by admin | May 25, 2021 | Entrepreneurship, Interviews, Social Entrepreneur, Success Stories
Adnan Nalwala
By Vishnu Makhijani,
New Delhi : Comedy is gaining a lot of momentum in India and the challenge lies in monetising this space, says comedian-entrepreneur Adnan Nalwala, adding that comedians in this country need to come out of their “local” shells if they are to make a mark on the world stage.
“The comedy space (in India) is gaining a lot of momentum. There is a tremendous amount of talent that is there in India and it is going to continue to grow. I think the challenge lies in monetising the space and it will take some time for the industry to figure out the mechanism,” said Nalwala, born in Oman to Indian parents who has lived in eight countries and who describes himself as an entrepreneur by day and an entertainer by night.
At the same time, he felt “the topics and the creativity existing in the Western cultures is more evolved and mature”.
“The mindframe and tolerance levels towards humour is higher in the West, which allows more comedic freedom. If that happens (here) a lot more can evolve in the industry. The other aspect of the comedy is that most of the Indian comedians more focused on local content rather than global issues. If those topics are also touched up on then the world can be their platform to perform”, Nalwala told IANS in an email interview.
He felt the Indian audience is one the best to perform in front of.
“They are most accepting and are also well-informed. If you talk about things that relate to the Indians, they jump in on it and laugh really hard. They have the appetite and intelligence to take a joke well — and yes, they can laugh at themselves well. If you involve them in a joke they get really excited and the best part is, after shows, many a times people ask you for a photograph or a quick video which feels great,” said Nalwala.
With a rare mix of management and creative skills, Nalwala has a BA in Supply Chain Management from Arizona State University and an MBA from Boston University. He splits his time between Dubai and Oman as the Executive Director of his Al Ansari Group family business.
Nalwala launched his stand-up comedy career a decade ago and has performed across the Middle East and India, including at The Comedy Store and Canvas Laugh Factory. He was part Vir Das’ “Unbelievablish” in Dubai attended by over 1,200 people. He performed on several tours with the Indian Comedy Club and is a regular at Canvas Laugh Club; his solo act “This Thing That Thing” has been well received. His latest endeavour is RJing for Times FM 95.4 in Oman, hosts a show where he shares with listeners his funny insights to current affairs.
He is currently performing (Thursday-Saturday) at Mumbai’s Canvas Laugh Club in Lower Parel.
About his journey, Nalwala said he started out doing comedy in Mumbai when it was in its nascent stages with very few good comedians in the market.
“The concept was relatively new as there were not many venues for it. Over the last decade, several comedians have come up and there are many more venues that promote comedy. My first professional gig in Mumbai was in 2009. However, my first attempt on stage was at Jazz by Bay in Mumbai in 2009. I was performing in front of a crowd that had come to watch musicians and so for the crowd to accept me was a big winner. Two things happened — one of the guys in the front row nearly fell off his chair laughing, and second, after I finished my set, one audience member asked, ‘When is your next gig? I will bring my friends’. That really made me believe in my comedy,” Nalwala said.
Adnan, experts in the field say, is deft in turning social subjects into humour and has an effortless way with observational humour and impersonations.
What’s the difference between the two?
“Observational comedy is something that could occur in front of you or something that you have experienced and you see the funny side of it. Incident-based comedy is something that actually happens to you and you narrate the experience,” he explained.
How does he juggle his performances in different countries?
“At the end of the day,” he explained, “jokes are subjective and many things differ on a cultural level. Human behaviour and the mindframe tends to overlap, which means some jokes are universal. Jokes on relationships are liked by all parts of the world. I have had the good fortune of living in eight different countries where I have been exposed to different nationalities and languages which has enabled me to pick up the subtle differences and present them as a facts and people enjoy it a lot more.”
“In India, I also tend to say many of my punch lines in Hindi as this would sit a lot better with the crowd and the relatability factor increases,” he added.
(Vishnu Makhijani can be contacted at vishnu.makhijani@ians.in)
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Interviews
Chef Ritu Dalmia
By Sugandha Rawal,
New Delhi : There was a time when Ritu Dalmia did not know how to define the feeling of being attracted to the same gender. Today, the celebrity chef has not only come to terms with her sexuality but is fighting to decriminalise consensual gay sex.
