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Savour The Tadka Of Worlds Best Coffees

Sanjeev Kochhar
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Savour The Tadka Of Worlds Best Coffees

I am not a connoisseur of coffee, never was. So, when a select invite came for exclusive pre-launch tastings from a store, the opening of which the hep crowd from the region had been craving for years, I was still very excited. And there I was in the exclusive environs of ‘Starbucks Coffee’ experience zone at the Elante Mall Chandigarh on Monday, with the all pervading aroma of rich coffee lifting my spirits. The outlet has been designed to celebrate the unique architecture for which Chandigarh is world famous. The wood-stamped concrete walls are attractively designed with a colourful and textural piece of tapestry created using local weaving and embroidery techniques, giving the store a warm rustic feel.

The store, the first in a city outside of the metros and mini metros in the country, will open to the public on October 19. But curious onlookers were seen taking an extended peep and enquiring whether it was open, a testimony to the instant connect Starbucks, the largest coffee chain in the world, commands around the globe with 28,000 retail stores in 76 countries. Starbucks entered the Indian market in October 2012 through a 50-50 joint venture with Tata Global Beverages. Starbucks stores in India are operated by the joint venture Tata Starbucks Pvt Ltd, and branded as “Starbucks Coffee – A Tata Alliance”.

Photos By : Life In Chandigarh

Customers can expect to be served from a wide range of Starbucks offerings, including the Starbucks signature espresso-based beverages like Cappuccinos, Americanos, Lattes, and an extensive food menu comprising Indian and International favourites. The store will also serve Starbucks Nitro Cold Brew, the latest in a series of coffee innovations highlighting the barista craft and high-quality coffee. It will also offer all-time favourites such as Cafe Mocha, Java Chip Frappuccino, Signature Hot Chocolate and Caramel Macchiato. A range of ‘Teavana’ teas, including the Starbucks signature tea innovation – Indian Spicy Majesty Blend – will be available.

Considering the region’s penchant for good food, Starbucks is introducing two new food additions to its existing beverage menu to celebrate the flavours of the Chandigarh region. The Chicken Makhani Croissant Bun is a butterfly croissant bun layered with chicken and onions, perfected with makhani sauce and pickled mayo. For the vegans, there is Chole Masala Tortilla Wrap, which has chole wrapped in a tortilla with onions, jalapenos and spinach. The wrap is complimented with green chutney and mango murabba.

Sharing the company’s philosophy of providing personalised service through its employees, whom the company calls its partners, along with serving the world’s best coffees in a signature Starbucks setting, Tata Starbucks CEO Sumitro Ghosh said the Starbucks culture is working in India, which is the fastest growing market for the company worldwide.

Commenting on the choice of Chandigarh, Ghosh said, “We are extremely excited to be in Chandigarh, which is the first non-metro city we have touched so far. The decision to come to the city was taken after receiving persistent feedback from customers belonging here at Starbucks stores in other cities that they sorely missed the coffee chain in their city. And, this is definitely not going to be the only outlet in Chandigarh. We will have many more as we go along.”

Dwelling on future expansion plans, Ghosh said “with the addition of Chandigarh we now have 129 stores in India across eight cities, including Mumbai, where we first set foot six years ago, Delhi NCR, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bengaluru, Pune and Kolkata. Last year we opened 25 outlets and this year we will have more than that.”

About Starbucks

The Starbucks story began in 1971. Back then, it was a roaster and retailer of whole beans and ground coffee, tea and spices with a single store in Seattle’s Pike Place Market. Today it is connected with millions of customers every day at more than 28,000 stores in 76 countries. Starbucks is named after the first mate in Herman Melville’s novel Moby-Dick. Its logo is also inspired by the sea, featuring a twin-tailed siren from Greek mythology.

Accelerated Intl Travel Sparked Global Action On Infectious Diseases: Prof NK Ganguly

Sanjeev Kochhar
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Accelerated Intl Travel Sparked Global Action On Infectious Diseases: Prof NK Ganguly

If the world is better prepared today to tackle outbreak of infectious diseases, because of greater sharing of data real time and coordinated approach to disease management, we have to thank the international travellers, who have been jet-setting across the globe with much heightened frequency than before. “Increased international travel, and the resultant danger of diseases spreading outside the borders of affected country or countries, has necessitated globalisation of the effort to contain and eliminate these outbreaks with development of vaccines and emergency drugs,” says former Director General, Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR), Padma Bhushan Prof NK Ganguly.

Talking to lifeinchandigarh.com recently after delivering the 8th Prof Rabindranath Chakravarti Memorial Oration organised by the Department of Experimental Medicine and Biotechnology, PGI Chandigarh, in memory of its founding professor, he said the world has come a long way since the times when outbreak of a disease in a particular country used to result in mass deaths, paralyse the nation and isolation it from the rest of the world. Such countries were boycotted by international travellers. The imports and exports were also severely curtailed. It was never a happy situation, he added.

Photos By : Life In Chandigarh

He pointed out that it happened because data about the outbreak was not shared. For many of these diseases there were no vaccines, or emergency drugs. All this changed gradually. “We have now been able to contain infections to a large extent and reduce their burden appreciably. While small pox had been eradicated worldwide with vaccination, many parts of the world are now free from polio and malaria as well. Effective vaccines have been developed for many other infectious diseases, which have been contained significantly. We did not have an immediate answer to the Ebola virus disease during its most widespread 2013-2016 outbreak in West Africa, but subsequent outbreaks have not left any severe impact because of the preparedness and coordination of the world community,” he informed.

Prof Ganguly felt that countries need to pool their resources so that emergency drugs can be rushed in sufficient quantities to the outbreak areas. Also, to ensure that the new drugs do not cost a bomb, regulations need to be harmonised across the world so that there can be an open licensing system to allow manufacture of such drugs in any part of the world, he said.

Advocating that scientists need to generate ground level data with the help of organisations and individuals who work with communities, he said this was necessary to be able to identify and quickly tackle new viruses and new strains of old viruses which are posing new challenge before the scientific community. These grass root level operatives also need to be empowered, along with the communities in which they are working, for optimising outcomes of new initiatives, he opined.  

Prof Ganguly stressed that a disturbing issue which needs to be tackled with all seriousness, especially in tropical countries like India, is that despite developing their own indigenous vaccines or drugs for tackling the common diseases of their regions they are unable to put them to proper or optimal use. Development of cholera vaccine in India is a perfect example of this malady, he added.

‘Eat At Home For 3 Months, You Will Not Complain Of ‘Gas’ Or Acidity’

Sanjeev Kochhar
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‘Eat At Home For 3 Months, You Will Not Complain Of ‘Gas’ Or Acidity’

A senior PGI faculty has thrown up a simple solution for a health condition which every second person is complaining of. Prof Rakesh Kochhar, head of Department of Gastroenterology, has said “I can guarantee that if you eat home-made food for three months at a stretch you will stop complaining of ‘gas’ or acidity formation.

