This is not a first hand account. Rather I’ve heard it from different sources. The local MLA (member of legislative assembly) from Jubbal-Kotkhai, Narendra Baragta, recently, at a public rally to appease the common man, announced – “Yeh jo Ching-Ming hai na, jo apne desh mein bade bante hain, yahaan dekho hamaare liye sadak bana rahe hain. Dhumaal (PK Dhumal, Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh) sahab ne unhe yahaan par sadak banane lagaa diya hai. Dekho Dhumal sahab kya kar sakte hain…” Not surprising, that there was a loud cheer from the crowd.

This road will be double lane soon

The tender for conversion of the state highway from Theog-Kotkhai-Hatkoti-Rohru into double lane was won by a Chinese company, (Long Jian Road & Bridge Ltd) last year. The company’s quotations were the lowest and armed with the latest technology, the work is in progress and as promised by it, the widening should be on schedule – in three years.

I’ll come to the dog issue later on. However, the first issue is of awarding the contract to a Chinese company. China border is not far off. There have been incidents in the past when Chinese spies have been arrested in Rohru-Jubbal-Kotkhai area.

The road widening work gives free access to the Chinese engineers into the area. What’s worrying is that Long Jian Road & Bridge Ltd, is a state-owned Chinese company. The company has detailed maps with it and free mobility to its engineers. Even though maps too can be sought today through Google Maps, but the Himachal government has personally handed over maps to the Chinamen. There is a great possibility of Chinese spies roaming openly. They simply have to flaunt the company’s I-Card and hence there’s no questioning.

Security issues have really been thrown to the wind. In fact it seems that Himachal is not really prepared for any untoward incidents and takes things lightly. The latest issue of ragging in the Tanda medical college is one just example, where the government has turned a blind eye to security and laws, in spite of having an Ordinance in 2001, which was let be, to be never passed as a Bill.

Allowing free access to Chinamen in the region – is it complacency on the Himachal government’s part or mere overlooking? How is the Himachal government keeping a check on the China company’s employees and making sure they do not involve in espionage

Or does the Himachal government feel that China and India are friendly neighbours like Nepal and India? Anyway the issue has to be addressed well, and be raised at the national level. What’s surprising is the silence of the opposition in the state.

Another issue, I intend to raise here is the possibility of extinction of dogs in the area. I’ve learnt from laymen that the Chinese engineers in the area (Theog, Chhailla and Kotkhai) enjoy their dinner with dog meat. It’s no secret that Chinese love dog-meat. In fact there are legal dog-meat shops in the North East of India. But these Chinese men target stray dogs. As the stray dogs dwindle out in numbers, in the area, the Chinese men send out their juniors to buy domesticated dogs. A black dog (for whatever reasons) is high on demand and gets high quotations of prices.

Also, it’s very possible that these Chinese men will lure young girls too (marriage or outside marriage) and soon we could see Chinese looking children openly roaming in the area. There is a joke around that like in Punjab, where the husband is away in Canada and the wife is lonely back home in Punjab. Local labour was hard to get, hence Bihari labour was welcome. Now, you can guess why many children had names like Ram Khilawan Randhawa. In Upper Shimla area, surnames have ‘ta’ in the end like our respected local MLA – Bargata, and our home-bred actress Preity Zinta. Soon, should we expect names like Yang Ming Kararta, Su Chin Tararta? (Note: I have no knowledge of families having surnames – Kararta and Tararta. These surnames are fictitious and are here only for representative purpose and I mean no offence to any family, which in the unlikely circumstances has the surnames – Tararta or Kararta).

Will the Himachal government please look in to the issue? Are there any NGOs who could take up the issue of security and the animal rights?

What does it mean? Allow advertisements on your car and in return get paid for it. Obviously, not in cash but as free petrol at allied petrol-pumps. This way, you cannot fool around. Petrol pumps will be a check-point that you haven’t removed the ad. The vehicles will also be fitted with a vehicle tracking system (VTS) through which clients can locate their advertisements.

The venture is becoming popular by the day, not only in Himachal, but across India. CashurDrive has got funding in hundreds of crore from various investors in India.

Raghu is unmarried, and “trying” to get married. HimVani‘s Vividhaditya caught up with him for a chat. Excerpts:

How did the idea of CashurDrive come to you?
One day when I was stuck in an awful traffic jam behind a truck, the funny one-liners and slogans written on it, really amused me and virtually paved the way for the CashurDrive. I thought to myself that if these funny slogans could be such attention grabbers then the effects of commercial advertisements on automobiles could be amazing too. That was when I searched the internet. I found out that no other advertising company had yet ventured or thought of this domain. Hence CashurDrive was born.

Have you implemented the scheme in Himachal?
CashurDrive is on the verge of cutting contracts with a number of major Himachal Pradesh based companies. We have received approvals for the dummy car wraps that we have done for these companies and are on course to implement a couple of formal orders too. It would, however, be inappropriate to name our clients for want of confidentiality and exclusivity till then. Our work will eventually show for itself.

How many car-owners have registered to adorn their cars with advertisements in Himachal… and from which areas?
We are getting queries and registrations from all parts of India on a daily basis. As regards to Himachal, car owners from Shimla have been the major source of online registration – 511 in all followed closely by Kangra (463) and Chamba (204).

