Cargill Rules the Food Business

Food security – the challenge of feeding the world – has recently raised to the top of the G20 agenda. The UN says that billion people go to bed hungry every night, and that we need to double food production by 2025 just to keep up with population growth and better diets in the developing world – grim truths that concern Cargill deeply, whether Cargill believes that solving world hunger is its job or not. “We are not philanthropy’ says Greg Page “I think we have to be careful not to lay claim to an altruism that doesn’t exist.”

Mr. Greg Page does not disagree, although his take may surprise you “Clearly the volatility can be an opportunity” he says, acknowledging that sharp price swings can play Cargill’s vaunted trading expertise. Then he adds “the big part of our business is the physical handling of tens of millions of tons of food. If we believe that world is headed toward a varied weather pattern, those services become more important.”

In other words, signs point to Cargill’s influence – and profits – continuing to grow. But is what’s good for Cargill good for the world?

Cargill’s impact on our daily lives; you don’t have to love Egg Mac Muffins (MacDonald’s buys many of its eggs in liquid form from Cargill) or hamburgers (Cargill’s facilities can slaughter more cattle than anyone else in the U.S.) or sub sandwiches (No. 8 in pork, No. 3 in turkey) to ingest Cargill products on a regular basis.  Whatever you ate or drink today – a candy bar, pretzels, soup from can, ice cream, yoghurt, chewing gum, beer – chances are it included a little something from Cargill’s menu of food additives. Its US$ 50 billion “ingredients” business touches pretty much anything salted, sweetened, preserved, fortified, emulsified or texturised, or anything whose raw taste or smell had to be masked in order to make it palatable.

Cargill’s big acquisition agenda, completing deals for a Central American poultry and meat processor, a German chocolate company, an Italian feed company, and the grain business of AWB, formerly the government-owned Australian Wheat Board – Mr. Greg Page says “the US$ 1.3 billion AWB purchase fills a hole in Cargill’s global grain network: “We are in Russia, We are in Ukraine, We are in Canada, We are in the U.S. We are in Argentina, and we just didn’t have as vibrant a footprint there.”Cargill also has a pending US$ 2.1 billion offer for Provimi, a global feed company with 7,000 employees in 26 countries; the deal is expected to close by year-end.

Mr. Greg Page may not be under pressure from the family shareholders, but that doesn’t mean that he is unworried about the future. The real threat to Cargill’s long-term prosperity, Page says “is that forces beyond the company’s control will infringe on its freedom to operate across markets.”  Cargill is clearly concerned with the way the global conversation is bending on food security. “You don’t end up with policies that are counterproductive to feeding everyone,” says Page, “and we don’t want to end up with a business model that doesn’t have any freedom to operate.” Trust us, he’s saying, to feed the world, to keep our food safe, to respect the environment, and, by the way, to not gouge farmers or food shopper at the supermarket. That’s asking a lot. Greg Page is keeping a weather eye out. We’d better do the same.

Sources: All the 3 post on Cargill is summarized from an article in Fortune India magazine of January 2012

Cargill – Cocoa in Vietnam

One business Cargill is not in, curiously, is farming. With exception of two large palm plantations in Indonesia, Cargill does not own land. That’s partly a capital deployment choice, much like its decision to charter, not own, ships.  ‘Pure trading opportunity’  developing in the next four or five years and has set up a partnership to buy distressed shipping assets: “we will buy when things are looking bad and at times sell when things are looking better” Shonda Warner, a former Cargill trader says “They are not corporate farmers, farming is not their business. Grain handling and grain trading – trading the produce is their business”

That means stimulating new markets, opening new trade routes, matching producers with consumers, and above all, ensuring steady flows of agricultural commodities in a changing global environment “as far as our corporate strategy works” say Conway “we don’t say, we think the world going to look like this, let’s define our strategy for that world” We say, ‘we don’t know what the world going to look like, we need a strategy or a set of strategies that can be successful almost irrespective of what the world looks like” which explains how Cargill got into the cocoa business in Vietnam.

Seventy percent of the world’s cocoa grows in West Africa, and most of that in one country Ivory Coast. Since 1999, Ivory Coast has been through a bloody succession of military coups, rigged elections, and civil wars. “We were concerned about running into a ceiling on production there” say Harold Poelma, managing director of Cargill Cocoa. So Cargill began looking for other options. The solution that it came up with perfectly illustrates the company’s global reach and long view.