Talking to lifeinchandigarh.com on the eve of a recent two-day update programme on gastrointestinal emergencies for resident doctors and practising physicians held at the PGI, Prof Kochhar said the root cause of creating imbalance in pancreatic acids is indiscriminate or untimely intake of food and unhygienic water and outdoor foodstuffs. “So, when we are eating out, we must ensure that the water we drink is safe and avoid eating sweets, milk products like paneer and curd, salads, etc, which are highly susceptible to bacterial infection,” he advised.

Prof Kochhar strictly cautioned against overeating. “Eat when you feel hungry and only as much as your appetite requires. The mode trend of eating late and not having breakfast at all is a strict no no,” he added.

The senior PGI faculty also advised against routine intake of ‘digestive tablets’ like Pentocid, etc and asserted that these should only be taken in acute cases, that too under medical prescription. It is, however, safe to take Gelusil, Digene, Pudin Hara, Eno, ‘ajwain’, etc, he informed.

Commenting on frozen foods, he said these are safe so long as the entire cold chain in which these have been preserved is secure. “We can safely keep food frozen at home and keep eating it for up to six months.”

Dwelling on another common problem, of constipation, he said it is largely caused by lack of fibre in our food and inadequate intake of water. “For this, fibrous foods should find a prominent place in our daily menu. Eating finely ground wheat flour should be avoided,” he opined.

Dr. Usha Dutta, another professor in the Department of Gastroenterology, informed that rising problem of alcohol and drug abuse in the region, especially in Punjab, had lead to an increase in the frequency of gastrointestinal problems like alcohol related pancreatic and liver diseases and viral hepatitis. “Alcohol related pancreatitis is the most important cause of pancreatic disease seen in the region, and in severe cases it can result in high mortality rates,” she said.  

Prof Kochhar added that annually more than 300 cases of acute pancreatitis are seen at PGI Chandigarh and half of these are from Punjab. The patients often come to the hospital with sudden abdominal pain, usually occurring after a bout of alcohol intake. The treatment is difficult and costly, he informed.

Talking about other diseases, Prof Dutta said Hepatitis B and C are also important causes of liver disease in the region, and infections can occur from intravenous drug abuse, unsafe sexual practices and transfusion of tainted blood products. Viral infections can lead to liver disease which can further result in jaundice, formation of fluid in abdomen, bleeding from the mouth and disorientation. These complications can be life threatening and are common in the region. PGI, on an average, treats around 15-20 cases of gastrointestinal bleeding every week, she added.

Stressing that the medical management in emergency situations of this nature often makes or breaks the chances of good clinical outcome, she said “Many seemingly simple problems like gallstones can tu life threatening when complications related to them like pancreatitis, blockage of the bile duct, or cancer of the gall bladder surface. Since clinicians and emergency physicians encounter these problems first hand, they need to be trained and retrained in managing these conditions.” 

See & Lea Entrepreneurship, At Chandigarh Univ, Courtesy IIT Kharagpur

Sanjeev Kochhar
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See & Lea Entrepreneurship, At Chandigarh Univ, Courtesy IIT Kharagpur

You lea when you see. This is the idea behind the Entrepreneurship Awareness Drive (EAD), one of the flagship events conducted by the Entrepreneurship Cell of IIT Kharagpur across the country in the run up to its Annual Business Model Competition, Empresario. At Empresario, organised in association with the International Business Model Competition (IBMC), business ideas in all fields, ranging from product and service to social, get equal opportunity to win prizes and incubation opportunities to the tune of Rs 2.5 crore. Enterprising college students from the Chandigarh region will get an opportunity to participate in one such EAD with the Chandigarh University hosting it on October 16. The EAD-Chandigarh, a three-hour event, will feature a series of guest lectures and workshops, where students can get to lea from the ‘achievers’ of society, add to their knowledge and get an insight to what happens after they ‘start up’.

In a communiqué shared with lifeinchandigarh.com, the online media partner for this year’s events, Entrepreneurship Cell, IIT Kharagpur said, “EAD also coincides with the launch of our regular round registrations for the Annual Business Model Competition, Empresario 2019, which is being organised in association with IBMC. The best entries in this competition will get an opportunity to participate directly in the quarter-final rounds of IBMC 2019 to be conducted abroad.

“About 25% of the entries in Empresario in the past have been from among participants of EAD, which underlines the impact of this unique initiative towards motivating young minds towards entrepreneurial thought and action. As many as 30,000 students from 158 colleges participated in EAD 2017, with 24 colleges in as many cities associating with us to conduct the EAD in their respective campuses. We look forward to even bigger numbers this year. During such drives, many colleges evinced interest in setting up entrepreneurship promoting bodies of their own for the benefit of their students.”

For more details, log on to www.ead.ecell-iitkgp.org

Facebook page : www.facebook.com/ecell.iitkgp

 

Local Startup Meet

The Entrepreneurship Cell, IIT Kharagpur also announced the Local Startup Meets (LSMs), one of its recently launched flagship events, in six Tier 1 cities – Hyderabad, New Delhi, Bengaluru, Gurgaon, Mumbai and Pune – with a view to address the primary problems of an early stage startup.

The communiqué said, LSM, a well-curated, by-invitation-only event, will see participation from angel investors, venture capitalists and influencers besides early stage startups and a few Alpha stage incubated startups. The events will be conducted in association with ecosystem partners like Axilor Ventures, Omnivore Partners, GHV Accelerator and many more. The main agenda of the event will be to come up with constructive and practical solutions which can be implemented with ease.

This year the presence of eminent personalities like Sanjay Enishetty (CEO – 50k Ventures), PS Sreekanth (Investment Director – Hyderabad Angels), Premanshu Singh (CEO – Coverfox), Murali Krishna (Investment Manager – Parampara Capital) and Uday Reddy (CEO – Yupp TV) will provide a vision to the startups en route to success. Startups will get to interact with the venture capital firms and startup communities in their respective regions.

 The LSMs are being methodically structured. They will consist of a networking session, pitching session for selected startups from products and services track, a panel discussion on ‘Raising Early Stage Venture Capital’ and the Lean Startup Drive targeted at the alpha-beta stage startups to familiarise them with the concept of going lean and to understand the rapidly evolving market needs.

So, if you are an early stage startup on the lookout for funds, mentoring and ecosystem support, log on and register at ead.ecell-iitkgp.org/comingsoon. The event is also open to individuals who are currently working on their Alpha product in their respective city.

About Entrepreneurship Cell, IIT Kharagpur

Entrepreneurship Cell, IIT Kharagpur is a non-profit student organisation established with the aim of fostering the spirit of entrepreneurship among college students in India. It is claimed to be one of the most successful entrepreneurial organisations in the country with over 50 startups incubated within 10 years of its inception.

