EMBODIED LANGUAGE: Curated by Eugenio Viola At India International Centre- New Delhi

If you are in Delhi and have interest in embodied language by people who have done quite a lot in their respective fields and the Italian embassy is facilitating this performance, tomorrow, i:e 16th January- 2017 at  India International Centre.

As per the Italian Culture center in Delhi's website- "Embodied Language is a collaborative project developed between Italian artist Andrea Cusumano and Indian artist Mithu Sen that uses the polysemous value of nonverbal communication as a platform to connect different verbal languages. They will also experiment with a spontaneous and imaginary dream language presented through a visual and performative practice as a resistance in search of a new medium of communication."


There is EMBODIED LANGUAGE a collaborative performance between Mithu Sen and Andrea Cusumano with musician Vetri Bhupathi and Giuseppe Lomeo curated by Eugenio Viola
at IIC ,C D Deshmukh auditorium , New Delhi
16th January 2017 , 6.30 pm

Happy New Year 2017 - Peace For All

Wishing All of you a very happy new year 2017. Let's hope peace and prosperity for all. 

CR Park- Kali Mandir- January- 2017

The year began with a lot of interesting things at work and I believe that with the right amount of team and the people around you, you can create fantastic stories for people. The past year was full of mixed news and a lot of bad things happened around the world. Let's learn from the past year and let's think good. 

The other day I saw a Chinese colleague Mr. Wan, wearing a  band

and I saw something interesting there, written in hindi   

'अच्छा सोचो अच्छा होगा'. 

I found the expression very interesting and I asked Mr. Wan- "What is this? He said, In Chaste hindi, 'अच्छा सोचो अच्छा होगा'. So, I wish Mr. Wan and every one I know an advance Chinese New Year -新年快樂 and  过年好 / 過年好, which is less than a month from now, thanks to the website for helping me sort this. It's the year of the Rooster, as per Reuters, and thankfully a Chinese family is happy about that the year is of a Rooster, as it will help the family 'Slow Down' a little.

The picture left is from BBC, where is has posted a Trump-inspired sculpture that is put on display from a shopping complex in Taiyuan, Shanxi province in North China.

From Reuters "The holiday season begins on January 28, with embarking of the lunar year- which will attract millions of Chinese getting back home. It's  "Year of the Rooster" in the Chinese zodiac is an important festival "This rooster brings me back to nature," said Chinese tourist Wang Jian and hopes that their lives will also be able to slow down a bit, to be return to a more natural pace. Got curious and went on asking Mr. Google, (I used Google Translate for converting an English expression into Devanagari 😄.) A vernacular news site had this headline. 'अच्छा सोचो, अच्छा करो तो तुम्हारे साथ अच्छा होगा'. No points for guessing and thinking about a new year that is full of good things waiting to happen (no, its not going to happen overnight) and I also went through a Quote in the background- Thanks, Shubho Sir for posting on Facebook- "Think Less, Do More". 

A new zeal, a fresh vigor and a complete new approach to things that matter the most. Happy Makar Sankranti, Happy Lohri, Happy Bihu.. #PEACE

Dishwashers in India- Need Or Just a Luxury Statement?

Do you think Dishwashers should be your next best friend of the kitchen. In west, Dishwashers are one of the important household appliance one is used to, but In India, the usage of Dishwashers is nominal and nascent, to begin with.

I'd want to know from you, if you think if you need a dishwasher for your daily life or Not.

Pic Source- Haier Dishwashers

Long Lines At ATM Post Demonetization - In Delhi- Video

One can easily spot people Queing up before ATMs these day. Be is urban or rural areas. I took a small video from Alaknanda- Delhi to show what it is like.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcAcYyNu0T0

RBI- Reserve Bank Will Issue NEW 50 and 20 Notes Soon - FULL TEXT

According to a press note on RBI's website there will be new 50 and 20 notes, the old ones will remain in use and legal tender. The RBI- Reserve Bank Of India today announced that we will be able to see new Rs.50 and Rs.20 Notes. Post Demonetization by PM Narendra Modi, this was one big decision. People have been queing up since November- 8 announcement outside ATMs. The RBI announced via it's Twitter Handle today.

RBIs Twitter Handle Grab

Official Statement from RBI-

Issuance of ₹ 50 banknotes without inset letter, with numerals in ascending size in number panels, and without intaglio printing
Issue of ₹ 20 banknotes with 'R' inset letter, with numerals in ascending size in number panels and without intaglio printing.

