Pearson focussing on executive education space

(New Delhi, Apr 25, 2018) Leading learning company Pearson India whose education solutions cover a wide spectrum of subjects and include books and resources is now focusing on executive education space where it is all about upskilling.

It has also emerged as a talent hub, says Pearson India managing director Vikas Singh.

“We are very big in the gateway space. Lots of global bestsellers in the higher education space are from Pearson. It’s really a matter of pride our content is appreciated by learners and teachers alike,” he says.

On the executive education space, he says that in the new scheme of things it is more about constant upskilling so that one remains relevant from a technology point of view.

“There are these concepts like half life of knowledge which basically says the time it takes for knowledge to become redundant is half of what it was five or six years ago. If you don’t keep upskilling yourselves then at some point in time especially for the new generation coming in, chances are you will have a struggle. So we are getting into the executive education space,” Singh told PTI.

“We very carefully select our programmes. We customise them to the Indian context and we ensure delivery experience which is more personalised, not really a mass number of people who can take a role in our programme. So that’s also kicked off well,” he says.

Established in India in 1998, Pearson India is aligned to the global brand philosophy of helping learners make measurable progress.

Summing up the journey, Singh says, “It has been a good run for us in the last 20 years. As the overall sector has scaled up, Pearson has scaled up on a much faster context. If we take the last two years as a reference point, we are a part of a geography which we call growth which is like the BRICS equivalent – Brazil, not so much Russia but India, China and South Africa as also Middle East, Hong Kong.”

He claims Pearson is the fastest performing geography in that entire definition.

“And if you were to see in the larger international scope, then again India would emerge at the top. In that context, Pearson is very buoyant on India. We are getting a lot of support that we need, lot of investments we would need. So it’s been a good run for us,” he says.

On regional content, he says Pearson India has tested it in the past in a limited way.

“It has worked well for us but we believe that for now may be we will stay focussed on English. We could look at vernacular may be in the near future. It’s just a matter of time,” he says.

According to Singh, globally and in India, Pearson is investing very heavily in the digital space.

“This entire journey is of adaptive learning in terms of personalised learning. This is something that Pearson is really excited about. Globally we have partnerships with organisations like IBM and Microsoft.

“So it’s a very nice, simple design, you create one global one digital platform on which you host content which the user can access basis the needs and then the analytics engine personalises it to your preference in terms of what you like – more of video, more of audio or which concept you would like a higher input on. So that’s the general direction in which developments are happening,” he says.

In India, he says, Pearson has “pioneered some products which have been received very well. MyPedia is a product in the gateway space and within a very short span of two years we are on an explosive growth. We hope to have a million learners on it in the next two years. School adoption rate is very good, renewed rates are good. By and large it is going very well”.

Singh, however, says in spite of these strides, Pearson will stay focussed on course curriculum.

“We do a lot of building together programmes so that what we finally bring out we believe would be the best from the learner point of view,” he says.

He also feels that physical delivery is a challenge in the rural space.

“Our USP is world’s finest content, world’s leading authors. If we are able to maintain the edge from our content, quality and delivery, I think we are home, If we dilute that, that’s trouble,” he says.

Singh says Pearson India is now becoming a talent hub.

“So the Indian talent is moving out to much larger roles, much bigger roles. They are either relocating to localities like the UK or South Africa or Middle East or they are anchoring projects from India for much larger geography which goes right up to Brazil and China,” he says.

Book explores Gurmeet Ram Rahim’s exploits, his downfall

(New Delhi, Apr 25, 2018) A new book tells the story of Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Insaan, who hailed from a farming family and went on to become the head of a quasi-religious sect before law caught up with him and put him in jail.

Once known for his flamboyant lifestyle, revered as a god by lakhs of followers, and someone with powerful political connections, Gurmeet is now known as qaidi (prisoner) number 1997 by his fellow inmates in Rohtak jail, writes Anurag Tripathi in Dera Sacha Sauda and Gurmeet Ram Rahim: A Decade-long Investigation.

The book stems from Tripathi’s journalistic investigation that began in 2007 into the reported criminal activities at the Dera Saccha Sauda, headed by Gurmeet.

