You can now get blog updates in your email by just entering your email address in the "Updates" box at the top right hand corner of the home page of Dosco.org. These once a week emails will keep you updated with dosco news and happenings. If there aren't any updates to the blog that week, you won't get an email.

Posted at 06:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Vikram Seth (250-J '68) (Padma Shri) and Amitav Ghosh (246-H '72) (Padma Bhushan) were recognized by the President during the Republic Day celebrations.

Others chosen included noted jurist Fali Nariman, well-known litterateur Khushwant Singh, former Chief Justice P N Bhagwati, leading writer Javed Akhtar and telecom czar Sunil Bharti Mittal. Also on the list was leading industrialist J J Irani, Pepsi Chief Indra Nooyi, Suzuki Motor Corporation chief O Suzuki Singh and IIM (Ahmedabad) Director Bakul Dholakia.

Posted at 01:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Rajiv (Bobby) Nanda (216-HA '91 ) is working with GE Money and has moved to Bangkok as Senior Vice President, Operations. He would like to get in touch with other Doscos in Bangkok.He can be reached at rajiv.nanda@ge.com

Posted at 01:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Posted at 03:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Apparently, the dosco brand is so strong that others want to steal it. Rahul Bhargava (510-HB '94) drew our attention to this article about a boy who raised Rs 50,000 by saying that he was a dosco with cancer. Neither did he have cancer and nor was he a dosco.

Cancer funds flow for ‘fraud’
The Telegraph, Calcutta, India.

Saurav Chakraborty, a third-year student and a scientist’s son, allegedly raised about Rs 50,000 over the past year posing as a cancer patient who didn’t have the money for treatment.

He was held last night.

Police said the Bengali (honours) student had scored over 80 per cent in his CBSE plus two examination.

“Saurav told people he was an orphan who had studied at Doon School, where ragging led to a wound in the leg, which developed cancer later. He swathed his right leg in bandages and showed it to the people. He was a smooth talker and people believed him and donated handsomely,” said North 24-Parganas superintendent of police Praveen Kumar.

Many schools and colleges in Kanchrapara, Kalyani, Ranaghat and Krishnagar had organised fund-raisers for him.

Last evening, he met some students of Kanchrapara College, who had given him Rs 10,000 earlier and were about to hand over Rs 70,000 more that they had raised for his “treatment” in Mumbai.

“We were moved by his plight and wanted to visit his house in Kanchrapara town, where he apparently lived with grandfather Dulal Pathak. When we asked him to take us home, he told us that the old man didn’t know about his illness and would be shocked to hear about it,” said Binita Das, a third-year student.

Binita and her classmates met Pathak, 70, yesterday, assuring Saurav that they wouldn’t tell him about his illness. During the conversation, Pathak told them that Saurav was a student like them and his father was a scientist.

“We were shocked,” said Binita’s classmate Dipankar.

Realising that they had been taken for a ride, the students cornered Saurav in a room and raised an alarm.

A bewildered Pathak called up Saurav’s parents at their home in Kalyani.

Both came over to Kanchrapara, as did the police, whom the students had called.

Posted at 12:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Siddharth Gupta (469-KA '00) is pursuing his MBA from The HEC School of Management, Paris. Hewould like to get in touch with Doscos in the area and is currently looking for internships in the finance and consultancy industry for this summer.

His is also the President for the MBA tournament, the biggest MBA sporting event in the world. The event invites the top business schools for a 3 day sporting event in May, 2007. He is looking for sponsors and can be reached at sidgupta_13@hotmail.com

Posted at 11:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath (366-H '64) will lead a 100-member delegation to the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland beginning later this month. The delegation also includes Gautam Thapar (200-H '79) and Dhruv Sawhney (37-K '59).

Over 2,000 participants from around the world will discuss issues pertaining to economics, geopolitics, technology and society over the five-day meet on the theme — "The Shifting Power Equation."

