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We Had To Make Do With A Shaved Hockey Field, Plastered With Cow Dung: Ashok Kumar

Sanjeev Kochhar
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We Had To Make Do With A Shaved Hockey Field, Plastered With Cow Dung: Ashok Kumar

The main reason for decline of Indian hockey from the 1970s onwards was undoubted the inability of our players for decades to adjust to the new synthetic grass surface. It was clearly more suited to physical standards and style of play of players from Western nations. But, now that the new generation of Indian players are in tune with the surface, the future of Indian hockey looks bright.

These were the words of wisdom shared by veterans of India’s only Hockey World Cup title victory thus far, at Kuala Lumpur in 1975 – captain of the team Ajit Pal Singh and the man who scored the winning goal against Pakistan in the final, ace forward Ashok Kumar – in a session titled ‘Hockey: That 70s Show!’ at the 3rd edition of Playwrite sports literature fest, organised by The Playwrite Foundation, in Chandigarh, recently.

Photos By : Life In Chandigarh

The way the current Indian team has been playing, beating the top three teams in this year’s FIH Pro League, it can hopefully make a podium finish at the Tokyo Olympics, Ashok Kumar said, while exuding confidence that the boys are getting fitter and stronger, and playing technically better hockey, which are good traits to have while taking on the more robust teams of the world.

The two Indian hockey veterans were in conversation with senior journalist Prabhjot Paul Singh. The engrossing session was further bolstered as an ailing three time Olympic gold medallist and Chief Manager of the World Cup winning Indian team Balbir Singh Senior surprised everyone by making a brief appearance. It was picture perfect, as the three greats of the game met. A mad rush for selfies, group photographs and autographs followed, disrupting proceedings for quite a while.

When the session resumed, the more vocal of the two, Ashok Kumar, son of the legendry ‘hockey wizard’ Maj Dhyan Chand, while reminiscing those days of the great Indian win of 1975, and Indian hockey’s subsequent decline, shared that trials of the synthetic grass surface started in 1971-72, and FIH asked all hockey-playing nations to get the turfs. It was first officially used in the 1976 Montreal Olympics, but India got its first synthetic grass surface only in 1981, in preparation for the 1982 Asian Games, in New Delhi, he said.

“I remember that the preparatory camp for the Montreal Olympics was held at NIS Patiala, and since we did not have a synthetic grass surface in the country, the authorities plastered a field, from which grass was shaved off, with cow dunk, in a clumsy effort to replicate the conditions likely to confront them on the fast-paced synthetic grass surface in the Olympics,” Ashok Kumar related.

Ajit Pal Singh also blamed controversies that continued to dog the IHF in those times, and some weird changes made in team selections before important world events, for the decline in Indian hockey.

In fact, he said, the 1975 World Cup title was made all the more sweet, considering the uncertainty over the very participation of the team in the tournament. An ultimatum had been given to the Indian team management that the team will be sent back if the tussle within IHF was not resolved. We were saved the ignominy after the IOA stepped in and took responsibility to sponsor the team, he added.

Ashok Kumar remembered the one-and-a-half months training camp organised at Panjab University Chandigarh grounds, sponsored by the Punjab government, in preparation for the 1975 World Cup. He recalled the tremendous support they received from the huge crowds, which gathered each day to watch them practice, and being housed in an incomplete boys’ hostel right next to a girls’ hostel, which kicked up a controversy of sorts.

Asked about their preference between Indian and foreign coaches, Ajit Pal Singh, while appreciating the contribution of foreign coaches in fine-tuning the physical traits and technical skills of Indian hockey players in line with the requirement of artificial surfaces, felt that with the new generation of players having achieved that comfort level on such surfaces, Indian coaches could now take charge of training aspects.

Commenting on Major Dhyan Chand being overlooked for the Bharat Ratna award, while conferring it on cricket great Sachin Tendulkar, he said it was baffling why the government could not confer the country’s highest civilian honour on the ‘hockey wizard’, and three time Olympic gold medallist Balbir Singh Senior, for that matter. Their contribution to the game, and the honour they brought to the country, is unparalleled, he asserted.

LifeInChandigarh.com  by APR Media House is an enjoyable digital reading startup, which keeps you abreast of the latest meaningful happenings of interest to large sections of folks in Chandigarh tricity, and expats from the region. It has been promoted by a public spirited senior journalist and media consultant with a view to encourage good quality and healthy journalism, a dire need of the times.

To keep in touch, drop an email or call :
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Hundreds Of Lesser Heroes Make One Big Sporting Hero: Bhattacharjya

Sanjeev Kochhar
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Hundreds Of Lesser Heroes Make One Big Sporting Hero: Bhattacharjya

The business of sports is as important as sports itself. It is a crucial factor deciding how big a sport is going to be in the long run. So when a big name in the business of sports in India, Joy Bhattacharjya came calling, to participate in the 3rd edition of Playwrite sports literature fest, organised by The Playwrite Foundation in Chandigarh recently, we were all ears.

