The Times Of India - Ahmedabad, 2017-12-31 Cropped page Page: 4

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SUNDAY TIMES OF INDIA, AHMEDABAD | DECEMBER 31, 2017

SundaySPECIAL

TIMES CITY

RE

CA

P Sound and colour

Students of a Vadodara-based school painted on the theme of nature during a classical music concert. This was part of a creative experiment.

Platform for artists

Gujarat Kala Pratishthan organized an exhibition in Surat at which 668 paintings and sculptures of 342 artists were exhibited at Art Gallery, Science Centre

Art for Peace

Ratna Gandhi and Doron Polak curated a collaborative project featuring the works of 155 Indian and Israeli artists, at Hutheesing Visual Art Centre, Ahmedabad

VICTORYSCIENCE

BOOTH: Based on electoral rolls, voters across the state are classified according to booths. These booths are further classified according to constituencies. Each booth will have a committee.

BOOTH-LEVEL COMMITTEE (BLC): A booth-level committee comprises a professional/ field executive and booth-level workers (BLWs). BLWs

are essentially foot soldiers who connect with the voters. They collect information about voters, their political inclination,

perception and local problems. The idea is to not leave out a single voter. BLCs are also given tasks such as

reporting on political developments and preventing bogus voting.

FIELD EXECUTIVES: A field executive (FE) typically manages two to three constituencies and all BLCs report to him or her. The FE’s job is to coordinate with booth-level committee members and compile data collected by them.

Once candidates are selected, FEs join door-to-door campaigning with them.

REGIONAL MANAGER: A regional manager (RM) coordinates with field executives of different

zones/regions. The regional managers also identify constituencies and booths where voter sentiment is not in

favour of the party and analyze the reasons. They also study the impact of a political leaders’ rallies and campaigns. The regional managers also analyze voter response to candidates in constituencies.

CORE ANALYTICS TEAM (CAT): This team comprises research professionals and usually operates from the party office. It collates and analyzes data. CAT also profiles various constituencies in terms of local problems, and caste and community composition. The reports are shared with star campaigners and local leaders so that they have ground intelligence before campaigning in a particular constituency.

As Gujarat Polls Showed, Political Parties Are Deploying Armies Of Professionals To Mine Data And Expand Outreach For Canvassing

Niyati.Parikh@timesgroup.com

What swings an elec-tion? Social issues and caste equations have conventionally

been held as the vital factors. But the new breed of profession-als, hired a few months ahead of elections by political parties, maintains that it all boils down to numbers — votes, voters, and vote share! For the Gujarat elec-tions, BJP president Amit Shah had concentrated the energies of his strategists on a relatively new tactic — wooing voters at the booth level, where numbers actually matter when the votes get counted. The same approach had worked for Uttar Pradesh assembly polls. In the case of Gujarat, a small team of professionals oper-ated from the party office while the b u l k o f campaign-ers were sent to constitu-encies.

In fact, even the Cong ress adopted the same strategy. The campaign for the Congress was spearheaded by a re-tired IPS officer, Kuldip Sharma, who is now with the Congress.

“After initial analysis, we identified 22 constituencies where the party was sure to win and 28 where the party was sure to lose,” said a well-placed source in the Con-gress. “Barring these 50, we began focusing on 132 con-s t i t u e n c i e s w h e r e w e strengthened booth-level committees.”

Sources said that both the major parties — the BJP and the Congress — are likely to fashion similar canvassing plans for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. “Analysts, field execu-tives, social media teams, among others, co-ordinate their ef-forts,” said a pro-fessional em-ployed by the BJP to manage analyt ics. “A team that works for the party’s social me-dia campaign uses our data to shape messages.”

Parth.Shastri@timesgroup.com

Pearl Sabavala, Gujarat zonal head of HDFC Bank, wears a special sari when she attends

prominent events or award ceremo-nies. This sari is over a century old Gara – intricately hand-embroidered silk sari – which she considers a prized possession. “The sari be-longed to my maternal grandmother, who passed it on to my mother and who in turn gave it to me. It will be passed on to the next generation as a priceless heirloom. Whenever I wear the sari, I feel connected to my grandmother,” she says.

Gara is a living heritage for the Parsi community with a history of over 200 years. According to ParZor, UNESCO-initiated Parsi Zoroastrian Project, the fabric connects Parsis from Iran to China. The researchers who traversed the ancient Silk Route document that the embroidery found in sari, kor (border of sari) and jhabla (children’s cloth) has incul-cated motifs such as the Rooster and Taoist symbols from China on one hand and Sassanian Circlet of Pearls from ancient Persia.