Which advertisers are there in Himachal?
Advertisers In Himachal are mainly from the telecom sector as yet.

Where can Himachalis who want to register with cashurdrive go and register?
Himachalis, just like everyone else in India who is willing to register (for free) with CashurDrive need to log in to www.cashurdrive.com and open up their user account, which will record their personal information and contact details for us to get back to them.

What’s your idea for a better Himachal?
A better Himachal for me would be a Himachal that is technologically empowered to take up the challenge of venturing into newer sectors – like the one of innovative advertising that CashurDrive has taken up. This will require a greater emphasis on building up communication skills and soft skills like internet application and innovation.

How would you be contributing towards Himachal?
Youth from Himachal are welcome any day for walk in interviews and send their resume to jobs[AT]cashurdrive[DOT]com. We are proud to be Himachalis and would be more than willing to make Himachal proud of ourselves by providing an employment avenue to its youth.

Where all is your network spread?
CashurDrive is a Pan-India organization that is spread across the length and breadth of the nation with its executive teams handling the operations everywhere alike.

Any Himchal based partners…?
Nandan Khanna who is the Vice President – Sales of CashurDrive too happens to be an alumnus of the UIIT and MBA department of Himachal Pradesh University. Priyanka Sharma, Business Development Head, CyCloBrands, CashurDrive hails from Chamba and is Master of Arts in English from Himachal Pradesh University as well.

Your advise to the Himachali youth?
It would be… be fearless and courageous in  pursuing your ideas and concepts, no matter how abstract or unconventional they may be. It is always out of unconventionality that newer business ideas and models are born.

Since the bypass from the Government College, Sanjauli, to Dhalli has been opened, I’m sure Sanjauli can be made another Mall Road and can be another attraction for tourists, shoppers and walkers.

However, before this is made, some hitches have to be addressed.

Let’s take them one by one:

1. Make all traffic divert from Government College, Sanjauli, to Dhalli. Mini buses plying till Sanjauli Chowk should turn from the Chowk towards Chhotta Shimla. No traffic should be allowed further from that point. Any traffic carrying construction material should be allowed only after 9 PM till 6 AM.

2. Traffic coming from Kufri should take a diversion from Dhali tunnel towards Vikas Nagar via Bhatta Kuffar. The Sabzi Mandi in Dhalli should be shifted elsewhere and made as the Bus Stop for traffic towards Kufri and Narkanda.

3. For cars plying in Sanjauli, enough Parking space should be made on the Snajauli Nav Bahar Road. Rather Underground parking should be made, and all traffic should ply from above.  All traffic on Jakhu Forest Road from Sanjauli should be stopped. It should be beautified and made a fun place for tourists to have long walks freely, so that people can enjoy the beauty of rhododendrons and birds chirping.

4. The thekas, or liquor shop at Sanjauli Chowk should be moved elsewhere.

5. Encroachments by rehriwallas, or tehbazaari should be stopped between Sanjauli Chowk and Dhalli Tunnel.

6. The Road between Sanjauli Chowk and Dhalli Tunnel should also be name Mall Road.

7. Another area that needs to be addressed badly is the traffic lights between Government College Sanjauli and Sanjauli Chowk. At night when buses take a diversion from Sanjauli College to Dhalli, people have to wade through darkness till Sanjauli Chowk. This has to be on the priority list.

Once the road is free for pedestrians, more and more people will come to shop and have walks. Shop-keepers will upgrade their shops and shoppers would like to shop more and rather go to Shimla. This will also ease the pressure on The main Mall Road Shimla.

At the same time, Dhingu Temple and Satya Narayan Temple can become tourist attractions. Right now, the traffic is so heavy – though has been eased a bit after the uphill traffic towards Kufri has been diverted from The Government College to Dhalli.

Also the Khachchar Ground can be developed as a park where people can be come and relax. The children’s park or the ladies park which is in neglect can be taken up again and beautified with a fountain.

The area can be beautified further with benches to sit on at places like the corner from where the road goes down towards the cremation ground. Even a water fountain can be added there. Even the ladies park, the Khachchar ground can have benches.

By: Vividhaditya *
In spite of a loss of one lakh total readership (TR), Amar Ujala still is the most read publication in Himachal Pradesh, as per the latest findings of the Indian Readership Survey 2008 Round 2 (IRS 2008 R2), conducted by Media Research Users Council (MRUC). Amar Ujala, in IRS 2008 R1 had a TR of 13.77 lakh in the state. At no 2 is Punjab Kesari with a TR of 11.18 lakh, a loss of 91,000 readers. In fact the top five in the state – Amar Ujala, Punjab Kesari, Dainik Bhaskar, The Tribune and Dainik Jagran, in that order – are the same, as in the previous round of the top publications list.

The publications on the top ten list in the state that have fallen in ranking since the last round are Reader’s Digest, India Today (Hindi) and Sarita. The publication that has been ousted from the top 10 list is Madhur Kathayen, which is at No 13 this time.