Cocoa trees don’t grow just anyplace. They need shade, warmth, and humidity, as well as deep, rich soil – conditions generally found within a band 20 degrees north and south of the equator. That band passes through Vietnam. Cargill was one of the first U.S. MNC to return to Vietnam when President Bill Clinton normalized relations with the government in Hanoi in 1995. Today it is the country’s largest domestic producer of livestock feed and central player in Vietnam’s fast moving shift from a state-controlled agricultural economy to one where small farmers are encouraged to work private plots for private gains.

In 2004, Cargill launched a public-private-partnership with one of its biggest customers, chocolate giant Mars, and the governments of Vietnam and the Netherlands. The aim: to create something that had never before existed in Vietnam, a cocoa- export economy.

First, Cargill had to convince a front line of growers to switch to cocoa from well-established crops like coffee, black pepper, and cashews. The two years before the first harvest before there was anything to buy, Cargill opened two fully-staffed cocoa buying stations on major roads, in Ben Tre and Dak Lak provinces. It made an early commitment to transparency, posting on the Cargill website and offering by text message both the daily international price on the London market and what Cargill is paying locally; growers can lock their price for three weeks, the time it takes to ferment and dry the beans after harvest. Cargill also built a network of more than 100 demonstration farms. And in February 2011 the company took delivery of the first Vietnamese cocoa beans to carry UTZ certification.

Mr. Poelma sees the potential for 100,000 tons by 2020. Cargill hopes to have a Cargill factory in Vietnam by then, processing cocoa liquor, cocoa butter, and cocoa powder for export to growing markets in China and India.

To be continued…

 

 

Cargill – Success Mantra…!!!

At 60, even in clean white shirt and rimless spectacles, he still looks like a farmer. He’s tall and angular with thick silver hair, ruddy skin, and a chin like a block of wood. At Cargill’s HQ Wayzata, Minnesota, just west of Minneapolis, in the Founders Room, surrounded by oil portraits of CEOs past. The Founder Room is only for Cargills and Macmillans, the two families joined by marriage at the turn of the last century; they built Cargill and ran it as a family business until CEO Whitney MacMillan’s retirement in 1995.

Mr. Greg Page only misgiving about the job offer he received from Cargill in 1974 was that it was from Cargill. He had grown up in tiny Bottineau, North Dakota, six miles from the Canadian border. Mr. Greg Page took the job anyway. He labored happily, for first 24 years at Cargill, beginning with the feed division, then in meat, a home and abroad, until he was picked for bigger things. Eventually he was promoted all the way, in 2007, to chairman and CEO of the US largest private company. Today he runs a business that is vastly larger and more influential that the Cargill of his youth.

Mr. Page is the third CEO in a row to come from outside the family. Today not a single Cargill or MacMillan remains in a senior executive position at the company. What hasn’t changed is the ownership. Cargill introduce a limited employee stock ownership plan in the ‘90s that allowed some family members to cash out. However, roughly 100 descendants of the founders still own around 90 per cent of the stock, worth some US$ 52 billion as of the last official tally. Generally, they’ve been content to plough profits back into the business and watch the value of their asset grow. Dividends are calculated on a rolling two-year cycle and paid at a minimum rate. “The capital’s not only private. It’s patient and permanent” says Page.

Cargill’s roots lie in the ancient, risky business of buying, storing, and selling grain. William Wallace Cargill, the second son of a Scottish sea captain, started with a single warehouse Conover, Iowa, in 1865. Conover is a ghost town now, but Cargill still deals heavily in grain. Wherever it grows and wherever is goes.

Cargill ships other commodities too: soybeans and sugar from Brazil; palm oil from Indonesia; cotton from Asia, Africa, Australia and the Deep South; beef from Argentina, Australia, and the Great Plains; and salt from all over North America, Australia, and Venezuela. The company owns and operates nearly 1000 river barges and charters 350 oceangoing vessels that call on some 6000 ports globally, ranking it among the world’s biggest bulk shipper of commodities. “In one sense, you can think of Cargill as just a big transportation company” says Wally Falcon at Stanford University. “Their game is: extremely efficient, high volumes, low margins, and just being smarter and quicker than anybody else”

Sometimes the same ship that picks up a load of soybeans at Cargill’s deepwater Amazon port in Santarem,  Brazil, after unloading in Shanghai, will carry coal from Australia to Japan before rinsing out its holds and returning to Brazil for more beans. In fact, Cargill ocean-transport business moves more coal and iron ore for third parties than it does foodstuffs, oils, and animal feeds for itself, by a factor of two. “From places of surplus to places of need” is the Cargill mantra.

