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DIMENSIONS VOL.11, ISSUE 3, MAR 2019
A Journal of A N Prakash Construction Pro ject Management Consul tants Pvt . L td
IN This Issue FROM THE MANAGING
DIRECTOR’S DESK
EDITOR’S NOTE
MILESTONES
CREATIVITY
DAMPNESS IN BUILDINGS
IN LOVE WITH CHANDIGARH
– THE CITY BEAUTIFUL
MANAGEMENT LESSONS
FROM THE STREETS OF INDIA
INATTENTION TO RESULTS
MASALA DOSA
APPENDIX
Cover page photo: Architect’s impression of CMR University Entrance, Bangalore
THE ISSUE OF DIMENSIONS IS FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION ONLY
We have recently, on the recommendations of few PICs, commenced involving Project Managers (PMs) to attend the weekly CRISP meeting for at least a month.
The purpose of this exercise is to expose PMs to the various challenges and issues the seniors and PICs face on a day-to-day basis and sensitize them to management’s problems and challenges.
Few of the topics discussed are:
Various projects and different clients and their issues.
Company’s cash flow challenges and the importance of collecting fees on time.
HR issues such as identifying and recruiting engineers, inter-project transfers.
Potential projects and BD activities.
I sincerely hope this will open the eyes and ears of the PMs, who are the future of this company and bring about a sense of responsibility towards other aspects of the company apart from the routine.
During my visit to various sites, when
asking the staff if they are reading the
Newsletter, there were positive and
negative responses. One question
which the staff asked was whether
there is anything new here that is not
found on the internet.
Ask any of the contributors of articles
and they will tell you about the effort
taken to collate the information in a
form that would be useful and
interesting to the reader. If this is
understood by the reader, it will
probably create more interest so that
some benefit is derived from the
articles.
An example is the Advanced Excel
Lesson published in some of the issues.
It is certainly possible to learn about
excel from books and from the
internet too. But it is to make learning
easier that it is given in such a simple
format.
On the other hand there was positive
feedback like the one from
Subramanian K, SIC of Corteco, who
said that the article on Empathy as a
soft skill was found to be very useful
both in the professional work as well
as personal life.
FROM THE MANAGING DIRECTOR’S DESK Editor’s Note
DIMENSIONS VOL.11, ISSUE 3, MAR 2019 2
A Journal of A N Prakash Construction Pro ject Management Consul tant s Pvt . L td
Birthdays in the month of April
NAVEED AHAMED A, Pullela
Gopichand, 2nd April
SELVARAJ S, Fomra, 3rd April
DIVYA K, Bangalore HO, 7th
April
MURALI M, Bangalore HO,
10th April
GIRI PRASAD, Corteco, 18th
April
MAHESH S, Bangalore HO,
20th April
DEBENDRA DAS, USL –
Neempada, 20th April
PRASANNA KUMAR M,
Hyderabad Office, 23rd April
MAHENDRA GODBOLE,
Bechem, 28th April
Birthday celebrations –
Mar 19
Suresh B L wishing Swastika on her birthday
on the 8th March
B L Suresh wishing Varsha on the Women’s
day – 8 March
Birthday of Mohd. Rizwan was celebrated
on the 15th.
A N Prakash and Uday Prakash at the
Birthday celebration of Mohd. Rizwan
Yogesh Kumar & B N Somashekar wishing
Roy Zacharias on his birthday on the 16th.
A N Prakash wishing Roy Zacharias on his
birthday - the 16th.
Indoor Games
Carroms being played during the Lunch
break by Nataraj, Shanthkumar and team
and Lijesh. (Spectators – Mary & Ambika)
Nemmadi Activities
Business Network International of which R
Suresha is a member of one of the local
chapters has recognized him as ‘Hero of
the Month’ for the maximum 1-to-1
meetings
Our heartfelt condolences to
Prasanna Kumar M, whose father
passed away on the 8th March.
MILESTONES
DIMENSIONS VOL.11, ISSUE 3, MAR 2019 3
A Journal of A N Prakash Construction Pro ject Management Consul tant s Pvt . L td
Prizes:
The prize for Best Answer to the question
asked in last issue of Dimensions was
awarded to Jitendra Bhardwaj
Jitendra Bhardwaj of CBR (at IISc) receives
the prize from Dimensions Editorial Board
member Divya K
NATIONAL SAFETY DAY CELEBRATION
at CORTECO - 4 MARCH 2019
Tool Box Talk
SIC Subramaniam being examined during
the medical camp
Lunch for staff & Workers
Felicitation of Workers & Staff
Awards:
Parsons SIC H S Ravi’s son Nikhil stood
first in the National Level Vedic Math
Competition
Wedding:
Shashi Kumar Dushetti (of Jayabheri –
Hyderabad) weds Aneela, 9 March
Praveen, Ganesh, Chaithanya, Shashi
Kr., Aneela, Ravi Raj, Sanjay (L-R)
Shashi Kumar and Aneela
Wedding:
H M Shivaraj SIC of CMR University,
Ladies Hostel weds Chaithra at Birur
on 15th March.
Shivaraj and Chaithra during the
reception
Shivaraj tying the knot
Shivaraj and Chaithra during the
ceremonies after the wedding
Chaithra and Shivaraj
DIMENSIONS VOL.11, ISSUE 3, MAR 2019 4
A Journal of A N Prakash Construction Pro ject Management Consul tant s Pvt . L td
Know Your Project
For the Sustainable Way of Life
Ramky One Galaxia are luxury
apartments in the Nallagandla
Gachibowli region of Hyderabad. The
main attraction of this apartment
complex is that it has all required
infrastructure like schools, hospitals,
parks, restaurants, banks & ATMs,
petrol pumps, railway station, office
complexes and shopping mall are all
in the neighborhood.