Dalmia, a food entrepreneur who has a string of restaurants under the brand name “Diva”, says being gay is not a crime, but using the law to make it one adds to the trauma that a homosexual already goes through in the country.
Dalmia is pitching for freedom to find love and being true to one’s sexuality. She, along with Navtej Johar, Sunil Mehra, Ayesha Kapur and Aman Nath, has filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the legal validity of Section 377.
“I do not think this (homophobia) is a problem only in India. Homophobia exists everywhere, but at least in most of the other countries, the law is on their side. It is deeply upsetting to hear everyday stories of rapes, and many other horrible things the community goes through. To think even the law indirectly supports it… is absolutely heartbreaking,” Dalmia told IANS in an email interview.
“When the 2009 Delhi High Court judgement came, so many people came out of the closet. And with the 2013 (Supreme Court) judgement, it was like taking 10 steps back. A gay person already goes through a lot of trauma to come to terms with their sexuality, and when they hear that it is also criminal, this trauma just gets accelerated.”
Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code criminalises any sort of homosexual activity and other forms of unnatural sex — affecting the rights of LGBTs (Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals and Transgenders). In 2009, the Delhi High Court had ruled that Section 377 was unconstitutional. But in December 2013, the Supreme Court overturned the verdict.
Now, the top court will in May hear the fresh plea seeking to strike down the act.
Dalmia hopes for a positive change.
“At this moment, I feel very, very positive. It has been a long journey but I think one sees a light at the end of tunnel,” she said, adding that the long fight has been very frustrating.
What is the change she is hoping for?
“Changing mindsets is a slow process, but it will happen and there are a lot of countries, conservative countries, where one has seen this change happen over a period of time.
“In India, it will take longer because we have not even crossed the first hurdle, which is to legalise it, and who knows… maybe I will witness this change happen in my lifetime.”
Of her own story, Dalmia comes from a traditional Marwari family. She couldn’t define her sexual preference, but finally discovered it in her mid 20s.
“When I look back at my life, I was attracted to women, but did not know how to define that feeling… For me, when I fell in love, it was very clear to me that I did not want to hide the person I was in love with.
“I was proud of what we had, and it was important to me that my family and friends knew her and accepted her as my soul mate.”
Dalmia continued: “I was very lucky that I had a lot of support from my friends and family, and it makes it so much easier. As I said, one goes through an inner turmoil, a lot of confusion and inability to understand what is going on, and when there is support from friends and family, you know that you are not a ‘freak’.”
(Sugandha Rawal can be contacted at sugandha.r@ians.in)
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Interviews
Ram Vilas Paswan
By V.S. Chandrasekar and Brajendra Nath Singh,
New Delhi : There is no possibility of any new political realignments ahead of the Lok Sabha elections next year, says Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan, who has also ruled out his quitting the NDA to join an opposition front.
He says there is no alternative to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the opposition, which is disunited and the much-touted SP-BSP unity would not be there in the general elections. While UPA Chaiperson Sonia Gandhi is in the background, Congress President Rahul Gandhi has no Charisma, Paswan feels.
Paswan, who heads Bihar’s Lok Janshakti Party, concedes that in an election year, even “small” issues get magnified which is dubbed as anti-incumbency and the government needs to change the “perception” at the ground level.
“No. Earlier it used to happen. There was a time when realignments used to happen. Now the people have tested all the political parties.
“People like me do politics of self-respect. Those who have self-respect can never stay with (RJD chief) Lalu Prasad. In Congress if somebody wants to meet Rahul Gandhi it will take three months. Even then, the meeting is not sure,” Paswan told IANS in an interview.
Asked about the possibility of a realignment of political parties ahead of next year’s elections, especially after the coming together of SP-BSP in the recent Lok Sabha bye elctions in Uttar Pradesh.
Paswan also ruled out the possibility of quitting the NDA and join an anti-BJP, anti-Congress front.