Publications, which have improved their ranking are Hindustan Times (TR of 72,000 in R2), which has moved up from the eighth position to No 6 in this round, though with a TR loss of 7,000; India Today English (TR of 64,000), which has climbed up four notches from the 12th position to no 8. It has gained 15,000 readers since the last round. Other publications in top-20 that have gained readers since the last round include Grehlakshmi and Diamond Cricket (Hindi), which have gained 6,000 and 25,000 readers respectively since the last round. The gain by the latter seems implausible. It is quite possible that Diamond Cricket (Hindi) may not have been reported in the last round.

But what about the major losses to newspapers like Amar Ujala and Punjab Kesari? Media analyst A S Raghunath says, “Let’s look at it like this – overall, the loss to Hindi dailies is only 11,000. Although both Amar Ujala and Punjab Kesari may have collectively lost a TR of close to two lakh, this loss is somebody’s gain eventually. It could be the dailies that have not been reported.” He feels that Hindi dailies in Himachal “have neglected promotions”. Comparing this with the neighbouring Punjab he says, “In Punjab, it’s a different scenario, where Dainik Bhaskar changed the entire metrics with invitation cover price and strong promotions. The other dailies have also geared to defend their turf.”

End notes:
Media planners revise their rate cards of advertisements with every round of IRS. Hence comparisons generally are made with the previous round.

MRUC also suggests that TR rather than AIR (average issue readership) be taken into account. While AIR is counted as a person who’s read a publication yesterday, if it’s a daily, or in the last week, if it’s a weekly or in the last 15 days, if it’s a fortnightly, or in the last one month, if it’s a monthly and henceforth.

Anybody who’s read a publication any time, above zero, comes under TR. TR is actually the total reach, and is taken into account here as advertisers generally look for the reach and not just to a segment.

The comparisons here have been made between R2 and R1 of 2008, even though MRUC suggests R2 be compared with R2 of previous years, and similarly, R1 with R1 of the previous years.

A publication which is not found in less than five per cent of the respondents sampled are generally not reported. In some cases, publications have even advised MRUC to not report them in the survey. While, MRUC may not report these publications separately, but their counts are certainly taken into account in the overall tally, as somebody surely has read them.

For the record, while the readership of Dainik Tribune may reflect in the TR of all publications, it was neither reported separately in the last round, nor has been reported in the latest round. So don’t be surprised if one doesn’t find it in the Top 20 list (see chart). My guess is that had it been reported separately, it should figure somewhere between the fifth and seventh rank, somewhat equal to Dainik Jagran.

Also, Divya Himachal is missing out from the survey this time, and has not been reported separately. In the last round Divya Himachal had a TR of 4.68 lakh, which put it ahead of Daink Bhaskar. As it doesn’t figure in this round, here too, I’ve left it out from the R1 rankings as well, only for the sake of fair comparison. There can be arguments against the seclusion, but then Dainik Tribune should be accounted as well. Both these dailies may have chosen not to be reported or their respondents may have been less than the threshold levels, hence I’ve left them out from the rankings (and Divya Himachal from the R1 rankings as well).

Other two dailies that have not bee reported separately are Indian Express and Jansatta. If you calculate the losses to individual publications, the figure may go high and may not match the figure of the losses to all publications, which is very less. This is because of these publications, which though have not been reported separately, do count in the TR.

When Himvani published my report on the media scenario earlier, which was based on Audit Bureau of Circulation mostly, there were questions raised by some journalist friends in Jansatta, Shimla, because I did not mention the daily. This time again, Jansatta remains absent from my report, as the publication continues to miss being featured in the IRS 2008.

* Vividhaditya is a New Delhi based media analyst.

Himachalis are reading less – if one were to sum-up massive data sheets and look beyond placid number crunching after the Round Two (R2) of IRS 2008, this emerges as one of the most outstanding outcomes of the survey in Himachal Pradesh’s perspective. If, in the age of all-round media proliferation this fact seems unsettling, the apparent reason for this is even more dramatic – Himachalis are increasingly going back to the joint-type family structures.

The total readership (TR) of all publications in the state has gone down from 77.41 lakh in R1 of 2008 to 70.54 lakh in R2, a loss of TR of nearly seven lakh. While both Hindi and English dailies have lost readers, the loss of English dailies seems to be large. While Hindi daily (any Hindi daily, the term used by MRUC for the survey) has a TR of 22.45 lakh, it has lost 11,000 readers since the last round in the state. Similarly, the English dailies have a TR of 2.59 lakh, after a loss of 49,000 readers in the state since the last round.

Source: IRS 2008 R2 & R1

Delhi-based and renowned media analyst A S Raghunath ascribes this to an interesting trend, which is unlike the rest of the country. “If you see the family structure in Himachal, a population of 3.44 lakh has moved from the ‘nuclear without elders’ to the joint family structure. In R1, 33.24 people lived in nuclear families without elders. In R2, 29.80 lakh people are living in ‘nuclear family without elders’. There has been a jump of 18.63 per cent of the population living in joint families – a rise from 12.13 lakh in R1 to 14. 39 lakh in R2. Similarly, a 22.41 per cent jump has been seen in the increase in ‘nuclear families with elders’,” says Raghunath. This is an unusual trend, he says, unlike cities, where more population is moving towards nuclear families.