In 63 countries markets in which Cargill operates around the world. It derives 60% of its income outside the U.S. – 531 million bushels Cargill’s US grain storage capacity, the largest of any company; it’s also No. 1 in beef.

When asked to Mr. Page What does Cargill mean when it talks about food innovation?  He replies “An array of things. In some cases it’s fiber you enjoy eating. In other cases it’s the sensation of sweetness that comes without a calorie burden. In some cases it is healthfulness promise: phytosterols from soybeans, antioxidants that people are concerned about. In some cases they’re high-performance sports drinks that have a glycemic response that coincides with an athlete’s needs. This is probably things that a lot of people don’t think about, but there are sports beverages where our role is to understand metabolism to the level that we understand how the energy is released into the bloodstream”

With US$ 119.5 billion (Rs. 6.31 lakh crore) in revenues in its most fiscal year, ended May 31, Cargill is bigger by half than it is nearest publicly held rival in the food production industry. Archer Daniels Midland, if Cargill were public, it would have ranked No. 18 on this year’s Fortune 500, between AIG and IBM. Over the past decade, periods when the S&P 500s’ revenues have grown 31% Cargill’s sales have more than doubled.

To be continued….

Jim Rogers – Commodity 2012 & Beyond

World markets may be riddled with uncertainty, but billionaire investor Jim Rogers anticipates gains in one sector for years to come.

“If I were buying anything I’d be buying agriculture commodities,” he says “Going forward we’re going to have huge shortages of everything – including farmers (Fund Managers can become farmers) – I think agriculture will be a great place for the next 10-20 years,” he says “But don’t take that to mean that agri stocks are a buy” – that’s not what he means.

“Yale did a study recently showing that investors made 300% more by putting money in commodities themselves rather than commodity stocks – that is unless you’re a great stock picker.” In other words, he’d play his thesis with commodities futures or ETFs that track them.

His thesis is based on massive research, part of which involves the performance of commodities in the year 1970’s. “At the time economies did nothing and yet commodities went through the roof,” he explains.

Jim Rogers co-founded the Quantum Fund with George Soros in year 1973. Although a native of Alabama, Rogers famously moved to Singapore due to his on-going belief that Asia is on the cusp of great prosperity.

“He is an investor who eats his own cooking,” says Fast Money trader Stephen Weiss. In other words, he doesn’t just talk the talk, Rogers walks the walk. And largely he is short because he is not optimistic about what’s going to happen in the world over the next two or three years.

“I am short emerging markets, short American technology, short European stocks – I don’t see much reason to own equities,” he says.

In nutshell, Rogers expects global economic problems to get much worse. But whether that happens or not he still thinks a long position in commodities makes sense. That’s the one area of the market where he sees potential.

Here’s why?

If his thesis doesn’t hold and the economies of the world improves, “I will make money in commodities because (increased demand will generate) shortages,” he says “But if the world doesn’t get better, the government print money and the way to protect against that is to own real assets.”

In other words, he thinks commodities are a win/win.

And in case you’re wondering about his thoughts on gold, Rogers says, “it would not surprise me to see gold go to $1200 –but if it goes that low I’d buy a lot more – gold has been up 11 years in a row it deserves a substantial correction.”

In April 2011 – he said in one of his interview “I am still bullish on silver & rice, I am not sure I would buy it today as it has gone so up so fast, but I am not selling, if it goes down I will buy more” he further said “I am still bullish on rice, I still have all my rice. I use silver chopstick as well and I have not given up yet.”

Anna Hazare flop show in Mumbai

Never take people of India for granted, they punished Team Anna….people of Maharashtra clearly showed that the people have no time for the likes of BJP and SS, who may be appear to be less corrupt, but far more communal. For millions the choice was between communal or a corrupt party, it is always the latter.

I stopped fasting because the day I fast I fart a lot, I also bark because I am angry when I am hungry…!!! My wife has given me a strict instruction No Religious fasting, No weekly fasting, No Medical fasting, No Navratri, No Ramazan, No Paryushana, No Janmanstami, No Ramnavmi, etc… my wife believes that fasting is religious but  farting is unreligious; thank god Anna is unmarried…!!!