Probably, many of your friends are in
the other apartments in the locality,
making it the hub of activity.
The Developers are Ramky Estates
and Farms Ltd., who have been
developing properties in other
locations of Hyderabad, in addition to
making their presence felt in other
cities of Chennai, Bangalore, Vizag
and Warangal.
‘Towards Sustainable Growth’ is the
logo of Ramky Group and how this is
demonstrated is by having a sewage
treatment plant with facility for
recycling, landscaped gardens and
Rain water harvesting system.
Artist’s impression of the Amphitheatre
as it will appear once completed
Oriented in the East-West direction,
half the flats are east facing and the
other half facing west. The Built-up
areas are in the range of 1260 to 1860
sq,ft per apartment.
The amenities offered by the project
are a power back-up facility, a
playground for children, an intercom
facility, a club house and a sports
facility, to name a few.
A unique facility planned to be
provided here is the Futsal, which will
be the first of its kind among
Hyderabad’s gated communities.
An image of a Futsal game in progress
Futsal is essentially football with a twist
(and a lot less number of rules), it's a
five a side game which includes one
goalkeeper for each side, with a
much smaller pitch, mostly played
indoor stadiums and a (slightly)
different ball. With the small nature of
the pitch, the players playing in the
game need to have much more close
control and better technique on the
ball.
This and other amenities like a Fully-
loaded Gymnasium, swimming pool,
Tennis court and a half-basketball
court will inspire residents to keep fit.
Some of the features here, not usually
found in an apartment complex, are
that all buildings are Vaastu
Compliant and a Visitor’s lounge is
located in each tower.
A Jogging track, Children’s play area
and Senior citizen lawn cater to the
segment usually not taken much care
of.
Another distinctive feature planned
for is a Garbage Disposal System
through chute.
Each building will have
a garbage chute system which allows
residents to dispose of items on their
floor.
A garbage chute system on each
floor means that trash will not build up
in an apartment where it can attract
pests or become a health hazard.
A garbage chute system is a long
vertical space passing by each floor in
a building. It includes a door on each
floor where residents can dispose of
their garbage into the chute. This door
is usually contained in a small room on
each floor. Garbage placed in the
chute drops to a compactor or
dumpster at the bottom.
Working on this stimulating project is
the dynamic team from ANPCPMC
pictured below. They are also the
champions in SOP Compliance, being
at the first place by scoring 97.5%
compliance during the last Audit.
The PMC Team: (Left to Right) Khaja
Hussain S, Arjun Kumar K, Prasanna Kumar
M, KVSS Ramakrishna, Hariprasad K,
Sangamesh C
DIMENSIONS VOL.11, ISSUE 3, MAR 2019 5
A Journal of A N Prakash Construction Pro ject Management Consul tant s Pvt . L td
CREATIVITY
SREEVATHSA B R, HO
What would you do to earn money if
all you had was five dollars and two
hours? This is the assignment that Tina
Seelig Ph.D., gave students in one of
her classes at Stanford University.
Each of fourteen teams in her class
received an envelope with five dollars
of “seed funding” and was told they
could spend as much time as they
wanted planning.
However, once they cracked open
the envelope, they had two hours to
generate as much money as possible.
Each team had also been allotted
three minutes to present their project
to the class, at the end.
What would you do if you were given
this challenge? When most groups are
asked this question, someone usually
shouts out, “Go to Las Vegas,” or “Buy
a lottery ticket.” This gets a big laugh.
These folks would take a significant risk
in return for a small chance at earning
a big reward.
The next most common suggestion is
to set up a car wash or lemonade
stand, using the five dollars to
purchase the starting materials. This is
a fine option for those interested in
earning a few extra bucks while
spending the 5 dollars in two hours.
But most of Tina’s students took
seriously the challenge to question
traditional assumptions—exposing a
wealth of possibilities—in order to
create as much value as possible.
How did they do this? Here’s a clue:
The teams that made the most money
didn’t use the five dollars at all. They
understood that five dollars is
essentially nothing and decided to
reinterpret the problem more broadly:
What can we do to make money if
we start with absolutely nothing? They
tapped into their talents, and
unlocked their creativity to identify
problems in their midst—problems
they experienced or noticed others
experiencing—problems they might
have seen before but had never
thought to solve. So what did they
do?
Team 1
One group identified a problem
common in a lot of college towns—
the frustratingly long lines at popular
restaurants on Saturday night. The
team decided to help those people
who didn’t want to wait in line. They
paired off and booked reservations at
several restaurants.
As the times for their reservations
approached, they sold each
reservation for up to twenty dollars to
customers who were happy to avoid
a long wait. As the evening wore on,
they made several interesting
observations.
One of the observations was that the
female students were better at selling
the reservations than the male
students, probably because
customers were more comfortable
being approached by the young
women. They adjusted their plan so
that the male students ran around
town making reservations at different
restaurants while the female students
sold those places in line.
Team 2
This team took an even simpler
approach. They set up a stand in front
of the student union where they
offered to measure bicycle tire
pressure for free. If the tires needed
filling, they added air for one dollar. At
first they thought they were taking
advantage of their fellow students,
who could easily go to a nearby gas
station to have their tires filled.
But after their first few customers, the
students realized that the bicyclists
were really grateful. Even though the
cyclists could get their tires filled for
free nearby, and the task was easy for
the students to perform, they soon
found that they were providing a
convenient and valuable service. In
fact, halfway through the two hour
period, the team stopped asking for a
specific payment and requested
donations instead.
Their income soared. They made
much more when their customers
were reciprocating for a free service
than when asked to pay a fixed price.
For this team, as well as for the team
making restaurant reservations,
experimenting along the way paid off.