“There is no dilemma. It’s unthinkable to leave NDA. The question does not arise,” he asserted.
In Uttar Pradesh, the minister said, the SP-BSP alliance is not going to happen.
In the last parliamentary polls they contested in all the 80 seats in the state on their own but in case of an alliance each of the two parties would have to contest in 40 seats each.
In this case, Paswan asked “what will happen to those who would not get a ticket despite spending their life for tickets in a particular seat? They are not going to remain silent. Obviously they will spoil the chances of others.”
He said some 25 per cent of voters who swing before elections will vote in favour of NDA because they will see Narendra Modi as the candidate for the Prime Minister’s post as there are half a dozen leaders in opposition for the post.
“The voters will see that here is Modi and on the other side are are Rahul Gandhi, Mamata Banerjee, Chandrababu Naidu and many more in opposition. In such circumstances the voters would never think of spoiling his vote and would go for Modiji,” he asserted.
On Sonia Gandhi’s allegation that Modi’s call for “New India” is going to prove to be a mere slogan like the “India Shining and “Feel Good” campaigns during Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s government (1998-2004), Paswan said: “The situation during Vajpayee-ji’s time was different. He was running a coalition government. Modiji is running a government of a single party majority.
“That time (Vajpayee) the government used to move ahead after taking political allies into confidence while this government takes risks. Did any government have the courage to take decisions like demonetisation and the GST?
“When there was India Shining under Vajpayee, there was only one big face in opposition and she was Sonia Gandhi. Now, she has receded into background. There is no charisma in Rahul Gandhi. There are many regional satraps who have emerged as leaders. These things count in elections. In fact, the opposition is not united and will not unite in future.”
Asked about Modi’s “ache din” promise in the 2014 election campaign, Paswan said:
“For those who are angry with Narendra Modi, what are options for them? Who are they going to support? Had Rajiv Gandhi fulfilled the promises he had made? Will people now vote for Rahul Gandhi…There is no alternative to Modi. There is no vacancy for the Prime Minister’s post.”
Talking about four years of theModi government, Paswan said when the government enters into election year, even small issues are given the shape of national concern and thisis dubbed as an anti-incumbency against the government.
“What needs to done by the government is to propagate properly the development work done at the ground level. The perception needs to be changed. This government has done noting against the interest of the Muslims but there is a perception about the government that it is anti-muslim.
“Similarly, the government has done a lot for the SCs and STs but the perception about the government is of being anti-Dalit. The Prime Minister never spoke a word on controversial issues like construction of Ram temple, Article 370 or any Hindutava issue.”
Asked about the Prime Minister not speaking on issues in time when controversies rage, Paswan said: “It is not that the Prime Minister remains silent on every issue. He never spoke on Hindutva. After becoming Prime Minister when he first went to the Parliament he had said that the our constitution is our religion.”
Queried about the accusation that the Prime Minister does not take any action against fringe elements who give a bad name to the government, Paswan said: “Its an internal matter of the BJP and I am only an alliance partner. But I can say he is taking steps to control the hardcore Hindutva line of the some the leaders.”
In this context, he referred to former VHP working President Pravin Togadia as an example in the wake of his being sidelined in the organisation during the recent election.
On the defeat of BJP-JD(U) in the Lok Sabha and Assembly by-polls in Bihar recently, Paswan said it was on expected lines.
“The sympathy wave played a major role in win of the candidates. “MY” (Muslim+Yadav) equation of RJD chief Lalu Prasad is not new for the state. It’s an old practice of the RJD. Besides this, Lalu has no support of any other caste group. Lalu Prasad is in jail and facing corruption charges. People will soon forget him.”
When it was suggested that Lalu Prasad may get the sympathy of the people of Bihar, Paswan said: “After some days, the people will forget him. In India, people forgot the emergency. What happened in Haryana when Om Prakash Chautala was jailed? People forgot him. New leadership will emerge in Bihar.”
As far as NDA is concerned, he said “we are intact. Nitish has his own vote bank.”
In Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, the minister said, the biggest issue is of caste. “In Bihar, if Scheduled Caste does not support the RJD, it can’t do anything. But there will be problem if the SCs join him. The issue of development is secondary in Bihar. Social issues like caste remain on top.”