Besides being a celebrated quiz master, Bhattacharjya, who has been Team Director of IPL franchisee Kolkatta Knight Riders (KKR) for nearly seven years; Project Director, Local Organising Committee, 2017 FIFA Under-17 World Cup in India; and currently is CEO, Professional Volleyball League, explained that sport is a pyramid, the base of which naturally needs to be very strong.

Photo By : Life In Chandigarh

“People virtually worship their sporting icons, but what most of them do not realise is that it takes hundreds of lesser heroes at the lower levels to create one big hero at the highest level,” he remarked.

Sports need to be imbibed as a culture, he said while giving the example of Latin American countries Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay, which between themselves have won nine Football World Cups. “Most of the greats of the game these countries have produced started learning to play on the streets. That’s sports culture for you!”

He was in conversation with Chitranjan Agarwal, co-founder of The Playwrite Foundation and a big time sports enthusiast, in the session on ‘The Business of Sports’. The theme of Playwrite in this Tokyo Olympics year was ‘Living The Olympic Dream’.

Emphasising that parents need to get more proactive in encouraging and motivating their children to indulge and excel in professional sports of their choice, Bhattacharjya said the parents should be out there in the field with them, egging them on in their pursuit of excellence.

Pointing out that the good old PT or sports teachers in schools are not given their due, he said it is high time we start giving them the respect they deserve, just like we do to Maths, Science or English teachers, so that they get motivated to bring out the best in their trainees. “This is extremely important if we want to bring a sports revolution in this country. The school is where we need to start,” he asserted.

Tracing the initial journey of IPL, the sports administrator said India’s memorable victory in the first T20 World Cup final in 2007, with Pakistan’s dream ending after Misba-ul-Haq cooped up a catch, was the trigger for the IPL. “Initially no one knew how big or small the league would be. But, the memorable innings of 158 by Brendon McCullum for KKR vs Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2008 killed all speculation regarding the success of the league, and it went from strength to strength thereafter.”

Regarding the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup, he shared that there were initial doubts in people’s mind about hosting such a big tournament in a country considered not a good enough football-playing nation. “After the success of FIFA U-17 World Cup, which got 11 million school children playing football under ‘Mission Eleven Million’, a transformational school outreach programme, every sport wants to come to India, which is the largest untapped market for any sport. It is only we who are holding ourselves back,” he stressed.

Maintaining that football is a very important game for India, considering that it is among the simplest games to play, he expressed confidence that the game has a bright future in the country. “Football is on its way.”

While striking a note of optimism regarding the future of all sports in the country, he observed that there are enough people in the country wanting to indulge professionally in a lot of sports, and parents ready to support them, but the biggest impediment is the inability of people at the helm in many federations to think big regarding their sport. “But, they won’t let go of their positions either,” he rued.

Bhattacharjya strongly advocated putting sports in the concurrent list to bring the central government in the forefront of sports. Being a state subject, different states have their own sports policies because of which there is no cohesion of thought and action, he said.

LifeInChandigarh.com  by APR Media House is an enjoyable digital reading startup, which keeps you abreast of the latest meaningful happenings of interest to large sections of folks in Chandigarh tricity, and expats from the region. It has been promoted by a public spirited senior journalist and media consultant with a view to encourage good quality and healthy journalism, a dire need of the times.

To keep in touch, drop an email or call :
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Shailesh & Shailesh Inc. In CII Hill Council

Sanjeev Kochhar
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Shailesh & Shailesh Inc. In CII Hill Council

Lt Col Shailesh Pathak (retd) and Shailesh Aggarwal have been elected as the Chairman and Vice Chairman of CII Himachal Pradesh State Council respectively for the year 2020-21.

Lt Col Pathak is the CEO of Art-N-Glass Inc., a leading glass processing company, and Partner with Green Fenestration Technologies (GFT), a high technology doors and windows manufacturing company. A science graduate from Delhi University, and now a fenestration (the arrangement of windows in a building) professional, Col Pathak is also an adventure enthusiast and motivational speaker.

Lt Col Shailesh Pathak (retd)

Shailesh Aggarwal is Managing Director of Nalagarh-based JB Conductors and Cables,  manufacturers of insulated copper and aluminium conductors. A mechanical engineer from Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology, Patiala, Aggarwal has been associated with CII for many years and also served on the CII HP Panel on Power.

Shailesh Aggarwal

LifeInChandigarh.com  by APR Media House is an enjoyable digital reading startup, which keeps you abreast of the latest meaningful happenings of interest to large sections of folks in Chandigarh tricity, and expats from the region. It has been promoted by a public spirited senior journalist and media consultant with a view to encourage good quality and healthy journalism, a dire need of the times.

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No Coronavirus Impact On Industry So Far: Anurag Thakur

Sanjeev Kochhar
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No Coronavirus Impact On Industry So Far: Anurag Thakur

Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs Anurag Singh Thakur has said that initial feedback from various sectors of the economy does not point towards any significant adverse impact of the coronavirus epidemic in China on the Indian trade and industry so far. The government is, however, serious about preparing a contingency plan to protect Indian interests in any eventuality.

