I’m glad my kids didn’t have A Tiger Mom !

WHEN PISA test results showed that Shanghai students’ scores were far ahead of American students, President Obama referred to it as a “Sputnik Moment” — “the humbling realization that another country is pulling ahead in a contest we have become used to winning”. In this scenario comes Yale Professor Army Chua’s book “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mom”, a ‘politically incorrect’ account of how she raised her daughters with a disciplinarian upbringing, Chinese style. And while it’s got Americans introspecting their parenting styles, Indian parents are using it to strengthen their own mission-mode upbringing of their kids. And that’s got me worried, because I was raised by a “Tiger Dad”.

We all turn into our parents as we grow older and I did too. So there I was, a ‘Tiger Mom’ pushing her kids to work towards A’s, play the guitar, tennis, golf and work at calligraphy and math. But I had not reckoned with the boys’ genes and their ‘Laidback Leo’ father. They had soon replaced my teeth with dentures!. ‘Laidback Leo’, loves, supports and does not judge- B’s and C’s are happily accepted and in fact the boys chide him  for not having higher expectation of them. He is proud of their well-rounded personalities and their high emotional quotients (EQs). And the boys love him and would die for him.

When they were growing up, we dreaded PTAs where we got routinely pulled up for the boys’ “attitude” and pranks. But the same ‘attitude’ has helped them excel and adapt to situations, without, parental supervision even while kids raised by ‘Tiger’ parents have floundered. I constantly seek approval, while my boys have a self esteem, you cannot dent. The answer to Chua’s Battle Hymn should be the “Lullaby of the Laidback lion” –my spouse’s ‘politically correct’, account of parenting his progeny, American style. Childhood is a time of ‘nurture’ – why turn it into a ‘battle’?

Indian and Chinese kids grow up with such odds (we are 1 billion plus) that competition is built into their DNA. But it is perhaps incorrect, like Chua, to assume strength when children are fragile in every way. Let the fire in a child’s belly decide where he puts the bar. Would it be fair for a parent to place the bar and push until the child has fractured both legs trying to cross it?

‘Tiger Mom’ or ‘Laidback Lion’ – the jury’s still out. But history is witness that innovation and creativity can be stifled by too much discipline. Bill Gates, Michael Dell and Zuckerberg rejected degrees for creativity- a Chinese Mom would have coerced them into submission and insisted that they finish college, get their degree and put in some piano practice as well!

Of RTE, BMWs and Lamborghinis

FRIDAY, JANUARY 28, 2011

Of RTE, BMWs and Lamborghinis by Punam Khaira Sidhu

You haven’t written for a long time”, says my mother. I am an inspirational writer and I need to feel to write. I write when something moves me with joy, hope or despair, and of late like all the other “aam aadmis” in this country I’ve just been too shell-shocked with scam after scam hitting our collective conscience. It’s a crisis of faith; no one is sure who to believe in anymore.
The bureaucrats and politicians were always the black sheep but we believed in the judiciary, we believed in the Press, and we believed in some corporate houses whose pristine reputations of ethical conduct had been built up over decades. As the entire North Western Region faced the onslaught of a cold foggy winter, I was dwelling in this numbed state of unfeeling inertia.
And then in the New Year I was jerked out of my somnolence by an incident at the traffic lights. There we stood waiting for the lights to turn from red to amber. The rush of women and children hiking their wares congregated towards the waiting vehicles. Soon there was a bright-eyed youngster, tapping on my window, selling maps for his school fees. What about the Right to Education (RTE) and free and compulsory education, I wondered.
“Buy a map, God will bless you”, he intoned. And then, more hopefully, “Buy, God will bless you with a good husband”. He continued in the same vein, all the while watching my expressions and gauging my reactions carefully —“Buy please, God bless your children”, and then looking at the squat sarkari Ambassador he tried again, “buy please, God will bless you with a big car”. That certainly hit the right vein and catching the gleam in my eyes he quickly realised it too. So the blessings for a big car rained thick and fast and — soon he was blessing me with a Mercedes-S Class no less, and then half question-half blessing a BMW-7 series, ya phir Lamborghini? That was what got me out of my numbness.
I couldn’t help being awed by the potential of the Indian dream as I’m sure are CEOs like Michael Bassermann, Helmut Panke and Stefan Winkelmann and others buying into the India story. The Cassandras can take a hike — look at the brand awareness coupled with the size of the market that this country constitutes: A population of 1 billion of whom 80 per cent are bright young things like my BMW boy. And this is even before the RTE has even been implemented. Let education empower these youngsters and fuel their drive to strive ahead and the only way this country can go is up and ahead.
As long as we have these resources in place, all we need is to keep the faith and be vigilant and draw inspiration from men of conscience like J Gopikrishna who broke the 2G scam. Suddenly I’m filled with the warmth and cheer of the holiday season and the infinite blessings of a wonderful New Year.