The iterative process, where small
changes are made in response to
customer feedback, allowed them to
optimize their strategy on the fly.
Team 3
Each of these projects brought in a
few hundred dollars, and their fellow
classmates were duly impressed.
However, the team that generated
the greatest profit looked at the
resources at their disposal through
completely different lenses, and
made $650.
These students determined that the
most valuable asset they had was
neither the five dollars nor the two
hours. Instead, their insight was that
their most precious resource was their
three-minute presentation time on
Monday.
They decided to sell it to a company
that wanted to recruit the students in
the class. The team created a three-
minute “commercial” for that
company and showed it to the
students during the time allotted to
them. They recognized that they had
a fabulously valuable asset—that
others didn’t even notice—just waiting
to be mined.
What about Team 4, that is YOU?
The five-dollar challenge illustrates the
difference between tactics and
strategy. Although the terms are often
used interchangeably, they refer to
different concepts. A strategy is a
plan for achieving an objective.
Tactics, in contrast, are the actions
you undertake to implement the
strategy.
The Stanford students who bombed
the $5 challenge fixated on a tactic—
how to use the five dollars—and lost
sight of the strategy. “Tactics without
strategy,” as Sun Tzu wrote in the Art of
War, “are the noise before defeat.”
What is the $5 tactic in your own life?
Once you move from the “what” to
the “why”—once you frame the
problem broadly in terms of what
you’re trying to do instead of your
favored solution—you’ll discover other
possibilities lurking in plain sight.
DIMENSIONS VOL.11, ISSUE 3, MAR 2019 6
A Journal of A N Prakash Construction Pro ject Management Consul tant s Pvt . L td
DAMPNESS IN BUILDINGS This is the second of a two part article by
Dr. Arjun Dass, published by him with
permission from the Director, Central
Building Research Institute, Roorkee
SURFACE TREATMENTS
Alternative to rendering for porous
surfaces, whether flat or vertical, is
application of suitable surface
treatments. These are temporary
remedies and there is limitation in their
choice also. Water repellent cement
paint confers upon the surface a
limited degree of water repellency
and has to be repeated after 2-3
years.
Silicate based coating compositions
possess improved durability and can
also be applied on flat surfaces to fill
up the cracks. The most promising
among the external treatments are
silicone based water repellent
solutions. They do not change the
original colour and texture of the
surface and allow the water present
inside it to go out in the vapour form.
These are water repellent treatments
and do not form coating or physical
barrier on the surface.
The major limitation with these
materials is that unless they are made
indigenously their quality and
availability for mass consumption is a
big question mark. On surfaces where
looks are not important, emulsions or
paints based on bitumen can be used
with advantage.
ROOF WATER PROOFING
Roof waterproofing is carried out with
bituminous sealants and mastics, built
up asphalt/tar and polythene
membranes with bitumen adhesive,
fibre glass reinforced bitumen and
lime concrete terracings.
WATER OF CONSTRUCTION
Water already contained inside the
wall such as water of construction
takes a long time to evaporate
particularly in humid areas and under
ill-ventilated conditions. Normally
evaporation of water on the plaster
work is faster than the movement of
moisture from the core of the wall.
Under such conditions, appearance
of the wall although visibly dry can be
highly deceptive. There is no visual
evidence of a considerable amount
of water bottled up inside the wall
which if sealed up with impervious
coatings will exert enough pressure to
break-up the finish and disfigure the
interior by blistering etc.
REMEDIES
New building should be left uncoated
at least for four weeks after the
completion of curing of plaster. It
may subsequently be either white-
washed or coated with any soft
composition such as distemper.
Emulsion paint or glossy coatings, if
desired, should be given only after a
year or so. Occupied houses should
be kept well-ventilated.
HYGROSCOPIC SALTS
SOURCES
Salts enter into a construction either
through unwashed or improperly
washed sand, which contains them
and is used in the preparation of
masonry mortars or concrete.
Sometimes they are present in bricks
also. These salts are sulphates,
chlorides and nitrates of sodium,
calcium and magnesium. They come
to surface with the moisture, which is
drying out and under conditions of
high humidity attract moisture from
the air and create signs of dampness.
If these salts are in excess they may
even cause the failure of plaster
behind which they get concentrated
and crystallized.
REMEDIES
Repeated washing of the surface
affected by efflorescent patches will
considerably remove the salts.
Alternatively, a poultice or thick paste
of chalk when applied over the area
twice or thrice and removed after 24
hours or so will remedy the problem to
a great extent. Application of silicone
solutions can also be adopted to stop
the salts from coming out on surface.
CREEPERS
Creepers have often been found to
be the cause of dampness in a
building. If the growth of the creeper
is thin, water reaches the wall or in
other components of the building and
the circulation of air being relatively
restricted, evaporation of water from
that area after the rains is slow and
hence it remain there for a sufficiently
long time. In case the growth of the
creeper is thicker, the leaves do not
allow water to reach the wall as they
help in shedding it downwards. Such
creepers, therefore, should be thinned
in rainy season.
Tichoma, Virginia, etc, which cling to
the surface by means of suckers, do
not harm the wall but those which
send rootlets or arteries into the
surface do cause dampness.
CONDENSATION
CAUSES
Condensation is the process of
deposition of atmospheric moisture of
the surrounding air on impervious
surfaces. Some amount of water
vapour is always in the air but there is
a limit to the maximum moisture which
the air can hold. This limit depends
upon the temperature and decreases
as the temperature falls. Under such
conditions extra amount of water
vapour may condense in the form of
water droplets.
If the air is already saturated and
there is a sudden fall of temperature
in a building it may condense on floors
or on those spots of wall which are
comparatively non-porous.