The story of Gurmeet’s rise allegedly involved gory murders, sexual exploitation, forced castrations, private militias, illegal trade in arms and opium, and land grab at an untold scale, the book, published by Penguin, says.

Tripathi argues that unlike the first two Dera chiefs, Gurmeet’s philosophy was far from spiritual and it was oriented from the beginning towards the acquisition and accumulation of power.

He says in order to fund his grandiose plans of setting up an exploitative empire, the Dera chief began manipulating the minds of his followers.

“He started telling them that if they desired to connect directly with the supreme power, they had to show a willingness to give away their worldly possessions to the Dera, including donating their lands. Many who fell prey to this blindly signed sales deeds in favour of the Dera at throwaway rates,” he says.

The Dera, in turn, sold these lands at a premium and used the money to buy more land in Sirsa, he adds.

Then as his wealth grew, Gurmeet thought of raising a private army to protect his empire.

“In early 2000, the Dera chief discussed the idea with some army veterans who were Dera followers. A blueprint was made and recruitment for the purpose began,” the book says.

“The Dera’s militia had three wings. The inner wing was to closely guard Gurmeet and was handpicked by the trainers. The wing’s responsibility was to steer the chief away from the site during an eventuality.

“The second wing was to provide external cover while the Dera chief was shifted to a safe base in case of a crisis. The outer wing was to monitor every corner of the Dera premises and not let anyone in during a crisis,” it says.

CIMA Art Mela travels to Delhi

(New Delhi, Apr 23, 2018) The CIMA Art Mela 2018 will travel to the national capital this week where collectors will get an opportunity to buy works donated by artists of the likes Jogen Choudhury, Ganesh Pyne, Manu Parekh and Arpita Singh among many others.

Billed as the country’s most affordable art fair where the prices of the works start from Rs 3,000 and go up to Rs 75,000, the mela will be held from April 26-30 at The Visual Art Gallery in the India Habitat Centre.

“In the past 10 years since the art mela was introduced, Centre of International Modern Art (CIMA) has successfully created a new generation collector base in Kolkata and other Indian metropolitan cities,” says Rakhi Sarkar, who heads CIMA.

The art mela project has been primarily designed to encourage new collectorship while providing talented emerging artists with a platform to showcase their works, she says, adding the upcoming fair will essentially target the “young upward mobile generation” of Delhi region.

All the art works are sourced directly from the artists. In Delhi, works of 80 artists will be on offer at the fair under the aegis of the CIMA Art Gallery of Kolkata.

“To evaluate and recognise young talent (25-45 years of age) CIMA has introduced a biennale titled ‘CIMA Awards’. It is held once every two years through a transparent and highly objective module of selection through a preliminary and final two tier selection process by renowned national jurors,” Sarkar told PTI.

The winners are awarded in cash and kind and promoted through citywide exhibitions and a comprehensive catalogue promoted worldwide.

“CIMA has set up an art and heritage foundation to support these. It has also catalysed a Kolkata festival to encourage the holistic promotion of arts and artists. It organises large travelling shows on visual art both abroad and within the country,” Sarkar says.

Among the other artists whose works will be on display are Paramjit Singh, Thota Vaikuntam, Paresh Maity, Prabhakar Kolte and Suhas Roy.

Delhi-NCR soaks in Bihu festivities

(New Delhi, Apr 22, 2018) Bihu functions are the flavour in the Delhi-NCR area which has hosted several such events in the past 10 days or so to celebrate the Rongali Bihu festival that heralds the Assamese new year and the onset of spring.

If it was Gurgaon on April 14, the IGNCA grounds hosted a Bihu function the next day. Similar functions were held at Noida and Faridabad yesterday and one at Dwarka here today.

The highlights of these functions were husoris (group dances that are an integral part of the Bihu celebrations), Bihu songs and dhol (drum) performances. Also popular artistes from Assam like Zublee Baruah, Mousam Gogoi, Nirmali Das and Neel Akash gave spirited performances belting out Bihu and other numbers.

The Bihu at Gurgaon was a tribute to Assamese actor Biju Phukan and filmmaker Abdul Majid who passed away last year.

At the Delhi Bihu function, there was a dance performance on popular songs from Phukan’s films.