The documentation also men-tions that Parsis who went to Deccan also acquired Zardozi skills and with European influence introduced Eu-ropean stitches, designs and new colours – creating a unique vocabu-lary with crisscross of cultural influ-ences.

Villoo Mirza, former NIFT di-rector, who is involved in re-search and documentation of Parsi textile and embroidery for ParZor, said that the Parsi traders involved in overseas trade and hawkers from China introduced the em-broidered fabric to the community. “Sari has a lot of significance as it represents the culture of the adopted land – Gu-jarat – for the Zoroastri-ans.,” she says.

Mirza and her team had put up a unique ex-hibition of centuries-old

Gara from Parsi families of Ahmedabad at Nowrojee Hall in Shahibaug on December 29 to mark The Parsi Fest as part of celebration of Ahmedabad’s World Heritage Site status by AMC.

She adds that it is an art form in need of conservation. “Today, a ma-jority of Gara saris have embroidery

made by machines. While hand-embroidered saris are still made, only a few can afford it

as it takes over 500 days to

p r e -

pare one piece. It is nowadays done by Mochi embroidery artisans,” says Mirza.

But the women have also de-vised ingenious ways to preserve the timeless trousseau. Meher Me-dora, managing trustee of city-based Ushta-Te Foundation, said that while she has two Gara which came from her past generation, she also has ‘refurbished’ Gara saris.

“When the fabric gets very old, it tends to get torn apart. However, the embroidery is intact. In such cases, the entire embroidery is transferred on a new sari to prolong its life,” she says. Khushnum Avari, director, Pa-

nache Academy, says that every Parsi girl grows up

seeing the exquisite Gara saris worn at special oc-casions and dream of possessing the hand-woven, hand-embroi-dered ware. “It’s a dying art and efforts are made by the community to sustain it,” she says.

Parsi Women Still Go Gaga over Gara Saris For Their Exquisite Designs And History

TIMELESS TOUCH

The researchers who traversed the ancient Silk Route document that the embroidery found in sari, kor (border of sari) and jhabla (children’s cloth) has incorporated motifs such as the Rooster and Taoist symbols from China as well as Sassanian Circlet of Pearls from ancient Persia

of Gara sarisRANK AND ROLE OF OUTREACH ARMY

NAMO MADE HI-TECH HISTORYIn 2007, Narendra Modi — the chief minister of Gujarat at the time — leveraged digital power to connect with voters. Digital tools not only ex-panded reach, but also added a dramatic element. Ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP’s campaign — directed in the war room by political strategist Prashant Kishor — brought on board the crème de la crème of professionals and notables from top-notch companies such as Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan.

WHAT IS A SCIENTIFIC

CAMPAIGNAt the core of a scientific campaign

is perception of voters. Professionals who lead the team classify voters

according to booths. Data about voters and their political inclination is

analyzed. Based on this information, strategies are formed. Separate

teams manage the party’s campaign on social

media.

WHO ARE THEY?CAT | Research and analytics experts

RM | Engineering and management professionals

FIELD EXECUTIVES | Fresh graduates from colleges, party workers

BOOTH LEVEL WORKERS | Local residents, also party workers sometimes

Siddhartha

Ahmedabad: Special SIT courtjudge P B Desai, who was hea-ring the 2002 Naroda Gam riotscase, retired on Saturday. He wasalso the principal sessions judge.

Desai was the fourth judge tohear this post-Godhra riots case,related to the killing of 11 Mus-lims in the Naroda Gam area he-re during the 2002 Gujarat riots.Earlier, S H Vora, Jyotsna Yag-nik and K K Bhatt had heard thecase, which has been going onsince 2009. Judge Desai beganhearing final arguments after vi-siting the scene of the offence.

He was also the presiding of-ficer when the demand for furt-her investigation in the 2005 Soh-rabuddin Shaikh encounter ca-se was raised. A week before theSupreme Court ordered a CBIprobe in this controversial case,Judge Desai ordered CID (crime)to investigate the encounter casefurther.

Judge hearingNaroda Gamcase retires

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Ahmedabad: In a shockerto the model state of Guja-rat, the figures of child mar-riages in the last three yearstell that there were 37 caseshere from 2014 to 2017, morethan so-called underdevelo-ped states like Rajasthanand Uttar Pradesh, whichhad 23 and 17 such illegalmarriages respectively, inthe same period.

Only nine other stateshad more child marriagesthan in Gujarat. There were16, 9 and 12 such marriagesin the state in 2014, 2015 and2016 respectively, reveals da-ta from the National CrimeRecords Bureau (NCRB)which was tabled in the LokSabha on December 22. EvenHaryana, thought to be infa-mous for child marriages isnot too far ahead of Gujarat.It registered 43 cases in lastthree years.