Addressing a media conference after an interaction with 300-odd stakeholders, including members of trade, industry, chartered accountants and lawyers from Chandigarh, Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh on taxation and related issues, Thakur informed that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has held discussions with all sections of trade and industry with exposure to China, especially relating to import of raw materials and capital goods, to seek a feedback on the impact of the epidemic and possible measures the government needs to take. 

Photos By : Life In Chandigarh

While maintaining that it is in the interests of the entire world that the epidemic is contained in the shortest possible time, he felt that at the same time the government and trade and industry should see the current economic situation prevailing in China as a window of opportunity.

Reiterating the Modi government’s commitment to achieve a US$ 5 Tn economy by 2024-25, he said it has taken several measures in the last nine months to spur investment and growth, including wide ranging tax reforms, maintaining fiscal discipline and strengthening the banking sector, which, he alleged was left in a shambles by the previous UPA government.

Listing out a few of the measures, the MoS Finance said slashing of corporate tax rate from 30% to 22% for existing companies, which is expected to cover 93% of the industry, and from 25% to just 15% for new manufacturing companies was a very bold step.

Asserting that the banking sector has also been revived by undertaking an asset quality review of public sector banks, strengthening them by consolidating 10 banks into four entities and effecting recapitalisation of banks to the extent of Rs 3.80 lakh crores, he said now the banks are flush with funds and in a much better position to lend to business and industry.

By recently organising ‘grahak melas’ at 400 different places across the country, the banks have sanctioned loans liberally, he claimed, adding that public sector banks have been advised to earmark two days every month when, after lunch hour, officials at every branch, circle office and zonal office will listen to the problems of the industry and business and try to resolve them expeditiously.

Dwelling on taxation reforms, he claimed that the ‘Sabka Vishwas’ (Legacy Dispute Resolution) Scheme has led to the resolution of 90% of the indirect tax disputes, bringing big relief to trade and industry, and, at the same time, pouring thousands of crores back into the government financial system. Following the success of this scheme, the government is now introducing a  ‘Vivad Se Vishvas’ scheme to further bring down the pendency of tax disputes, he informed.

Emphasising that tax collections have also shown a marked increase of 8% in the last few months over last year’s collections, he said it is a clear indicator towards revival of the economy. Even rating agencies, showing confidence in the strength of the Indian economy, have projected that the country will grow at 6-6.5% next year.  

Pointing to other achievements of the government, he mentioned that FDI inflows in the country during the past five years have been what UPA had achieved in their last 10 years. Forex reserves are at a high, fiscal deficit has been brought down from UPA’s 5.2% to 3.5% and will be further reduced next year, inflation has been brought down from a high of 12% to 4 % and current account deficit has also been kept in check, he added.

Claiming that the government’s announcement of infusing Rs 103 lakh crore into infrastructure development in the next 5 years would give a fillip to many sectors of the economy, he said the country is moving in the right direction – from 11th largest economy in the world to 5th largest and set to emerge as the 3rd largest economy in the world.

The minister was accompanied by John Joseph, Member, Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC); Prabhash Shankar, Member, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT); Dr PS Puniha, Principal Chief Commissioner Income Tax, North West Region; and Himanshu Gupta, Chief Commissioner, CBIC, Chandigarh.

The interaction was organized by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in partnership with the departments of Indirect Taxes & Customs and Income Tax Department at the CII Northern Region headquarters in Chandigarh.

In his address, Sameer Gupta, Chairman, CII Northern Region & CMD, Jakson Group, suggested reduction in tax rate slabs from six to three, bringing petroleum products, electricity and liquor under the purview of GST, ensuring single GST registration and setting up of GST Appellate Tribunals.

LifeInChandigarh.com  by APR Media House is an enjoyable digital reading startup, which keeps you abreast of the latest meaningful happenings of interest to large sections of folks in Chandigarh tricity, and expats from the region. It has been promoted by a public spirited senior journalist and media consultant with a view to encourage good quality and healthy journalism, a dire need of the times.

To keep in touch, drop an email or call :
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Harsimrat Kaur Chooses To Play Politics Over Developmental Issues

Sanjeev Kochhar
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Harsimrat Kaur Chooses To Play Politics Over Developmental Issues

Does a Union minister, come to inaugurate developmental projects in her home state, necessarily have to play politics over it just because the chief minister happens to be leading an opposition party government there. This is what happened recently at the inauguration of two major food processing units – Iscon Balaji Foods Pvt Ltd and Godrej Tyson Foods Ltd – at the sprawling 100 acres Mega Food Park Ladhowal, an infrastructure project of Punjab Agro Industries Corporation (PAIC), in Ludhiana district of Punjab.