(V.S. Chandrasekar can be contacted at chandru.vs; Brajendra Nath Singh can be contacted at brajednra.s@ians.in)
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Interviews
Shiv Khera
By Vishnu Makhijani,
New Delhi : There are no business problems, only people problems — and once these get resolved, so do the business problems, says motivational guru Shiv Khera, whose fifth book has just hit the stands while the first one has entered its 20th year and is set to be relaunched.
“I am not an expert in any industry, but having lived in the US for over 40 years and worked in over 25 countries, I find that, all over the world, we don’t have business problems, we have people problems and when we take care of our people’s problems, most of our business problems are automatically resolved,” Khera told IANS in an interview.
Does this not sound like a one-size-fit-all sugestion? Khera disagreed.
“People problems are not identical but they are very similar. Many times I am asked, ‘Don’t you find cultural differences in your audiences?’ My answer is, ‘I find more similarities than differences.’ Emotional appeals are identical; integrity and cheating are given the same meaning in New York, New Delhi and New Zealand. There is no difference. The differences are many times cultural, which to me are very surface issues though they may not end up as surface issues,” he explained.
What then does his latest offering, “You Can Achieve More”, have to offer?
The message in his current book, he said, can be captured in the following sentences:
* If you want to stand out, then you need to do something outstanding
* A person with a positive attitude cannot be stopped; and a person with a negative attitude cannot be helped
* Time teaches us the value of life; life teaches us the value of time
* Accidents are no accidents. Casual attitude always leads to casualty
* Winners make the days count, losers count their days
* Winners live by the philosophy ‘prepare and prevent’, not repair and repent
* Achievers do today what others don’t, so they can enjoy things tomorrow which others won’t
* To change reality, you must change mentality.
* Achievers recognise that a big pay cheque and lack of accountability seldom go together.”
“It’s all very well to say ‘if you want to stand out, do something different’ — but how do you then deal with half-a-dozen people who want to pull you down?
“Pulling people down is neither new nor is it confined to any country or society. It is universal. People who want to move up in life, constantly not only reinforce the positive but also insulate themselves from the negative. If we want to be in good health, exercising alone will not do the job, we also have to stay away from junk food. They go hand in hand,” Khera explained.
Noting that only internal strength of character can help a person overcome the external forces that pull him or her down, he said this strength can only be built by reinforcing the positive. “Just like an athlete builds physical strength with constant practice, similarly we build mental strength with constant practice.”
In terms of competitiveness, how has the world changed in the 20 years since “You Can Win” was published?
“I have always felt that competition is good to have. Reason: It makes the good look better and the bad look worse; because people have something to compare you with. If the buyers do not have anything to compare you with, then how do they know you are good?
“When buyers get value for money, they buy. My objective has always been that if I get one dollar, I must give them 10 dollars worth value. With this kind of mindset, you have no competition, you become the competition,” said Khera, who has some of the top Fortune 100 companies as his clients.
About his 20-year journey from the time his first book was published, Khera said he formally started penning down “You Can Win” in 1992, before which he had been capturing his thoughts on napkins, loose papers while sitting in restaurants or in transit during flights. He finished the manuscript somewhere in 1997; it was picked up by Prentice Hall in Singapore and published in the same year. It has since sold 3.7 million copies and will be relaunched this July.
“Being an unknown author, getting your book to become an international bestseller was not easy. I travelled to different parts of the world, spoke at every conference that I could, whether paid or unpaid was immaterial. As people liked my message, they started buying my book.”
His roadmap for the future?
“To institutionalise my messages by creating a programme online and also collaborating with some educational institutions helping them set up a Centre of Leadership Excellence to build good future leaders,” Khera said.
(Vishnu Makhijani can be contacted at vishnu.makhijani@ians.in)
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Interviews
Jai Ram Thakur
By Vishal Gulati,
Shimla : First-time Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur has made strengthening the mountain state’s weak infrastructure — road, rail and air — a priority as this would not only boost national security but also increase tourist flows. Himachal Pradesh shares a 260 km border with China.