Why Anna’s fasting is different than mine? He is not married so he is not worried, one thing I don’t understand who decide when Anna will fast? At which city he will fast? How many days to fast? Why to do marketing of his fasting? I am confused that why he needs to rent out MMRDA with the size of 20,000 sq.mt meters for rally, 10,000 sq.mt parking (total area is 48,000 sq.mt) this will accommodate around 40,000 people at the time? Distributing pamphlets at railway stations and roads, a free bus service from Bandra and Kurla railway stations to BKC, volunteers were deployed at the railways stations plead commuters to attend rally and directing them  to free buses – over and above…!!!

It was like big reality show a separate stage for media, his stage with 12 feet height, consisting of 1 rest room with a cot, bed sheet and mattresses, and washroom, a live musical program, The team of Doctors from Jaslok, Asian heart and Bombay Hospital and 8-10 ambulances standby – also 3000 police for day and night security and the live screen telecasting the Parliaments proceedings…!!! What a fast, very fast, super fast!!! Is this a fasting, feasting or farting? Why can he simply build a small tent in the close proximity of parliament to protest? Why the big fuss? Did Mahatma Gandhi market his fasting?

Members of Team Anna like Kiran Bedi acting like a Chulbul Pandey of Dabaang and Arvind Kejriwal the Rancho of 3 Idiots, both were desperate to promote themselves and were targeting the congress the ruling party, common man saw that congress led government actually making effort to get the bill through and now, paradoxically, team Anna was against it, that was the perhaps biggest mistake of all and cause of the flop show.

It was surprising that BJB voted against Lokpal Bill, Anna abruptly left the stage and when media persisted in asking him why he wasn’t targeting the BJP, which had voted against the bill to give the Lokpal constitutional status? No one has the answer. That shows there motives and hidden agenda on upcoming elections!!!

I told my wife that I will fast for 3 days, she warned me “if you fast for 3 days then I am not going to stay with you? After sometime she questioned me “by the way, why you want to fast?” I replied “I want to support Anna” she laughed and said “team Anna winded up their baggage one day before and gone home, it was a flop show” she checked with me “three groups are fighting in Team Anna, North-Indian; Maharashtrian or Ralegan Siddhi to whom you will support?

That reminded me the philosophy of  Mahatma Gandhi who believed in the purity of means to achieve noble ends. Anna showcased that as long as the ends were noble, the means did not matter. This Mahatma Gandhi would never agree with.

Just by wearing Gandhi topi you cannot become Mahatma Gandhi…!!!

This post dated: 29^th December 2011

 

Bhagwad Gita – “an extremist literature”

The Bhagwad Gita, one of the holiest Hindu scripture, is facing a legal ban and the prospect of being branded as “an extremist” literature across Russia.

A Siberian court will soon pronounce its verdict in case of calling ban on Gita in Soviet Union. The reason: Gita is apparently spreading social discord.

If a lack of cultural understand can get a sacred text banned, there is a strong case to ban even the Bible & the Quran, which don’t lack the controversial passages themselves. A complex text that can be interpreted in many ways, it is no surprise people un-familiar with the Indian culture and ethos might read all kinds of subversive meaning into it. Since the context of the Gita’s message is a war. But that does not make it war mongering text.

Like any sacred text of the world, the Gita offers both eternal principles to live as well the contextual guidance, so it is important to acknowledge both the context of its message, and broader bits of wisdom.

The context is this: after repeated attempts to obtain an honorable peace, the Pandavas realize that there is no option but to go to war with the Kauravas. When the army assembles for the combat, Arjuna loses his nerve on finding that he will have to battle and kill his own cousins and family, nearest and dearest and many of his teachers and elders. He was about to abandon the war when Krishna intervenes.

Krishna’s advice is simple: when you have decided on war after all the options for peace ended, you have a duty to fight, that is your dharma, and Krishna does not say that war is the first option…!!! The Gita’s message on war is given on this context and is not a general exhortation to wage a war on your neighbors.

Just imagine what would have happen if Arjuna had opted out of war? There would have had a less blood-shed, but it also sent the powerful message of cowardice, where truth and honor are not important. The war had to be fought to prevent other warmongers from assuming that the nation will not fight – Even Gandhi said non-violence is weapon not of the coward but the truly brave. Likewise Gita core message is about war and peace!!!

In the Second World War, Vichy’s France and Quisling’s Norway did not fight Hitler and the fascists. They were saved because of Churchill’s England and Stalin’s Russia did not opt for the same cowardice. Vichy and Quisling let Arjuna’s doubts stymie them; Churchill and Stalin followed Krishna’s advice. It they didn’t do that, Hitler would have won.