Addressing a joint programme to mark the formal inauguration of the two units, and later interacting with the invited media, on February 24, Union Food Processing Industries Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal lashed out at Punjab Chief Minister Capt. Amarinder Singh for not working fast enough on the dozens of projects approved for the state by her ministry in line with efforts to realise the national goal of doubling farmers’ incomes.

Photos By : Life In Chandigarh

The state government is offering land parcels to investors, proposing to set up mega food parks, mini food parks, cold chains, etc., at exorbitant rates and the pace of developing infrastructure at planned sites is also too slow. Brandishing a bunch of official communications before media persons, she asserted that despite writing several letters and reminders to the chief minister, who has been pushing these to officials, things are just not moving.

Even the power infrastructure has been laid here only after learning of her visit, she said, adding that this will not deter her from bringing more projects to the state and speeding up its development. “It may be happening for the first time that even while the mega food park itself has yet to be inaugurated, two major units are being inaugurated,” she maintained, apparently trying to score brownie points.

All this, while Union Minister of State in her ministry Rameswar Teli, who hails from the North East, in his address, concentrated on development issues. The top honchos of the two companies were also apparently happy with the way things had moved for them so far, though they appeared reluctant to share information regarding investment and employment generation.

Harsimrat Kaur, however boasted that with an investment of nearly Rs 100 crore, the two companies will together create employment opportunities for 950 locals and pick up sizable quantities of the dominant crop of potato in the region, besides other vegetables like carrot, peas, etc.

The backdrop on the dais also announced that the Gujarat-based Iscon Balaji Foods plant will have an annual capacity of processing 70,000 metric tonnes (MT) of potato crop, leveraging an investment of Rs 40 crore, while Godrej Tyson Foods unit will have an annual installed capacity to make 5,700 metric tonnes of ready to eat & cook food products, leveraging an investment of Rs 65 crore.

The Union minister informed the gathering that another mega food park, concentrating on maize crop, will be ready for inauguration in the next two-three months in Kapurthala district,  and will go a long way in diversification of crop from the water guzzling paddy to maize.

Sukhjit Mega Food Park, spread over 55 acres, is about 15 kms from Phagwara adjoining Phagwara-Hoshiarpur state highway, in Kapurthala district of Punjab. Nearly all of the 30-40 units to be housed in the mega park will be maize (corn) based.

Potato flakes

Later talking to LifeInChandigarh.com, Neel Kotak, Managing Director, Iscon Balaji Foods Pvt Ltd, said their Ladhowal plant, with a capacity to process 72,000 MT raw material (potato) annually, makes potato flakes which are used in several ready to eat food stuffs. “We have two plants in Gujarat – one for making potato flakes and the other for making french fries. The company works with 5,000 farmers in Gujarat and aspires to replicate the same in Punjab,” he added.

While showing his reluctance to talk about installed capacity of the Ladhowal plant, Godrej Tyson Foods Ltd Chief Executive Officer Prashant Vatkar shared with LifeInChandigarh.com that right now it is not working to full capacity.

“May be, it will take two years to achieve full capacity utilisation. The market sentiment is also slightly depressed, and it applies to all sectors, including food. But, we are happy with the way things are going. There are no problems, no concerns. Every project needs stabilisation time. We feel we are on course,” he emphasised.

Expressing confidence that the future of the food sector is bright, he informed that they have a lot of room for further expansion of the plant as and when required.

LifeInChandigarh.com  by APR Media House is an enjoyable digital reading startup, which keeps you abreast of the latest meaningful happenings of interest to large sections of folks in Chandigarh tricity, and expats from the region. It has been promoted by a public spirited senior journalist and media consultant with a view to encourage good quality and healthy journalism, a dire need of the times.

To keep in touch, drop an email or call :
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9815617676 

Rahul Ahuja, Sunjay Kapur & Dr SPS Grewal To Take Charge In Northe States

Sanjeev Kochhar
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Rahul Ahuja, Sunjay Kapur & Dr SPS Grewal To Take Charge In Northe States

Rahul Ahuja, Managing Director of Rajnish Industries Private Limited; Sunjay Kapur, Chairman, Sona Comstar; and Dr SPS Grewal, Chief Executive Officer, Grewal Eye Institute Pvt Ltd, have been elected chairmen of the Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh state committees respectively of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) for the year 2020-2021.

Bhavdeep Sardana, Senior Vice President & CEO, Sukhjit Starch & Chemicals Limited, Rajiv Gandhi, Senior Executive Director – Production, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, and Manish Gupta, Proprietor, Synergy Enterprises will be the new vice chairmen of the three state committees respectively.

Rahul Ahuja, an engineer by training, is Managing Director of Rajnish Industries Pvt Ltd, engaged in manufacture & exports of diesel fuel injection spares. Having five manufacturing units in Ludhiana, employing 1,000 people, the company is exporting its products to 50 countries.

Bhavdeep Sardana, Senior Vice President & CEO, Sukhjit Starch & Chemicals Limited. He is actively engaged with state governments and Government of India on framing policies affecting agro-processing industry and ease of doing business reforms. He is also a member of Punjab State Planning Board.