Primary factors for the incidence of
dampness due to condensation are
the operations which produce water
vapour or stream. In a house the act
of breathing, boiling water, cooking or
the use of other heating appliances
and drying of wet clothes inside the
house in wet weather are the
functions which may lead to the
saturation of air with water vapour.
In addition, if the size of the rooms is
small and bathroom, kitchen etc., are
in close proximity and ventilation
being poor, there is every chance of
promotion of dampness due to
condensation.
DIMENSIONS VOL.11, ISSUE 3, MAR 2019 7
A Journal of A N Prakash Construction Pro ject Management Consul tant s Pvt . L td
DIAGNOSIS
Identification of dampness on
account of condensation often needs
close scrutiny of local climatic
conditions, existing surroundings of the
building and location of kitchen and
bathroom etc., with respect to other
living spaces if it is an inhabited house.
In case of non-residential buildings,
one has to look for the possible
sources of water, vapour and existing
ventilation conditions.
As a general rule, dampness due to
condensations covers all the walls and
takes place at times when there is
substantial change in atmospheric
temperature and humidity. On the
other hand, dampness caused by the
rain is confined to outer walls only and
appears after the rainy spells. It
seldom occurs over the whole area as
water finds its way at one or more
points and spreads laterally.
If the surface is dry, it can be
recognized by the marks of colour
difference in the plaster over the
bricks and joints. Condensation,
however, may cause patchy areas
over the plaster due to difference of
porosity of the surface. Lastly, in case
of rain penetration entire thickness of
the wall is affected while due to
condensation plaster below the paint
film is dry.
REMEDIES
Dampness trouble due to
condensation can be effectively
checked by taking steps which are
essentially preventive in nature.
Efficient circulation of the room air
should be ensured. This can be done
by the strategical use of ventilation
grills, air bricks and exhaust fans near
the top of the wall. In case the
problem is mild, protective measures
such as use of soft or highly
pigmented coating compositions in
thicker layers can be adopted. Use of
porous lining materials such as porous
paper or insulation board will be
beneficial in such cases.
RISING DAMPNESS
CAUSES
The cause of rising dampness in
buildings is the rise of sub-soil water in
walls and floors of the structure from
the ground where water-table is high
or rises during certain periods of the
year. Only those walls are affected
where either no damp-proof course
has been provided or it has become
ineffective subsequently. This problem
is comparatively easy to recognize
since it rises continuously from the
bottom of the wall to a maximum
height of about 1m.
REMEDIES
A temporary remedy which can be
recommended to combat the
problem consists of concealing the
trouble which occurs only during
shorter spells of the year. Visual
barriers such as AC sheet, bamboo
sticks or other panel materials are
fixed in front of the affected surface in
such a way that a gap exists between
the wall and the barrier. Plaster of the
wall from that portion is removed and
the barrier, that is, sheet, etc is
applied over wooden battens
plugged into the wall.
Among the permanent measures
which they have been used are:
Insertion of damp-proof course by
under pinning and by cutting the wall
at DPC level;
Injection of water-repellent chemicals
into the wall at DPC level by drilling
holes at regular intervals along the
length; and
Electro-osmotic short-circuiting.
Experience gained in dealing with this
problem so far indicates that under
present conditions insertion of DPC by
under pinning is the practical solution
howsoever primitive it may be.
Insertion is done in short lengths of the
wall after removing a few courses of
brick at the skirting level. The method
is highly labour consuming, slow and
therefore, costly. Alternative to under
pinning is cutting the wall at the same
level at the joint and insertion of
damp-proof membrane in short
lengths. A special saw, is, however,
required for the cutting of wall. The
saw is easy to fabricate but no
attempts have been made so far by
any fabricator to manufacture it at
commercial scale.
In the injection process, a special
composition made from siliconate
solution and rubber latex is injected
into the holes drilled at DPC level at
about 10-15 cm interval. The solution
spreads horizontally and forms a
water-resistant barrier to prevent the
rising dampness. This method is also
relatively simple but suffers from the
same limitation of silicone availability
as described earlier. Electrical short-
circuiting method has not been tried
in India so far.
CONCLUSION
A general and brief appraisal of the
problem of dampness in existing
buildings and its remedial measures
have been given. The treatment is
oriented more towards the walls
where the incidence of dampness is
common.
The subject, however, calls for critical
perusal from all possible angles and
the matters which need greater
attention are to ensure at the
planning level that the basic designs
of structures take care of water-proof
features keeping in view the materials
and components to be used. This will
include planning and development of
water-proof designs of what are
termed as wet areas in a building
such as bathrooms, WCs and
underground structures like basements
and water reservoirs.
Proper use of materials and careful
supervision during construction play a
key role in the trouble free
performance of these parts and save
considerable maintenance. The
subject also needs intensive efforts in
its propagation and implementation
in the form of refresher courses for civil
engineers and training cum
demonstration for the working
personnel. Exhibitions of
waterproofing materials available in
India should be held at suitable
places.
DIMENSIONS VOL.11, ISSUE 3, MAR 2019 8
A Journal of A N Prakash Construction Pro ject Management Consul tant s Pvt . L td
IN LOVE WITH CHANDIGARH – THE CITY
BEAUTIFUL
Rudresh L, Manjushree Site, Baddi
Recently I completed one year at Baddi,
Himachal Pradesh. During the holidays and
weekly days off, I usually visit the beautiful
city - Chandigarh and learn all lot about it,
which I want to share with all of you.
Ek Akela is shahar mein, Raat mein aur
Dopahar mein – Rudresh beside Sukhna
Lake.
Those wanting to hear the song ‘Ek Akela is
shahar mein …from Gharaonda (1977)
may click on:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Epbj
O-Qdfuc
Chandigarh, the dream city of India’s
first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru,
was planned by the famous French
architect Le Corbusier.