Five-time legislator Thakur, who rose through the ranks, said he has apprised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman about the importance of laying the Pathankot-Leh rail line that will ensure round-the-year movement of troops to forward areas where China has already strengthened its road and rail networks on its side.
Thankur, who assumed office on December 27, 2017, talked about the completion of the tunnel beneath the majestic Rohtang Pass, one of the country’s strategically most important infrastructure projects, within a year. The 8.8-km, horseshoe-shaped tunnel is an engineering marvel whose excavation was completed last October.
“I met the Defence Minister in this regard soon after assuming office. Issues relating to expediting its work were discussed. She assured that they will try to get it constructed within a year,” Thakur told IANS in an interview.
The Border Roads Organisation (BRO), a wing of the Defence Ministry is constructing the tunnel. It was earlier scheduled to be opened for traffic by 2015.
Once ready, the Rohtang tunnel will be a boon for the cold deserts of Lahaul Valley, where over 20,000 people remain cut off from the rest of India in winter owing to the closure of the Rohtang Pass, a major attraction for both domestic and foreign tourists and located 52 km from Manali.
Besides reducing road distance by approximately 46 km and saving travel time of about four hours, the tunnel will open up new vistas of trade and tourism and generate jobs for the locals.
On another important infrastructure project, Thakur said: “Seeing the sensitivity along the (Pakistan) border, the Centre is keen to set up another bigger airbase at a strategic location close to the existing one in Pathankot.”
He said expansion of the existing airport at Gaggal near Kangra town, some 225 km from the state capital, could be an alternative to the Pathankot airbase in Punjab, which was attacked by Pakistani terrorists in 2016.
“Kangra airport would also be used for defence purposes — for landing fighter and big aircraft. Moreover, this is at a safe distance from the border and strategically important in view of the increasing tension with the neighbouring countries.”
Thakur, who has discussed this with Sitharaman, said a central government team visited the Gaggal airport a few days ago to study the feasibility of its expansion.
“The airport expansion means acquisition of over 570 acres land and we will provide this. If the central government gives its nod, it will boost our tourism industry too.”
The state’s youngest Chief Minister said popular tourist resorts Shimla, Manali, Narkanda, Kasauli, Kalpa and Dharamsala are chock-a-block with the tourists.
“Our focus is now on developing virgin destinations for which there is a budgetary provision of Rs 50 crore for the first time in the state’s history.”
On mining, he said his government has the Himachal Pradesh Minor Minerals (Concession) and Minerals (Prevention of Illegal Mining Transportation and Storage) Rules, 2015, with an aim to simplify procedural requirements and punish offenders.
While there is a provision of two years of jail for illegal mining, the fine has been enhanced 20 times — from Rs 25,000 to Rs 500,000.
In fact, illegal mining is even being cited as one of the reasons for the Beas river tragedy in which 24 students of a Hyderabad engineering college lost lives in 2014.
On the economic front, this tiny hill state is facing one of its worst financial crises, with loan liability at Rs 46,502 crore.
“The situation is such that the state can’t manage affairs without loans. We will try to limit it by taking continuous measures, including austerity. At the same time we will see that development is not affected,” he said.
“Our focus is to strengthen our major income-generation sources like opting for scientific mining, rationalising hydropower generation, tapping tourism in unexplored areas and promoting horticulture.”
“We are going to offer some concessions and incentives to independent power producers to attract investments. Likewise, we are roping in private investments in tourism,” Thakur said.
Hydropower generation as well as horticulture and tourism are major contributors to the economy of Himachal Pradesh.
Not believing in having disputes with neighbours, he added: “We will try to resolve all our issues — (we are) seeking the release of 7.19 per cent share of the state, which runs into crores of rupees, on account of BBMB projects, along with arrears, from Punjab and Haryana without getting into any sort of confrontation.”
In 2011, the Supreme Court upheld Himachal’s claim in three Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) hydro projects and directed compensation for denial of the state’s legitimate share from November 1, 1966, but the state has not got its due so far.
(Vishal Gulati can be contacted at vishal.g@ians.in)
—IANS