Sunjay Kapur leads the SONA Group, wherein he holds the office of Chairman of the Indian entity – Sona Comstar ($210Mn); and CEO of the European business Sona BLW Praezisionsschmiede GmbH ($300Mn). He is also Vice President of the Automotive Component Manufacturers Association (ACMA) of India, and heads the Electrical Mobility Committee for the association, besides being Co-Chair of the Smart Manufacturing Committee at CII.  Sunjay is a member of the Governing Council of the Indian Public School Society (IPSS), a body that oversees the functioning of his alma mater, The Doon School.

Rajiv Gandhi, as Senior ED – Production, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (MSIL), heads a workforce of 15,000 people distributed in 3 locations – Gurugram, Manesar and Power Train plants. He is leading operations of 118 departments and 29 divisions across vehicle and engine manufacturing, production engineering, power plants, materials logistics, etc. He is responsible for a car rolling out of MSIL premises every 12 seconds.

Dr SPS Grewal, Chief Executive Officer of Grewal Eye Institute Pvt Ltd, has worked for 35 years in the field of Ophthalmology. Before starting his own setup, he worked at PGI for 12 years till 1993 and left the job as Associated Professor. Dr Grewal is a member of American Academy of Ophthalmology, European Society of Cataract & Refractive Surgeons, All India Ophthalmology Society, etc.

Manish Gupta, Proprietor of Synergy Enterprises, is into doing R&D and manufacturing for Defence Forces, especially Indian Air Force and DRDO Labs. He is recipient of Award of Excellence in Indigenization from the Ministry of Defence as well as from SIATI (Society of Indian Aerospace Technologies and Industries).

LifeInChandigarh.com  by APR Media House is an enjoyable digital reading startup, which keeps you abreast of the latest meaningful happenings of interest to large sections of folks in Chandigarh tricity, and expats from the region. It has been promoted by a public spirited senior journalist and media consultant with a view to encourage good quality and healthy journalism, a dire need of the times.

To keep in touch, drop an email or call :
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9815617676

Five-yr Infra Upgrade To Support High-end Defence Production, Says GM Mishra

Sanjeev Kochhar
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Five-yr Infra Upgrade To Support High-end Defence Production, Says GM Mishra

The good old Ordnance Cable Factory (OCF), recently renamed Ordnance Factory Chandigarh (OFCd), sprawling across 40 acres of prime land in Industrial Area Phase I, has set a five year timeline for modernisation to support the production of high-end optics and thermal imaging devices which are finding increasing demand from the defence forces.

In a rare, if not first media interaction by OFCd, its General Manager BP Mishra informed that the Chandigarh factory, which, since its inception in 1963, had been producing specialised communication cables for the Army, capable of withstanding extreme temperatures, from over 50 degrees Celsius in the deserts to below (minus) 50 degrees Celsius on very high altitude locations.

Photo By : Life In Chandigarh

But with several modern technologies coming in, the demand for conventional cables from the Army has been steadily dwindling, hence the need for diversification into optics, high end optics and thermal imaging devices.

OFCd had already diversified its product range from conventional cables to cable harnesses and day vision sights for tanks and other armoured vehicles, he said, adding “Now the infrastructure at the factory is being upgraded and modernised to cater to production of latest weapon sights, thermal imaging sights and missile guiding systems as part of the national agenda for import substitution and self dependence in modern weapon systems.”

He said production of these modern weapon systems is currently being undertaken by the Ordnance Factory Dehradun (OFD), but because of the increasingly high demand it was felt that OFCd should share the burden of adding capacities.

Informing that earlier research and development of weapon systems was the sole domain of Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO), but now ordnance factories are also taking on this load in various ordnance development centres being set up within their premises. One such centre has been set up in Chandigarh as well. The successful development of the 155 mm Dhanush artillery gun goes to the credit of one of these ordnance development centres, he pointed out.

Stressing that though OFCd is among the smaller ordnance factories, with just about 450 employees, it has been at the vanguard of technological changes and has produced world class products for the defence forces, he said last year its production was worth Rs 110 crore, and this year it is expected to be in the region of Rs 125 crore. “We are expecting some big orders for hi-tech cables and optics from Government of India,” he added.

Mishra said the factory is credited with executing all Army orders within agreed timelines, and maintaining the highest quality standards. “There’s a complete structure of in-house and external inspection of the production before it is inducted for field use. There has not been a single complaint from field units regarding quality standards of OFCd deliveries,” he asserted.

He emphasised that OFCd is also one of the budget surplus ordnance factories in the country.

LifeInChandigarh.com  by APR Media House is an enjoyable digital reading startup, which keeps you abreast of the latest meaningful happenings of interest to large sections of folks in Chandigarh tricity, and expats from the region. It has been promoted by a public spirited senior journalist and media consultant with a view to encourage good quality and healthy journalism, a dire need of the times.

To keep in touch, drop an email or call :
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9815617676 

Iconic ‘Bunnies’ Have Arrived, Minus The Nudity; Stags Please Excuse!