The figures speak for themselves. The TR in the ‘nuclear without elders’ for English dailies has gone down from 1.66 lakh in R1 to 1.23 lakh in R2 – a loss of almost 26 per cent. Similarly for Hindi dailies, the TR for this segment has gone down from 15.61 lakh in R1 to 12.93 lakh in R2 – a TR loss of  2.68 lakh (17.17 per cent). Interpreting the trends Raghunath says, “In large families, it’s the elders who first read the newspaper before going out to office. But by the time they finish reading, it’s time for others to leave for school, college or for their work.”

The IRS 2008 R2 also points to the classical yet widening Hindi-English vs Rural-Urban divide in newspaper readership. While English daily readership has gone down by 57 per cent in the rural areas, since the last round (from 2.20 lakh in R1 to 1.63 lakh in R2) in the state, urban English daily readership has gone up from 89,000 to 95,000. The loss for Hindi dailies in percentage terms in the rural areas is minuscule – a loss of 1.20 per cent, going down from 18.39 lakh in R1 to 18.17 in R2. In urban areas, Hindi daily readership has gone up from 4.17 lakh in R1 to 4.28 lakh.

But the brighter side is that more females than before are now reading newspapers more (Does it speak of the high female literacy rate in the state?). But they seem to have dumped English dailies in favour of Hindi, while males’ preference remains English. English dailies have lost 57,000 female readers, a loss of 36.31 per cent. The female TR for English dailies has gone down from 1.57 lakh in R1 to one lakh in R2. This loss to English dailies is Hindi dailies’ gain who have added 2.26 lakh new female readers since R1 (when the figure was 6.22 lakh).

As for the male segment, English dailies have added 8,000 more new readers since R1 (when the TR for this segment and for the category was 1.51 lakh). Nearly 2.38 lakh men have given up reading Hindi dailies, a loss of 14.56 per cent – the numbers going down from 16.35 lakh in R1 to 13.97 lakh.

Another interesting outcome is that Himachali youth seem to be more comfortable with Hindi than English (Does this speak of the neglect of English language in Hinachal’s schools, despite the government professing a commitment towards English language education?). Quoting the IRS findings, Raghunath makes another interesting point. In R1, 1.34 lakh youth in the age group of 15-19 years read English dailies. In this round, the number has fallen to 55,000, a loss of almost 59 per cent. Meanwhile, a chunk of this group has made a shift towards Hindi dailies, which have gained eight per cent in this group since the last round. “Hindi dailies, which neglected the youth initially have started catering to this segment with special supplements for them. This youth is comfortable in Hindi. Now as the Hindi dailies have started catering to this segment, they need not look at English dailies any more,” he says.

Where English dailies have lost, English periodicals have gained as compared to their Hindi counterparts in the state. ‘Any English Weekly’ has a TR of 65,000, a gain of 16,000; English monthlies (TR of  1.46 lakh in R2) have gained 9,000 readers since the last round and at the same time, English fortnightlies with a TR of 10,000 have had a jump of 70 per cent. Meanwhile, Hindi periodicals in all the segments have lost. Hindi weeklies (TR of 96,000 in R2) have lost 25,000 readers since R1 in the state; Hindi monthlies have lost the most with a loss of 1.13 lakh readers, since R1 when they enjoyed a TR of 3.12 lakh. In this round, Hindi monthlies have a mere TR of 1.99 lakh. As for Hindi fortnightlies, they have lost a TR of 31,000, down from 1.24 lakh in R1 of 2008 to 93,000 in R2 of 2008.

To be fair enough to publications, as IRS is based on sampling, statistical errors here and there cannot be ruled out. Notwithstanding this, media analysts and planners still take the survey, besides circulation figures, into account while designing their media plan. Also, publications themselves tend to ‘creatively interpret’ these figures to their benefit. They could be strong in TR and weak in AIR (average issue readership) or the vice-versa. So invariably they dole out more ‘friendly figures’. They also tend to break it down into SECs, age groups and gender, to see where the figures speak a rosy picture for them. I’ve here tried to be fair enough to all of them.

Continue reading ‘Hindi dailies reign despite overall readership losses in HP’ for crunched readership numbers on Himachal.

The Shimla Press Club is celebrating its silver jubilee this year. I must have been seven-year-old when the Shimla Press Club came about. That was also the age when I was introduced to newspapers at home. I thought only The Tribune existed in the English category and in the Hindi – Veer Pratap and Punjab Kesari. While no trace of Veer Pratap can be found today, Punjab Kesari is still going strong, with over a lakh copies circulated in entire Himachal Pradesh, and is the No.1 Hindi paper in the state.

Amongst English newspapers, The Tribune still is the most-circulated newspaper with a circulation of around 37,000 copies, as per Audit Bureau of Circulation (July-December, 2007). The No. 2 English newspaper – Hindustan Times is far behind with an average circulation of 6,575, and at No. 3 is The Times of India (around 6,000). Indian Express does not get itself audited. Over all, the circulation of newspapers (both English and Hindi) in Himachal Pradesh is not more than 3.5 lakh copies. That is a small number if you look at the educated population of Himachal Pradesh, which happens to be the second-most literate state (literacy rate: 77.13 %, as per 2001 Census) in India, after Kerala. The population of the state as per 2001 Census is 60,77,248.