Picturesquely located at the foothills
of Shavlik hills, it is known as one of the
best experiments in urban planning
and modern architecture in the
twentieth century India.
There are lots of reasons why cities
come into being. The first might be a
purely practical one, as is the case
with metropolises founded near fertile
rivers, lakes or land.
Another is religious or spiritual: cities
born on mythical or sacred places,
like Mexico City. Then there are cities
born of ideology or for a name, as
was the case with Alexandria or the
renaming of Russian cities, like
Volgograd to Stalingrad.
Sixty years ago, Chandigarh was
conceived as a city to celebrate the
independence of India. It’s a
monument to the country’s entrance
into the modern world. The name
means “home of Chandi,” the warrior
personified as Parvati, a deity of
fertility, love and devotion.
Today it’s the capital of the states of
Punjab and Haryana and it was
thought of as the “perfect city” (if
that’s even possible).
About 300 kilometers north of Delhi,
Chandigarh came into being in 1947,
when the Punjab region was divided
between India and the newly created
Pakistan. The part of Punjab in India,
was without a capital and so the
Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru,
commissioned Le Corbusier to create
a city to replace Lahore, the former
Punjab capital now in Pakistani
territory.
Nehru imagined a city that was
“unfettered by the traditions of the
past, a symbol of the nation’s faith in
the future.” It was a metropolis born of
ideas.
Le Corbusier devised a jewel of
urbanism that survives as a collection
of architecturally modern
masterpieces. Even today, the city is
substantially different from other cities
in India. Every detail of the new
metropolis was carefully planned to
work perfectly.
The architect and his team designed
every detail, from the sculptures of the
Supreme Court square to the door
handles of the offices, and the most
important administrative buildings,
including the Capitol, the Supreme
Court, the Secretariat, Parliament, a
Governor’s Palace and a university.
Chandigarh is a city of open public
spaces, unlike other large and more
motley cities of India. Designed on a
grid plane, it’s based on the plans of
European cities like Paris but also on
the early plans for New Delhi.
But the grid of the Punjab capital also
includes a series of curves, a hierarchy
streets, and lanes for pedestrians and
cyclists clearly designated and
separated by green areas.
A designated commercial street
crosses the city from east to west. All
of the city’s green areas were
designed according to the principles
of the Garden City urban movement.
Though it’s one of the most beautiful
cities in India and a UNESCO World
Heritage site, Chandigarh’s
functionality – and indeed Le
Corbusier’s master plan – is still
criticized. It’s a city alienated from the
rest of the country and its culture, but
also one that’s sterile, expensive and
lacking in social mobility.
Over time Chandigarh has expanded,
surpassing the edges of what had
been the perfect city. In this context,
Le Corbusier’s project still generates
relevant questions about utility and
practicality in the “invention” of a
metropolis, as though it were painting
on canvas.
We know that cities, like living people,
are transformed in organic and
uncontrollable ways.
The act of conceiving and creating a
city from nothing, taking on the role of
demiurges, still amazes for its sheer
ambition and beauty, especially in a
city where every corner was designed
with such care.
But why does one fall in love with
Chandigarh? There are many reasons,
a few of which are explained:
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1. Clean, green and safe, there is no
other city in India that is as well
planned as Chandigarh.
Designed by French architect Le
Corbusier, the city is neatly divided
into sectors. The streets are wide and
well connected with beautifully
landscaped roundabouts. It is only in
the past few years that traffic blocks
have become a common place as
more and more people are making it
their home.
2. Nothing compares to the
happening crowd in Sec 17, where
you can simply while away time
nibbling on ice cream.
Yes, even after the city now has
Elante Mall and several other malls
are coming up, Sec 17 remains the #1
most happening place in Chandigarh.
The shady trees, the cool breeze and
the wide open skies above are
relaxing even when the temperature
soar sky high.
3. It only happens in Chandigarh, girls
don’t leave home without their
‘Kineys’ and guys without their ‘Bullts’.
The girls here are very fond of riding a
Kinetic Scotty, which they have
nicknamed “Kineys”, and the guys are
in love with the Bullets, which they
lovingly call “Bullt”.
4. In love or in despair, Sukhna Lake in
Chandigarh is a constant companion
for every person.
People come here to propose, to
date, to enjoy long walks and also to
dump their sorrows.
5. The Punjabi girls in Chandigarh are
the prettiest and most outspoken.
When it comes to being cultural and
embracing traditions, no one can
beat them.
6. Thodi pahadon ki feel leni ho, toh
Himalayan Expressway hai na.
The mountains are very close to
Chandigarh. A half an hour drive is all
that is needed to cross over to the hills
of Himachal Pradesh.
View of the hills from Chandigarh
There are so many hill stations nearby,
such as Kasauli, which is just 65 km
from Chandigarh
Kasauli Circuit House, British period
heritage building
You have the best of both, the plains
for an unfettered living and the hills
and mountains when you want to
rejuvenate yourself.
7. And this is how it looks in the Spring.
You will think that you are in some
exotic land, when the trees are
covered with flowers in all shades of
red and yellow.
8. Chandigarh is surrounded by the
most beautiful countryside, lush with
green and yellow fields of wheat and
mustard.
Thanks to:
19 Things That Make Chandigarh A Really
“KHAAS” City, By Pratima Kalra
A little on Chandigarh, a hand-painted city
where it’s virtually impossible to get lost - BY
FAENA ALEPH, POSTED IN: AVANT URBANISM
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MANAGEMENT LESSONS FROM THE
STREETS OF INDIA
Thejesha MM, HO
In Delhi you could possibly meet a
guide around Agrasen ki Baoli,
jabbering away in impressive German.