Even today we are the children of Arjuna’s doubt – Pakistan are like our kith and kin the same way Kauravas were to Pandavas, we have repeatedly turned blind eye their aggressive intent and ill-will and paid a heavy price. After 1965 war, we gave back all we won at Tashkent. After 1971 Bangladesh war, Indira Gandhi returned 90,000 prisoners without even a written that Pakistan will give up its stand on Kashmir and recently we have given up our demand for action against the culprits of 26/11. Not only that, we are now treating Pakistan as an equivalent victim of terrorism – an equivalence it does not deserve.

Why we worry if Russia bans Gita? Why we have ban Gita in our heart? Why we live on the doubts of Arjuna and not living on the wisdom of Krishna?

Praful Patel and the fall of Air India…!!!

At around noon on 28^th July 2008, Air India’s newest plane descended from the silver cotton clouds of a pale monsoon sky, escorted by a pair of Indian Air Force fighter jets. In the Delhi’s Technical Area at Indira Gandhi International Airport, where dignitaries usually gather to greet visiting heads of state, the roar from engines of the Boeing 777-200LR was met with euphoria by the assembled VIPs, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the minister of state for civil aviation, it was a moment of triumph for Mr. Praful Patel and he stood beaming in pearl-white-kurta-pyjama, feeling every bit like the tallest man on the dais.

It was among the first of the Boeing jetliners that had been ordered under Patel, part of an enormous purchase of 111 aircraft placed in 2005 at a total cost of Rs 450 billion. It was also sporting the brand new logo and livery designed to reflect the planned merger of Air India and Indian (formerly Indian Airlines), which had been initiated by Patel in 2006 and cleared by the cabinet in March 2007; a red flying swan morphed from Air India’s “Centaur” logo, incorporating the stylized Konark Temple Sun Chakra of India.

In Mid-November of 2010 Praful Patel in his new office at Udyog Bhawan in Delhi “Minister for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises” when asked about Air India his displeasure became visible and replied “Don’t talk about Air India, this interview is not about Air India. I refuse to talk about Air India. Air India’s problems have been historical. NDA was trying to privatize Air India in 2001. Even when I came to the ministry, Air India was not doing very well” when asked why did the UPA government not privatize it? He replied “The government in its wisdom has taken a policy decision”  Praful Patel replied with a bit of sarcasm, before reiterating his frustration with the subject one last time “please don’t make this an Air-India centric interview, I am not interested in talking about Air India”

In letter to the prime minister in June 2009, the Air Corporation Employees Union (ACEU), the largest of the IA unions, attacked the merger as ‘THE FINAL STEP IN THE DESTRUCTION OF AIR INDIA AND INDIAN AIRLINES’ and accused the ministry of having initiated the merger for the benefit of Jet and Kingfisher. No evidence exists to substantiate the allegation, the disastrous results of the merger have been widely dissected in a series of reports: a March 2010 report by the Parliament’s Committee on Public Undertakings, chaired by Congress MP Kishore Chandra Deo, described it as ‘an ill-conceived and erroneous decision neither arrived at by the two Airlines on their own accord nor mutually considered by them to be in their best interests’ and noted the loss of brand equity and market share to private competitors. It is pointed to the airline abandoning profit-making routes and timings in favor of private airlines, leading to significant loss of market share.

After the merger, the two airlines had to share (route) entitlements while the balance was given away to private carriers; it was a clever move to gift the market away – George Abraham AIEG General Secretary.

Various employees’ unions had begun to write angry letter to the prime minister, pointing finger at the aviation ministry for the calamitous state of Air India. In a letter dated 13^th July 2009, the All India retired Personnel Association accused Patel of having “single-handedly and systematically stripped the two national carriers – AI and IA and brought them to brink of bankruptcy by a series of well planned out maneuvers, which we have only now been able to comprehend and unravel.  All along, all these actions have been cloaked under the garb of unleashing India’s civil aviation potential, even as they struck at the very root of AI’s and IA’s existence”

After the 2004 General Election, Patel was named minister of state for civil aviation – one of three ministers from the NCP, then the fourth largest member of the ruling UPA coalition. He took ministry like a fish to water; confident, comfortable and knowledgeable from day one. The NCP lobbied to place Patel atop of aviation ministry, and he knew he’d landed the portfolio before the cabinet was announced, he told media before it was official!!! “I have seen this sector from close enough” Patel told Business Standard in an interview two weeks into his tenure “besides, my business and corporate background help me understand what the private sector wants. These will be my assets here” Patel was undoubtedly familiar with the aviation sector:

