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Indian middle-class is finding new ways to flaunt their wealth

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 11:03:00 +0530

By the flickering light of the restaurant’s candles, suspicious particles seemed to be floating in the wine the waiter had just poured. It was hardly an auspicious start to the evening. But in an instant came the explanation. There was nothing wrong with the wine; these were pure flakes of 24-carat gold added to the Californian chardonnay by the manufacturer simply for additional “wow factor”. And it worked. The group of well-dressed men and women laughed and smiled and lifted their glasses towards the light, better to see the wine sparkle.
In India, wine is being drunk as never before. This year, as for the past half-dozen years, sales are expected to increase by at least 35 per cent and perhaps even more. Partly fuelled by India’s newly buoyant consumerism and partly by the increasing numbers of people travelling abroad for business or holidays, wine has rapidly become the latest symbol of affluence and supposed sophistication for the country’s newly wealthy middle-classes. Like carrying the right handbag or driving an elegant car, nothing says “I’ve arrived” better than to be seen swirling a glass of wine.
Of course, there are plenty of people who actually enjoy the stuff. Across the country, wine clubs are being set up, tastings are being organised by some of the world’s leading producers and India’s own wine industry is starting to make a handful of vintages that can compete with international competition. In the past decade, the number of Indian vineyards has grown from no more than half a dozen to about 50, concentrated mainly in the Nashik region of Maharastra.
“The wine market is booming,” said Kapil Grover, owner of Grover Vineyards, one India’s oldest and most respected producers, whose French-imported vines grow at elevation at Nandi Hills near Bangalore in southern India. “I’m 52 and think we’re going to see 30 to 35 per cent growth for the rest of my lifetime.”
In India, the history of wine can be traced to the culture’s oldest religious writings. The Yarjuveda ~ one of the four Indian Vedas or “knowledges” written in Sanskrit and believed to date from several centuries BC ~ tells how the Hindu gods Indra and Varuna drank a mixture of wine and herbs known as Somrasa. One line of the Yarjuveda reads: “Oh plants, it was Indra and Varuna who first drank the Somrasa. Having gratified him, now I partake of the oblational food with Somrasa.” Yet despite the support of the gods, those promoting the spread of a genuine wine culture in India today face many hurdles. In a country where an estimated 77 per cent of India’s population of 1.15 billion people survive on perhaps as little as 25p a day and where the gap between the rich and poor is increasing, the market for wine operates at the top of the economic pyramid.
High taxes mean the cheapest bottle of ordinary or indifferent Indian wine costs Rs 400. An imported bottle is considerably more. A poor labourer wishing for an instant anaesthetic to the rigours of his daily life can buy a small bottle of industrially made rum or whisky for a handful of coins. And he doesn’t have to worry about flakes of gold.
That well-heeled group enjoying the so-called “gold wine” on a recent evening at a peaceful restaurant in the south of Delhi were typical of the people behind the surge in the growth of wine sales and for whom importers are furiously stepping up efforts to market their products. Middle-aged professionals at the higher levels of their jobs, many had first tasted wine when travelling abroad. Returning to India they had joined the Delhi Wine Circle to learn more about this discovery.
“We like to travel,” said Shravani Dang, head of corporate communications for a leading Indian industrial conglomerate and a member of the circle for the past three years. “We were in Rome and we learnt a bit about wine. It’s good to learn things such as pairing food and wines,” “We had drunk wine before... a few years ago we had a case of South American wine and we had a cheese and wine party. Nobody knew anything about it. People would ask, ‘When are you bringing out the real drinks?’”
Another member, a woman who described herself as “mid-level management professional” in her 30s but declined to give her name, said she had been in the club for two years. She enjoyed trying the different wines and meeting people who furnished interesting conversation. “I joined because it seemed like the club had interesting events,” she said.
