Category Archives: Nri’s / Pio’s

Building Businesses

Business & Economy, Nri's / Pio's, Uncategorized, World Opinion

Two Singapore office buildings seem to be magnets for Indian-owned businesses

CECIL Street, nestled in the very heart of Singapore’s central business district, is a buzzing hive of activity. Where once it was lined by rickety, one-storey shophouses, today it has become part of the nation’s financial hub.

Beginning at Maxwell Road and running parallel to Robinson Road, this street is home to office buildings like Capital Tower, Aviva Building, Cecil House, Keck Seng Tower, The Octagon, GB Building and the 46-year old Tong Eng Building.

It is here, in Tong Eng Building, that several Indian-owned businesses thrive. Nearly 35 per cent of the roughly 190 offices in this building are occupied by them, many having settled in decades ago while others are more recent arrivals.

Not too far away, at 1 North Bridge Road, is a similar story: High Street Centre, a stone’s throw from the Clarke Quay MRT station, is also home to a multitude of Indian businesses. Nearly 60 per cent of the approximately 200 offices in this building are occupied by Indian businesses dealing with trades ranging from engineering consulting to electronics retail.

But why, despite growth, branching out and even moving offices, have these businesses continued to operate from these two locations? Tong Eng Building

For some, Tong Eng Building is filled with positive vibes which has been good for business. Says Batavia Eximp and Contracting’s managing director Atish Mody: “Tong Eng is definitely a popular building for Indian businesses. It is considered to have the best vaastu – along with the Afro-Asia Building – within the traditional CBD area. Of course, this does not mean other buildings have lesser vaastu (an ancient Vedic science of layout planning of buildings that is said to influence peace and prosperity of the inhabitants), but these two buildings have a well-known track record of housing Indian firms.”

Event management firm De Ideaz’s chief executive officer Purnima Kamath, who has been a tenant in the building for the past 11/2 years, agrees: “There is a certain good feng shui in this building; a lot of positive vibes… and a feel good factor.”

Vintel Exports’ managing director Puneet Jain claims his family-owned business dealing in agricultural commodities has been in Tong Eng Building for nine years. He has moved offices in that time, but remained within the building.

He tells tabla!: “This building seems to be lucky – touch wood – for Indian companies. And business has been good so far. When business is good in a place, we Indian businessmen don’t like to take unnecessary risks by moving.”

Not only does he have many friends in the building, some of his family members also have their offices there.

“My cousin, who moved to Singapore after me, was also drawn to this building. I also have many relatives in different parts of this building. My auditor is here too – so this building is a one-stop shop for me, whether it’s meeting people for coffee or work. Even if I were to shift to a bigger office, I would like to stay in this building. In fact, my unit number is 11, so I would look for the same unit number, even if it’s on a different floor,” he adds.

Singaporean businessman Balasupramaniam, who runs Net Access Singapore, has been a tenant since April this year and chose the building because of its location and rent. “Not only is it within the heart of the CBD,” he says, “but it has a carpark and the rent is reasonable, which is the main thing.”

He was already familiar with the building prior to setting up his office thanks to some of his friends already having their offices here. For MrBalasupramaniam’s IT business, having so many varied businesses under one roof is a huge bonus. “We do send out our brochures to other businesses in the building. We even have a few clients here,” he adds.

The location of the building was the draw for P.L. Global Impex’s managing director Naresh Dinodiya to move into Tong Eng in 1992. “It’s very convenient because several banks are located in the vicinity, a lot of people from the same trade are around the area (mainly in the building), transportation is easily available and there are enough food venues,” he tells tabla!.

Attributing convenience and comfort factor as the reasons several Indian businesses stay put in this building, he adds: “The building is very central, it’s easily accessible and it has a lot of people from the common trade which makes communicating much easier.”

While convenience is undoubtedly the key word, most of these businessmen agree that the atmosphere within the building is what they enjoy. Since almost 35 per cent of the building is occupied by Indian businesses, there is almost a community-like air in the building.

As Mr Mody puts it: “It is nice to see familiar faces – and many of them good friends too – in the lift. We have many common things to discuss and one just has to call and walk across to another office to get your work done. Even coffee and tea breaks are true stress-relievers when it’s shared with friends – we just go next door to Starbucks or to Mama Chai down the road.”

