiously awaited daily calls from her husband while he is at work. They live in Edison, a comfortable suburb in central New Jersey and a 90-minute commute by train from her husband's office in Manhattan.

For the last two years, Amar, 36, has run a technology unit in the capital markets division for Lehman Bros. until it went bankrupt and was bought in part by Barclays. He's still there, adjusting with the change in management. His salary at Lehman's was $400,000, including a bonus and restricted stock options. Amar's base salary, about $200,000, remains the same, but there are no reports yet on what will happen to 2008 bonuses and options. (Link)

While the problems highlighted in the article are real, I'm not sure whether the case would find sympathy with the larger audience at a time when even people not related to the banking industry are suffering the pain in the form of retrenchments, investment losses etc. Most reactions would be similar to what Finally Frugal says in his blog:

Truly, though, I don't think I can stand to read too many more articles about Wall Street wives (or employees, or whatever) who were making upwards of $200,000 and more a year, who are now forced to (gasp!) clean their own houses and make their own meals. (Link)

So much fuss over a Mookuthi

We have read many stories about European universities banning religious headgear (like turbans), but this is the first time I’m coming across a story where an educational institution has opposed the wearing of a Mookuthi (nose-stud).

A South African school student of Indian descent has been waging a legal battle with her school (Link in Tamil) in order to uphold her right to wear the mookuthi. The school didn't allow the mookuthi as it was not permitted under the school's code of conduct.

A young Tamil-origin woman in South Africa is sticking to her contention that wearing of a nose stud is a time-honoured tradition and that it’s her constitutional right to do so.

Pillay stood her ground since 2004 when the school demanded that she stop wearing the nose ring. But her mother, Navi Pillay, contended from the start that wearing of a nose stud was a right for passage for adolescent girls whose lineage can be traced to south India. The school, however, banned the girl from wearing the nose stud and the Pillay family took the case to the Durban High Court, which ruled in favour of the school. [Link]

Let’s hope Sunali Pillay succeeds in her battle and the school appreciates and understands the feelings of people from different cultures and religions.

An Early Bird

An absent-minded passenger seems to have flown Air Sahara one week ahead of his scheduled departure date and this discrepancy has not caught the eyes of the airport authorities and the airline officials. (via)

Mr Srinivas told the BBC it all began with his getting the date wrong.

"I had fixed a meeting in Kochi on 18 February. My tickets were booked accordingly. But somehow I thought I was leaving a week earlier on 11 February."

No one at Delhi airport picked up his error.

"The security at the airport entrance looked at my e-ticket and waved me in. Another security man looked at it too," Mr Srinivas says. [Link]

The poor guy might have ended paying one more time for his travel (flight tickets) as per his original schedule. The only other option for him would have been to stay back in Kochi for one week.