Some newspapers may argue their number-game status on the basis of Readership, which differs from Circulation.  Though, newspapers may cry hoarse that media planners do not account circulation figures, but go by the figures thrown by Indian Readership Survey done by MRUC (Media Research Users Council), I’ll still prefer to quote circulation figures as one, circulation figures are more authentic and are audited; and two, IRS is based more on a sample size, which may not reflect the true picture; and three, recently Hindi daily – Naidunia (an Indore – Madhya Pradesh, based paper) and Oriya daily, Pragativadi, have sued MRUC for putting readership much below their circulation. How can that be possible?

Any ways, coming back to the topic, the newspaper reading habit in Himachal was inculcated by Divya Himachal in the ’90s (which today is the third most circulated newspaper in the state, with a circulation of around 64,000 copies). While other newspapers focussed on national news and state politics, the newspaper carried local news, even though frivolous to an extent of the fights between saas-bahus or a cow giving birth to four calves. That created interest amongst local folks who would feel proud that their village was in the newspaper and look forward to the copy of the newspaper, which the rumbling bus would deliver in the afternoon or late evening.

Things have changed since then. Even villages get their copies early in the morning or latest by 10 AM. Improvement in infrastructure – roads and transportation has improved distribution of newspapers. Even the readers’ reading habits have changed. While Punjab Kesari still is enjoyed for its glamour quotient, Amar Ujala has taken over Divya Himachal. The latter while inculcated the reading habit, it also induced hunger in the reader fuelled by television penetration into the rural areas. Readers just didn’t want local news, they wanted to know more about the state politics and what was happening in the nation. For that Divya Himachal was insufficient. Amar Ujala catered that, and is still enjoying the first mover advantage. The big guys, Dainik Jagran and Dainik Bhaskar have not been able to catch up. While the former has a circulation of about 16,000, the latter which launched its Shimla edition recently, claims to have a print-run of about 25,000 copies.

Himachal till now was being served by newspapers by their Chandigarh or Dharamshala editions. Shimla as a printing centre was not looked at seriously. Only Divya Himachal had a Shimla edition prior to Dainik Bhaskar. Amar Ujala too (which currently serves Himachal from Dharamshala and Chandigarh) would be starting its Shimla edition in the next two months. Dainik Jagran too may come up with its bilingual compact daily i next in the next twelve months.

What’s making the newspapers look at Shimla seriously? It’s the retail growth and growing consumer power. When we talk about consumer power, it’s not about the ability to buy a newspaper, but buy luxuries and brands that need a vehicle to reach out to the consumer. According to a survey conducted by economics research firm, Indicus Analytics, while Shimla ranks ‘third’ in the best cities to ‘reside-in’, behind Kochi and Kozhikode; it ranks fourth on the ‘invest-in’ index, behind Silvassa, Coimbatore and Ludhiana.

As per R K Swamy BBDO Guide to Urban Markets, Shimla ranks fifth on the ‘Top 10 Towns demanding high priced Consumer Durables’ list. The consumer durables being colour TV, fridge, VCR, washing machine, music system, two-wheeler and car – priced over Rs 6,000. Shimla scores 497 per 1,000 on this list, which is lead by Chandigarh, Panaji, Vadodara, Guwahati and then Shimla. For the record, Delhi ranks seventh.

As cable penetration is low in rural areas, the only vehicle available for brands to reach consumers is the radio, or Doordarshan, as of now, and to some extent the newspaper. Newspapers cannot ignore this growing consumerism and the imminent need of the advertiser. Just look at Shimla. It’s got the brands coming in – Reebok with its exclusive store, Cafe Coffee Day, Barista, McDonald’s and more. The road-network is demanding cars and retail chains like Amartex are already there.

When The Tribune launched Himachal Plus, last year, it was evident that newspapers have realised the potential Himachal has in terms of readers and advertisers. However, it’s the big newspapers, with deep pockets like Hindustan Times and The Times of India who’ve not come up with supplements on the lines of HT City or Delhi Times. That’s perturbing. The answer usually from the editorial team is that “there is not enough news to fill up one single page, how are we going to fill up a supplement.” I wonder, how do Hindi newspapers fill up their pages then?

If these papers do come up with a Shimla City supplement, I’m sure the readers will lap up the newspaper. So where’s the editorial material for these supplements? If not entirely a Page 3 supplement, they can have a supplement on the lines of Express Newsline (of Indian Express), which covers local news and have one page (like the Talk page) for Page 3. Shimla has a lot of Page 3 material. With one or the other function going on at Kali Bari Hall, Gaiety Theatre, Hotel Holiday Home, Golf Course, Shimla Club, one or the other film shooting going on, some adventure sports, fashion shows and contests are always on – there’s lot of material for the pages. Yet all have turned a blind eye to this. While these events themselves can be big advertisers – I’m sure, if a local retailer can advertise on a local cable channel, he can advertise in these supplements as well. If still they believe that nothing is happening in Shimla, what are these dozens of event management companies doing in Shimla that have cropped up in the past two years? Moreover, can you ignore the youth? Shimla is an education hub with one of the best public schools. The entire Himachal youth comes to Shimla to pursue its graduation and post-graduation studies. Can we forget that there are private universities coming to Shimla like the Jaypee University. Education is one big advertiser.