Anil and Reena Khana, said they had joined the club after their children sent them to France to celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary. They had found themselves touring the vineyards of Bordeaux and were instantly hooked. When they returned to India they signed up. “We wanted to learn more about wine and different wines. We just started to learn,” said Khana, a friendly business manager for a large Indian group. “It’s really like a hobby.”
The evening’s dinner and tasting had started with the gold wines from the 100 Acres label in the Napa Valley, a chardonnay and viognier blend and a rose, and rapidly progressed to several wines from the Australian producer Buller. There were two different chardonnays, a shiraz, a merlot and finally a 2005 cabernet merlot blend.
Members munched their way through mozzarella salad, a vegetable risotto, a series of main courses which included the rare delight in Hindu-majority India of seared beef tenderloin, and finished off with an apple tart. The evening concluded with a mulled red wine that did not appear to be the toast of the night.
Even among the country’s wealthy set, wine still encounters opposition from those who prefer India’s drink of choice ~ Scotch whisky. Tusha Gupta, an interior designer, said it was taking time to break down prejudice against wine. “You go to a party and people still don’t like to have wine,” she said. “People believe it’s women who will have a glass. They’ll have a cocktail or a whisky.”
Indeed, despite the headline figure of 35 per cent year on year growth, India’s wine consumption remains tiny. The country’s sales of about 1.2 million cases of wine equates to just a teaspoon per person. At the other end of the scale, the thirsty French drink 55 litres per person every year. But a more telling comparison may be with China, so often listed with India as a superpower of the future. There the annual per capita consumption of wine is a glass. In terms of sales, China may also be ahead of its rival and neighbour.
Robert Joseph, the British wine writer and founder of the International Wine Challenge, said to be the world’s biggest competition, said India was not progressing as quickly as some people might like to think. He said: “I’ve been running wine competitions in the emerging markets ~ Singapore, China, Japan, Thailand, Russia, Vietnam, etc since 1997. Over that time, I’ve been watching India with great interest, and a certain degree of impatience. Compared to China, the development of a wine-drinking culture has been slow and India remains way behind in consumption.”
Joseph said improvements in India’s wine production had also been made in the past five years, largely as a result of efforts by the Grover and Sula vineyards. But Indian wine producers retained a reverence to French labels when the new techniques they ought to be utilising were being developed by New World producers, in particular the Australians.
“Grover and Sula... have produced world-class wines,” he added. “But the best of these wineries’ efforts are the exceptions to the rule. No other Indian winery is yet making wine that would stand comparison with successful efforts from Europe or the New World, though many Indian examples are far better than plenty of unsuccessful efforts from Europe.”
Three years ago, publisher Reva Singh started a wine newsletter that was sent out to a small group of subscribers. Now Sommelier India, the country’s only magazine devoted to wine, is a grown-up, bi-monthly glossy on sale at selected stores. Subscriptions for the magazine, which contains news and features on both Indian and imported wine, she says, are up by 25 per cent on last year. “Things are changing. People are becoming increasingly sophisticated with wine and want to learn more about it. When we started, people perceived drinking wine as being trendy. Many men preferred to drink Scotch. Now it has got to where people are asking questions.”
Another optimist is Subash Arora, the irrepressibly enthusiastic president of the Delhi Wine Circle and publisher of an online newsletter. He is responsible for the 20 or so wine dinners and tastings held by the club every year. Arora is more than aware of the challenge he faces. He knows the sale of whisky and beer outstrip that of wine more than a hundred-fold; he knows too that wine is a product only a tiny fraction of Indians could ever hope to afford.
And yet he is convinced that the momentum is on his side. At the recent tasting in Delhi, as people began to wander away, Arora lingered to explain more about his enthusiasm. Standing with a half-glass of ruby-coloured Australian wine, he said: “This is more than just my hobby, it’s my passion.”