When asked about it, he will say,
“Bahut sare log Germany se aathe
hain. Toh hamne ye bhasha seekh
liya! Guide toh bahut sare hain, kuch
alag sa, kuch specialization karna
padta hai!” (There are many tourists
from Germany. So I learned the
language. There are many guides, so
you have to do something different,
like a specialization).
If you do or know only what the others
do and know, why should anyone
come to you?
Do something unexpected. Then
expect it to create stickiness.
Simple creative differentiators can be
used to transform products from also-
rans to pack-leaders, and often a
small tweak within existing boundaries
can result in starkly different products
that are bound to attract attention.
One momo vendor decided that
plain white momos are passé. So she
transformed them into colourful bites
using natural food extracts from
beetroots, carrots and spinach. Now
that’s creative!
Colored momos!
Limited variety, unbeatable quality
Just recently, I was introduced to small
bhajji or pakora vendor in a popular
market in Gandhi Bazaar, Bangalore.
He sells a simple variety of bhajjis
made out of capsicum, raw bananas,
potatoes and green peppers.
At the cost of pricing his bhajjis 50 per
cent above market rate, the vendor,
Praveen ensures that he only uses the
best vegetables.
Each of the bhajjis is the same size
and each vegetable he uses is fresh.
That's also the case with many other
street food vendors -- they do not
compromise on quality, which
explains why they have stayed
popular for decades.
Choose a niche and be the expert in
it.
Revathy, a food and nutrition student,
realised that street food hardly
catered to people with health issues
such as diabetes. So she developed
special recipes using sprouts, green
gram and bitter gourd which she
retails from her small eatery in
Malleshwaram, Bangalore.
Diabetic-friendly street food
Don’t let the world dictate what you
can do.
Daniel D’souza, the owner of Sharon
Tea Stall in Bangalore, didn’t want to
run just another tea stall. So he
decided that there was no reason
why the more exotic teas should be
available only in fancy tea parlours
and out of the reach of an everyday
person on the road.
Sharon Tea Stall in Indira Nagar is a
full-fledged tea parlour in the garb of
a small street-side shack that serves a
wide variety of interesting teas. No
wonder then that his clients include
actors and politicians from across the
state, something he proudly displays
through photographs at the tiny stall.
Try stuff that hasn’t been done before
even if you’re unsure of succeeding.
Sharon Tea Stall
Talk on “Management lessons from
streets of India” by Raghu Raman
Raghu Raman spent eleven
years as an officer in the Indian
Armed Forces , followed by another
eleven years in the corporate sector
before joining the Government
as CEO of the National Intelligence
Grid.
He is also the author of “Everyman’s
War”.
He has given a talk on ‘India unInc:
Management lessons from streets of
India’
This probably is one of the finest
management sessions you could listen
to. Please take out time and listen to
it. More importantly pick just one idea
out of it and implement it. You will feel
awesome. The link is:
https://youtu.be/yQGaoj9Iwro
Thanks for article inputs to:
(a) Ramya Sriram, who is a cartoonist
and writer. She runs The Tap,
where she tells stories visually and
verbally.
(b) Maheima Kapur article “8
entrepreneurship lessons from
street food vendors”.
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INATTENTION TO RESULTS
By Siva Rama Krishna A
The book The Five
Dysfunctions of a Team, by Patrick
Lencioni, reveals the basics of
teamwork by using a leadership fable,
a story of a technology company that
is struggling to grow and find
customers. The new CEO on board,
Catherine Petersen, recognizes the
potential of the organization and its
people. However, the executives are
not working together as a team and
therefore impact the entire
organization in a negative way.
The team struggles to accept
responsibilities and come to any
agreement, resulting in negative
morale. Throughout the fable the five
dysfunctions of their team become
evident, i.e. absence of trust, fear of
conflict, lack of commitment,
avoidance of accountability and
inattention to results.
Here we explore the last dysfunction
‘Inattention to results’:
A team can only become results
oriented when all team members
place the team’s results first. When
individuals aren’t held accountable,
team members naturally tend to look
out for their own interests, rather than
the interests of the team. Teams can
overcome this dysfunction by making
the team results clear and rewarding
the behaviors that contribute to the
team’s results.
The primary role of the leader in
overcoming these dysfunctions is
to lead by example and set the
tone for the whole team. This includes
being the first one to be vulnerable,
encouraging debate and conflict,
making responsibilities and deadlines
clear, setting the team’s standards,
and last but not least being clear on
the team’s results.
Below are eight tips that will help your
team overcome an inattention to
results.
8 steps to overcome an inattention to
results
Step 1: Get to know one another
The first step in building an effective
team is making sure that everybody
gets to know one another. Simply
knowing each other’s names is not
enough to produce great work.
Step 2: Define success
If everyone is paddling in different
directions, the boat won’t go
anywhere! Work teams need to have
a shared vision of success.
Stop, reflect and ask team members
to consider the following question:
‘What does success look like for our
team?’ Then discuss everyone’s
answers.
There should be no ambiguity around
the team’s vision of success or the big
goal it is striving to achieve.
Step 3: Set clearly defined, objective
goals and targets
Great teams not only know where
they are going, but they can clearly
see the steps they need to take to get
there.
When you are confident of the team
member’s preferred work styles and
are confident that team members
share the same vision of success, the
next step is to work as a team to
define and lay out a strategy.
To avoid an inattention to results, get
input from team members. They may
prefer to share the workload in a
different way than you would.
Step 4: Celebrate small successes
Big goals and tasks can be daunting,
so break things down into more
manageable tasks.
Smaller goals with visible results can
give confidence and persistence to
keep moving towards the end goal,
and it can avoid an inattention to
detail.
Most importantly, be sure to celebrate
the successes of team members.