PGI Researchers Cold To Calls For Challenging Themselves, Growing Up

Sanjeev Kochhar
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PGI Researchers Cold To Calls For Challenging Themselves, Growing Up

The empty chairs in the Bhargava Auditorium on Saturday, and the lack of drive displayed by research scholars to seek answers or clarifications on issues concerning their research projects before a distinguished panel of researchers, spoke volumes about the general sense of despondency which appears to have set in among the medical research fraternity. The occasion was 6th Annual Institute Research Day, a showcase programme of the premier medical research institute of the region, the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER, PGI for short) Chandigarh, which prides itself in pioneering research. And, invited to inspire the research fraternity were some of the noteworthy scientific brains of the country – Prof Girish Sahni, former Director General of Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), who was the chief guest, Prof Anil Koul, Director CSIR-IMTECH (Institute of Microbial Technology) Chandigarh and Prof TS Ravikumar, Director-cum-Vice Chancellor, Sri Venkateshwara Institute of Medical Sciences, Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, both guests of honour.

As soon as the three completed their address to the sparse gathering, and the floor was opened to questions, a stunned silence left the PGI brass, including PGI Director Prof Jagat Ram and Institute Dean Research Prof Arvind Rajwanshi visibly anxious. However, sensing the discomfort, a few faculty members mustered the courage to step forward and fill in for the lack of interest among the gathering, which had further depleted by now. A senior faculty member in fact made the PGI brass further uncomfortable by pointing out how research could flourish when people associated with sanctioned research projects did not get paid for months for their research work. While Prof Jagat Ram tried to wriggle out of the situation, claiming that every effort is made to support the sanctioned research projects, but problems do crop up due to various reasons, Prof Rajwanshi literally waded into the questioner saying such issues cannot and should not be raised here.

Photos By : Life In Chandigarh

Prof. Sahni was quick to add that in the emerging highly competitive times, “our researchers need to grow up. We cannot look up to the government to fund all our research projects. Researchers have to add such value to their research projects that they become attractive for private sector funding.”

He observed, “We are doing a lot of research, we have more than 4,000 patents, but we need to ask ourselves, are we solving the country’s perennial problems through our research? This is also what the Prime Minister is keenly following, while egging on the researchers and innovators to help transform India. But quality also needs quantity. The filtering system then ought to bring out the best and reward the architects appropriately to encourage excellence,” he added.

There was mention of participation by Chandigarh Region Innovation and Knowledge Cluster (CRIKC) institutions in Saturday’s programme, but none of the more than two dozen member institutions of higher education and research in the alliance, set up for promoting and sustaining research in the region, were seen to be represented in the gathering other than the IMTECH Director, who was the guest of honour, and hence on the dais. Former PGI Director BK Sharma and Emeritus Professor Dr. RC Mahajan were the only noticeable personalities seen in the front rows which were otherwise empty.

In his presentation, IMTECH Director Prof Anil Koul said though India was steadily climbing up the ladder of most innovative countries in the last few years, improving from 81st in the world to currently being 57th, cumbersome processes were still holding the country back. “Just as ease of doing business, we need to focus on ease of doing Science, in the country. In IMTECH, we have taken baby steps in this direction,” he added.

Providing a reality check for innovation in the mode context, he said “since the level of innovation needed for success has dramatically increased, researchers need to challenge themselves to reach a level of innovation which is differentiated in terms of surpassing market expectations.”

Speaking on the topic ‘Research in Quality and Patient Safety – The Need of the Hour’, Prof Ravikumar said studies had shown that increase in GDP (gross domestic product) numbers need not necessarily lead to better healthcare, and countries like Thailand have shown that judicious healthcare can in fact lead to growth in GDP figures.

Among nine categories of change advocated by him are eliminating waste, improving work flow, optimising inventories, changing the work environment, managing time and designing systems to avoid mistakes.

Focussing on the basic tenets for enforcing quality, he said we need to move away from measurement of quality just for the sake of compliance to measurement for improvement.

To mark the Annual Institute Research Day, the PGI faculty displayed 140-odd research papers in an exhibition, which was reviewed by the chief guest and guests of honour for the day. Three best published research papers in each of the categories, comprising assistant professor – medicine, surgery, paramedical, additional professor – medicine, surgery, paramedical and professor – medicine, surgery, paramedical, were presented awards.

Hounded By PGI Brass, HoD Comes Out Clean; Red-faced Director Just Won’t Let Go

Sanjeev Kochhar
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Hounded By PGI Brass, HoD Comes Out Clean; Red-faced Director Just Won’t Let Go

Prof. Jagat Ram, Director of the premier multi-specialty autonomous healthcare institute Post Graduate Institute For Medical Education & Research (PGIMER, PGI for short) Chandigarh, has for the past six months been sitting over an inquiry report which when made public will not only expose the whims and fancies of the management but also the extent to which it can stoop to harass an inconvenient senior faculty member into submission. Lifeinchandigarh.com is in possession of the 23-page report, and voluminous other documents, sourced through the RTI route, and court documents which prove beyond doubt how the establishment, and its favoured few, have wrecked havoc in the life and career of a head of department who has sworn by the rule book, and in doing so apparently stepped on the toes of those who don’t.

From bypassing his authority, to apparently planting news reports against him, to removing him from headship, to charging him with stealing another faculty member’s courier, publishing fabricated data in a research paper and repeatedly charge sheeting him, the powers that be, over the last six years, have kept his basket of worries full, and given him sleepless nights in defending himself against the unending onslaughts on his dignity.

Photos By : Life In Chandigarh

The dogged senior faculty member, Dr Amitava Chakrabarti, Head of Pharmacology Department, however, with unflinching support from a senior PGI colleague, Dr. D. Banerjee, professor in the Department of Experimental Medicine and Biotechnology, who acted as his defence assistant, fought on gamely to clear his name. And, one by one, the charges, framed in charge sheet after charge sheet, have come apart, much to the embarrassment of his tormentors.

In his 23-page report, submitted to the PGI Director Prof. Jagat Ram on March 31, 2018, the inquiry officer, Dr. D. Behera, then Head of Pulmonary Medicine Department (now retired and re-employed), who deliberated on a charge sheet issued in November 2016, has absolved Dr Chakrabarti of the most serious of the charges slapped against him thus far – publishing fabricated data in a Delhi based Medical Journal, Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research (JCDR). This has virtually put a lid on all controversies targeting the Pharmacology Department HoD.

Dr. Chakrabarti’s retirement is due in a month’s time, and the decision on his promotion to rank of senior professor lies pending with the PGI Director in a sealed cover. Under the circumstances, delay on the part of PGI Director in announcing his decision on the inquiry report is baffling. Pending a final decision on the inquiry report, which has pronounced Dr. Chakrabarti “not guilty”, the charge sheet against him still stands, putting his pension benefits and his possible promotion in peril.