Sanjeev Kochhar
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Iconic ‘Bunnies’ Have Arrived, Minus The Nudity; Stags Please Excuse!

The iconic Playboy Bunnies have arrived! Are you READY! This announcement-invitation is from six young promoters targeting members of their NextGen. Their new venture Playboy Club, in City Emporium Mall, is set to open its doors to that truly international experience, touted to elevate night dancing and clubbing in Chandigarh tricity, indeed the entire Northern region, up a few notches.

With interiors done in contrasting colour tones of glittering gold and black, towering LED wall and bar, a huge dance floor, a unique, and perhaps country’s only second UFO-Fibre Optic lighting system, surround sound, laser lighting, original memorabilia like photographs and beautiful artwork on the club walls, bringing the ‘Playboy nostalgia’ alive, this one is THE PLACE to be for the hip and happening crowd.

Photos By Life In Chandigarh

International models as Playboy Bunnies in their iconic one-piece polka dots black and white and shimmering silver costumes, complete with bow ties, bunny ears, net leggings and high heels, will be part of the regular hospitality team of the club. There will be strictly no nudity of yesteryears, as per the new revival ethic of the worldwide Playboy organisation. Stags are a big No-No, at least for the time being. Only couples and single ladies are permitted entry.

DJ Felix

The club is throwing its doors open to the guests with a bang! A grand opening party on February 28 (Friday) evening will feature popular Indo-Canadian singer, songwriter and producer PropheC, who is also founder of his own label, PropheC Productions, along with rocking DJs Felix and Kitty Kat. The second day, February 29 (Saturday), will have artists and DJs Teri Mico and Kalpnik Bass entertaining the crowds. Each day thereafter will have a new concept and theme.

DJ Kitty Kat

Some of the Instagram and FB promos read something like this:

“Your party psyche is not the only thing elevating this weekend. We are going to take your clubbing experience several notches up, too!”

“Chandigarh, put on your Mn $ shoes, because it’s time to get groovy on the beats by PropheC and DJs Felix and Kitty Kat at the launch party, don’t miss out on the biggest party night in Chandigarh!”

“Grand, Legendary, Loud, Classy & Sinful!”

‘Key Room’

Spread over a carpet area of 10,000 sq ft, this is only the fifth Playboy Club in India. It has three different sections for the guests to feel very special. There is a Regular area and VIP & VVIP areas. The place also houses a ‘Key Room’ for Royal clients, replete with a private bar and DJ.

Annual membership starts from Rs 20,000 at the lower end and goes up to Rs 1.5 lakh, Rs 2.5 lakh and Rs 5 lakh in the top-tier, which comes with a host of complimentary perks.

Promoters say the daily entry fee for couples and single ladies will be pocket-friendly and value for money. On special occasions entry could be free for the ladies. Commenting on the competition, the young men feel that all clubs are good, but there will be several differentiators in Playboy Club which will make it stand apart.  

The Playboy management would like to see all hues of guests coming and enjoying their evenings and nights and rubbing shoulders. Apart from the iconic Playboy Bunnies, great food and good service are sought to be made hallmarks of Playboy Clubs under the new work ethic.

Unlike in the past, when Playboy Clubs used to have all men memberships, the new trend being witnessed has lots of women taking membership too, up to 40% at places. 

The Initiators

Young entrepreneur Nikhil Verma was the one who first thought of bringing the Playboy brand to Chandigarh. Initially the plan was to bring Playboy Cafe. But when two more youngsters, Karan Singh and Summer Sidhu joined Nikhil, the plan was upgraded from Playboy Cafe to Playboy Club, and to fulfil this “dream” the team was strengthened to include Shubham Gupta, Mehnaz Sidhu and Prabhjot Aulakh.

https://www.instagram.com/playboyclubchandigarh/

https://www.facebook.com/playboyclubchandigarh/

For bookings, inquiries: 9888688801

LifeInChandigarh.com  by APR Media House is an enjoyable digital reading startup, which keeps you abreast of the latest meaningful happenings of interest to large sections of folks in Chandigarh tricity, and expats from the region. It has been promoted by a public spirited senior journalist and media consultant with a view to encourage good quality and healthy journalism, a dire need of the times.

To keep in touch, drop an email or call :
kochhar.apr@gmail.com
9815617676

Unmatched Variety In Mode Furniture At Indian Price, Is Global Brands Promise

Sanjeev Kochhar
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Unmatched Variety In Mode Furniture At Indian Price, Is Global Brands Promise

As many as 100 models of sofa sets, 40 designs each of beds and dining tables with chairs, besides a wide range of rocking chairs, corner tablets, TV cabinets, wardrobes, corners, lobby chairs, office tables, work stations and conference tables, that’s the depth of international brand HATIL’s collection of slim and stylish furniture with Italian lacquer finish. The brand launched its second exclusive store in tricity, at Mohali, recently.