Patel ran the Ministry of Civil Aviation like a businessman; he speaks good English and is very sophisticated, which is important in aviation circles. He is good at remembering names. When the minister says ‘hello’ to a junior officer, one gets very impressed. That’s how he gets things done. He holds parties himself. Air India will spend the money for the events and he will invite all the people, including from other ministries, like the finance secretary. He will go around and talk to everybody. Patel’s social graces and his networking abilities have also helped him a great deal in finding friends across party lines, and he has masterfully navigated the dynamics of the coalition politics to his advantage.

Praful Patel forced Air India to buy excess aircrafts: When Air India board approved a revised plan to purchase 50 aircraft for AI, in addition to the existing proposal of 18 aircraft for Air India Express – the only objection came from V Subramanian, then an additional secretary and financial adviser to the ministry, as well as a member of the Air India and Indian Airlines boards, who protested that no business plan had been presented to justify increasing the size of the order. His objection was not recorded in the minutes of the meeting, and he was soon removed from his post and transferred to the rural development ministry.

When contacted him, he is mild manner and soft spoken man, his face betrayed no more that a hint of anguish “I opposed the plan to revisit the proposal and increase the order” he said “they never recorded any of my objections and I got a letter from PMO in four days shunting me out” he continued calmly “it was pushed through without any business plan, which destinations will you go to? What are the rights available? Is there survey done on load factors? They had no answers for these questions. Even if you decide to run a bus between Dwarka and Old Delhi you will see the number of passengers and the frequencies”

He was very friendly with Mr. Naresh Goyal of Jet and Mr. Vijay Mallay of Kingfisher airlines- Air India loyalist says “Patel killed the national airlines to benefit Jet Airways, Kingfisher and other private carriers are an article of faith. Patel defended himself against accusations of favoritism towards the private sector in political terms: saying that “I am also the Minister of Civil Aviation, not just the Minister for Air India” pointing to the undeniable growth in the aviation sector that followed the ‘opening’ of the skies.

His defense would remain much the same, buttressed by the undeniable reality that completion had benefited the consumer – according to government figures, domestic passengers traffic rose from 11 million in 2003 to 51 million in 2010 – and the unquestioned implication that the very same competition would inevitably reveal the weakness of the ageing state owned airlines. As he put it in the Rajya Sabha: ‘If every issue of connectivity or people’s aspiration cannot be met only by the national carrier, this role will have to be performed by others also. This is a fundamental decision taken by the government. Everybody has accepted it since 1993 onwards. This is the process of liberalization.”

Praful Patel was born in 1957 in Gujarati family…!!!

(Inspired from the article in The Caravan December 2011)

Nude Veena Malik – Pakistani Babes

Just imagine if Ajmal Qasab had done the heinous attack in Pakistan the way he did in India, would he be alive today? And what if the Veena Malik has posed nude in Pakistani magazine the way she did in India? Don’t you think that Ajmal Qasab dead & Veena Malik slashed…!!!

What is wrong with Pakistan? In the name of God they kill people and for the name and fame they break their pious religion? Both are the “Weapons of Mass Destructions” with just one magazine cover; a popular Pakistani actress has managed to offend her country’s conservative majority? Although her folded arms across her breasts and partially preserve her modesty – with the acronym ISI tattooed on her arm.

She shoot nude on the day India was playing West Indies at Wankhede Stadium; This was her boldest shoot yet, she says “you have seen me very closely…I have a very beautiful body if I decide to strip off and I’m not going to deny it” she was surprisingly at ease at the shoot posing in her knickers and even afterwards when she succinctly wriggles out of them “it’s tough standing on one leg, while trying to cover up with one hand and running the other through my hair – you guys are going to pay for this” how to react standing before a undress lady? She was very comfortable and very much at ease shooting, so much so that on several occasions the team had to tell her to tone down the exposure for the camera in keeping with the Indian censorship laws.

She loves the freedom women have in India – “In Lahore it’s not possible for a woman to walk down the road alone from college. In fact if she is wearing a burqa, they trouble her even more” she insists that “even though Pakistan is an Islamic republic, it doesn’t mean a complete absence of nightlife. There are house parties, alcohol, smoking and mini-skirts, and not just women scurrying home in burqas before sundown”.