Director Confronted

PGI Director Prof Jagat Ram when confronted on this issue by lifeinchandigarh.com on Monday confirmed that the inquiry conducted by Dr. D. Behera had indeed absolved Dr. Amitava Chakrabarti of the charge of publishing fabricated data in a medical journal and informed that the charge sheet against him will be dropped after following the due process of getting approval of the institute governing body.  Incidentally, the last institute governing body meeting was held in June end 2018, nearly three months after Dr. Behera submitted his report.

PGI Director Prof. Jagat Ram

Asked why a decision on the inquiry report has been kept pending for six months when it is known that Dr Chakrabarti is due to retire at the end of October this year, he denied having received the inquiry report six months ago. “It was put up before me just a month ago, and is in process,” he claimed. This contention of the PGI Director is falsified by a noting made by him on the covering page of Dr. D Behera’s report, referring it to the Deputy Director Administration (DDA) PGI as early as on April 2, 2018, just two days after the report was submitted to him. This document is also in possession of lifeinchandigarh.com.

To another observation regarding there being a design behind PGI issuing three charge sheets, one after the other, against Dr. Chakrabarti in the run up to his being considered by a Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC) for promotion as Senior Professor, and charges in all of these falling flat in the face of inquiries, Prof. Jagat Ram said all this happened before he took charge as PGI Director and hence he was not privy to the circumstances.

Data Genuine

In the conclusion to his inquiry report, Dr. Behera, while pronouncing Dr. Chakrabarti not guilty of the charge of fabricating data on the basis of evidences produced before him, has stated that a large part of the data supporting the Dr. Chakrabarti co-authored article “Thangaraju P, Singh H, Chakrabarti A, Drug Information Unit as an Effective Tool for Promoting Rational Drug Use” published in the Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research in 2013, was evident on the face of the record, and the data seemed to be genuine, and not fabricated. He has also observed that the newspaper report on which the charging authority has relied on was a result of “improper investigation”.

Created Problem

Dr Behera has inferred that it seemed that all the things that happened were “a created problem” because of the rivalry in the faculty of the Pharmacology Department headed by Dr Chakrabarti. He has also noted that the missing forms of the DIU (Drug Information Unit) run by the Pharmacology Department, the centre of the entire forged data controversy, was not an ordinary issue and definitely needed to be probed by the competent authority in this case.

Seek Explanation

He has also recommended that the competent authority seek the explanation of one Dr Samir Malhotra, professor in the Department of Pharmacology, for verbally and hurriedly allowing inspection of documents related to the functioning of the DIU by a print media journalist on the same day of the latter filing an RTI application, following which the forms were reported to be missing.

This, Dr. Behera pointed out, was done in the absence of the officially designated Central Public Information Officer (CPIO) of the department, Dr Chakrabarti, who was abroad on a short duty leave, attending an international conference. A complaint regarding the missing forms was also lodged with the PGI Director by the working post graduate student in the case and first author of the article in question, Dr. Thangraju P.

The complaint was filed when he came to know about his missing forms through a RTI application following a hurried retraction of the research article by the journal, without following the internationally followed prescribed procedure, after a newspaper report questioned the authenticity of the data on which the article was based. However, PGI authorities never conducted any inquiry on the student’s complaint of his missing forms.

Something Fishy

Dr. Behera has further raised doubts over the entire episode of the journalist’s RTI application and its aftermath, observing that there was something “fishy” about the “RTI thing”.

Dr Behera, in his report, has also highlighted the shoddy way in which earlier fact-finding committee chaired by Dr. Savita Malhotra, Dean, PGIMER, Chandigarh and the Institute Ethics Committee (IEC), headed by Prof. Emeritus Dr. KS Chugh (since dead), both of which indicted Dr. Chakrabarti, had conducted their proceedings without even interrogating the authors of the article, particularly the corresponding and the working authors, who were both students of the department. He questioned how the minutes of the IEC report was signed by Dr Samir Malhotra who was specifically kept out of the IEC meeting on account of conflict of interest.

No Evidence

The reports of both committees placed before him were not enclosed with a single piece of evidence. The prosecution also did not provide a single piece of evidence to support the observations in the reports, he affirmed. He also pointed out that Dr. Savita Malhotra refused to present herself before his inquiry for cross examination and justifying her report, despite repeated reminders and personally talking to her.

Two Other Charge Sheets

Apart from this charge sheet, Dr. Chakrabarti also faced two other charge sheets issued in December 2016 and March 2017 for the grievance letters he had addressed to the institute’s governing body, and routed through proper channel, alleging illegalities and abuse of power by then PGI Director Dr Y.K.Chawla. Acting on the grievance letters, Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare had on both occasions written to the institute head to examine the complaint and take necessary action. Dr. Chakrabarti was instead charge sheeted on the ground of tone, tenor and language of his grievance letters. He was, however, exonerated of the charges after inquiry and both charge sheets were subsequently withdrawn by PGI Director in April 2018.

Former PGI Director Prof. YK Chawla

Surprisingly, all the charge sheets were served on Dr Chakrabarti by Dr Subhash Varma, who was working as officiating Director following the retirement of Dr Y.K. Chawla in October 2016, in the run up to his being considered by a DPC for promotion as Senior Professor.

Sequence of Events

1.     Dr. Chakrabarti rejoined PGI Chandigarh as Professor of Pharmacology in 2004 & on Sept 1, 2011 was promoted as Head of Department of Pharmacology.

2.     In 2012, a dispute flared up between Dr. Amitava Chakrabarti and Dr. Samir Malhotra over the former’s handling of the issue of resignation by a physically challenged MD (Pharmacology) student Dr. Pankaj Maheshwari, working on his thesis under the supervision of Dr. Samir Malhotra (guide) and Dr. Nusrat Shafiq (Co-Guide), just three months short of completing his three-year M.D. course. The student had in writing alleged harassment by his guide and co-guide. Following an exchange of written communication between Dr. Chakrabarti and Dr. Malhotra, the matter was precipitated to the PGI Director by the former pointing to use of derogatory remarks by the latter through a letter.

Instead, Dr. Chakrabarti was informed about a new order by PGI Director Dr Y.K.Chawla that in future comments from guide and co-guide should be sought before proceeding further with such complaints by a student. This despite the fact that the Pharmacology department head acted in accordance to a written advice of the Dean, PGI, to whom the complaint was referred.

3.     This issue had not died down, when another cropped up regarding “false claim” of nomenclature of graduate medical qualification made by Dr. Malhotra in his ACR (annual confidential report) form, with the reporting officer Dr. Chakrabarti pointing out the discrepancy in nomenclature of MBBS degree mentioned by him in the Annual Confidential Form (ACR form) and photocopy of a diploma issued by a Russian University supplied by Dr Malhotra in response to a query.