Surprise! HATIL, a global brand, exporting its furniture products to multiple international markets, including USA, Canada, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Thailand, Egypt and Russia, besides India, has its base in the country we helped liberate in 1971, Bangladesh!

Photos By : Life In Chandigarh

The company boasts of the largest wood working factory in South Asia, sprawling over 800,000 sq ft production space in Ghazipur, Dhaka. Considering its expanding horizons, it is in the process of further boosting capacities, by making a fresh investment of over Rs 200 crore in multiple operation German and Italian machines. 

Without compromising on aesthetics, the company has designed and engineered a range of modular furniture especially for customers constrained for space. So, you have wall mounted single and double beds, wall hanging dining set with storage and a ladder chair. Among other modular products are a foldable study table with wheels and merged chair, which can be pulled out for use; a two-seater sofa which can be extended to five seats; and a four chair dining table which can be expanded to six chair table.

Speaking to LifeInChandigarh.com on the sidelines of the formal launch of the sprawling multi-floor store on the Airport Road in Mohali’s Sector 82, Shafiqur Rehman, Director, HATIL, informed, “we have over 550,000 sq ft (86 showrooms) dedicated single-brand retail floor space the world over. This is the 22nd exclusive store in India, and second, after Zirakpur, in Punjab.”

Also present on the occasion were franchise company (Inner Space) owners Balwinder Singh Saran, a well known businessman of Chandigarh tricity, and Sameer Kumar, a well established architect, along with Avan Goel, who is managing HATIL’s India operations. 

“We are happy to mark our presence in Mohali,” Rehman said, adding “it is a fast developing mode industrial and commercial city with an international airport, a destination for home and office interiors and furniture. Our USP is that Indian customers would not have seen such variety at such prices. We believe that Mohali will provide us a gateway to more destinations in Northe India and we look forward to becoming part of many homes, offices and hotels here. We offer superior design and quality with top-class production. We aspire to steadily grow in India.”   

Despite the perceived depressed market in the country, the brand, which has a presence in Eastern, Northe and Weste parts of the country, is targeting big. Doubling its exclusive stores in the country from 22 to 50, and in Northe zone from seven to 15, by end of 2020, the company plans to extend its reach to South and Central India as well.

Talking about quality, Rehman claimed that “The brand name HATIL stands for elegant, contemporary and affordable furniture. It is synonymous with superior quality, craftsmanship and post sales service. Its 50 years of accumulated experience in wood processing and furniture manufacturing ensures that the furniture is aesthetically pleasing, functionally superior and durable.”

Stressing that the brand used solid Beech wood from Germany in its furniture products along with engineered wood with Beech veneer and pre laminated board, he said the company is sensitive towards environmental issues and uses UV lacquer finish, which is durable, environment-friendly and free from formaldehyde and hazardous substances. The products come with five-year warranty for the wood treatment, along with one year standard warranty,  as per International standards.

HATIL positions itself in the sizable mid-market (mostly comprising middle and upper-middle population) at prices, it claims, are “Indian”. “Our sole business focus is furniture manufacturing, and supervising the retail operations, so customers always get the best product,” Rehman asserted.

Analysing the Indian market, he maintained that the country has been the largest importer of furniture until 2006-2007, importing about 17% of total global export of furniture, a situation that has not changed much. The reasons are plenty, he said, adding that “Furniture has not been approached rightly as a lifestyle product, and thus design innovations remained much classic compared to developments in other parts of the world.

“The industry remained customer driven, and could not adopt the strategy of driving the customers through the introduction of slim, mode and straight-line furniture. When every lifestyle segment – cars, phones, laptops, TVs, fashion – went modern, furniture largely remained Victorian in Indian context,” Rehman said.

He explained that due to complexity of raw materials and processing variety, furniture manufacturing requires sole focus in the business. Thus, furniture is generally less successful when it is part of a group of companies. In India, no significant manufacturer emerged, as a majority approached the industry as unrelated diversification.

Given this market situation, he claimed low quality Chinese and Malaysian imports filled the gap along with poorly finished local makes. On the other hand, a large chunk of the affluent population went for the highly priced imported European and American furniture, he added.

The Range & Price

·   Sofas – Rs 10,000-25,000 per seat (various designs in centre tables also available).

·   Beds – Rs 18,000- 65,000 (matching bedside tables also available)

·   Dining Table with Chairs (Seating capacity of 4, 6, 8 along with options of glass top, marble top and wooden top dining tables) – Rs 35,000-95,000

·   Other utility furniture includes rocking chairs, easy chairs, tea trolleys, cradles, corner tables, TV cabinets, wardrobes, iron tables, shoe racks, study tables, reading table, corners, open shelves, lobby chairs, etc

·   Office tables include director tables, executive tables in lacquered and melamine faced chipboard (MFC) tops

·   Office chairs, work stations, conference tables, file cabinets, mobile drawers

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1082534941855823&external_log_id=60e1b14a21209015795463fed837195c&q=hatil%20mohali

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1075459142563403&external_log_id=60e1b14a21209015795463fed837195c&q=hatil%20mohali

https://www.facebook.com/hatilbd/videos/1072307996211851/?v=1072307996211851&external_log_id=60e1b14a21209015795463fed837195c&q=hatil%20mohali

LifeInChandigarh.com  by APR Media House is an enjoyable digital reading startup, which keeps you abreast of the latest meaningful happenings of interest to large sections of folks in Chandigarh tricity, and expats from the region. It has been promoted by a public spirited senior journalist and media consultant with a view to encourage good quality and healthy journalism, a dire need of the times.