The country reported atotal of 899 child marriagesbetween 2014 and 2016 whichinclude 280; 293 and 326 casesin 2014, 2015 and 2016 respec-tively.

According to sociolo-gists, the child marriage is-sue is rooted in poverty anda socio-cultural mindset andramping up awareness byundertaking drives to com-municate the evil effects ofthis practice is needed.Child marriages are preva-lent in some OBC and tribalcommunities in north andsouth Gujarat.

Areport of the Comptrol-

ler and Auditor General(CAG) on the social sectorfrom 2014 reveals the sorrystate of implementation ofthe Child Marriage Act inthe state. The CAG camedown heavily on the state fornot implementing the Actproperly.

“Of 659 complaints onchild marriages receivedduring 2009-14, court caseswere filed only in 15 cases(2%) and not a single personwas convicted in Gujarat,”the CAG report had said.

According to Census 2011data, 6.49 lakh persons yo-unger than 18 years got mar-ried between 2003 and 2011.Of these 6.49 lakh child mar-riages, 1.98 lakh persons we-re in urban areas. This wasaround 30% of all child mar-riages between 2003 and2011.

Data from Census 2011,under the “ever married andcurrently married popula-tion by age at marriage, du-ration of marriage” headsrevealed that between 2008-2011, 3.02 lakh people weremarried when younger than18 and had been married forup to four years in 2011.

37 child marriages wereregistered in state in 3 years 9 Other States

ReportedMore

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Ahmedabad: The Gujarathealth department has re-cently issued a notificationasking the officials andemployees of the depart-ment to attend a 10-day-longVipassana and Dhyan Shi-bir (meditation sessions) todeal with their family andthe public in a positive way.Interestingly, the circularsays that the officials whoattend it will be deemed aspresent on duty but if theyleave the session midway,then they will be conside-red off duty.

The circular with thesubject, “Regarding consi-deration of the officials/employees of health depart-ment as present on duty

who wants to participate inthe session for the medita-tion” was issued on Decem-ber 19. It reads, “Variousknown Vipassana centresare holding camps at theircentres and also at otherplaces. If the health depart-

ment officials and workersare allowed to participate insuch sessions, then theywill attain a positive chang-es in their attitude towardstheir families and it will al-so make a positive impactover their professional effi-ciency. Due to this, if certa-in conditions are fulfilledthen the officials and emp-loyees, who want to attendthe meditation sessions,will be deemed present onduty.”

The circular also clarifi-es that the officials abovethe rank of district healthofficer will be sent after en-suring that health care faci-lities will not witness anyhassles. Besides, the offici-als or employees are to par-ticipate voluntarily andthey will have to submit themeditation session’s certi-ficate to the superior offici-al. “If the session is left mid-way, then (the official/ emp-loyee) will not be conside-red present on duty,” says

the circular signed by theadditional director of he-alth department.

Speaking about the he-alth department circularregarding Vipassana ses-sion, health commissioner,Dr Jayanti Ravi, said thatearlier such decisions weretaken by education depart-ment and home departmentalso to encourage health de-partment officials and emp-loyees through which theycan become a compassiona-te human being.

When asked if this willcreate any impact on healthservices, Ravi told TOI, “Wedo have (government) trai-ning programmes and trai-ning slots are planned insuch a way that the healthfacility will not be impac-ted. If you keep cutting thewood with the same axethen sometimes its edgewill have to be sharpened. Itseems like a ten-day trai-ning but it will be effectivefor their inner self.”

Health officials to have ‘on duty’ VipassanaTo Be Marked

Off Duty If TheyLeave Session

Officials and employees of thedepartment will attend a 10-dayVipassana and dhyan shibir

TOI

Ashish.Chauhan@timesgroup.com

Additional district and sessions judge inAhmedabad convicted Suresh Kumar Grover,an accused caught with 10 kilograms ofcharas from Naroda in 2014 to 10 years ofrigorous imprisonment. Grover was alsofined Rs 50,000. He had been arrested byzonal unit of Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB)on November 17, 2014 when they apprehen-ded a car in which special cavities had beenmade to conceal 17 packets of the contra-band.

Diplomas conferred to blind physiotherapy studentsAhmedabad University organized an event atthe Blind People’s Association (BPA) onDecember 30 where 18 students with visualimpairment were given diplomas in physiot-herapy. Organizers said that it is the onlycourse in the country offering diploma toblind students. Jayanti Ravi, commissioner(health), was the chief guest at the event.

CITY DIGEST

Drug trafficker sentencedto 10 years in jail

■ An honest civil servant fights against all odds to uncover a corrupt system and help India become a better country.