Mr Dinodiya seconds this opinion: “The atmosphere in the building is warm and welcoming, especially in the entrance lobby where people greet their fellow businessmen and have a little chat about the market or something. It’s quite often referred to as a ‘meeting point’.” High Street Centre

Located not too far away from Tong Eng Building in North Bridge Road is High Street Centre. Completed in 1969, it is home to several Indian businesses – almost 60 per cent of the offices are occupied by them. And like Tong Eng Building, most businesses have been there for many years.

Dynamix International’s director Vinod Dadlani has been a “High Street boy” for a long time and is well versed in the history of the building. Although his own business is just three years old, he has worked for other establishments in the same trade, within High Street Centre and High Street Plaza, since 1994.

He tells tabla! that High Street Centre has always been a trade hub: “It used to be popular with Russian traders who came here to buy electronics – similar to how Mustafa Centre is for many today. There were spice and textile merchants, electronics retailers and many others. Then the textile merchants moved out to Arab Street.”

Mr R. Narayanamohan, whose accounting firm Natarajan and Swaminathan has been operating from the building since 1977, says that he can remember some businesses that were very well known.

“The famous ones I can recall are Khimchand and Sons (textile business) and SA Majeed and Co (supplier of uniforms to most of the schools in Singapore). All these businesses were originally in shophouses and, when those were demolished to make way for High Street Centre, they moved into the new building as well as High Street Plaza. After we moved into this building in 1977, we mainly catered to the Indian business community in the building and started assisting the newly established Indian businesses there,” he says.

Today, the turnover of businesses moving out of the building is low and it continues to be a hub for traders.

Says Mr Dadlani: “Many individuals own blocks of offices – for example, 24 offices will be owned by a single individual, who will rent them out. It is hard to find a vacant office.”

According to MrNarayanamohan, most of the Indian businesses in the building have purchased their office space. “It is very convenient to have our offices here. The building has been totally renovated and the facade was changed to a glass-panelled frontage, making the building very modern,” he says.

Today, High Street Centre is well known for its electronics retail shops, owned mostly by Indians. Ganga Jamuna Electronics’ general manager

M. Sreenivasan, who has been a tenant here since 1992 when the firm relocated from Sembawang, says: “There are a lot of electronics shops based here, mostly Indian, although there are a few Chinese-owned electronics shops too. And although we have a branch in Serangoon as well, we haven’t moved out of this building because High Street Centre has a good name for electronics, so business is still good.”

Despite being in different geographical locations, both Tong Eng Building and High Street Centre have many things in common: Easy access, good business dealings and a friendly atmosphere. Even the electronics retailers at High Street Centre, despite being competitors, enjoy a good relationship.

“There are lots of electronics retailers here yet the atmosphere is friendly and people are co-operative,” says Mr Sreenivasan.

The influx of Indians into these buildings has even had its integration effect as Chinese neighbours happily co-exist with their Indian counterparts. In fact, over the years, they have become good friends. Mr Dinodiya, whose company is one of the few Indian businesses on his floor at Tong Eng Building, says: “We have wonderful Chinese neighbours and over time we have become really good friends. It’s a very homely atmosphere in the building here. Everyone knows everyone.”

This is all the more visible during festival time. The Indians celebrate pujas and the Chinese celebrate Chinese New Year, giving the buildings a community-like feel… and hopefully ushering in more business.

source: http://www.news.asiaone.com / Singapore Press Holdings / AsiaOne> News> Singapore / by Malavika Nataraj / table! / December 30th, 2011

Indian-origin scientist & Nobel Prize winner Venkatraman Ramakrishnan to be honoured with knighthood

Amazing Feats, Nri's / Pio's, Records, All, Science & Technologies

LONDON:  Indian-origin scientist Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, a winner of the 2009 Nobel Prize for chemistry, will be honoured with knighthood in 2012.

Venkatraman works as a biologist at the Medical Research Council’s Molecular Biology Laboratories in Cambridge, BBC reported.

Born in 1952 in Chidambaram in India’s Tamil Nadu state, Venkatraman was awarded the Nobel Prize in 2009 along with two other scientists “for studies of the structure and function of the ribosome”, according to the Nobel Prize website.