To keep in touch, drop an email or call :
kochhar.apr@gmail.com
9815617676 

Consider India As First Choice For Business With Global Vision, CEO Sunny Kaila To Fellow Indians

Sanjeev Kochhar
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Consider India As First Choice For Business With Global Vision, CEO Sunny Kaila To Fellow Indians

As a boy from an ordinary agricultural family in Nakodar, Punjab, he set out to fulfil his mother’s wishes to become a doctor. Unsuccessful in getting into a medical college, he migrated to US in 1993, did odd blue collar jobs and, as fate would have it, ended up completing a four-year engineering degree from the New Jersey Institute of Technology. Today he lords over a successful IT business, spread across New Jersey, Chandigarh and Noida, poised for a big leap forward.

Recently in Chandigarh to announce a major expansion of his IT workforce from the present 500 to 2,000 in the next three years, Sukhwinder Singh Kaila, popular as Sunny Kaila, CEO of IT By Design, told LifeInChandigarh.com that he has also brought along CEOs of 25 US-based small and medium IT companies, all working with his company, to give them insights into opportunities for possible direct foreign investments in various IT fields like hardware, networking and software in the Chandigarh region.

Photos By : Life In Chandigarh

As part of the expansion plans, IT By Design inaugurated its 500-person office expansion in Rajiv Gandhi Chandigarh Technology Park last weekend. With the over 36,000 square feet office, the company’s new footprint in Chandigarh is three times larger than its previous space. The honours were done by local Member of Parliament Kirron Kher. Chandigarh BJP President and former Mayor Arun Sood and Senior Deputy Mayor Ravi Kant Sharma accompanied her.

Sharing his thoughts over the expansion, Kaila, while apparently unwilling to share company’s turnover figures, said IT By Design, a family held business (his wife Kamaljit ‘Kam’ Kaur Kaila heads the marketing division) which began operations in US in the year 2003 and from India in 2008, has been growing @ 50% year-on-year for the last four years, which is the main motivation for the expansion plan.

He said the company is into providing a variety of solutions, including dedicated staffing, 24x7x365 network operations centre (NOC) services, helpdesk solutions and professional services, to small and medium IT companies, primarily in the US. There is a growing demand of such solutions in the US, hence the need to expand the company’s infrastructure and staff, he added.

“I’ve always had a dream, right from the time I first came to the US, that once I succeed in life, I would give back to the region and people where my story began. It’s all about remembering your roots and the people who helped you on your life journey”, he shared.

Kaila did live his dream when he began his India operations in a small way from Chandigarh, and gradually scaled up. “I firmly believe that the main cause of the distress among youth in Punjab, because of which there is a mad rush to run away abroad, is rampant unemployment. If we can provide them opportunities for quality jobs here in India, all these tendencies to take drugs and indulge in violence will dissipate,” he emphasised.

Arguing why first Bangalore, and later Hyderabad, have been an IT success story, he maintained that the political leadership in Karnataka and then undivided Andhra Pradesh did some impactful work and created a conducive atmosphere for IT industry to flourish. Likewise, Chandigarh has also had an edge because of its liveability factor.

Kaila, however, does not believe in getting into a blame game, like accusing the successive political leaderships in Punjab of letting the people down. “We must be positive in our approach and concentrate on what we as individuals can do within our capacities to improve things, at least do our bit. My philosophy in life is that through my efforts if I can inspire other people of Punjab origin to contribute their bit, I think I would have done my duty.”

Commenting on the continuing brain drain from the country, the IT By Design CEO felt that it is unfortunate that the smart brains after getting the best of education in the country are contributing to the economies of already advanced countries.

He felt that things have changed drastically in the country. There are more opportunities of quality employment and doing business. The startup ecosystem has also started looking up. “In such a scenario there is an urgent need for young, educated and enterprising people to at least explore the idea of doing something in India while targeting the global markets,” he remarked.

Kaila is now keen on sharing his experiences with, and inspiring young brains, especially in educational institutions, to go for entrepreneurship.

www.itbd.net

LifeInChandigarh.com  by APR Media House is an enjoyable digital reading startup, which keeps you abreast of the latest meaningful happenings of interest to large sections of folks in Chandigarh tricity, and expats from the region. It has been promoted by a public spirited senior journalist and media consultant with a view to encourage good quality and healthy journalism, a dire need of the times.

To keep in touch, drop an email or call :
kochhar.apr@gmail.com
9815617676

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