Afilm made with a good intent to support someone or show them in a good light can end up

affecting that very person adversely. Modi Kaka Ka Gaon is a perfect example of such a situation.

In the film, Prime Minister Nagendra (Vikas Mahante) gets elected and starts cleaning up the system. The film reflects on how, under his governance, not a single bad thing has affected India. As a sub plot, we see an honest collector Sarvagya (Chandramani) arrive in Rampur and take charge of affairs. His main nemesis is the local politician Pappu Bihari (Phool Jha) who usurps villagers’ land and wants

Sarvagya to work with him. As a back-story, Sarvagya is orphaned when his debt-ridden father gets a heart attack and is adopted by the local teacher. The teacher has a daughter too, named Chavi. He loses both the kids when floods hit his village. So, while Sarvagya is taken in by an orphanage, Chavi is literally just picked up from the lake by an American journalist who takes her back to the States and rechristens her as Sheena (Zeba Khan). On a lark, she returns back to India, to her village, so she can help the development there. Suddenly, Sheena becomes a journo-cum-sleuth and records Pappu Bihari discussing another corrupt plot and informs Sarvagya about it. The two work to

punish the corrupt officials as PM Nagendra works tirelessly and introduces Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, plans surgical strikes and delivers the final salvo — demonetisation.

PM Modi’s lookalike Vikas Mahante only looks like him and that seems to be his primary job because the acting is non-existent. But this trait is not shared by him alone. Almost all actors struggle with even delivering their lines. With a weak story and a choppy editing, this is definitely not the film that can define Prime Minister Modi.

— Reza Noorani

CINEMA OF THE WEEKModi Kaka Ka Gaon (Drama) ★Cast: Chandramani, Vikas Mahante, Zeba Khan, Phool JhaDirection: Tushar GoyalDuration: 2 hours 2 minutes Language: Hindi (U/A)58888 code: mod

SMS YOUR MOVIEREVIEWS/RATINGSType rev <space> short code of movie as given under each movie name <space> your name <space> your rating (choose from 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, 3.5, 4, 4.5 or 5). <space> add your comments and sendto 58888 e.g. rev mod neha 3 super movie

To read/rate the movie, go to review.timesofindia.com

● Modi Kaka Ka Gaon (mod)

58888 Codes for movies

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Ahmedabad:After having a hita wall, a high-level panel thatwas set up to choose a new vice-chancellor (VC) for Gujarat Vi-dyapith has unanimously agre-ed on awarding a second term tothe incumbent vice chancellorAnamik Shah. The search com-mittee had initially received 14applications for the post. A detai-led scrutiny was carried out in fi-ve sittings of the search panel,but a decision on a new candida-te could not been reached. Thepanel, on December 26, finallyagreed on Shah, who will nowcontinue the coveted post forthree more years — the universi-ty established by MahatmaGandhi in 1920.

The search committee con-sists of economics professor ofIIM-A and current Union mone-tary policy committee memberDr Ravindra Dholakia, formerVC of Gujarat Vidyapith, Su-darshan Iyengar, and academi-cian Rehana Jambuwala.

Another termfor Shah as

Vidyapith VCTIMES NEWS NETWORK

Shekharchandra Sahoo, 62, a native of Mumbai cur-rently staying at a guest house in Shastrinagar hasfiled a complaint for robbery of a bag containinglaptop and mobile phones, all worth Rs 26,000 alongwith passport and other important original docu-ments. He told police that he had kept the bag nearhis legs on a scooter when he was passing by Naran-pura crossroads at 8pm on December 29. At that time,two persons came near him on a bike and snatchedhis bag away. The duo then fled towards NaranpuraCrossroads. Sahoo works as a chess coach.

Thieves steal safe Dharmesh Patel, 46, a resident of Naranpura, has fileda complaint with Sola police for a string of thefts froma residential society where the thieves decamped withvaluables worth Rs 5.30 lakh. They also stole a safe.According to Patel's complaint, his brother's residenceat Nandanvan Cooperative Housing Society behindGujarat High Court was burgled between 10pm onDecember 29 and 6am on December 30 and thethieves stole gold ornaments worth Rs 1.5 lakh and Rs3.1 lakh cash. From a nearby residence, the thievesstole a safe containing valuables worth Rs 70,000 .

PUNCH-NAMA

Chess coach loses laptop

CCI NG 3.7 Product: TOIAhmedabadBS PubDate: 31-12-2017 Zone: AhmedabadCity Edition: 1 Page: TOIACP4 User: pradipkumar.deshmukh Time: 12-30-2017 23:50 Color: CMYK