Dr. Chakrabarti, subsequently, sent the ACR to the reviewing authority, the Dean PGI. In response, he received a memo bringing to his notice Director Dr Y.K.Chawla’s order in which he had observed that asking a faculty member for MBBS degree with regard to ACR amounts to harassment of the concerned faculty member.

4.     In the next evaluation period 2012-13, it came as a shock to Dr. Chakrabarti that he had been bypassed in the case of Dr. Malhotra’s ACR on being informed through a memo that the ACR form had been submitted directly to the Dean PGI and it will be reviewed by him.  

5.     In spite of issues over nomenclature of Dr. Malhotra’s degree in his ACR he was promoted to the post of Professor.

6.     In February 2013, amidst these controversies, Dr. Chakrabarti’s name was sought to be embroiled in a complaint submitted by Dr. Malhotra in his official capacity to the PGI Police Post that he had not received two documents he was expecting to be delivered by courier. Investigating the complaint, the police approached Dr Chakrabarti, accompanied by the courier delivery boy, who claimed that he had delivered to Dr. Chakrabarti the courier addressed to Dr. Malhotra, a contention vehemently refuted by Dr. Chakrabarti. He nonetheless cooperated in the investigations as police sought to match Dr. Chakrabarti’s signature with that on the delivery sheet.

Dr. Chakrabarti claimed that two separate independent forensic experts he  consulted had definitively concluded that the signatures did not match. Notifying this to the PGI Director, Dr. Chakrabarti in writing sought his permission to file a defamation suit but the request has yet to be responded to. Police subsequently filed an FIR in the matter without naming Dr. Chakrabarti.

The CFSL Shimla report, submitted by the police in Punjab and Haryana High court, stated that the signature on the delivery sheet did not match with that of Dr. Chakrabarti’s day to day signature and the signatures taken in the district court on two different occasions. Accordingly, Chandigarh police has submitted its status report of untraced document in the matter, which is pending in the Punjab and Haryana High Court. However, then PGI Director Dr Yogesh Chawla, Dr Malhotra and Dr Nusrat Shafiq had contended in their affidavits filed before the court, much before the CFSL report and the Police report, that in fact Dr Chakrabarti had taken the courier of Dr Malhotra without taking his consent.

7.     In March 2013, Dr. Chakrabarti was in for another shocker. He was asked to face a fact-finding committee, with Dr Savita Malhotra, then HoD, Psychiatry Department, as convener and Dr Jagjit Singh Chopra, Emeritus Professor, as Chairman, on a complaint of mental harassment against him by Dr. Nusrat Shafiq (co-guide in the MD student’s thesis controversy). Not surprisingly, the key witness for Dr Shafiq was Dr Samir Malhotra (guide in

State Govts Should Help Jumpstart Intl Flights: Jayant Sinha

Sanjeev Kochhar
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State Govts Should Help Jumpstart Intl Flights: Jayant Sinha

With the civil aviation industry booming in an unprecedented manner in the country, the landlocked North India should seize the opportunity to use this sector as a powerful tool for accelerated development, said Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha in Chandigarh, on Tuesday. Speaking on the theme “Giving Wings To Aviation Sector In North” while delivering the inaugural address at a CII Conference On Making India An Aviation Hub, he said with the industry growing at a steady 15-20 percent over the last four years because of liberal framework put in place by the central government, the northern states are also seeing amazing capacity building. Operational domestic airports have been added in Ludhiana, Pathankot and Adampur in Punjab, Hisar International Airport in Haryana is ready for flight operations, Jewar International Airport (Noida) in Uttar Pradesh, which will have two runways, is at an advanced stage of land acquisition and Hindon civil airport in Delhi is getting started. Shimla is again on the air map and heliports are coming up in all hill states – Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Jammu & Kashmir.

Suggesting that state governments at this stage should get involved in promoting international flights from international airports in their respective states on the lines of the Assam Government, which is offering subsidy to airlines which start operating international flights from Guwahati to ASEAN countries, he said jumpstarting international traffic from their states would prove to be a real game changer. “It will open up major business hubs like London, Dubai and Singapore for unlimited trade opportunities,” he added.

Photos By : Life In Chandigarh

“The future of aviation in Northern states is extremely bright. I would like to see the international airports in Hisar, Jewar, Chandigarh and Amritsar competing with Delhi international airport in the coming years,” the minister said.

Chandigarh Airport

Focussing his attention on the Chandigarh International Airport, Jayant Sinha said by the summer of 2019, precisely last Sunday of March, the International Airport at Chandigarh will be open 24×7 to wide bodied aircraft with the Cat 2 ILS (Instrument Landing System) becoming operational and the runway being extended to 10,400 ft length, besides addition of other international facilities at the airport. “With the support of participating state governments, long haul flights to and from destinations like Toronto, New York, London, Sydney could become a reality in no time,” he said.

Supplementing the information provided by the minister, Chandigarh International Airport Limited (CHIAL) CEO Suneel Dutt informed the gathering that the ILS would be upgraded to Cat 3 by next winter, when it would be required most, by further reducing visibility constraints. He informed that there are 70-80 scheduled flights operating from the airport and there are no restrictions on parking of aircraft. Five more parking slots are being added to the existing 10 by October 2019, he added.           

100 Airports Operational

The minister said with the country’s 100th airport becoming operational at Pakyong in Sikkim, one of the most beautiful airports in the world, sitting on a table top, connectivity to the entire North-East has been further strengthened. It has opened the beauty and wonder of Sikkim to the rest of the world. He claimed that the UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik) scheme is proving to be a landmark initiative, under which 32 additional airports have already been made operational and scheduled airlines are operating from them. This phenomenal expansion is being spoken about around the world and is the successful culmination of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s dream of giving opportunity to a common man who wears a ‘hawai chappal’ to fly a ‘hawai jahaz’.

Reeling out figures, Jayant Sinha asserted that in the last 4 years, there has been a twofold increase in number of passengers who have flown by air – from 60 million (6 crore) in calendar year 2013 to 120 million (12 crore) in 2017. The number of passenger trips have also increased from 100 million (10 crore) in financial year 2014-15 to 180 million (18 crore) in FY ending March 2018. The growth rate of 15-20 percent has been the highest among large aviation markets in the world and is expected to sustain in the coming years, he affirmed.

“Still, we are just scratching the surface. Out of a total population of 1250 million (125 crore) only about 120 million (12 crore) people have travelled by air, though this figure has already topped the number of people who have undertaken air conditioned Railway travel.

“Aviation is poised to become the largest industry in the Indian economy. In all of the 67 years since independence the country had added 400 commercial planes to its fleet. While in the last four years alone, orders for 1,000 planes have been placed. This is apart from the 100s of military aircraft being acquired,” he added.