“Assam Association Gurgaon (AAG) has been celebrating Rongali Bihu in Gurgaon since its inception in 2007. During its early years, it was an effort of few very highly motivated individuals to bring together the people who hail from Assam and live in Gurgaon to celebrate Bihu,” says AAG general secretary Prabhakar Dutta.

“However, AAG grew in leaps and bounds in the subsequent years and today it has earned the reputation as an organisation to celebrate one of the most organised and colourful Bihu events in the entire NCR region,” Dutta adds.

“Such functions provide an opportunity for Assamese people living in the national capital and the satellite towns to meet and enjoy the evening,” says Assam Association Delhi general secretary Dipak Saikia.

The event at Noida was organised by the Assam People’s Welfare Association, Trans Yamuna Delhi-NCR, and that in Faridabad by the Assam Association Faridabad.

Puffin comes out with book of 10 timeless folktales

(New Delhi, Apr 22, 2018) Here’s a special gift for children on World Book Day tomorrow – India’s finest writers have come out with a riveting book about 10 timeless folktales.

“The Puffin Book of Folktales” is a motley treasure of heart-warming folktales by master storytellers such as Ruskin Bond, Sudha Murty, Devdutt Pattanaik, Kamala Das, Paro Anand and others, with each author adding an own special touch.

The book brings to life India’s glorious cultural heritage in all its richness, along with generous doses of fun. Puffin India has partnered with Flipkart and UNESCO for the exclusive release of this edition on World Book Day on the online store.

According to Sohini Mitra, associate publisher of Puffin (Penguin Random House India), the vision is to nurture and spread the joy of reading, and make books and stories accessible to one and all.

“In keeping with the ethos of World Book Day which celebrates stories, books and the love for reading, we are delighted to bring to our readers an exquisite collection of folktales by India’s leading authors,” she says.

“We are thrilled to be partnering with UNESCO and Flipkart on this wonderful initiative! ‘The Puffin Book of Folktales’ features delightful stories and is available in an affordable paperback edition,” she adds.

The other authors who have contributed to the book are Manjula Padmanabhan, Musharraf Ali Farooqi, Shashi Deshpande, A K Ramanujan and Meera Uberoi.

Nishit Garg, senior director (general merchandise), who also heads books at Flipkart, says it is in fairytales that one begins to see and chase his or her first dreams.

“On this World Book Day, we hope to bring every child closer to the world of dreams and possibilities by encouraging them to read,” he says.

UNESCO’s sector head and programme specialist for culture Junhi Han feels a collection of folktales such as this entertains and fascinates, encourages reading and listening among children, and helps them discover and rediscover India’s rich oral heritage.

Simon & Schuster names Himanjali Sankar as its editorial director in India

(New Delhi, Apr 17, 2018) Himanjali Sankar, who has worked in various publishing houses and departments including the Centre for Women’s Development Studies, has been named the editorial director of Simon & Schuster India.

In her new position, Sankar will acquire fiction and non-fiction titles and edit her own titles, as well as overseeing the editorial staff.

Sankar has been an editor of fiction, narrative non-fiction, travel books and academic journals. For the last five years she was with Bloomsbury India, as a publisher of both fiction and narrative non-fiction. Prior to that, she was an editor of children’s literature with Scholastic India.

She had worked in CWDS as an editor for the “Indian Journal of Gender Studies” and for the research project, “A Century of Women’s Expanding Horizons”.

Sankar is also a novelist. Her first novel for adults, “Mrs C Remembers”, was published by Pan Macmillan last year. Her novel for young children, “The Stupendous Timetelling Superdog”, and her young adult novel, “Talking of Muskaan”, were shortlisted for the Crossword Award for Children’s writing in 2013 and 2016 respectively.

“Sankar has sharp editorial instincts, creative thinking, and a keen sense of what is current – which makes her the perfect person to lead the editorial direction of Simon & Schuster India as we continue to expand our list and publish both established voices and emerging new ones,” says Rahul Srivastava, Managing Director of Simon & Schuster India.

“I have always been a fan of the Simon & Schuster international list. Over the last 18 months, I have admired the strong and distinctive list that Simon & Schuster India has been building. It is an honour and very exciting to be a part of it,” says Sankar.