best practices

ফাইলের ধরণ: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - দ্রুত দর্শন
27 Jul 2010 ... Punam Khaira Sidhu. CIT (CIB), Bengaluru. 16. Bengaluru. Best Practices / Initiatives. Sukumar Mondal. DCIT (CIB), Bengaluru ...
www.incometaxindia.gov.in/.../DeptNews_ListofContributors_07272010.pd

Renewable law in India

The World Institute of Sustainable Energy (WISE) organised a one-day seminar on 'A Renewable Energy Law for India', at The Imperial, New Delhi, on 25 August 2005. Supported by the Ministry of Non-Conventional Energy Sources (MNES), Government of India, the seminar was organised in association with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)-Sohrabji Godrej Green Business Centre. 
 

WISE sought the help of the National Law School of India University in Bangalore, particularly of CEERA, the law school's Centre for Environmental Law, Education, Research and Advocacy, to prepare the Draft Renewable Energy Law for India. It is in the process of pursuing the Draft Law to its logical conclusion viz. adoption by the Indian Parliament.
 

The seminar was inaugurated by Mr Vilas Muttemwar, Hon'ble Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Non-Conventional Energy Sources, Govt. of India. Other important dignitaries who graced the inauguration ceremony were, Mr A.M. Gokhale, Secretary, Ministry of Non-Conventional Energy Sources (MNES), Govt. of India; Justice Kuldip Singh, former Judge of the Supreme Court of India and Chairman, Delimitation Commission of India, New Delhi; Justice Ashok A Desai, former Chief Justice of Uttaranchal High Cour; Mr Ramesh Kymal, Managing Director, NEG-Micon (I) Pvt Ltd, and Chairman, Renewable Energy Council, CII-Godrej GBC; and Mr G M Pillai, founder Director General, WISE. Mr Muttemwar said it was imperative that an exclusive Act was put in place for the growth and development of the renewable energy sector and appreciated the initiative taken by WISE. Speaking on the occasion, Mr A M Gokhale said that there was need to downscale projects as this raised efficiency and shortened the gestation time for projects. 
 

In his address, Justice Kuldip Singh said renewable energy needed to be promoted to meet India's rural energy needs as it was sustainable and pollution free. "The draft Renewable Energy Act needs to address all stakeholders in the power sector rather than just the government," he added. Justice Ashok A Desai, in his keynote address, opined that while developing renewable energy sources, it was necessary to evaluate and address risks. In order to propagate the use of renewable energy, it was necessary to develop the minds of the people. While addressing the distinguished gathering, Mr Ramesh Kymal called for a paradigm shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources, to achieve a share of 20 per cent to 25 per cent of energy from renewables, by 2030. For this, it was imperative to enact the Renewable Energy legislation in India, he opined. In his welcome address, Mr G M Pillai said that the draft Renewable Energy Law for India charted a road map for energy independence. "It had been distilled from the experiences of other countries, especially Germany, Czech Republic, and China. It goes beyond just electricity, adopting a market-based approach rather than a subsidy-based model, to encourage the growth of renewable energy in India," he said.
 

The outcome of the seminar was the constitution of a special working group which would work towards refining the draft law, based on the suggestions of the speakers at the seminar, other individuals and organisations. The working group will also devise a strategy for advocacy of the legislation for its subsequent adoption by the parliament.

WISE ORGANISES SECOND RENEWABLE ENERGY LAW SEMINAR

The draft Model 'Renewable Energy (R E) Law for India' prepared by WISE was presented for the first time at a one-day seminar held in New Delhi on 25 August 2005. The seminar was inaugurated by Vilas Muttemwar, Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Non-Conventional Energy Sources and was attended by an august gathering of senior and top-level functionaries from the government and the energy sector. The outcome of the seminar was the constitution of a special Working Group to carry forward the work of advocacy of the draft law and its adoption by Parliament. Since then, the initiative has gained wide support, both at the national and international levels. WISE has declared 2007 as the 'Year of the R E Law for India' and is launching a nation-wide advocacy campaign to champion this cause.

As part of this effort, a one-day seminar, 'Towards a Renewable Energy Law for India', was organised by WISE on 16 March 2007 in India Habitat Centre, New Delhi. Besides advocacy, the main objective of the seminar was to critique the model R E Law, seek some more suggestions, tie up loose ends and arrive at a suitable consensus, so as to amend the draft law appropriately before taking it to Parliament. The event was supported by the Vienna based 'Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership' (REEEP) and their Renewable Energy and International Law (REIL). The seminar was inaugurated by V Subramanian, Secretary, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Govt. of India, while the other dignitaries present at the inaugural session were Paul Curnow, Representative, REEEP/REIL, and G M Pillai, Director General, WISE.