The Reserve Bank of India will shortly issue ₹ 50 denomination banknotes in the Mahatma Gandhi Series-2005, without inset letter in both the number panels, bearing signature of Dr. Raghuram G. Rajan, Governor, Reserve Bank of India, and the year of printing '2016' printed on the reverse of the banknote. The design and security features of these banknotes will be similar to the banknotes of ₹ 50 denomination with the ascending font of numerals in both the number panels issued earlier in Mahatma Gandhi Series- 2005, except the following:

Obverse

Intaglio printing

New 50 Notes- SPICEMEN

The numeral ‘50’, RBI seal, Mahatma Gandhi’s portrait, RBI legend, Guarantee and promise clause, Governor’s signature, Ashoka Pillar emblem which were hitherto printed in intaglio (raised printing) are now being printed in offset (without any raised printing). Further, square-shaped identification mark on the left of the banknote has been removed.

Colour

While there is no change in the colour at the reverse, the colour at the obverse is lighter (due to removal of intaglio printing).

Latent Image

The vertical band on the right side of the Mahatma Gandhi’s portrait hitherto contained a latent image showing the denominational numeral ’50’. The latent image was visible only when the banknote was held horizontally at eye level. This feature is no longer present.

Reverse

There is no change in the reverse of the banknote.

NOTE-Trivia- The first  ₹50 banknote denomination was brought into force and use by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in year 1975 under the Lion Capital Series. It had an Ashoka pillar but was replaced by a watermark of Mahatma Gandhi in the Mahatma Gandhi Series, in year 1996. 

Rs.20- Twenty Note

The Reserve Bank of India will shortly issue ₹ 20 denomination banknotes in the Mahatma Gandhi Series-2005, with the inset letter ‘R’ in both the number panels, bearing signature of Dr. Urjit R. Patel, Governor, Reserve Bank of India, and the year of printing '2016' printed on the reverse of the banknote.

The design and security features of these banknotes to be issued now is similar to the ₹ 20 banknotes in Mahatma Gandhi Series- 2005 issued earlier, except the following –

Obverse

Ascending font

The numerals in both the number panels will be in ascending size from left to right while the first three alpha-numeric characters (prefix) will remain constant in size.

Intaglio printing

The numeral “20”, RBI seal, Mahatma Gandhi’s portrait, RBI legend, Guarantee and promise clause, Governor’s signature, Ashoka Pillar emblem which were hitherto printed in intaglio (raised printing) are now being printed in offset (without any raised printing). Further, rectangular identification mark on the left of the banknote has been removed.

Colour

While there is no change in the colour at the reverse, the colour at the obverse is lighter (due to removal of intaglio printing).

Latent Image

The vertical band on the right side of the Mahatma Gandhi’s portrait hitherto contained a latent image showing the denominational numeral “20”.The latent image was visible only when the banknote was held horizontally at eye level. This feature is no longer present.

Reverse

There is no change in the reverse of the banknote.

The image of the specimen of the banknote is as follows-

NOTE- Trivia- The first Rs.20 was introduced in 1972 by the Reserve Bank of India to contain the cost of production of banknotes in circulation.With the introduction of this banknote, the Reserve Bank started a major redesign of the motif of the Lion Capital Series banknotes.

Why ATMs Across India Not Working Post Demonetization

Post Demonetization, the ignored, humble ATM has indeed found a new found respect. Nowadays- November-December, people can be found in front of an ATM to withdraw sundry cash for their day to day dealing. So, when was ATM first came into existence in. 

In my initial research, Quora says  it was 1987.  In my earlier days spent in Calcutta, my previous office Business Standard, at BBD Bag chottor. Little I knew that it was the HSBC (Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation) that introduced the ATM concept in India and the year was 1987.

HSBC-BBD Bag, Calcutta

As per an article published on HuffPost there are about 2 lakh ATMs all over India and the average transaction everyday is about ₹4,000 whereas the average number of transactions happening every days is about 125 per ATM so the ATMs handle over ₹10,000 crore in currency everyday.

ITALIAN PIANO CONCERT IN KOLKATA, DELHI, CHENNAI & PUNE

If you in Kolkata today and enjoy Piano, Jazz, the Dalhousie Institute, Ballygunge in the evening today. 

Piano Tales

Enrico Zanisi, the 26 year old from Italy is now in India to showcase his Jazz stories by the name of Piano Tales, an information received by the Istituto Italiano di Cultura New Delhi (ITALIAN EMBASSY CULTURAL CENTRE, NEW DELHI)

Here are the 11 songs from Mr. Enrico Zanisi which he is going to play across Mumbai, Calcutta, Chennai and Pune. 