The ribosome — the cell’s protein factory — translates genetic code into proteins, which are the building blocks of all living organisms.

Experts said the India-born scientist’s work solved an important part of the problem posed by Francis Crick and James Watson when they discovered the now-iconic double helix DNA structure as to “how does the code become a living thing”.

source: http://www.articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com / Home> Collections / News> News by Industry / IANS/ December 31st, 2011

Rep Srinivasan was conferred the Leadership Award for his extraordinary services to the community by the New Jersey Tamil Sangam on Dec 18th, 2011

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Nri's / Pio's

Speaking on this occasion Rep Srinivasan complimented the community leaders for their efforts to ensure that the next generation and generations to come of Indian Americans are aware of their rich culture and heritage.

He also requested the community leaders to enlarge their scope of services and that at every opportunity make the extra effort to give back to the community here in the United States that has been so generous and kind to each and everyone of us.

“The launching of the website”, said Rep Srinivasan “will definitely enable us to be connected and communicate our mutual interests in culture effectively and efficiently.

source: http://www.RepSrinivasan.com / by CFryx / December 20th, 2011

Let’s build on Mauryan inspiration, says Kalam

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Nri's / Pio's

“Chandragupta built an empire based on a strong central government and a large, powerful army. Ours is akin to it.”

That modern India has been inspired by the Mauryan concepts of statecraft and governance is one of the significant insights provided in “The Dancing Girl: A History of Early India,” by Balaji Sadasivan (1955-2010), a neurosurgeon and Singapore’s former Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs.

 

 

 

 

 

“The Dancing Girl: A History of Early India,” a book by Balaji Sadasivan, former Singapore Minister, was released at a function organised by The Hindu and SRM University in Chennai on Wednesday. On the occasion, the former President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, presents a cheque for Rs. 5 lakh to V. Shanta, Chairperson, Adyar Cancer Institute. The former Singapore President, S.R. Nathan (second from left), and SRM University Chancellor T.R. Pachamuthu are in the picture. In the second photograph Ma Swan Hoo, wife of Balaji Sadasivan, displays a copy of the book. At far right, is a section of the audience at the function.  Photos S.R. Raghunathan 

Capturing this facet of the author’s findings, the former President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, who launched the book at a function organised by The Hindu and SRM University here on Wednesday, said Chandragupta Maurya had built an empire based on a strong central government and a large, powerful army. “This model is virtually akin to the model being followed after our Independence.”

Another contribution of the Mauryas during the reign of Asoka, the former President noted, was the provision of moral and ethical dimension. “He defined that the primary purpose of the government was to provide peace, prosperity and welfare to all the citizens. The author rightly brings out that modern India looks to the Mauryan Empire for inspiration and has taken Mauryan Lion as the state emblem.”

Attributing the attainment of Independence to the phase of the freedom struggle which was led by Mahatma Gandhi, Mr. Kalam said people had to cherish and nurture Independence with the ethics and value system of the era of Chandragupta Maurya.

Quoting the author, Mr. Kalam said the Bhakti movement in India developed from Tamil-speaking south to Sanskrit-speaking north. The spiritual development of Hinduism was based on devotional songs, expressing ecstatic love for God. The compositions were mainly in Tamil, though the numbers of popular hymns were in Sanskrit. The Bhakti movement, encompassing Saivites and Vaishnavites, made Hinduism accessible to Indians of all States in both Sanskrit and regional languages, the former President pointed out.

S.R. Nathan, former President of Singapore, who presented copies of the book to donors, said it was labour of love written by an author who was captivated by the history of his ancestral homeland.

Pointing out that the rise of South Asia, like East Asia, was a civilisational one — though attention has been focussed on the economic potential — and the history of civilisations provided profound insights into their contemporary standing and the possible road ahead, Mr. Nathan said that from this perspective, the book offers much not only for the Diaspora but also for those who are in India itself.

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Ma Swan Hoo, wife of Balaji Sadasivan, who accompanied him on numerous visits to historic sites across India, provided the rationale for naming the book ‘The Dancing Girl’, which refers to a bronze statuette excavated from Mohenjodaro and a showpiece in the National Museum in Delhi. This 10.8-cm statue, a symbol of an advanced civilisation that existed about 4,500 years ago, was important to the history of India, she said.

