Blazes A New Trail In The Arts World MIB JUNE 2014 Magazine

What Makes kindergarten a Fertile learning environMent

Dr.Prema Lata FOUNDer OF SiNar iDeaL KiNDerGarteN

Business success viaaStrO SCieNCethe chanakya’sseven eleMentsFOr BUSiNeSS SUCCeSS

aStHaNa artSBlazes a New Trail iN The arTs world

FouNder oF

June 2014.indd 1 27/5/2014 6:14:10 AM

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Chairman & Managing EditorRasa Rasik

[email protected] 711 4236

Business DevelopmentDarrshan


News EditorVenkat Hari

Sales & MarketingJayasree Vijian


Art, Graphic Design Pern Tan Sze Mun

Kugan

Admin PJ Office :

Pungkodi [email protected]

JB Office :Shila

[email protected]

Source of news & articlesBernama / IHRB

PrintingSampoorna Printers Sdn Bhd

No.1, Jalan TIB-1/19Taman Industri Bolton

68100 Batu CavesSelangor

WritersThevi Sinnadurai

Prasath KanagarasBhairava Shivabaraty

Arikrishnan SubramanianJeyaraman Seenivasagam

Balamurugan Deivakumaran

Managing DirectorR Surangi

[email protected]

DistributorOne Stop Book Enterprise


disclaimerThe views and opinions expressed in the articles published are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of MIB. While every reasonable care is taken in compiling this publication, MIB does not ac-cept any liability whatsoever for possible errors, inaccuracies or omissions or the consequences thereof. The Publisher also accepts no liability in respect of the content of any advertisement in the magazine.

All rights reserved. The reproduction, duplication, or republication of this magazine or any part thereof in any form whatsoever without the ex-pressed written permission of the publisher is prohibited.

Next issue : Cover Personality

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EDITOR’SNOTEJune 2014

Volume 04Issue 11

Though change can be painful, uncomfortable, make us insecure but with courage and open mind it keeps us move forward. In this month cover story Mr Ravi Shanker Rama Murthy artistic director of Asthana Arts share with us how his lifelong passion and determination brought life to Indian performing arts in Malaysia. The “artspreneur” boldly venture into new age, fusion and semi classical themes to present either original or brand new creation for new age fans.

Most of us If asked what is the most crucial aspect of business to focus on to ensure success, what would you say? Malaysian Indian Business writer explore business strategies employed by ancient Indian great economist and royal advisor Kautilya Chankya. The strategies employed by Chankya still practicable and will surely blend well with our culture and traditions.

Information is power but it needs to be presented in proper format. Writer Palani Murugappan explained in detailed how to use freely available Microsoft Excel to map data and perform analysis in producing ad-hoc reports as required by businesses.

Malaysian Indian Business takes this opportunity to pledge our loyalty to Seri Paduka Baginda Yang Di-Pertuan Agong Almu’tasimu Billahi Muhibbuddin Tuanku Alhaj Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah Ibni Almarhum Sultan Badlishah. We humbly wish Your Majesty Happy Birthday. May God Bless Your Majesty and DYMM Raja Permaisuri Agong, Tuanku Haminah binti Hamidun with continued good health, happiness and prosperity. We also pray that during Your Majesty’s reign, Malaysia will be peaceful and prosperous and we remain united as Malaysians.

Daulat Tuanku, Daulat Tuanku, Daulat Tuanku.

Just like entrepreneurs, Fathers knows when and how to put things together creating lovely family and living. Happy Father’s day from all of us at Malaysian Indian Business.

This month Malaysian Indian Business Magazine comes with well researched and some stunning Malaysian trade facts & figures as well as trade news from Singapore and India.

As the change is inevitable either do a person’s life, Malaysian Indian Business astound with untimely departure of our News Editor Venkat Hari who worked relentlessly in ensuring quality output of this magazine since July 2013. Join us to pray that his soul rest in PEACE in the feet of ALMIGHTY.

We want to be an invaluable resource for you, so let us know how we’re doing with our work and how to get the most bang for your investments with us. You’re the boss. We want your feedback. Send us an e-mail at [email protected] or via our facebook page MalaysianIndianBusinessMagazine. Selected feedback will be published for readers benefit.

Chairman & Managing Editor

Publisher:

INDIANTODAY.NET SDN BHD (858997-V)(Wholly-owned by Charu Holding Sdn Bhd)PJ: Suite 3A52, Level 3A, Block A2, Leisure Commerce Square, Jalan PJS 8/9, 46150 Petaling Jaya, SelangorTel/Fax: 03 7865 7320 JB: No. 6-01, Jalan Bestari 4/2,Taman Nusa Bestari,81300 JB, JohorTel/Fax: 07 358 2320

r.V.GaNesh PraKashexecutive director of Mortage Guru sdn Bhd


Sad DemiseIt is with deepest sorrow and sadness that we inform the passing of Venkat Hari, news editor on 15th May 2014.