In his inaugural address, the Secretary emphasised the need for a relevant law to govern the renewable energy sector. He added that a law for renewable energy would be an enabling legislation to supplement the efforts of other sectoral ministries. He commended WISE's efforts in preparing a draft R E Law for India. G M Pillai, in his welcome address, stressed that the model R E law was not another 'Electricity Law'. Besides addressing electricity issues, the model law aimed at integrated energy planning and mainstreaming developmental and promotional measures for sustainable energy. He added that its overall policy was 'growth without subsidy'. Mr Pillai emphasised that the R E law was the need of the hour and hoped that the Ministry would carry forward the draft law and spearhead its adoption by Parliament. Paul Curnow in his address spoke of REEEP's initiative in India on renewable energy.

Some of the topics dealt with in the seminar were, International Experience in R E Law, Salient Features of the Model RE Law and its Critique, Strategies for Advocacy of the R E Law, etc. The eminent speakers who threw light on these issues included Balawant Joshi, Managing Partner, ABPS Infrastructure Advisory, Mumbai; Punam Khaira Sidhu, Director (M & F), Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission; Chintan Shah, General Manager, SenergyGlobal, New Delhi; Bunker Roy, Founder, Barefoot College, Tilonia, Rajasthan; K Srinivas, Head, Climate & Energy Project, Greenpeace India, Bangalore; C V Madhukar, Director, PRS Legislative Research, CPR, New Delhi, etc.

The Guest of Honour at the valedictory function was Akansha Chaurey, Associate Director, TERI, & Representative of REEEP South Asia Secretariat. In her concluding address, Ms Chaurey commended WISE's initiative in drafting the RE Law for India. She added that India was fortunate to have strong advocacy groups such as WISE, Barefoot college, TERI, etc., for taking on the mantle of promoting renewable energy in the country.
 

Renewables: CDM in the power sector

1. 
   
   A presentation for National Workshop on "CDM in the Power Sector" on. 6th October, 2006, at Hotel Claridges , New Delhi . By. Punam Khaira Sidhu,IRS ...
   www.cdmindia.com/.../Experience%20with%20CDM%20revenue%20sharing-other%20regulatory%20issues%20_229.pdf
2. 
   

   punamsidhu: March 2007

Bangalore gets Everyone

"Bangalore gets everyone" Punam Khaira Sidhu, who moved to Bengalooru on a transfer recently, regales us with how the City grew on her to become her "home away from home" A long-awaited promotion is received but it comes with a transfer to a station furthest from my family at Chandigarh. Two flights later, I arrive at the spiffy new Bangalore Airport and walk out into a gentle summer shower. The distance between the city and the airport, begs for a Metro. First impression Two hours later, the city, with its verdant greenery and tiled roofs, looms into focus. It has acquired a substantial share of high rises, most impressive of which is UB City, topped with a futuristic looking circular helipad for Vijay Mallya's chopper. It is here that Canalli, Stella McCartney, Moschino, Louis Vuitton, Tods and Tiffany are debuting in a mall reminiscent of a Baroque Palace. The finest marble, fountains and Greco Roman pillars and arches, transport you into a different world. But Bangalore is best epitomised, not by its numerous malls like the Ledo, Garuda, Lifestyle, etc, but in the occasional Café Mocha or the quaint Hatworks Bouleward, where coffee can be sipped beneath spreading trees, and the benches slope and slide to accommodate wizened tree trunks and hardy shrubs and art rubs shoulders with gourmet cuisine. I’ve never needed sophisticated instruments to assess pollution in a city. It usually suffices to use a cottonball doused in astringent. In Chandigarh, the cotton ball rubbed across my skin, yielded a faint brown residue; in Delhi, a deeper brown; and in Bangalore, the garden city, horrors of horrors, deepest black. Well, it’s time Bengalurus’ woke up to the evolving needs of the city. Bumper-to-bumper traffic and distances to be travelled for essential services such as hospitals, airports, schools and offices, make Mass Public Transport a priority and if it means rendering some old fashioned ‘Shramdaan’, so be it. The people are gentle and helpful. The Chief Commissioner is warm and compassionate, appreciating my predicament at leaving my tenth and twelfth class teenagers and spouse behind. The Director General assures me that I will settle down soon — “Bangalore gets everyone”—- he says. As I find my bearings, I knuckle down to the business of setting up a home for myself. The monsoon sales are a bonanza, but I settle for a rental deal from the trusty Saleh Ahmed. His warehouses, choc-a-bloc with old furniture, are a treat for folks like me. As I select the bare necessities, I begin to envisage the empty spaces of my transit flat yielding place to the makings of a home away from home. All encompassing warmth The Gurudwara at Ulsoor beckons with its warmth and melodious prayers. The lake is a serene reservoir of positivity. Commercial Street bustles with bargains while Brigade Road, and Church Street are choc-a-bloc with youngsters like my sons. Vittal Mallya Road is home to aspirational brands while Race Course Road hums with hotels and restaurants. Further along is Forum, the mega Mall, and Electronic city and the swanky high rises of Koramangala and beyond, the sleepy hamlet of Sarjapur, popular for its weekend homes and upcoming public schools. Soon, I know where to buy the best biriyani and kebabs and the freshest fruit. I can find my way along winding lanes to the temple for darshan, fragrant chameli and a delicious green coconut drink. As I mine the markets for bargains for my new home, I begin to feel the lump in my heart dissolve. Bangalore has gotten me — its champagne climate creeping into my DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid), and its only week-two of my translocation here. Is it any wonder then that the streets are spilling over with new migrants like me, all headily high on bustling Bengaluru — and trust me, the pubs have nothing to do with it. published in Deccan Herald dated 12 sept 2008 -The author is Commissioner, Income Tax (CIB). archive.deccanherald.com/content/Sep122008/realty2008091189377.asp