PIANO TALES (2016 Cam Jazz)

1. Ouverture
2. Uma Historia
3. Mirage
4. Cut It Out
5. Mà
6. Palabras
7. Stairs
8. No Truth
9. Morse
10. Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most
11. O Du Mein Holder Abendstern

He was the highest scorer at classical degree in piano.  His interest in jazz music started at the age of 15; he attended many jazz clinics around Italy studying with K. Werner, J. Calderazzo, L. Grenadier, P. Markowitz, M. Stamm and other great American and Italian musicians.


He can be reached here. 

info@enricozanisi.com
marcellospinetti@libero.it

He has played with several musicians: With his trio he played in  Italy, Europe, Dublin, Warsaw, Edimburgh, Albania, Oslo, London, Katowice, Rejika, Rabat Morocco, Tunisia, New Delhi, Blue Frog - Mumbai (India), San Juan (Portorico), Harare (Zimbabwe), Tel Aviv and Jerusalem (Istrael), Brasil and Mexico, Manhattan, 


Calcutta\Kolkata

Enrico Zanisi

TODAY - 27th November 7:30 pm,
The Dalhousie Institute, 
42, Fazlul Haque Sarani, Ballygunge

Delhi
28th November 6:30 pm
India International Centre, Max Mueller Marg

Chennai            
2nd December 5:30 pm-7 pm,          
KM College of Music & Technology, 19 Vinayagapuram 2nd Street, 
MMDA Colony, Arumbakkam

Pune
4th December 7 pm,
Poona Music Society, 2 Lt. Col. Tarapore Road

Pic Source- http://www.enricozanisi.com/

Call for Abstracts by Sarai – Lives of Data Workshop

‘Lives of Data’ Workshop, 06-07 January 2017, The Sarai Programme, Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS), Delhi. 

Call for Abstracts

‘Data’ has been recently termed as the new oil, new soil, new world currency and the raw material for the new industrial revolution. It has been hypothesised that the era of Big Data will finally see the ‘end of theory’. This hyperbole has it that the new technologies being developed today can produce truth based on computations of large amounts of machine readable digital data. Beyond such deterministic claims, the ‘Data Revolution’ indeed poses compelling theoretical and methodological challenges in all fields with stakes in knowledge. The present conjuncture, we would argue, is loaded with possibilities for rethinking ‘data-driven knowledge’ through longer histories of classification, enumeration, quantification, techno-scientific practices, and forms of media storage, retrieval, computational analysis and use.

Scholarship in the emerging field of data studies has established close connections with science & technology studies (STS), and media and software studies. There is now a growing body of work which questions the Big Data hubris and the excesses of the post Web 2.0 digital deluge. ‘Raw Data’, as Geoffrey Bowker and Lisa Gitelman among others have suggested, is an ‘oxymoron’. In the Indian context, concerns about statistics, governance and knowledge, evident in the histories of colonial census, the work of P C Mahalanobis at the Indian Statistical Institute and the Planning Commission, the emergence of scientific computing in the 1950s-60s, government regulation of media, electronics and telecom, provide a vivid background to think about the new technics, materiality and aesthetics of our digital cultures.

In times when Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have passed their initial developmental hype-cycles and mobile phones have somewhat flattened the so-called ‘digital divides’ (while creating many new ones), the fields of information research in India are grappling with socio-technical reconfigurations of a widening scope and scale. The projections and contestations around our much promoted march towards a #DigitalIndia with the world’s largest biometric database (#Aadhaar); a nation-wide digging campaign for broadband connectivity in villages and the building of one hundred #SmartCities; and the intense pursuit of the ‘Next Billion’ users by a floating array of large technology companies and startups (#FreeBasics, #StartupIndia); have inundated the space for reflection and critique. The many known and unknown lives and after-lives of data in this ecosystem of flux demand description, interpretation, concepts, and – if the data permits – theory.

In the past Sarai has organised workshops on ‘Social & Cultural Lives of Information’ and the ‘Lives of Information’, to reflect upon the cultures of information practices and the connections between colonial and post-colonial information infrastructures in South Asia. Continuing our focus on contemporary realities, ICTs and infrastructures, the ‘Lives of Data’ workshop aims to encourage research on pertinent questions concerning ‘data’ – its imaginaries, infrastructures, knowledge politics, and techno-science and media cultures in India and South Asia.