Balaji Sadasivan, whose roots were in Arcot of Tamil Nadu, was a great lover of the history and civilisation of many countries. He chose to write on the history of India, a country he was so much in love with. He had originally planned to cover the history from ancient times to the present period over five volumes. This book is a combination of the first two volumes of 30 chapters and covers the ancient period up to the start of the decline of the Mughal reign in the 17 {+t} {+h} century.

Addressing the gathering, N. Ram, Editor-in-Chief of The Hindu , praised Balaji Sadasivan’s approach to history, and said the author regarded himself as an amateur but he was a gifted amateur. He instinctively realised that history was not an “unending catalogue of dull facts.”

By reading “The Dancing Girl,” one could learn a good deal about the mind and interests of the neurosurgeon and professional politician-turned historian. “He selects; draws out facts of significance, ignoring the dross and the trivial, and invests them with meaning. He provides interpretation. All interpretation is disputable but the historian must venture out to recreate, even trans-create, the historical picture. This is what this gifted amateur does in an engaging, accessible, enjoyable manner,” Mr. Ram added.

He appealed to Mr. Kalam to provide a push and use his moral influence for the Nalanda University revival project as there were reports of slow release of funds by the Union government to the project although the Bihar government had been very supportive.

Dr. V. Shanta, Chairperson, Adyar Cancer Institute, received a cheque for Rs. 5 lakh for the Institute from Mr. Kalam and Mr. Nathan. K. Kesavapany, Singapore’s Ambassador to Jordan and Director, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, and T. R. Pachamuthu, SRM University Chancellor, spoke.

source: http://www.TheHindu.com / National / by Special Correspondent / Chennai, December 15th, 2011

 

Japanese Government released a postal stamp on Muthuji from Salem – Why?

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Nri's / Pio's, Records, All

Bharadwaj, a youth from Kanchipuram, Tamilnadu went to Japan in the 10th century (736 AD). To the Japanese he was ‘Baramon’. He taught them Buddhism, Ramayana, Sanskrit, Dharma, Hindu Philosophy and gave them culture, art and music. Today everything with which the Japanese rightly feel proud of as their ancient heritage and culture was given to them by this monk. The Japanese have three scripts – one of them based on Tamil and Sanskrit. That was given by “Baramon Bharadwaj”.

A Japanese delegate Shri Shuzo Matsunoga participated in the Fifth World Tamil Conference held at Thanjavur in 1981 (30 years ago). He presented a paper on ‘Thirukural & Thiruvalluvar in the eyes of Japan’. Muthu, now 91years young, of Omalur off Salem, Tamilnadu came in contact with Sri Shuzo Matsunoga after the Conference. They discussed at length the Tamil culture and literature. Shuzo translated the English version of G U Pope’s Thirukuraal (aphorisms) as guided by Muthu Ji. Shuzo also translated various books of Subramania Bharathi (Kuil Paatu), Naaladiar, Vallalarr poems, Manimegalai and Silapathigaram into Japanese language. Shuzo not only translated the literature but also the culture/rituals of tamils from birth to death, which was greatly relished by the Japanese. Shuzo also bagged a prize for translation of tamil work in 1985 organized by University of Tanjore who also authors a book “My India as seen through letters”.

Now, the Government of Japan has included this Thirukural as a lesson in the text book at college level. To cap it all, when the Japanese Government proposed to release a postal stamp to honour Shuzo Matsunoga for his works, he humbly refused and said, “To translate this tamil literature into Japanese language, Muthu from Salem has helped me. So the credit goes to him”. On his recommendation the Japanese Government released a postal stamp on Muthu (Salem) for 80 Yen (Rs.27/-) in 2007. Muthu, a humble and noble person, did nothing for selfish end. It was all for the tamil literature. He communicated all this over to his friend in Japan only through 200 letters, while, in the Facebook age, individuals transmit info electronically.

Shri Ravikumar of Vishwa Vibhag during his tour of Tamilnadu, met Muthu Ji. He was received well. Muthu ji lauded RSS for its social service and patriotic fervor.

 

source: http://www.haindavakeralam.com / courtesy: VSK Chennai / December 27th, 2011