My Son's Teacher

My son’s teacher
by Punam Khaira Sidhu

WHAT’S up”, queried my husband when he found me desperately rifling through yellowing papers. “I’m trying to find my degree certificates and medals”. I responded. The last time I presented them for scrutiny was when I took the Civil Services exams, 17 years ago. Now, my qualifications and competence were again on test. Only this time, it wasn’t the mandarins at the UPSC, doing the assessment: it was my 10-year-old son!

It all started rather innocently. My son was doing a routine homework assignment when I corrected the spelling of accessaries to accessories and rhynoceros to rhinoceros and pointed out that ships were not parked in a harbour, but anchored in it. The little man took umbrage, and argued, “Look, my teacher’s marked it correct in my written work”. The complete conviction in his teacher being correct and complete lack of confidence in his mother’s erudition, or rather the lack of it, was a fell blow for my self-esteem.

Every time I checked an error in spelling or fact I found myself having to substantiate it with encyclopaedia and dictionaries. I would spend evenings helping him prepare a chart with diagrams et al but, when it did not meet with his teachers’ approval, my proficiency rating plummeted. That was what had me rummaging for my degrees. Junior needed to know that his mom had gone to school too and obtained a first class first Masters degree.

The student-teacher relationship, the guru-shishya parampara, is special and has been down the ages. It has to do with the aura every child invests his teacher with. The teacher is the “significant other”, the “Guru, tutor, instructor and coach”, in every little-one’s school world. The one who knows it all, is the final arbiter of all that is right and wrong, and above all holds the key to the mysteries of the world. In school, of course, the teacher is God but even outside when we run into Brother, Ma’am or Sir, the traffic stops, and a hush descends on my noisy brat as he points them out with awed admiration. From that position the teacher’s words carry complete conviction, magical appeal and unrivalled powers of persuasion.

The epics tell us of Eklavya, who cut off his thumb as “dakshina” for his Guru Dronacharya even though it meant an end to his career as an archer. The same spirit, miraculously, imbues most younger students even in the present day.

When I voiced my concern about TV, I was labelled a spoilsport; the teacher organised a debate and my son was suddenly an articulate spokesman for the harmful effects of TV. Books lay gathering dust, until Ma’am directed that each boy read a book a week and write a report. Suddenly, my son was reading abridged versions of the classics and was an authority on Charles Dickens and Mark Twain. Every parent learns to cognise and appreciate that the teachers can get their little devils to write poetry, and prose, inspire frenzied research on esoteric topics, teach them to paint, and even sing in tune. They inspire them with the motto of ‘Citius, Altius, Fortius’ in sports, and infuse them with charity and capitalism when the proceeds of the School fete are used to fund scholarships for poor kids. The teacher is the miracle worker. Mom and Dad, are well, just progenitors, to be kept in good humour so they keep the pizzas and pocket money coming in.

There’s a lot of time and energy invested in teachers’ day and birthday: thoughtful cards are hand-painted and fresh flowers hand picked. Parents’ birthdays need a strident reminder and if you try and compare, there’s the gentlest rebuff, “...hey Mom I love you. Surely you don’t need a card or a bunch of old flowers to tell you that...” Well, who can argue with that except the green-eyed monster inside who feels she could use that brand of “special thoughtfulness” inspired in her progeny by his teachers.

I guess if you can’t beat them join them: so I have volunteered with my son’s school, as a substitute teacher. Perhaps I will now discover, that special ingredient, that will take me from Mom to Ma’am and absolution.