The newspapers may have their reasons not to bring out a supplement as it may shoot up their printing costs, but the local cable channels and FM channels will certainly leverage on this. They may even tie-up as sponsors of these events. Newspapers certainly can take a cue from these channels. Meanwhile, they’ll have to find their niche. For example, the local advertising in these newspapers can come from local real estate and the education sector. They need not depend for government Tender advertisements only. DLF, Omaxe are planning to come in a big way into Himachal. The education sector too is on the rise. Newspapers cannot ignore Himachal any more. So happy reading.

Hi Shriya…
Hello…
I’m Vividh.
I’m Shriya.
I know, you are Shriya, that’s why I addressed you, “Shriya.” (She giggles. And it’s like hundreds of bells ringing.)

This is Shriya Sharma, the little 10-year-old girl with bright eyes, who plays as one of the five lifelines in India’s one of the most popular game-shows on television - Kya Aap Paanchvi Pass Se Tez Hain? on STAR Plus. For the uninitiated, she throngs from Nurpur, Himachal Pradesh. She was awarded as the ‘Pride of Himachal’ trophy by the Nurpur Press Club, a couple of years back, when she visited her native place.

We’ve all adored her in various advertisements – Asian Paints, Sunfeast Pasta, and serials like Kasautii Zindagi Kay, Kanhaiya, and Jhooth Bole Kawa Kaate.

I personally started adoring her from the Asian Paints ad, where she plays the naughty elder kid-sister, instructing her younger brother, “काट-काट, बिंदास काट,” and quickly changes her stance, when her father calls up to find how the kids are doing alone at home. She replies, “पता नहीं, चिंटू सुबह से कुछ कटिंग-शटिंग कर रहा है।” Later in an another ad for the same brand, she is telling her नानी, why their favourite wall is brown. Obviously because आँवले का मुरब्बा is “not happening.” Her favourite snack is a chocolate. She talked to me over the phone, couple of days ago, inspite of having fever. Thoda Pyar, Thoda Magic, is her next movie, releasing next month from the Yashraj stable; and exactly that’s how our conversation went – with  a little bit of love and a little bit of magic. I’ve retained the conversation unadulterated, for the magic of it, with no journalistic flairs. Excerpts:

You know, I’m also from Himachal. Shimla! Have you been to Shimla?
Ummmm… शायद।
शायद?
अब याद नहीं है। तब मैं सिर्फ ३-४ साल की थी।
You come to Himachal regularly?
Yes I come to Himachal once every year.
So you like the place?
Yes, It’s a very nice place. ठंडी होती है। We come every year during summer holidays.
तो इस साल आ रहें हैं आप?
अब तो मेरी छुट्टियाँ खत्म होने वाली हैं।
So you didn’t come this year?
No. Because my brother is little.
How little?
He’s just three months old. His name is Yajat.
Rajat?
No. Y. A. J. A. T. (She spells out the name.)
So you won’t come this year?
We’ll come during Diwali holidays.
So what do you do when you come to Himachal?
Ummm… हम बहुत घूमते हैं। We go to Dharamshala. We go to Palampur – मेरी नानी का घर है वहाँ पे। मेरे बहुत सारे cousins आते हैं। We play a lot of games. मेरी दादी के घर पे एक बहुत बड़ा verandah है। वहाँ पे हम roller-skating करते हैं। फिर लोग आते हैं और photo खिंचवाते हैं। हम cycling पे भी जाते हैं।
Okaaay!!! So these days you are working in Kya Aap Paanchvi Pass Se Tez Hain? Are you really पाँचवी पास से तेज़?
I’m in 6th Standard.
No. I’m asking, are you really पाँचवी पास से तेज़?
I’m A+ (Plus).
Great. How do you feel working with Shah Rukh (Khan) - the host of the show – Uncle?
वो बहुत अच्छे है।
आपको उनसे डर नहीं लगता?
शुरू के २-३ दिन लगा था, फिर नहीं। हम सब बच्चों के लिए एक special room है sets पे। तो Shah Rukh भइया कभी कभी वहाँ आ जाते हैं, और हमारे साथ खेलते हैं। और कभी कभी पढ़ाते भी हैं।
क्या पढ़ाते हैं?
जो हमारी school की books हैं, उस में से पढ़ाते हैं।
तो आपको कौन सा actor पसंद है?
Shah Rukh भइया।
भइया? आप उन्हें Uncle नहीं बुलाते?
उन्होंने मना किया है Uncle बोलने से।
तो आपको Shah Rukh भइया की कौन सी film पसंद है?
वैसे तो मुझे Shah Rukh भइया (भइया again, I’m feeling jealous by now) की सभी फिल्में पसंद हैं पर Om Shanti Om सबसे ज्यादा अच्छी लगती है।
तो आपको Kya Aap Paanchvi Pass Se Tez Hain? में काम करना कैसा लग रहा है?
बहुत मज़ा आ रहा है।
आपने पहले भी Shah Rukh भइया के साथ काम किया है?
Sunfeast Pasta ad में किया था।
पर आप बड़े हो कर भी actor ही बनना चाहते हो?
नहीं। मैं astronaut बनना चाहती हूँ।
So Kalpna Chawla is your idol?
No, Yuri Gagarin is my idol. I want to be the first Indian woman to go into space.
पर आपसे पहले Kalpana Chawla और Sunita Williams space में जा चुकी हैं।
वो space में गई हैं। Moon पे तो कोई woman नहीं गई है। I want to be the first Indian woman to go on moon.
OK. Great. You know, you’ve got very bright eyes.
Thank You Uncle.
This is not fair. Shah Rukh – भइया – और मैं Uncle. I’m a lot younger than Shah Rukh.
OK I’ll call you also भइया then. We haven’t met. So I don’t know, how old you are.
So nobody told you that you’ve got very bright eyes.
No.
क्या आपकी आँखें ऐसी ही हैं, या आप acting के दौरान ऐसा बनाती हो?
पता नहीं।
Have you inherited these bright eyes from your mother?
May be…
आपको पहाड़ी आती है?
नहीं। घर पे कोई नहीं बोलता। जब दादा-दादी आते हैं तो मम्मी-पापा बोलते हैं। पर पहाड़ी भी तो हिन्दी की तरह ही है ना?
नहीं तो!!!
तुस्सी कित्थे जा रहे हो…
पर ये तो पंजाबी है! Ummm… तुस्सा कुत्थू जाँ दे…?
हाँ!!! पर ये भी तो हिन्दी जैसा ही है?
Ummm…. थोड़ी-थोड़ी। आप पहाड़ी गाने भी नहीं सुनते?
नहीं।
तो जब आप हिमाचल आओगे तो मुझसे मिलोगे?
हाँ।
Thank You Shriya and get well soon; and I hope you certainly reach the moon one day.
Thank You भइया।