What about her alleged work-permit? “Do you think it’s possible for Pakistani to stay in India for even one day without a proper work permit?” She insists she comes to Indian only in 45 days spurts, which is what the India visa is valid for. “It’s easier to get 5 or 10 years visa to UK or USA than to get a visa to India.

“When I work in India, people here have a problem and the people back home have problem too…I think at some level we’ve refused to grow up” she admit that it was her bold step and she is not ashamed of that.

I strongly recommended the Indian Embassy in Pakistan to not to issue visas to such terrorist.

 

Aarti & Chanda Kochhar – Inspiring Daughter-Mother Equation…

 

For decades now, women in our country have been struggling to balance their evolution as mothers, homemakers, dedicated professionals and nation-builders. Chanda Kochhar represents an industry which fortunately, is no more stymied by gender definitions. Perceived as top corporate honcho, as MD & CEO of India’s largest Private sector bank, ICICI, few would guess that side-by-side; she has also been the most hands-on mother. Her daughter Aarti Kochhar, a spontaneous, articulate young lady of 23, who is an engineer by qualification, and just back from America where she works with renowned consulting firm;

Aarti Says: For me, my mom is just my mom – we are very similar, yet different. Her awards make her no different for me today. She continues to manage our routines, our lives. She also supervises what is happening at home. People say she is tough at work, but we don’t know that, as she never discusses her work or her problems at home. She has always sat with us through our homework and completed the cut-paste projects with us till late in the nights.

Chanda Says: I give a lot of credit to both my children for being able to manage a lot on their own. My daughter is growing up into a well-balanced individual. On one hand she academically oriented and professional, and on other, she is strong with her family bonding. She chose to return to India to work, rather than the US, where most of her friends are. It is here that she is able to combine work with family time, especially with her growing brother, who is seven years her junior.

Aarti Says: I don’t recollect a single morning of my life when my mother has not woke us up for school, no matter where she was. We didn’t know what alarm clocks were! She always attended to my health, when needed, and was present at our Parent Teacher Meetings. She beautifully combines the conventional act of being a mother at home, and a professional at work.

Chanda Says: Indian values and culture have always been deep rooted in Aarti. Even as a student in US, she would cook Indian meals and observe her navratri fasts. This is a common ground between us; we both love the Indian way of life. My daughter is a responsible elder sister now; she is the buffer – the sweet and the calming one between Arjun and us! She plays the role of third parent to her brother and she is doing this phenomenally well.

Aarti Says: Relationships evolve over a period of time, with my mother, our lifestyle has remained as  simple as ever; transformation has been gradual for me, from being an introvert to opening up as a person. The Dhirubhai Ambani School has been a mentor, offering me a combination of great academics along with social responsibility.

Chanda Says: As parents, we have tried giving her a meaningful upbringing – a sound education and basic values. We were particular about her initial foundation, but she has to be her own decision-maker. I would want her to go the whole hog, work hard, put in her best efforts and try to excel in whatever she pursues as her career. Aarti has a personality of her own; she is sincere and has the drive!

Aarti Says: While I have not yet set very long term goals for my career, I have been brought up believing that there is no other path then that of hard work and perseverance, which makes an individual excel in whatever one does. Bollywood is a big passion.

I must confess I am a die-hard Shah Rukh Khan fan. I love film songs. I also love clothes, shopping and cooking. It’s my big dream plan that over and above a profession career, sometime I will set up something very creative in the culinary field or have my own clothing line; I would absolutely love to go for a culinary course sometime in life. But engineering and academics is the only canvas available to me at this point in time, and I am not trained to convert my creative streaks into something of commercial value. However, I will keep my interests in cooking and designing as passions in life.

Chanda Says: She is a passionate girl and I see a lot of myself in her, but a lot of her is also unique to herself. She has abundant natural stamina, we both usually don’t complain of jet lag after long flights and are always up and ready with our plans. As I have inherited resilience and mental strength from my mother, my daughter has inherited the same characteristics, but her passion for clothes and cuisines are part of her own very strong creative streaks…and that’s totally her. What makes Aarti special to me is her incredible nature; she is inherently the most caring, loving person. Her concern is for everyone around her.

Aarti Say: My parents are one unit for us; their synergies have added values to our lives. We lead a simple life with immense respect and support for each other. My mother wouldn’t have been where she is without my father’s support. Growing up in this environment of simplicity and of respect for each other has kept us close to the ground. I am aware how my parents have built everything from scratch to give us this comfort; I realize it and deeply appreciate everything they do for us.