The Independent

Callous colleges cost students of CU dear

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 10:59:00 +0530

The fate of a number of first-year students is now uncertain after their admissions were nullified by Calcutta University today.
Around 20 to 25 first-year students might lose a year as the college authorities had granted admission to them ignoring CU admission norms. The decision was taken at an undergraduate council (UG) meeting following appeals from colleges.
Despite Calcutta University’s directive of excluding environmental studies among the best five subjects selected for admission, many colleges flouted this rule. The colleges that have come under the scanner are Presidency College, Scottish Church College, Vivekananda College for Women, Budge Budge College, among others.
They later appealed to the university to consider a few such cases. According to an UG council member: “The directive was issued on 5 June while admissions to colleges started much later. SO the colleges are not justified in having overlooked the norms. Moreover, why were the colleges sitting on this for the one year? The matter should have been rectified much earlier.” It was also found that some colleges had granted admission to candidates in honours subjects who did not secure the requisite 55 per cent marks. Again, a number of general category students were offered subjects in which they did not have qualifying marks. The UG council cancelled all such admissions that were granted by flouting CU norms. “This a routine practice of the council. Circulars in this regard have already been sent”, said Prof Shyamal Sarkar, secretary, UG council, CU. n SNS

Indian Air Force Lance Nayak held for ‘molesting’ woman

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 10:57:00 +0530

A Lance Nayak of Indian Air Force was arrested on charges of allegedly molesting a woman at the Howrah station this afternoon.
Police said, the accused, Lance Nayak Sajal Bhatta, a resident of Murshidabad, had allegedly molested the woman, a member of a city-based theatre group, inside the sub-way of the station around 12.30 p.m. today.
The woman, a resident of Dhaniakhali in Hooghly, told The Statesman, that she lodged a complaint against the accused at Golabari police station. “I was on my way to academy for rehearsal, when the man came from behind and tred to molest me. He tried to escape, but I chased him and managed to apprehend the man. I reported the incident to RPF jawans and and railway policemen who were present there. An officer from Golabari police station later came to the spot and took him to Golabari police station. I lodged a complaint against him at the police station,” said the woman.
During interrogation, the accused told police that he was posted at Indian Air Force's Kalaikunda base camp and was returning home today. Mr Niraj Kumar Singh, superintendent of police ( Howrah) said: “The Lance Nayak was arrested on the basis of the woman's complaint.”
When contacted, Mr RK Das, spokesperson of the Indian Army's Eastern Command, said: “I have not been informed officially about the incident. Steps will be taken against the accused if he is found guilty,” said Mr Das.

Democrats to aim for budget surplus by ’12

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 11:22:54 +0530

By ANDREW TAYLOR

Washington, March 6: House Democrats awarded initial approval of an election-year budget blueprint early on Thursday that would produce sizeable surpluses by 2012 by allowing President George W. Bush's tax cuts to expire as scheduled.

The $3 trillion budget plan for 2009, which passed the House Budget Committee on a party-line 22-16 vote, would award greater-than-inflation increases to domestic programs. That immediately earned a promise from the White House that Mr Bush would veto subsequent spending bills funding agency budgets. The Senate Budget Committee planned a vote for later on Thursday on a largely similar plan. At issue is the annual congressional budget resolution, a non-binding document that sets guidelines for later legislation to put in place tax and spending goals for the budget year that begins October 1.

The Senate's measure is $18 billion, or 4 per cent, more than Mr Bush's Budget for non-defence programmes funded each year by Congress, such as education, health research, housing and health care for veterans.

The House version offers an increase of $22 billion, almost 5 per cent. Both plans ratify Mr Bush's $36 billion, or 7 per cent, increase for the core Pentagon Budget. (AP)

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'Obama will fare better against McCain'

Washington, March 6: Barack Obama is better-positioned than his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton to defeat Republican nominee John McCain in the November presidential election, a poll showed on Wednesday.

With change versus experience emerging as the touchstone in this year's presidential battle, Mr Obama's 12-point advantage (52 per cent to 40 per cent) over Mr McCain doubled Ms Clinton's six-point margin (50 to 44) against the Arizona senator, according to a poll.

The survey, carried out prior to Ms Clinton's dramatic Tuesday victories in three of four primary contests including the delegate-heavy states of Ohio and Texas, showed Mr Obama losing out to Mr McCain on experience (19 to 70 per cent) and in knowledge of world affairs (24 to 64 per cent). But the 46-year-old Illinois senator came out ahead of McCain 53-32 per cent on who was thought to have a clearer vision for the future, as well as on who was better positioned to bring about change (56 to 31 per cent). With his hard line on security and his vow to stay the course in Iraq where Democrats promise troop withdrawals, Mr McCain inspired more confidence among respondents than Mr Obama on the question of fighting terrorism, and he held a slimmer lead when it came to the war in Iraq. (AFP)

Democratic primary makes Wyoming feel relevant

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 11:23:09 +0530

By MEAD GRUVER

Cheyenne (Wyoming), March 6: Not since 1960 have Wyoming Democrats felt so relevant.

That year, at the Democratic National Convention, the western state’s delegation cast 15 votes that pushed Senator John F. Kennedy over the top and made him the party’s nominee for President.

With this year’s race for the Democratic nomination still unsettled after primaries this week, Democrats in this largely conservative state are feeling relevant again as Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama focus on the 12 delegates at stake in Saturday’s caucus.

Only in the last few weeks have the campaigns stepped up their presence in the state, opening offices and calling voters and sending mailers.