Posted at 10:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The next London Dosco Friday is January 26th, 2007. Nitan Kapoor (151-J '66), former President of the DSOBS (2002-2004) is currently visiting London and will be attending the get-together. The venue for January is Digress, right off Regent Street. Address: Digress, 10 Beak Street, London W1F 9RA. Telephone Number: 020 7437 0239 (http://www.digress.co.uk) Time: 7:00pm

Posted at 02:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In the early 70s, when Indira Gandhi thought of nationalising the paper industry, the industry only had Lalit Mohan Thapar (98-J '47), chairman, Ballarpur Industries Ltd (Bilt), to turn to, recalls H S Singhania, chairman, JK Industries (from DNA India). The government wanted to take control of the industry to ensure supply of paper for schools and other educational institutions at low prices.

Not one to be bogged down by adversity, Thapar, along with other representatives of the industry, met the authorities to sort out the issue. He finally managed to convince the government that the industry would on its own earmark 30% of the total paper production for public distribution. The move not only baled out the industry from a tight situation, but also helped build a harmonious relationship with the government, says Singhania, remembering his many years of association with Thapar, who passed away at the age of 76 on Thursday.

With a pragmatic approach, in terms of a level playing field and equal opportunity for Indian business, rather than a protectionist attitude that would have made the industry insular, Thapar catapulted his flagship company Bilt to the top of the domestic paper industry.

Popularly known as LMT, Thapar, the chairman emeritus of Bilt, was a futuristic businessman and a suave gentleman who was adored by all. “I have lost a very personal and old friend. In fact, we shared a friendship covering generations. LMT’s father was a close friend of my father,” says R P Goenka, chairman emeritus, RPG Enterprises.

Born on October 27, 1930, in an affluent business family of Punjab, LMT was the third son of Lala Karam Chand Thapar. After passing out from Doon School, Thapar qualified as an engineer from the University of Southern California.

Though known as a proponent of Indian business, Thapar was also a staunch believer in the imperatives of globalisation. He ably steered the Thapar Group to great heights and had a global vision for his group.

A dynamic man and a staunch believer in karma, he never lost his temper, remembers DS Rawat, the secretary-general of Assocham. “When LMT was the president of PHDCCI, there was not a single penny with the chamber to construct the PHDCCI house. Not one to be cowed down by such things, Thapar called a meeting of the members and after declaring his contribution to the building fund, assigned various amounts to various members. Nobody opposed his decision and everyone was only too happy to accept and contribute the amount assigned by LMT,” recalls Rawat.

Apart from being a good leader and a man of tremendous perception, he possessed a typical art of dealing with various types of people, recalls DN Patodia, chairman of Control Electronics, who was associated with LMT while working for committees of Ficci. Not afraid of venturing into uncharted territory, Thapar took over the ownership of The Pioneer newspaper in 1991 and ran it till 1998 when the present management took over. “He was fond of life and enjoyed life in his own way.” Though unmarried, he believed firmly in the family as an institution and deeply respected the values that came with the legacy of his father.

Posted at 10:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Samir Modi (602-TB '88) is passionate about cooking. If it’s not a business plan, it’s food. The Lebanese and Thai food lover does not only relish eating, but also enjoys cooking. In fact, 36-year-old managing director of Modi Enterprises (turnover: $ 800 million) likes cooking more than eating. (From The Financial Times)

Samir Modi is passionate about cooking. If it’s not a business plan, it’s food. The Lebanese and Thai food lover does not only relish eating, but also enjoys cooking. In fact, 36-year-old managing director of Modi Enterprises (turnover: $ 800 million) likes cooking more than eating.

When he is in the kitchen, he starts right from preparing appetizers and main course to desserts for his guests. “When I am in the kitchen I cook at least 9-10 dishes without using any kind of preserved or processed ingredients. I love doing everything on my own -- right from buying fresh vegetables and spices to chopping, peeling, cooking and garnishing.”

He adds, “Serving food gives me more satisfaction than eating. I like entertaining my guests this way. But after cooking I do not taste my food. I can make out how the food tastes with its smell.”