Mr Venkat Hari was a valued member of our team since …..whom worked relentlessly in ensuring quality output of Malaysian Indian Business.

Words cannot express our sorrow. The office won’t be the same without you Venkat Hari.

With Deepest SympathyFrom Directors, Management and Staff ofMalaysian Indian BusinessIndianToday.Net Sdn Bhd

CorrectionMIB’s May 2014 edition “At A Glance Gana Creations Sdn Bhd” column(page 12) listed an incorrect telephone number. The correct numbers is +6 012 6603407, +6 012 3694031 and +6 012 3694031. The email addresses are [email protected], [email protected]

We regret the error.

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CONTENTSMIB ENTREPRENEUR

AwARd CEREMoNy

MIB CALENdAR oF EVENTS

NLP:FEAR oF SUCCESS

BECoMINg A BRANd AMBASSAdoR

UTILIzINg MICRoSoFT ExCEL FoR HUMAN RESoURCES

MANAgEMENT

THE CHANAkyA’S SEVEN ELEMENTS FoRBUSINESS SUCCESS

BUSINESS SUCCESS VIA ASTRo SCIENCE

PRITINggAM INTERVARSITy dEBATE CoMPETITIoN

oBSERVATIoNANd MEMoRy

MALAySIANEwS

EVENT CoVERAgE:INdIAN wEddINgFAIR 2014

dIMENSIoN dATA Now A SAP-CERTIFIEd PRoVIdER oF CLoUd ANd HoSTINg SERVICES FoR SAP SoLUTIoNS

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Property Investment Convention 201412 -13 July, 2014 Sunway Pyramid Convention Centre, Bandar Sunway, Petaling Jaya

25th Malaysia International Plastic Mould & Die Exhibition (M’SIA-PLAS) 10 - 13 July, 2014Putra World Trade Center (PWTC), Kuala Lumpur

25th Malaysia International Packaging & Labelling, Food Processing & Bakery Equipment Exhibition (M’SIA-PACK & M’SIA-FOODPRO)10 - 13 July, 2014Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC), Kuala Lumpur

Higher Education Fair 2014 and Private & InternationalSchool Fair 201419 - 20 July, 2014MVEC Exhibition And Event Centre, Kuala Lumpur

3rd International Renewable Energy and Environment Conference (IREEC-2014)4 - 6 July, 2014Coronade Hotel, Kuala Lumpur

15th International Architecture, Interior Design & Building Exhibition (ARCHIDEX)25 - 28 June, 2014Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia International Jewellery Fair 201418 - 21 July, 2014Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, Kuala Lumpur

Petroleum Asia Expo24 - 26 June, 2014 Borneo Convention Centre Kuching, Kuching

ARCHIDEX25 - 28 June, 2014 Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, Kuala Lumpur

KL Wedding Expo4 - 6 July, 2014 Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, Kuala Lumpur

Msia-Plas and Msia-Pack10 -13 July, 2014 Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC), Kuala Lumpur

Asean Heavy Machinery & Equipment Exhibition16 - 19 July, 2014 Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC), Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia International Jewellery Fair18 - 21 July, 2014 Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, Kuala Lumpur

SME Annual Showcase (SMIDEX ’14) 4 - 6 June , 2014Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre

SSM National Conference 20143 - 4 June, 2014Connexion @ Nexus, Bangsar South City, Kuala Lumpur

WPPA 2014 Annual Conference27 - 28 June, 2014Black Box @ Publika, Kuala Lumpur

International Industrial Machinery Exhibition26 - 28 June, 2014

Saigon Exhibition & Convention Center, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

India International Leather Fair Delhi3 - 5 July, 2014

Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, India

International Beauty & Spa Expo8 - 9 July, 2014

Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, India

India International Build Expo Chennai11 - 13 July, 2014

Chennai Trade Centre, Chennai, India

India International Jewellery Show17 - 21 July, 2014

Bombay Convention & Exhibition Centre, Mumbai, India

India International Travel Mart18 - 20 July, 2014

Bangalore, Palace Ground, Bangalore

Solartech Expo India22 - 23 July, 2014

New Delhi, India

3rd Guangzhou International Food & Ingredient Fair 26 - 29 June, 2014Guangzhou, China