The first visits come on Thursday, when former President Bill Clinton makes three appearances. Mr Obama and Hillary Clinton follow, each scheduling two events on Friday. All the attention has Wyoming Democrats feeling giddy.

"It’s amazing," said party spokesperson Bill Luckett. "It’s a once-in-a-generation type of opportunity for Wyoming to have a say in this presidential race." The number of registered Democrats has grown by more than 1,000 since the start of the year, the secretary of state’s office says.

Republicans have 136,000 registered voters, compared to 59,000 Democrats.

"In the grand scheme of things, Wyoming factors in for us," said Mr Obama spokesperson Matt Chandler.

"We take it very seriously." Ms Clinton spokesperson Blake Zeff said potential volunteers are reaching out. "We’re going to be harnessing that enthusiasm to really bring out the vote," he said.

It remains unclear which Democrat might have an edge; no public polling has been done in the state.

However, at least one prominent Wyoming Democrat has questioned whether Ms Clinton’s unpopularity would hurt other Democratic candidates in the West.

"I feel a lot of conservative Republicans may not show on Election Day to vote for Senator (John) McCain, but they may show up to vote against her," John Millin, the state Democratic Party chair, said of Mr McCain, the Republican nominee-in-waiting. His comments sparked some controversy in the state. (AP)

Women in Parliament to train in martial arts

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 11:23:27 +0530

Jerusalem, March 6: Women working at the Israeli Knesset (Parliament), including legislators, will learn Israeli martial art, Krav Maga, to defend themselves from sexual assaults, a media report here said.

The move has been initiated by Knesset director-general Avi Balashnikov and one legislator, Nadia Hilou, even took up the mantle to defend herself at a training session to be promptly awarded a high score for valour but told to boost her strength and speed, daily Ha’aretz reported. "I ordered the human resources department to abstain from presenting me any promotion certificate or car request to sign, throughout 2008, for employees who opted to make their own decisions on such an important day," Mr Balashnikov said. (PTI)

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Campaign for Iran elections kicks off

Tehran, March 6: The election campaign for Iran’s March 14 Parliament elections, widely seen as a referendum on the rule of hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, officially kicked off on Thursday.

The website of Iran’s interior ministry said that more than 4,500 candidates are now in the running. the figure comes after the country’s hardline constitutional watchdog disqualified some 1,700 hopefuls, many of them reformists or simply opponents of Mr Ahmadinejad.

Reports say some 1,000 nominees have given up because of personal reasons. The wide disqualification has been reminiscent of 2004, when the Guardian council barred thousands of reformists from running in that year’s Parliament elections, allowing hard-liners to regain control of the 290-seat legislature. (AP)

Pope plans to host Muslim, Catholic ‘summit’ in Nov.

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 11:23:41 +0530

Vatican City, March 6: Pope Benedict XVI gave his approval to the creation of a permanent Catholic-Muslim interfaith forum that will hold its inaugural meeting this November in Rome, the Vatican said.

The initiative was sparked by the pope’s own controversial speech at a German university in 2006, where he appeared to link Islam with violence.

The dispute inspired by his remarks led in 2007 to 138 leading Muslim scholars calling for a dialogue with the leader of the Roman Catholic church, and eventually to today’s accord.

The first summit of the "Catholic-Muslim forum" will be on November 4-6 in Rome, on the theme of "the love of God, love of neighbour," according to a joint statement issued after the meeting between the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and a delegation of the so-called Group of 138.

November’s meeting will be attended personally by the pope, Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran confirmed in a statement.

The Muslim side will be represented Sheikh Abdal Hakim Murad, president of Britain’s Muslim Academic Trust.

A second follow-up conference has already been scheduled for 2010, to be held in a Muslim country, Ali Aref Nayed, director of the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre in Amman, said.

The structure put in place on Wednesday could also be activated in case of a crisis such as the global uproar that followed the publication of cartoons of Mohammed in 2006, according to Nayed. (AFP)

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US Sikhs will boycott Pope

Washington, March 6: Sikh representatives will not participate in an interfaith meeting with Pope Benedict XVI during his US visit in April because the Secret Service won’t allow them to wear a ceremonial dagger that members of the Eastern religion must carry.

Sikhs had been invited to join other religious leaders for a 45-minute meeting with the head of the Roman Catholic Church on April 17 in Washington to express a shared commitment to peace.