8 nominations for Assamese film ‘Xhoixobote Dhemalite’ in US fest

(New Delhi, Apr 17, 2018) In more good news for the Assamese film industry, a movie on children raised during a violent period in Assam has received as many as eight nominations at a US festival.

“Xhoihobote Dhemalite” (Rainbow fields) directed by Bidyut Kotoky has received nominations for best feature film, director, screenplay, actor (Nakul Vaid), actress (Dipannita Sharma), supporting actor (Victor Banerjee), cinematography (Satya Prakash Rath) and score (Anurag Saikia) at the Love International Film Festival (LIFF), Los Angeles.

The awards will be announced on July 7 at a ceremony in Beverly Hills.

“It is indeed an honour. These recognitions are especially satisfying as it came from a festival whose goal is to bring the world closer together and promote love and healing through cinema,” says Mumbai-based Kotoky.

The film, based on true events, narrates the psychological trauma children went through during the Assam agitation in the 1980s. The film also features seasoned actors like Naved Aslam, Nipon Goswami and Nikumoni Barua.

In 2017, the film won the ‘Best Foreign Film Award’ in the Hollywood International CineFest. It was premiered in the Indian Panorama of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI), Goa.

“Xhoihobote Dhemalite” is semi-autobiographical in nature, inspired by true incidents from Kotoky’s life. It is produced by India Stories, a Mumbai-based production house, and co-produced by Kotoky’s Dhruv Creative Productions and Kurmasana Kreates, a US-based production house.

The LIFF was founded by Ata Servati, poet, playwright and activist in 2016. US First Ladies Michelle Obama and Laura Bush were honoured in the first year as the ‘Ambassadors of Love & Peace’ for their work with children.

All proceeds from this year’s LIFF will go to The Lotus Light Children’s Charity (TLLCC) whose mission is “to build a league of empowered, educated, proactive individuals who will have the necessary resources to be able to reach out to impoverished children throughout the world”.

At the recently-announced National Award, Assamese film “Village Rockstars” was named the best feature film.

Directed by Rima Das, the critically-acclaimed film about a village girl who dreams of making it big, also won awards for best location, sound recordist, editing and best child artiste (Bhanita Das).

Book covers vast landscape of history of Indian art

(New Delhi, Apr 16, 2018) Children’s writer Mamta Nainy profiles Indian Art by covering a millennia of artistic expression in her new book as it time-travels chronologically through the many art schools and artistic periods.

Billed as the first comprehensive guide for art enthusiasts – young and old, “A Brush with Indian Art” showcases exquisite full-colour photographs and illustrations of some of the most celebrated Indian artworks.

From cave to contemporary paintings, it’s like a walk through the history of Indian art.

According to Nainy, the book is about stories, which have been plucked from the many art traditions in India.

The book, published by Puffin, has interesting anecdotes and colourful trivia.

One of these is related to the Ajanta Caves.

“The tale goes that anyone who tries to deface the paintings in any way or reproduce them is struck by bad luck. Mysteriously many attempts to make copies of these paintings and then exhibit them in museums have been highly unsuccessful,” Nainy writes.

“In most of these cases, either the museums at which they were to be exhibited caught fire and the canvasses were destroyed, or the curator went insane!” she says.

The extravagant Mughal miniature paintings provided inspiration to many future artists and schools, and they continue to inspire even today, the author says.

“If it hadn’t been for the Mughal rulers, such extraordinary art wouldn’t have emerged or been developed in India. It seems that the Mughals were as passionate about art and architecture as they were about warfare and expanding their territories,” the book says.

The British, says Nainy, had different aesthetics with regard to art, and the Indian artists knew that if they were to survive, they’d have to start understanding and painting from the British point of view.

“Hence, the artists moved to a more realistic sort of painting style, which meant that they tried to draw exactly what they saw, for these paintings were as much for documentation purposes as they were for artistic ones,” she says.

“They tried adapting to the ways of the British, and what came out of that was a mix of Indian and European art styles. Not surprisingly, the painters used familiar techniques from the Mughal paintings and then joined them with the features of a Western style of painting.”

In the late 19th century, with the arrival of the European painters and with Indian painters being exposed to and adapting to European styles of painting, came about a major swing in public taste.