Hmmmm… I was so overtaken by her brilliance, sweetness, cuteness… that I forgot to ask most of the questions I’d thought, I would, such as – her favourite food, her favourite ad. I just wanted to go on chatting with her. But there was this thought lurking in my mind that I was troubling the kid who was running on fever and still chatting with me. Her emotions were true and very friendly. No airs of a star. Just as bubbly and chirping as she is in her ads.

The phone is handed over to her father, Vikas Sharma, who is an automobile engineer. His wife and Shriya’s mother, Ritu, is a dietician and runs her own clinic, Ritu’s Diet. Sharma informs me that the parents spotted talent in Shriya when she was about three-year old. “We didn’t know the ABC of the industry and had no Godfather. We were new in Mumbai.” Sharma, prior to Mumbai, worked for an automobile company in New Delhi. He still retains the pahari flavour in his voice, and is pleased that somebody from the state has called up for the interview.

The parents have tried to keep away Shriya from mainstream media, so as not to distract the child and create an unnecessary nuisance in the colony. But he wants the state (Himachal Pradesh government) to recognise his child’s talent. “The state has always neglected its stars. Why do we have to come out of the state? Just look at Khali (WWE Champion, Dalip Singh Rana). The state should have been the first to recognise him. He should have been called to Shimla first and honoured. Khali, in turn, could have opened up an academy or something. But, the state government doesn’t care,” Sharma rues, adding, “Look at the Jharkhand government, how it has promoted Dhoni, and set examples for its kids.”

I hope, the Himachal government will honour the little pride of Himachal. Meanwhile, Sharma is planning to present some gift from Himachal to Shriya’s Shah Rukh Bhaiya.

On April 22, the Himachal government banned spitting and littering on the Mall Road, Shimla. A whistle-blower brigade of school students was set-up to embarrass the defaulters by the Science and Technology department and state Pollution Control Board. I wish the government had let the children study and asked its own employees to do the job.

First the news part. About 400 members of 20 Eco-clubs of as many schools have been given whistles by the government. These students, along with a Home Guard employee and a member of the Pollution Control Board, skip their classes and patrol the Mall Road (as a part of the Seeti Bajao, Shimla Bachao campaign), and embarrass the defaulters by blowing a whistle, till the latter pick up the litter and serve it into the nearest dust-bin. A novel way.

But why can’t the government ask its employees to do the same? Should the school children be allowed to miss the classes and patrol the Mall Road when they should be actually studying?

I’ve received complaints from friends who visit Shimla of the lack of civic amenities like Rest Rooms. The Mall Road has six liquor shops (I’ll call them thekaas) and just one each toilet (for Men and Women). OK let me take you through all these thekaas. Let’s start from the Lift towards the Scandal Point. The first is just near the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex, near the Lift. The second is just a few metres away near Krishna Bakers, the third – a few hundred metres away, near the LG showroom, the fourth near the Khadi Gramodyog Retail point, the fifth near Trishool Bakery, and the sixth near Coffee House.

Now let me take you through the toilets. The first near the Khadi Gramodyog retail point, just above the theka. The second near the Scandal Point, next to the Tourist Information Centre (it was under renovation when I’d seen it last. If it at all exists today, I’m not sure), the third, near the Ridge, next to UNI office. Are there any more? Oh yes, near the Sher-e-Punjab restaurant. That would qualify in the Lower Bazaar actually. Ah, yes, there are three thekaas together in Lower Bazaar. Just a couple of hundred metres away from Sher-e-Punjab Restaurant, two thekaas in a row, and the third just opposite them (near Mehru Sweets/Thakur Bhrata’s shop).