But the US Secret Service would not allow the Sikhs to carry a kirpan, which resembles a small sword or dagger. The kirpan "represents the Sikh commitment to resist oppression and injustice" and is to be carried "only in a defensive posture and never to initiate confrontation," according to the World Sikh Council-America Region. "We have to respect the sanctity of the kirpan, especially in such interreligious gatherings," Anahat Kaur, secretary-general of the Sikh Council, said in a statement.

"We cannot undermine the rights and freedoms of religion in the name of security." (AP)

Putin decree for handover to Medvedev

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 11:24:14 +0530

Moscow, March 6: Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose tenure ends in May, has set a precedence for the smooth transfer of power by issuing a special decree introducing the official status of "President-elect" to fill procedural void for two months’ transition period in the post-Soviet history.

A day after the March 2 presidential poll, swept by his chosen successor Dmitry Medvedev, Mr Putin signed the decree introducing for the first time the official status of "Newly Elected and Not Yet Serving President" of Russian Federation, influential business and political daily Kommersant said.

In the modern history of Russia, there were no mechanisms for transfer of power from one elected President to another as the first Russian President Boris Yeltsin was initially elected in 1991 as the head of Soviet Russia and was re-elected in 1996.

In 1999, Mr Yeltsin stepped down and in accordance with the Constitution his Prime Minister Vladimir Putin was appointed acting President with immediate effect, who later was elected twice in 2000 and 2004. Mr Putin’s decree sets the precedent and fills the procedural void for the two months transition period. Mr Medvedev is to take the oath of office on May 7.

"The presidential administration is ordered in this document for the purposes of regulating the status of the newly elected and not yet serving President of the Russian federation," the daily reported. (PTI)

UK minister defends changes in visa rules

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 11:24:50 +0530

By OUR LONDON CORRESPONDENT

London, March 6: British immigration minister Liam Byrne, who described himself as a third generation immigrant from Ireland, defended the changed to the immigration system by the Labour government at a function to facilitate British high commissioner to India, Sir Richard Stagg, on Wednesday night. Mr Byrne described his visit to India recently to explain the changes in immigration laws as "an expression of commitment to the ties between the two nations."

He said that the government’s aim was to change the migration system for the better and was looking to new provisions to ensure that highly-skilled people who wanted to stay on in UK after their education would find it easy to do so.

He also stressed that the main link between the two nations was the people and it was people who could help bring Indian and Britain much closer together. Sir Richard, who was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II recently, stressed on the aspects like history, language, culture and values which tied the two nations together. He said that the two countries "have not fulfilled the real potential of their relationship."

Sir Richard, who became the high commissioner to India in September, will visit Leicester and deliver a lecture on Mahatma Gandhi. Leicester is these days facing a tough choice to whether install a statue of Mahatma Gandhi in the city or that of footballer Gary Lineker. Labour MP Keith Vaz said he would continue with his quest to have a Gandhi statue in Leicester. "We need to find our voice," he said and praised Baroness Shreela Flather for her efforts to set up the Memorial Gates on Constitution Hill as a memorial to the men and women from the Indian subcontinent, Africa and the Caribbean who volunteered to serve Britain during the World Wars.

Gurkhas to picket British Parliament

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 11:25:11 +0530

Kathmandu, March 6: Former Gurkha soldiers are set to picket Britain’s Parliament to step up pressure on the government to fulfill their demands relating to pension and immigration rights.

At the protest programme, being supported by Britain’s third largest party Liberal Democrat, the organisers have planed to return over 50 medals the Gurkha soldiers have won for their "battle skill and bravery" during the wars they fought for Britain.

Former Gurkha soldiers have frequently voiced their anger towards the British government for their lack of pension and immigration rights.

Gurkhas have been part of the British Armed Forces for almost 200 years and have shed blood during the First and Second World Wars and in the past 50 years in Kosovo, Afghanistan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Borneo and the Falklands.

Yet on retirement former Gurkha soldiers who are traditionally known for their loyalty and bravery are refused the same pension rights as their British and Commonwealth comrades. Nor are they allowed to remain in the UK.

Now the former Gurkha soldiers, their families and sympathisers have decided to picket Britain’s Parliament on March 19, the nepalnews online said quoting a local media report.

The organisers have also decided to start the "Gurkha campaign" for justice and equal rights from the Parliament street on the same day.

The protest rally would be led by Liberal Democrat’s senior leader Nick Clark, district counsellor Peter Carol and Folkston town counsellor Dhan Gurung, the report said. (PTI)