Step 5: Focus on effort made
Entrepreneur.com cited an interesting
piece of research conducted by
the University of California, which
found that children who are praised
for their performance are more likely
to take on challenging tasks in the
future than children who are praised
more generally (e.g. ‘you’re a great
girl’).
Too much general praise can have
the opposite effect, and can in fact
demotivate people.
While the research was carried out on
toddlers, it still rings true for adults in
the workplace.
Praise works best when it’s specific to
the effort being made.
Step 6: Remind people of their
contributions
To keep people motivated and avoid
an inattention to results, it’s a good
idea to remind people regularly of
how their work is contributing to the
team.
Link the success of individuals back to
the entire team, and show how each
person’s effort is bringing the team
closer to its goal.
Step 7: Encourage people to share
their results publicly
It’s a good idea to get people to
declare their results and objectives in
public, as this holds them
accountable.
It is embarrassing to have to stand in
front of your team and tell them why
you didn’t put in enough effort.
Sharing results makes it more likely that
team members will stick to their
deadlines.
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Step 8: Keep focused on metrics
To overcome an inattention to results,
keep team members’ attention on
metrics.
A good idea is to write everybody’s
goals and tasks on a project sheet,
and put it on the wall.
Since we are a cricket loving nation,
let is look to this game for examples
on ‘Inattention to Results’.
Does one remember Sachin
Tendulkar’s 100th international
hundred after a tormenting year-long
wait? – but it is undeniable that his
actions in the ODI where he achieved
the feat put India at a disadvantage
and was directly responsible for their
defeat to Bangladesh.
It was in the 2012 Asia Cup that the
moment came, but the manner of
Tendulkar’s ton was instrumental to his
team’s defeat. The right-hander toiled
to 114 from 147 deliveries – just under
half of India’s innings – leaving the rest
to try and boost the side to a winning
score. Ultimately, despite late
boundaries at the death, the 289 runs
made proved not enough as the
Tigers (Bangla Desh) sneaked home to
win by five wickets.
It also added further weight to the
saying that whenever Tendulkar hit a
hundred, India would lose.
This is a classic example of Inattention
to Results.
For such people, Oliver Cromwell
Words in the speech dismissing the
"Rump Parliament" (20 April 1653)
would be appropriate:
You have sat too long for any good
you have been doing lately... Depart, I
say; and let us have done with you. In
the name of God, go!
Now let us look at another example, a
positive one this time, where the
batsman was played not for himself,
but for the team and the country. He
is Krishnamachari Srikkanth. Of course,
not many may remember him but
hear what Bishen Singh Bedi, the
captain of the then team had to say
about his batting:
When he bats, there is thunder and
lightning.
He was anathema to purists of the
game. While taking guard, he snorts
like a horse, twirls his bat as if it were a
club, stands with his feet spread apart
like a duck, and shakes his head like a
bull. And then, he explodes. And
when he does, no one really knows
where the ball is heading.
It might go like a bullet to the cover
boundary, soar high above mid-off, or
crash into the midwicket fence. Sunil
Gavaskar, who is usually at the other
end when it happens, says: "Some of
his shots were probably not in the
book even before B.C." That was
Krishnamachari Srikkanth - India's most
enigmatic and exciting batsman to
date.
Crowds scream like Romans watching
a gladiatorial contest when he makes
mince-meat of the bowling.
But success or failure doesn't seem to
affect his approach to cricket. Says
he: "People like me for the way I play
and not for my records. And I will
continue playing the way I play, only
better. My country is much more
important than my records”
That is the opposite of Inattention to
Results.
A final anecdote on Team work
While passing on streets, it was
observed that two men were digging
pits besides the road. The first was
excavating pits and the other was
filling up those pits. When asked what
they were doing they said: Three of us
were given the job of excavating pits,
planting sapling in them and then
refilling the pits. Today the person who
was to plant saplings is absent, but we
are continuing with our part of the
work.
This simple example will teach us what
‘Inattention to Results mean.
Inattention to Results
--------------
Farewell to A Siva Rama Krishna:
Siva Rama Krishna A leaves
ANPCPMC after having worked with
us for three years. He is the recipient of
the prize for ‘Best Article’ published in
‘Dimensions’ for the period July 2017
to April 2018, in addition he has won
several prizes for the best answer to
the question asked in the Newsletter,
including the prize announced in this
issue!!!
Farewell Get-together for Siva Rama
Krishna by the staff at Jayabheri – The
Summit, Vijayawada – 5 July 2019
A gift from Jayabheri – The Capital
Team. SIC BMV Kumar handing over
the gift as PIC Prasanna Kumar M
looks on.
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By Mary A
The first reference to tho-sai / dosai /
dosha / dosa is in the Tamil Sangam
Literature of the 6th century AD,
followed by another mention by
Western Chalukya king Somesvara III
in the year 1054 AD. However, modern
writers believe that dosa originated in
Udupi in Karnataka. Whatever be the
case, someone decided that the
fermented batter could be tossed
onto a griddle and roasted to crispy
perfection, and to them, we owe a
debt of gastronomic gratitude.
Surprisingly, uttapam (or uthapam)
existed before the dosa — around
1st century AD — and is basically the
same thing, except thicker, fluffier and
usually topped with spices, onions,
curry leaves and chillies, although
modern variations can have more, or
less, ingredients.
A crowd waits for Vidyarthi Bhavan,
Bangalore to open the doors
So what makes a dosa so special? We
start with a simple batter, made by
first grinding uncooked black gram
(soaked in water till the skins fall off)
and rice, which is also soaked (to
break down the starch), in a ratio of
1:3. Some water is added to this
ground up mixture, and it’s allowed to
ferment overnight. This process lends
dosas its slight sourness, but most
importantly, the fermentation process
basically breaks down the starches so
that they are more readily
metabolized by the body. Finally,
more water is added to make a thin,
slightly runny batter that can be
ladled onto a piping hot griddle. The
ladle is used to spread the batter out
in those concentric circles/spirals
we’re accustomed to, and once that
bottom is nice and golden, simply roll
it up (or fold) and serve.