Great Time To Investment

Making a strong pitch for investments in the sector, the minister said, “The demand for air travel is extraordinary, and therefore it is a great time for people to invest in the aviation industry. The whole concept of airport regulation has been overhauled to attract Indian and foreign investment in the sector. Under the new approach being adopted, focus has shifted from revenue based model to yield based model, which cuts costs both for the passengers and the airlines. This new model is being tried out for Jewar airport, he added.

Talking about the Civil Aviation Policy adopted in June 2016, Jayant Sinha said the very first such policy in the history of the country is a forward looking document designed to cater to an exponentially growing demand. Under the NABH (NextGen Airports for Bharat) Nirman initiative, planning is being done not just for increase in passenger trips to 220-230 million (22-23 crore) in the next few years, but for a billion (100 crore) passenger trips in the next 10-15 years, which will mark more than a fivefold increase from the present level, he said.

Informing the gathering that an investment of Rs 1 lakh crore in the aviation sector in the next five years is already in the pipeline, of which Rs 18,000 crore is to be made by Airport Authority of India (AAI) alone, he said Greenfield aviation projects coming up at Jewar in Uttar Pradesh, Hisar in Haryana and in Navi Mumbai and Goa are a result of attractive policies being pursued by the government. But to reach the 1 billion passenger trips mark, another Rs 3 lakh crore investment will be required, he added.

Claiming that the massive liberalisation and opening up of the sector has shown positive results, with the aviation sector poised to become the next telecom sector, he informed that in fact with an estimated business of Rs 1.5 lakh crore to Rs 2 lakh crore it is already the size of the telecom sector. He expressed confidence that the sector, which is on an unprecedented growth path, will have massive multiplier effect on other sectors of the economy.

‘Digi Yatra’

Asserting that the government wanted to ensure high levels of passenger ease and comfort at all airports and by all airlines, the minister assured that the same standards will be applied to all airports across the country.

“Under a new globally unique initiative, ‘Digi Yatra’, we are going to ensure that passengers need not carry any travel papers at all and breeze through immigration and security with the use of biometrics based systems at all major airports. Boarding pass will also become a thing of the past. For this passengers need to get KYC compliant once with their finger print and iris scan. The Bangalore Airport has already placed a big order for machines to become Digi Yatra compliant,” he said.

Regarding shortage of various categories of skilled manpower in the aviation industry, he said the government had set up a liberal regulatory framework, and expressed confidence that the private sector will step in and investment adequately in the training sector to supplement the capacities of various autonomous and government institutes like the Rajiv Gandhi National Aviation University, and fill the gaps.

ATF Prices

On measures aimed at arresting the crippling aviation turbine fuel (ATF) prices, he said his ministry had earnestly taken up the matter for bringing ATF under the purview of the GST regime so that the industry could benefit from input tax credits, but a decision on it rests with the GST Council, which is seized of the matter.

Referring to the issue of slot management, especially peak slots, at the international airports in Mumbai and Delhi, he admitted that the allocation of slots for business airlines was a major issue at Mumbai International Airport because of a sole runway, but otherwise it was considered among the most efficient airports in the world, handling 1,000 flights a day from a single runway. The under construction Navi Mumbai International Airport, a Greenfield project, is expected to help majorly ease these problems. “It is going to be a massive airport with two runways, but it could take between 2-4 years to complete.”

Delhi International Airport is being overhauled to make it one of the largest airports in the world. From handling 65 million (6.5 crore) passengers a year, its capacity will be expanded to handle 100 million to 120 million (10-12 crore) passengers a year. Currently Atlanta International airport tops the list of largest airports in the world, handling 104 million passengers a year, closely followed by Beijing Capital International Airport, which caters to around a 100 million. “Despite having three runways, the Delhi International Airport is not running optimally as the systems are being readied for managing peak slots. Passenger traffic handling capacities at the various terminals are also being scaled up in a phased manner,” he added.

Haryana Story

Elaborating on the aviation scene in Haryana, state Additional Chief Secretary – Industries and Civil Aviation Devender Singh while addressing the inaugural session said, the newly constructed airport, part of a proposed massive aviation hub in Hisar, has received approval for operating six scheduled flights on the Delhi-Hisar and Hisar-Chandigarh routes for which negotiations were on to sign MoUs with airline operators to start the flights. He requested the Minister to give them a slot in Terminal 3 of IGI airport Delhi as a special case, instead of Hindon Civil Airport, as at present.

In due course the airport runway will be expanded from 4,000 feet to 11,000 feet and an international terminal constructed to allow long haul international flights to operate from the Hisar Airport, he informed, adding that the state civil aviation department is in possession of 4200 acres of land in its name, which would, in phases, be utilised for a proposed aviation university, aerospace manufacturing and maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facilities, etc. Expression of Interest had also been invited for business airlines to operate non scheduled flights from Hisar to various popular hill destinations like Shimla, Kullu and  Dharamshala and also within the state of Himachal Pradesh. 

There is also a proposal for operating flying clubs and an Aero Sports Academy from the other operational airports in Haryana on PPP model, Devender Singh shared.

Concluding the inaugural session, Kamal Hingorani, Member, CII National Committee On Civil Aviation & Chief Customer Service Officer, Spicejet Ltd, confirmed that Spicejet was indeed discontinuing its Delhi-Chandigarh flights from October 6. However, he sought to allay apprehensions that it was going to be permanent decision. The aviation industry is very dynamic. With the ATS prices shooting up to an all time high because of the sliding rupee, the airline has re-evaluated its position on many routes, including Chandigarh. He assured that they will be back.

IAF More Open

Participating in a session on “Policy and Regulatory Environment In Aviation Industry: The Way Forward”, moderated by Dr. Chandan Chowdhury, Associate Dean, Indian School of Business, Principal Secretary to Punjab Chief Minister and Secretary Civil Aviation Tejveer Singh felt that the IAF was now more open about allowing civil airports to be developed and operated from its airfields, which made sense with capital costs involved in constructing independent airports cut drastically. He gave the example of Halwara airport which was not approved under UDAN 1, but which had now been sanctioned and would be made operational in three years time.

Addressing the session, Haryana Director Industries and Advisor Civil Aviation Ashok Sangwan while admitting that till about five years ago the state civil aviation department was restricting itself to running three flying clubs and supervising VIP flying, said now, realising the important role of the state government in accelerating the aviation industry, the department is focussed heavily on creating infrastructure and extending incentives to the industry. He informed that a Request for Proposal (RFP) is being released soon for setting up an Aero Sports Academy at Narnaul airport.

Need Regulatory Changes

Maharashtra Civil Aviation Director Capt. Sanjay Karve was of the opinion that it is high time the armed forces review some of the archaic rules and regulations governing civilian movement around defence bases framed in war times, which no longer existed. 

Air India Director Operations Capt. Arvind Kathpalia called for regulatory changes, asserting that overregulation in aviation sector to enforce safety standards invariable adversely affected operations, especially of smaller operators, which faced insurmountable cost and financial viability issues.