His daughters Jayati, 11, and Vedika, 7, are always ready to lend a helping hand to him when it comes to kitchen. Jayati spends more time in the kitchen with him. Modi’s wife Shivani would like to see him cook more often, though.

He started cooking at the age of 9, with the help of Tarla Dalal books and watching others cook. But now, at times, he turns even an innovator. Some times “his” food turns out better than the original, he claims.

When it comes to eating, it does not matter to him whether it’s a five-star hotel or a roadside food stall. What matters is the food and its taste.

Says Modi, “In Delhi, my favourite restaurants are Ego – Italian and Ego – Thai. It’s not just because they are run by my mother but because of the food. Besides, I also like 360 at The Oberoi.”

He adds, “Chai shop behind the Indian Express Building, Paranthas at ITO, Paranthe Wali Gali and Daulat Ki Chaat in Chandni Chowk and yummy bhelpuri outside Odeon cinema are my other favourites. Even when I go abroad I keep trying different and new dishes.”

Like his mother, he also plans to open restaurants but he is waiting for the right time when he can convert his dreams into a reality.

There is more to him than business and food, though. An alumnus of the Doon School and Hindu College, Delhi University, he is enthusiastic about graphic designing, management books, gadgets and gizmos. His latest buy is XBox 360, which he calls his new baby. He spends most of his spare time with it nowadays. But it’s only when he is not listening to music or watching movies.

A music lover, movie buff and motorcycle lover, he is also a proud owner of a Harley-Davidson. Talking about music, he says, “I like old Hindi songs as they have some depth. My favourite singers are Lata Mangeshkar and Jagjit Singh. I also like pop, rock, jazz and lounge music.” In fact, he has also started learning singing from the basics.

He likes action and romantic movies like Sholay (which he has watched around 100 times), Lage Raho Munna Bhai and Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna. Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, Tom Hanks, Shah Rukh Khan, Katrin Zetajones, Melanie Griffith, Rani Mukherjee, Kajol and Raveena Tandon figure in his favourites list.

By: RUCHI KAPOOR

URL: http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=152176

Posted at 10:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hailed by Fast Company magazine as "the best thing going" in rural development, Bunker Roy and the Barefoot College have demonstrated to the world that what may seem impossible is possible, that "experts" don't have all the answers, and that with the Barefoot approach, the rural poor develop their own communities.

Wednesday, February 7th, 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm, Helen Mills Theater, 137-139 West 26th Street, New York. Learn more about the event on the Barefoot College website and send us your news.

Posted at 05:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Mr. Vinod Jacob, (146-T '70) passed away recently. He was also the regional representative of the DSOBS in Goa. Our heartfelt condolences to you and all surviving members of Vinod's family. We join you in praying that his soul finds eternal peace. The community extends its condolences to his family and friends.

Posted at 01:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Time Magazine named you the 2006 person of the year. Why? Because in 2006 people contributed photographs, blog postings, video clips and more online. They engaged online and shared their thoughts on the world around them. It heralds a transformative movement from mass media to me-media where each individual is empowered to play a more active role in society. Why does this matter to doscos?

Posted at 12:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tthe Eighth Quarter Class / Regional Repsentatives meeting is scheduled to be held on Friday Jan 19, 2007 at 7.30 P.M. at Terrace Garden in Hotel Ambassador, Sujan Singh Park, New Delhi. The meeting will be followed by a dinner. Representatives are required to attend. RSVP - Sheel Sharma, Executive Secretary.

Posted at 12:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Aditya Lall (538-HA '01) passed away in a tragic road accident in New Delhi on Saturday, 30 December 2006. Aditya is survived by his mother, Seema, and brother, Rohit Lall (339-HA '99) and is the son of the late Dilip Lall (281-H '68).

Posted at 08:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Deelip Surve (69-H '58) passed away on 1/10/2006. He is survived by my mother Mrs Fawzia Surve ( Ph+91-22-26414839) and his children Maiaasa and Imraan Surve.

Posted at 04:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)