Inside Vidyarthi Bhavan
For your efforts, you get a dosa, that’s
rich in good carbohydrates, contains
no salt, sugar or saturated fats (unless
you count the ghee), is gluten-free
and contains good leguminous
proteins. Not bad for a recipe that’s
more than 1,500 years old...
The masala dosa is a recent
phenomenon. How recent is a matter
of debate, but it was certainly an
innovation on the humble, household
dosa decades ago, when public
eateries became a familiar sight in
Bangalore and Mysore. It is important
to distinguish between the masala
dosa and the dosa. While the masala
dosa is still a rarity in one's home, the
simple dosa is ubiquitous. In fact, it has
become a standby breakfast or an
evening snack after refrigerators have
helped arrest the ferment of the
batter. While the potato filling is
imperative for a dosa to be crowned
as the masala variety, the ordinary
dosa can go with hurriedly ground
coconut and roasted gram chutney.
Of course, for the eclectic there could
be other accompaniments besides
the chutney, like the sambar, egg
curry, chicken or mutton gravy or
even a stew. Chutney powder with
ghee can also do as a quickie. The
masala dosa is built on the dosa and is
only an exotic adaptation in the
market place.
Over the decades the dosa has had
several cousins, distant and no-so-
distant ones. In the first ring there is
kaali dosa (plain) and set dosa (a set
of three thick dosas). In the second
and subsequent rings there is the
onion or tomato uttapam (spicing up
of an aged batter with vegetables,
onion and green chillies), menthya
dosa (with fenugreek and curd),
pesarattu (an Andhra variety made
with green gram, rice, green chilies
and ginger), ragi dosa (with millet),
halasinakai dosa (a coastal variety
made with jackfruit), aapam (rice and
urad dal fermented with a dash of
toddy) and neer dosa (a coastal
variety made instantly with rice on a
special pan, but without the urad dal).
Even when it comes to the filling, there
have been infinite innovations. The
potato filling has earned a global
recognition. Pesarattu has upma
stuffing inside it. In Goa we have
noodle stuffed dosa spring rolls as well
as the paneer-stuffed variety. The
most exotic in this class of the dosa
that proselytizes it into an integrated
non-vegetarian offering is the keema
stuffed one. All this should make it
astoundingly explicit that the dosa
batter is the most magical of all
culinary inventions in the world that
allows maximum innovations. You
change the stuffing or alter the
accompaniment and it is adopted
into a new culture.
Any woman who is serious about her
cooking and frugal with her kitchen
expense would know how to treat a
fresh batter and a three-day old one
or even the one that has lasted a
week. There is nothing called a stale
batter, which needs discarding. For a
lot of people it has reduced cooking
to easy pouring on the pan. The
batter is also seen as something that
rescues the man when the wife is
away.
Finally, what is the secret of making
the perfect Masala Dosa? The secret
is ‘Practice makes Perfect’, and if you
do not have the patience for that,
you better have the patience to
stand in queue for Vidhyarthi Bhavan
to open its doors.
MASALA DOSA
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APPENDIX
Question of this Month is:
In the last Issue (Vol11_Issue3_Feb
2019), the Article on ‘Soft Skill for
Engineers’ had a link to a TED talk by
Primatologist Frans de Waal on ‘Alpha
Male among Chimpanzees.
What does the Chimpanzee Alpha
Male do to the baby chimpanzees to
keep himself in the good books of
their mothers?
Since there is only one correct answer,
the first reply will be given the prize.
Results of Question of the last Month
In the article: Soft Skill for Engineers,
Empathy has been explained in detail,
as a Soft Skill which Engineers should
have. The question of the month was:
Name any other Soft Skill which is
important for an Engineer to acquire
and why you think it is essential. Please
send your replies by 15th Mar.
All the answers submitted were
relevant and important, but we
decided to award the prize for the skill
which we thought was most lacking in
our staff. We hope this will make the
staff keen to develop this skill.
Result of last month’s Q & A: The best
answer was submitted by A Siva Rama
Krishna from Jayabheri-The Capital
site, Vijayawada.
A Siva Rama Krishna’s answer:
Creativity
Creativity is a broad type of soft skill
that can help you develop innovative
solutions to problems at work.
Instructional designers, architects, and
artists are examples of jobs where
creativity is crucial to success.
Types of creative skills are:
Divergent thinking
Inspiration
Imagination
Reframing
Mind mapping
Insight
Innovation
Experimenting
Questioning
Design
G Nagaraju’s (from Myscapes,
Hyderabad) answer:
Communication
Communication skills can be oral or
written and allow you to express
yourself effectively in the workplace.
These skills are helpful in almost any
position but are critical for careers in
sales, human resources, and
management.
Types of communication skills include:
Clarity
Confidence
Respect
Empathy
Listening
Verbal communication
Non-verbal communication
Written communication
Constructive feedback
Friendliness
L Rudresh’s (from Manushree, Baddi)
answer:
Adaptability (or Flexibility)
Adaptability and flexibility are related
skills and are about embracing and
rolling with change.
They are particularly important when
working in fast-pace or constantly
changing work environments such as
public relations, event management,
nursing, and advertising.
Some examples include:
Curiosity
Self-management
Decision-making
Calmness
Optimism
Open-mindedness
Analysis
Self-confidence
Organization
Self-motivation
Editorial team
Roy Zacharias, Editor
Editorial Board: R Suresha, Divya K
We welcome your valuable suggestions,
comments and articles. Mail it to:
Publication of comments and articles are
subject to editorial control and discretion.