Dr. M. Muthukrishnan, Head – Environment, Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), emphasised the need for good land use planning around airports to allow for expansion whenever required so that public litigation can be avoided.

In the session on “India as a Global Aviation Hub & Creating Regional Hubs”, session chairman and Chief Strategy and Commercial Officer of Vistara Airlines Sanjiv Kapoor shared that Vistara’s experience of operating flights from Chandigarh International Airport has been good and the airlines is planning to increase its flights from the city.

Maj. Daksh Nakra, Head – Northern India, Bird Education Society for Travel & Tourism, highlighted the massive gap between demand and supply for skilled manpower in the aviation industry and the lack of adequate skilling facilities for filling the gaps.

Kishore Jayaraman, President, India & South Asia, Rolls-Royce, felt that India had the potential to connect Europe with Asia, to act as a bridge between East and West, but the challenge lies in quickly expanding the airports in our major cities to adequately cater to ever increasing volumes of passenger trips.

Vishok Mansingh, CEO of TruJet Airlines, while emphasising the need for creating local aviation hubs, felt that the airlines did not need subsidies but level playing field with the heavily subsidised Railways and road transport. He also wanted policy changes to bring down running costs of airlines to protect their bottom lines.

Point To Point Copter Services

Rohit Mathur, CEO Heritage Aviation Pvt Ltd, expressed confidence that helicopters had a great future and the government needed to majorly encourage point to point helicopter services with a brisk frequency to increase running time of helicopters and make them viable. Right now these were largely being used for leisure and pleasure. Giving an example, he said cost of point to point connectivity with 4-5 trips a day on Chandigarh-Manali and Chandigarh-Dharamshala could come down to Rs 4,000-Rs.5,000 per person per trip. 

Advocating liberal helicopter operation regulations, he claimed that Sao Paulo in Brazil had 700 operational helicopters and 200 helipads. In Canada, helicopters are freely used in spraying farmlands, and in many cases each member of a farm family is a licensed helicopter pilot, he added.

Paramprit Bakshi, Vice President – South Asia & Head – Strategic Business Units of global aviation advisory CAPA, said India enjoyed a great geographical advantage but at the same time, hemmed in between two major aviation hubs, Dubai and Singapore, it has to face stiff competition in its push towards itself becoming an aviation hub.

A CII-CBRE report titled ‘Giving Wings To Aviation Sector In North’ was released on the occasion.

Aroma Of 40 Nations Native Food To Sweeten Amritsars Own

Sanjeev Kochhar
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Aroma Of 40 Nations Native Food To Sweeten Amritsars Own

The Holy city of Amritsar in Punjab is already an established destination on the international tourism map. The admiration of its lip-smacking cuisine resonates across the globe. So, when India, which became a member of the prestigious World Association of Chefs Societies (WorldChefs) after a three decades long struggle, offered to host the first ever World Heritage Cuisine Summit & Food Festival, Amritsar was a natural choice as venue. To be organised by the recently instituted World Cultural Culinary Heritage Committee under the aegis of WorldChefs, and hosted by the Indian Federation of Culinary Associations (IFCA), the three-day summit-festival will be fittingly held in the expansive compounds of heritage site Qila Gobindgarh, erstwhile home to famed Sikh ruler Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s prized diamond Koh-i-noor, from October 12-14. Chefs from 40 of the 108 member countries of WorldChefs have already confirmed their participation, celebrated chef Manjit Gill, who is chairman of the World Cultural Culinary Heritage Committee, told media persons in Chandigarh on Friday.

“Food is evolving continuously, and becoming more fashionable with time and with more and more young chefs joining the culinary journey, but in the process traditional or heritage food, typical to different parts of the world, is losing out and disappearing from our plates. WorldChefs feels that fashionable food can sustain only when its base is strong and it takes inspiration from rich traditions and heritage. Hence the recent institution of the World Cultural Culinary Heritage Committee and the idea of World Heritage Cuisine Summit & Food Festival,” Chef Gill explained.

Photos By : Life In Chandigarh

“So, the objective behind the first initiative of its kind in the world by WorldChefs is to protect, safeguard and promote cultural and culinary heritage of nations of the world. It will celebrate traditional cuisine with live demonstrations, food tastings, presentations, panel discussions, master classes and Q&A sessions by chefs from around the world. It will focus on inculcating appreciation for food culture and traditions, as much as on good food habits and sustainable practices. The event will also witness the launch of Chefs’ Manifesto outlining hunger removal initiatives undertaken and sustainability development goals,” Chef Gill added.

The summit-festival has been designer in a manner to provide an unprecedented opportunity to food enthusiasts to witness live demonstrations by renowned chefs from all over the world, and also to savour these delicacies prepared by chefs from 15 countries at the many tasting counters.

The aesthetics, layout and location of the historical venue partner – Qila Gobindgarh – provide an idyllic setting for the culinary showcase. The multiple venues at the premises will include a World Kitchen, where chefs in batches of two countries will simultaneously present live cooking of traditional recipes every hour. There will also be five Master Class counters where chefs from 40 countries, and 20 from India, will plate pre-prepared dishes for display and food photography. A food pavilion will offer regional Indian specialities, with a special focus on Amritsar’s famed street food.

Impetus To Indian Cuisine, Punjab Tourism

Against the backdrop of the revered Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple), where the sacred ‘langar’ (common kitchen) is the largest example of slow food and community cooking, the World Heritage Cuisine Summit & Food Festival is expected to provide an impetus to culinary and heritage tourism of Punjab state.

 “One of the key outcomes of the summit and festival, besides boosting the pride of our national food culture, will be participating culinary ambassadors carrying back indelible experiences and memories of the diversity of Indian cuisine and sharing and disseminating these in their respective countries. Hosting the unprecedented event in Amritsar will also give a fillip to my long cherished desire, and ongoing endeavour to have Punjabi cuisine acknowledged and listed in the elite Food Edition of UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage,” Gill shared.

Participating Countries

Among the countries participating are USA, Canada and Dominican Republic from North America, Ecuador from South America, Croatia, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Switzerland, Ukraine and Wales from Europe, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya and Namibia from Africa, and India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Cambodia, Indonesia, Macau, Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, UAE, Turkey and Armenia from Asia.

German origin Chef Thomas Gugler, who has been based out of Saudi Arabia for the last nearly two decades and is currently President of the World Association of Chefs Societies (WorldChefs), will be the Guest of Honour.

Sharing his thoughts on putting together this world class summit-festival, Event Director Herbbie Sidhu, who is also Managing Director, Myriad Nuances, said making the event a grand affair has entailed continuing tireless efforts of IFCA and the organising committee, and unflinching support of Incredible India, Punjab Tourism and the Amritsar District Administration led by Deputy Commissioner Kamaldeep Singh Sangha.