The least said about the cleanliness of these toilets, the better. Stinking, filthy, unhygienic, and rooms of umpteen diseases. Haven’t seen the Ladies’ toilets, but many jerks too can be seen whiling away their time in the Men’s toilets. As you cannot smoke on the Mall, many use these toilets to spit their paan refuse and release their nicotine urge as well.

I wish the government had come up with as many toilets on the Mall Road than these thekaas. Also, as many dustbins. OK, let me count the dustbins as well. I can remember only one. Opposite the Toys Shop (or the LG showroom). If there are more, please count them below, in the comments column.

We boast of Shimla being a tourist place. We ask them to visit us and boost our economy. But have we given them any basic amenities? We allow the tourists to use the open spaces as toilets on the Highway and any galis or stairs leading from the Mall Road to Lower Bazaar. Why just the tourists, even the locals. Sorry, I’m not counting the women here. They have to control their urgency. This liberty is for the privileged men only. Women have to take long walks before they find one and pay (I don’t know how much) to comfort themselves by using these dirty toilets.

So what’s next? Is the government planning to hand over commodes and spittoons to school children? Also, why not let these children only, sell liquor?

Let me confess it. I’m a pucca Congressi. But I’d no qualms in accepting that one good thing BJP did in its last regime were the roads. Even being a pucca Congressi, I’d lambasted the ousted Chief Minister, Virbhadra Singh, for neglecting the road to his constituency (Shimla-Rohru) and making trips by air. It’s early days to judge the BJP government. But my recent trip to Hatkoti and my village showed the difference, that the new government has taken up its pet project of building roads where it had left. The drive this time from Shimla to Hatkoti, was much smoother, especially from Fagu to Theog, and then from Chailla to Kharrapathaar.

The ditches are being filled and the patch work is being done. There are banners welcoming the local MLA and Agriculture Minister, Narinder Bragta. So he’s making frequent tours and visits to his constituency – by road. That’s the reason the patch work of the roads is being done. Parapets are being reconstructed and white-washed. Even the white reflectors on the walls are being painted. ‘Horn Please’ (on curves) too have a new paint. I really don’t know, whom to blame for the neglect in the past five years. Virbhadra Singh or Rohit Thakur, the then MLA from Jubbal-Kotkhai.

I’m happy, at least the patch-work is being done. In the past five years, not even patch work was done. Why should the PWD care, when Rajaji made air-trips to his constituency – Rohru? Now they have to show Bragtaji that they are working and his drive should be smooth. But did not that apply to Rohit Thakur? Did he have any influence at all in the party circles?

Ask any other pucca Congressi, and s/he would say – Rohit is a nice guy, and he listens to everybody and has a good attitude. We don’t want good attitude, we want good performance. Politics is one field, where good attitude and good performance go hand in hand. Remember Shanta Kumar. A good policy-maker, but what marred him was his attitude. No favours, not even to his own people, forget others.

Coming back to the roads, even the Trans-Pabbar road to my village, Mandal was tarred til Bholar Nalla, in the BJP regime. Further on, till Jhagtan/Jhadashli it was neglected by the Congress regime. The excuse was the thekedar has fallen ill. Was he ill for the last five years? Did he get well as soon as BJP came back to power. Travelling the six-kilometre stretch from Bholar Nalla to Mandal, made my JK tyres last only 40,000 kms. I replaced them with Bridgestone. But I was surprised to find work in progress to tar the further stretch and a smooth ride till Mandal.

The way to go. A Thumbs Up for at least the roads. I don’t know, how the government is doing on other projects. But one issue, I’d seriously like the BJP government to reconsider is the Sawra-Kuddu power project. It’ll be an environment disaster and disturb the local ecology. Rather focus on and encourage small power projects – like pann-chakki.

Shimla: The BJP appears to be in a vindictive mood in Himachal Pradesh. Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal has a reason to target former CM Virbhadra Singh after the Supreme Court in a recent judgement declared that Singh had “illegally” granted permit to a transporter for plying vehicles on a restricted route in 2004.” The apex court has slapped a fine of Rs 1 lakh on the government. In a reply to Dhumal’s statement of fixing responsibility for misuse of power, former Irrigation and Public Health minister Kaul Singh said that the fine would be “paid by the government”. Dhumal countered by saying that as the “the decision for giving permit was taken while sitting at home” the person concerned would have to bear the cost of the fine.
Dhumal also said that action would be taken against people, who had notified a medical college in Mandi, when the Model Code of Conduct was under rule. The Congress government had to withdraw the announcement after the Election Commission made the declaration illegal under the Election Model of Conduct provisions.
The CM also pointed out discrepancies in the figures (Rs 30,000 crore) claimed by the previous government in industrial investments. The actual investment, according to him was only Rs 3,374, a mere 11 per cent of the amount claimed.
Later, clarifying the Congress government’s and countering Dhumal’s charges, Congress Legislature Party leader, Vidya Stokes, told the press that “projects worth Rs 27,000 crore were cleared through the single window clearance, of which projects worth Rs 5,600 crore were established.”
Meanwhile, Dhumal, also assured the house that the government was in touch with the central government to open up an IIT in the state and start the Chandigarh-Baddi rail link at the earliest. Similarly, the change in route of Chandigarh-Baddi rail line that is now being proposed via Nalagarh and Nangal will also be pushed for the original plan at the centre.