The ‘Lives of Data’ workshop hopes to bring together interdisciplinary researchers and practitioners to examine the historical and emergent conditions of data-driven knowledge production and circulation in Indian and South Asian contexts. We are interested in a conversation which dynamically moves back and forth in science, technology and media history and anthropology to reflect upon the many layered abstractions and materialisations of data, information and knowledge.

The key questions which the workshop will explore are:

– What is data? How is it imagined, collected, archived, developed, scraped, parsed, mined, cleaned, used, interpreted, re-produced, circulated and deleted?

– How do we map the relationships between data, infrastructure and knowledge production?

– How do we reimagine data and information through longer histories of statistics, bureaucracy, governmentality and development?

– What are the stakes involved in analysing the ever increasing volume, velocity, variety and value of data? How do practitioners understand the changing nature of their work with data?

– How do we conceptualise the new data publics?

Workshop themes include:

– Histories of State and Statistics, Classification, Enumeration and Planning

– Data Analytics, Data Ontologies, Digital Objects

– Digital Humanities, Computational Social Sciences, Cultural Analytics

– Cultures of Software Engineering and Design

– Data, Memory and Materiality: Archives, Paper/Digital Databases, Warehouses, Data Centres, Server Farms

– Thinking through Digital Infrastructures: Hardware, Code, Meta-Data, Formats, Protocols, Programming Languages, Information Architectures, Algorithms, Apps, Interfaces, Platforms, APIs, etc.

– Data-Driven Urbanism: Geographies of Mobile Computing, Locative Apps and Social Media, GIS, and Smart Cities

– Openness, Transparency and Access to Data/Information/Knowledge. #RTI #OpenData #DNAProfiling #Copyright #Encryption #Privacy

– Platforms as Government: Transnational Networks of Intermediaries and the Flows of Data/Capital

– ‘SysAdmin’ like the State: Bio-Politics, Surveillance, User/Citizen, Governance, Policing and Law. #Aadhaar #ITact #CyberSecurity

– ‘Beautiful Data’: Design, Aesthetics, Vision and Visualisation

The Sarai Programme invites submission of abstracts for the ‘Lives of Data’ workshop. Besides academic researchers, we strongly encourage media, design and software practitioners to apply for the workshop. Abstracts should not exceed 300 words, and should be sent to dak@sarai.net by 15 September, 2016, with the subject heading ‘Proposal for the Lives of Data Workshop.’ Authors of the selected abstracts will be notified by 01 October, 2016.

The workshop will be held on 06-07 January, 2017 at Sarai-CSDS, 29 Rajpur Road, Delhi. The Sarai Programme will cover three days of accommodation for outstation participants. In addition, participants from India will be eligible for travel support.

Source- http://sarai.net/call-for-abstracts-lives-of-data-workshop/

Enroll Your Business On GST Website - One Nation One TAX- Slogan by Modi

The concept of One Nation and One TAX is certainly one of the biggest tax reform, we have seen in recent decades, perhaps after the independence. Our Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi, had announced the demonetization of old Rs. 500 and Rs. 100 bank note denominations on November 8th (last week) and before that, in our previous session, a common consensus on GST was unanimously passed in the Indian parliament. Now people can enroll their business on the official GST government website- https://www.gst.gov.in/ starting now to avoid last minute rush. 

According to the PMO official website, Modi said that in the last session, a major decision on #GST was taken and the parliament did made a major contribution towards realization of the dream of "One nation, One tax.". He added by saying that when all parties work together in the larger nation interest, positive outcomes and results emerge. The press note adds, "The consultation process has been going on ahead of this session as well. Government is ready for open debate on every issue and we hope that it will create a conducive atmosphere for significant and fruitful decisions."

The entire draft of the GST law is available here at the Finance Ministry website. According to Ernst and Young, the GST will become a potential game changer.The site says "GST will be a game changing reform for the Indian economy by creating a common Indian market and reducing the cascading effect of tax on the cost of goods and services. It will impact the tax structure, tax incidence, tax computation, tax payment, compliance, credit utilization and reporting, leading to a complete overhaul of the current indirect tax system.

GST will have a far-reaching impact on almost all the aspects of the business operations in the country, for instance, pricing of products and services, supply chain optimization, IT, accounting, and tax compliance systems." 

As per WikipediA

The tax system is very complex in India and pretty archaic and in need of a complete overhaul. According to the Wikipedia  

The Demonetization Saga In India - Issue 2000 Banknotes By RBI on 8 November

By now all of us must have visited your nearby ATM and gotten your own money. Thanks, to an unprecedented move by the GOI in the month of November, Rs.500 and Rs.1000 Rupee notes are no longer valid and not to be legal tender anymore, after the midnight of November 9th.  In a Press Release  issued by the RBI- Reserve Bank Of India, combined by a nationwide address by Indian Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi, the Issuance of ₹ 2000 Banknotes and scrapping of the old notes came as a surprise, shock and people were clueless what they need to do next. 