Lifelike paintings done in an extremely realistic fashion suddenly became very popular. And to promote the European style of painting further, the British opened several art schools in India, like Government School of Art in Calcutta and Sir J J School of Art in Bombay. Here they admitted Indian students from educated, well-to-do backgrounds and trained them in fine art. They taught their students how to paint objects realistically and schooled them in new mediums, such as oil paints.

This is how a whole new generation of Indian painters was born, trained in this novel style of realism that was learnt from the British in Bombay and Calcutta. Some of these artists were Pestonjee Bomanjee, M.F. Pithawalla, Hemendranath Majumdar and Antonio Xavier Trindade.

The author says the works of the artists of the Bengal school of art remain invaluable and have endured time.

“This was perhaps the first school representing an art movement in modern India and is, therefore, an important milestone in Indian art history. From the paintings of Ajanta to Mughal miniatures to scenes of humble village life – the artists of the Bengal school always sought inspiration from Indian history and from the reality they saw around them,” she writes.

She also talks of modern artists, such as F N Souza, S H Raza, M F Husain and their companions at the Progressive Artists’ Group, as they created masterpieces; and finally, understood the intricacies of contemporary Indian art that explores different mediums and modes of expression like performance art, videos, and installations.

Book on which ‘Raazi’ based to hit stores in May

(New Delhi, Apr 13, 2018) The book on which Meghna Gulzar’s espionage drama “Raazi” is based will hit stores around the same time when the film releases on May 11.

Harinder Sikka’s “Calling Shemat” is the story of an ordinary girl who becomes a spy driven by the desire to fulfill her father’s wishes and national duty.

Though the book was published some years ago, Penguin Random House India will bring it out in a repackaged and new format.

Sikka says he felt very strongly that Sehmat’s story needed to be told.

“Her amazing courage and fortitude are what need to be celebrated. I’m glad that the film and the book are coming out within short span of each other and each will in its own way tell this exceptional story,” he says.

When young college-going Kashmiri girl Sehmat gets to know her dying father’s last wish, she can do little but surrender to his passion and patriotism and follow the path he has so painstakingly laid out. It is the beginning of her transformation from an ordinary girl into a deadly spy.

She’s then married off to the son of a well-connected Pakistani general, and her mission is to regularly pass information to the Indian intelligence. Something she does with extreme courage and bravado, till she stumbles on information that could destroy the naval might of her country.

The book is inspired from real events.

“This book is an extraordinary spy story that talks about the grit and determination of a young woman to save her country (India) during the 1971 war with Pakistan,” says Vaishali Mathur, Executive Editor and Head Rights and Language Publishing at Penguin Random House India.

“It’s also poignant in its portrayal of the characters involved in the war showing the more human side of people and the choices they make – proving that heroes are not different people but they choose to do things differently,” Mathur adds.

Alia Bhatt is playing the role of Sehmat in the film and Vicky Kaushal her husband.

Sikka is currently the group director (strategic business) of Piramal Group. He was in the Indian Navy but took premature retirement in 1993. He has also produced the film “Nanak Shah Fakir”.

I’m a big fan of luxury cars: Virat Kohli

(Bengaluru, Apr 12, 2018) Indian captain Virat Kohli loves luxury cars – be it an SUV or a sedan – and owns a fleet of them.

“I am a big fan of luxury cars, both sedans and SUVs. Usually for everyday travel, I prefer to be sitting in a SUV but on other occasions, I prefer sedans more. I definitely do like luxury cars,” Kohli said after unveiling the second generation Audi RS 5 Coupe here last night.

On his association with Audi, he said, “It has been really good. I am launching all the new cars, can’t ask for anything more.”

Rahil Ansari, head of Audi India, said the brand with the four rings attracts achievers who are young or young at heart and therefore the company is happy that Kohli is its customer as well. Kohli owns a fleet of Audi cars.

Asked about his favourite weekend getaway, Kohli said, “I haven’t had many opportunities to have such a getaway because if I have a weekend off, I prefer to be at home and just relax.”

But he said in an ideal situation he would like to drive to an outhouse in his favourite car on a nice road listening to great music.

Commenting on his favourite hero on and off the field, Kohli said, “He is obviously Sachin Tendulkar.”