We are a family of diverse interests – dad and Arjun are into sports and fitness. I enjoy cooking and shopping and even drag my mother into it. We bond over week-ends – we do everything together as a family – eating at home, laughing over my brother’s jokes, or going out to dinners, listening to music and watching lots of movies, thus there is never a dull moment in our lives! My love for clothes and designing drives my mother nuts sometimes, as my taste is evidently imposed on my family – from selecting their clothes to the curtains or bed covers for the house.

To share a secret – my mother wears only what I finally approve, as she is left with no choice! And I mostly boss around everyone to decide where we are going to eat. We are very close friends, and share a special bond. My mother is my confidante and I share everything with her.

Chanda Says: As a family, we try to spend as much time together as we can, within the constraints of our respective schedules. We travel together on holidays; we do a lot of fun things at home, chat over dinners and coffee and bond over movies. Of course we have a lot of fun around Aarti’s passion for food and design. During Aarti’s childhood, I was doing more of parental duty of supervising her, but today the same Aarti brings in a lot of action and spark into the family.

Inspired from Hello magazine – November 2011

Esha & Hema Malini – Gorgeous Mother-Daughter Duo

Hema Malini and Esha Deol have endeared themselves across generations as the ideal mother-daughter team.  Hema’s great love for her first born is revealed in her latest film she has produced just for her baby. Hema come across as a woman who would much rather encourages her daughter to dance, paint, marry, and be anything but a victim of the plastic intoxications of fame.

When ask Esha if it is her comeback film, she shoots back, “I just took a two-year break. What’s the big deal? In Hollywood actors often take long breaks but people in India are still getting used to this idea. I’ll do films whenever I want!”  The gorgeous Mother-Daughter duo shares a lot in common – not the least of which is a passion for Dance, Cinema and the Arts.

Hema says “We both love decorating our house. She often changes the décor of my room and takes its aesthetics to another level with her sense of style. We have very similar tastes but when it comes to food, she prefers international cuisines. All of us are vegetarians; however Esha doesn’t like home-cooked food. Also, when it comes to clothes, we are very different. I am very old fashioned and wear saris while she likes me to dress down in denims. I often take her advice when I am shopping and when she approves an outfit I just buy it.

Esha takes me to a lot of good restaurants in New York, London and even in Mumbai. She is young energetic and I also feel younger when I’m around her. Recently we did a dance show in New York and sharing the stage with Esha was an experience in itself. It was work mixed with pleasure. A mother is also like a Guru.”

Esha says “My mother is like a buddy. We make sure we spend enough time with each other. We always have our morning tea together and go out for dinners over weekends. Recently we went to Mauritius on a vacation. I made mom chill on a beach and she played adventure sports in water. It was so much of fun.

She has guided me in my career and personal life. I can talk to her about anything under the sun. I confide in her and I feel that a mother-daughter relationship should be open. She used to be very strict once upon a time but now I don’t do anything to piss her off.”

Hema says “I am always on the move, I go to the Parliament, do dance shows in different parts of the country and abroad, and shoot films as well. However, despite my busy schedule, we ensure that we spend quality time with each other. We bond over lunch and dinner”

I see myself in her many times. But mostly I see my mother in her. She reminds me of my mother a lot, she tries to control me. She would often instruct me, ‘Don’t do this! Don’t do that!’ when she wears traditional outfits, she looks a lot like me. As a person she is very clear-cut and frank.” She continues “she is very charming, sweet and disciplined. She is very strict and firm about her decisions”

Esha says “Mom is my role model. She inspires me a lot. It’s not just me but a lot of women look up to her. She is a mother, wife, dancer, actress, filmmaker and also a politician and she always keeps herself busy which is so inspiring – I will define her in word – divine.

Hema says “I admire Esha’s determination and confidence. I don’t like it when people compare her with me. It is really unfair to her. People often say, “She’s your daughter and she has easily got the right platform to prove herself” however despite being my daughter, she had to work really hard. It’s tough life. Sometimes you get desired results and sometime you don’t. It is commendable that she is strong enough to take the criticism. In fact I can’t take so much scrutiny.”

I don’t impose myself on her, but I am always there for her. I allow her to grow on her own. Often I object to some of the choices she made but more often than not, I am wrong.”

Esha says “Pure and friendly”

Next: Aarti & Chanda Kochhar – Inspiring Mother-Daughter equations

Inspired from Hello magazine – November 2011