The Reserve Bank of India has issued new ₹2000, ₹500, ₹1000  denomination banknotes in the Mahatma Gandhi (New) Series, without the inset letter, bearing signature of Dr. Urjit R. Patel, Governor, Reserve Bank of India, and the year of printing '2016' printed on the reverse of the banknote. The notes also have "Swachh Bharat Campaign logo.The new denomination has Motif of Mangalyaan on the reverse, depicting the country’s first venture into the interplanetary space. The base colour of the note is magenta. The note has other designs, geometric patterns aligning with the overall colour scheme, both at the obverse and reverse.

The salient features of the banknotes will be as under:

Obverse (Front)	Obverse (Front)	Reverse (Back)
1. See through register with denominational numeral 2000 2. Latent image with denominational numeral 2000 3. Denominational numeral २००० in Devnagari 4. Portrait of Mahatma Gandhi at the centre 5. Micro letters ‘RBI’ and ‘2000’ on the left side of the banknote 6. Windowed security thread with inscriptions ‘भारत’, RBI and 2000 on banknotes with colour shift. Colour of the thread changes from green to blue when the note is tilted 7. Guarantee Clause, Governor’s signature with Promise Clause and RBI emblem towards right 8. Denominational numeral with Rupee Symbol, ₹2000 in colour changing ink (green to blue) on bottom right	9. Ashoka Pillar emblem on the right Mahatma Gandhi portrait and electrotype (2000) watermarks 10. Number panel with numerals growing from small to big on the top left side and bottom right side For visually impaired Intaglio or raised printing of Mahatma Gandhi portrait, Ashoka Pillar emblem, bleed lines and identity mark 11. Horizontal rectangle with ₹2000 in raised print on the right 12. Seven angular bleed lines on left and right side in raised print	13. Year of printing of the note on the left 14. Swachh Bharat logo with slogan 15. Language panel towards the centre 16. Motif of Mangalayan 17. Denominational numeral २००० in Devnagari Dimension of the banknote will be 66 mm × 166 mm

Alpana Killawala

Principal Adviser

Press Release : 2016-2017/1144

Source- https://rbi.org.in/Scripts/BS_PressReleaseDisplay.aspx?prid=38522

Women Should Never Underestimate Their Potential and Ability-Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook,COO

Women Across the World should break stereotypes and demand fair & equal treatment. They also need to strive for a balance actualize potential, says Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg in New Delhi

NEW DELHI, July 2, 2014. Ms. Sheryl Sandberg, In her second innings as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Facebook, today underscored the importance of women in the Indian economy. She said that it was imperative (of recognizing women) for any economy to grow and prosper. Adding the essentiality for  women to realize their full potential. Addressing an interactive session of FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO) on 'Lean in: Women, Work and Will to Lead', Ms. Sandberg said this could be achieved by ensuring equal and fair treatment of women at home and the workplace and attaining more balance at home.

Women, she emphasized, should never underestimate their potential and ability. They should enforce their will and must develop a sense of confidence in themselves.

Speaking about breaking stereotypes, Ms. Sandberg said that across the globe it was perceived that men are natural leaders and women were there only to help and assist them. Women who are at the helm of their affairs are either considered officious or too aggressive in their approach. This mindset needs to change and a woman should be respected and recognized for her ability.

On the issue of ensuring security and stability for women, Ms. Sandberg said that it was heartening to see that the new Indian government under the leadership of Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi, was standing up to zero tolerance for crime. She urged the citizens to come forward and support their leader in this endeavor. None of the countries across the globe are absolutely safe for women. For women to thrive, it was necessary to provide a safe and secure environment, she added.

Ms. Sandberg said that all over the world, women have the added responsibility of managing the household. She suggested that men should start sharing responsibilities at home and work together with their spouses to ease the work pressure on women.

She said that women should have greater access to technology to make them more aware and technologically advanced. Women should be provided with a flexible work environment. The government and policymakers should enforce laws more stringently to safeguard the interests of women and give equal opportunity to them in terms of education and remuneration.

Ms. Neeta Boochra, President of FLO and Ms. Archana Goradia, Senior Vice President, FICCI, also shared their views on the subject.

Inputs from the Official FICCI Media Division, New Delhi