Delegate Registration, Walk-In Attendees

The summit-festival is ticketed and open to all. A 3-day package, which entitles a delegate to attend all technical presentations, shows and educational sessions, open networking with invited foreign and Indian chef delegates on all three days and buffet lunch, tea, coffee for three days in designated exclusive area, is priced Rs 3500. A similar one-day package costs Rs 1500. A student pass (against student ID) for Rs 1,000 entitles holder to all summit-festival facilities on all three days, minus the food & beverages. Walk-in attendees, who just want to enjoy the food at the food street, to be especially created for the summit-festival, can register at a help desk to be set up at the venue. They need to carry a photo ID. The food street will serve Amritsar traditional cuisines and food from other parts of India and rest of the world “at a reasonable price”, according to the organisers.

www.heritagesummit2018.com

Get Key To 4300 Brand Gyms Worldwide 24X7

Sanjeev Kochhar
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Get Key To 4300 Brand Gyms Worldwide 24X7

A magnetic card gives you access to this newly opened gym in Chandigarh’s Sector 17, which remains open 19 hours a day, all 7 days a week. The card is also your key to 4300 locations in the rest of India and 33 countries worldwide of the US-based leading health and fitness chain Anytime Fitness, the second innings of which began in India in 2013 from Delhi after initially shutting shop in 2011. “This is the 53rd club in India as part of our fresh beginning, with plans for a pan India presence, and this time we are making sure that we have trusted partners,” Managing Director of Anytime Fitness India Vikas Jain told lifeinchandigarh.com at the formal opening of the Chandigarh gym on Friday. “Many of our old customers from the earlier foray are approaching us and we are warmly welcoming them into our fold to build bridges of trust with them,” he said, adding that the brand remains committed to helping fitness conscious people to achieve their goals with professional help from caring certified fitness and wellness experts.

Jain said so far the brand has 40 franchises in India, some of them running multiple clubs. This one in Chandigarh is the 8th location of franchise and Punjabi singer-actor Harrdy Sandhu along with his friends Naveen Grover and Manu Grover, who also run clubs in Ludhiana, Delhi, Gurgaon and Ghaziabad. All three were present at the formal launch.

Photos By : Life In Chandigarh

Equipped with world class facilities for cardio, strength training, weight training, functional training, pilates, etc. the club has opened at a prime location facing the multilevel parking. It will also hold fitness classes in yoga, bhangra, zumba, etc. In pre-sales mode, membership to the club is being offered @ Rs 24,000 annually with likelihood of it being raised to Rs 30,000, which is still reasonable considering that Anytime Fitness is the world’s leading brand.

Although Anytime Fitness is a 24-hour gym chain, the Chandigarh centre will remain open for 19 hours a day from 5 a.m. to midnight daily.

Sharing the brand footprint in India, Jain said “So far we have been concentrating on North India, with 30 clubs having been opened in Delhi NCR alone. In the next phase of expansion, we have plans to densify Mumbai with 5 more locations being added to the existing 3. We hope to reach the 70 mark by the end of the year. Our target is 100 clubs by 2020 and 250 in a longer timeframe.”

Anytime Fitness Chandigarh

SCO 98-100, 3rd Floor, Facing Multilevel Parking, Sector 17.

Queries : 9851400048

Men Get Royal Space To Romance Their Style

Sanjeev Kochhar
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Men Get Royal Space To Romance Their Style

Gents are often seen complaining that they do not have even a fraction of choices available to ladies when it comes to grooming and pampering themselves, whether it be exclusive fashionable clothes, beauty and wellness centres and products or jewellery items. Here comes something to cheer up the men folk. Truefitt & Hill, the oldest barbershop in the world (certified by Guinness) which has had the privilege of serving the British royalty since the early 19th century, has started operations in the city to give the men an exclusive styling experience fit for kings, while at the same time leaving them revitalised and rejuvenated. Apart from the enclosed, but spacious, interiors (services are provided in rnwell-appointed rooms, not halls), which provide a customer a high degree of privacy, the barbershop, as the brand still proudly calls its store, offers the best of British vintage ambience, luxurious chairs from Collins, one of the world’s best brands, a grooming range of 150 of its own high quality British manufacture brand products, highly professional barbers and other staff trained at its own academy in Mumbai and exceptional standards of hygiene. Among the services (Truefitt & Hill would like to call them experiences) being provided are elaborate royal and classic packages for haircut, shave, manicure, pedicure, hair treatment, facial, massage, etc., pretty expensive, but ones which promise to leave every gent in a heavenly state, and craving for more.rn

Sharing their thoughts with media persons a day before the formal launch of the Chandigarh barbershop in Sector 9 on Saturday, Krishna Gupta and Istayak Ansari, co-founders of Lloyds Luxuries Ltd., the master franchise for India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Vietnam, informed that the Chandigarh barbershop is the 16th store of the brand in India and the biggest so far. “We will soon touch 20 stores,” they said.

Photos By : Life In Chandigarh

Worldwide Truefitt & Hill is present in 12 countries, including India, and its international footprint can be seen in cities like London, Washington, Chicago, Toronto, Canberra, Baku, Beijing, Shanghai, Seoul, Salmiya, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Bangkok.

The brand’s signature service is Royal Shave which is a unique 45-minute experience. A male guest gets to experience the luxury of a timeless straight-razor shave. Perfected since 1805, this royal ritual begins with wrapping of hot towels followed by exfoliating the face with a scrub. Thereafter, the skin is nourished and massaged with light textured pre-shave oil, unique to the brand. This makes the beard soft, allowing the razor blade to glide smoothly. A hot towel is wrapped again, an occurrence that is repeated often to help open the pores and relax the customer.

Using the brand’s own handmade badger brush, a small amount of glycerine-based shaving cream is applied to create a rich and emollient lather. The brush coats each whisker with shaving cream ensuring the most comfortable shave possible. Holding the skin taut with one hand, the other hand then does its magic with a straight razor. This experience heightens when the Royal Shave concludes with a relaxing facial massage and the application of a selection of 10 aftershave balms. Wow, how luxurious!!

Krishna and Istayak claimed that “our experience in the past three and a half years of  operations has been that so professional are our barbers and other staff, and so relaxing and unwinding our procedures and processes fine tuned over two centuries, that most customers tend to fall asleep within minutes of the expert hands starting to work on them. We have seen a significant reduction in duration between visits of our male guests. On an average the service billing per customer per visit at our existing barbershops has been Rs 2000-2500 and product billing Rs 4000-4500, which shows the level of trust our patrons have in our services and products” they added.

The master franchise has pegged the payback of investment in each barbershop at three to three-and-a-half years. The hopes from Chandigarh are higher.

Truefitt & Hill Chandigarh

SCO 185-187, Sector 9-C, Madhya Marg, Chandigarh

Appointment : 9988014130

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