16th International Symposium on Pediatric Neuro-Oncology28 June - 2 July, 2014

Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre, Singapore

World National Oil Companies Congress Asia2 - 3 July, 2014

Renaissance Bangkok Ratchaprasong Hotel, Bangkok, Thailand

Plastics Technology Expo17 - 19 July, 2014

Bangkok International Trade & Exhibition Centre, Bangkok, Thailand

Thailand Franchise & Business Opportunities Expo24 - 27 July, 2014

Bangkok International Trade & Exhibition Centre, Bangkok, Thailand

China-Asean(Thailand) Commodity Fair28 - 30 August, 2014

Impact Exhibition & Convention Center Bangkok, Thailand

India Consumer Products, India Tourism, India Property Expo-Singapore19 - 22 June, 2014

Singapore EXPO Convention and Exhibition, Singapore

World Indian Festival 201426 - 29 June, 2014

Hall 6B, Singapore Expo, Singapore

June 2014.indd 6-7 27/5/2014 6:14:29 AM

“Let fear be acounsellor and

not a jailer”Anthony Robbins

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I’ve got an important question for you today. Do you have a fear of success?

Which one are you more afraid of: failure or success?

Fear of success is the kind of fear that prevents you from taking a step towards accomplishing something.

When it comes to following your dreams, goals or work:1. Do you worry more about

not being able to cope with negative feelings when you mess up (failure)?

2. Or not being able to handle the level of increased responsibility that success often brings?

Most of us think we fall in the first camp of not wanting to fail. But many of us are actually more fearful of what might happen if we actually achieved that big goal we say we want.

The biggest problem for many people is that their fear of success is largely unconscious. They just don’t realize that they’ve been holding themselves back from doing something great.

1. Have you ever found yourself on the threshold of a big success, and observed things starting to go wrong? It begins with a feeling of anxiety. The tiniest details annoy you. Reliable people start making alarming slip-ups. “What’s up with them?” “Can’t they see how important this is?” “Why are they being so careless?”

2. Do you ever feel that you have an idea that you would like to take to the next level, and yet at times find yourself behaving in ways that conflict with what you want? It becomes difficult to concentrate. You find yourself procrastinating over things you know will lead to success. You say something stupid in an important meeting. “What’s wrong with me today?”

3. Let’s look at this case: Reika’s boss has just announced at a meeting that the company has got a contract to service an international company online. He wants Reika to head the project. All that she has to do is let him know that she is interested by the following Monday.

Reika was excited. She always hoped for an opportunity like this. She knows her work well and has skills that qualify her for the job and she knows that it would likely

Thevi SinnaduraiPractitioner in Clinical Hypnosis, Practitioner in Cognitive Behaviour Hypnotherapy, NS-NLP Master Practitioner, Certified Law Of Attraction Trainer, Emotional Freedom Technique Practitioner (EFT)

[email protected]

NLP:FEAR OF SUCCESS

lead to a promotion. She had all kinds of irrational thoughts going on in her mind. Scary thoughts of change; her team mates will look to her. for advice, leadership, and a model of virtue.

By the time Monday arrives, she’s created a list of reasons not to head the project. And by the end of the day, she still hasn’t talked to her boss.

Does this situation sound familiar? All of these are classic symptoms of fear of success.

If you suspect a limiting belief may be holding you back, pay close attention, because your beliefs drive your behaviour.

It doesn’t matter how much you say you want success, if you believe somewhere deep inside that success

“To conquer fear is

the beginning of wisdom.”

Bertrand Russell

equals some kind of pain, loss of freedom, loss of time with your family, loss of love, rejection, embarrassment, vulnerability or shame, you will NOT let yourself do what it takes to succeed.

How do you identify the tell-tale signs of success-fearing behaviour?

1. You self-sabotage your work, dreams or goals by convincing yourself that you’re not good enough to achieve them.

2. You avoid or procrastinate on big projects, especially projects that could lead to recognition.

3. You feel guilty about any success you have, no matter how small, because your friends, family, or co-workers haven’t had the same success.

4. There may be a fear of collecting more enemies because of your success. This fear might be present because of an irrational idea that you learned about success such as “people will hate me if i am successful”.

5. You frequently compromise your own goals or agenda to avoid conflict in a group, or even conflict within your family.

6. You fear the hard work required to maintain your success after succeeding. You will have to work hard to maintain your success. You just might be afraid of this hard work.

7. You don’t tell others about your accomplishments.

8. All talk, no action. Sometimes certain behaviours look like laziness, but they reveal a fear of success. For instance, you may talk about your life dreams and goals all the time, but you watch TV every night and surf the Internet for hours every day. You never actually take practical steps or exert self-discipline to move in the direction of your goals.

9. You feel, subconsciously, that you don’t deserve to enjoy success in your life.

10. You believe that if you do achieve success, you won’t be able to sustain it. Eventually you’ll fail, and end up back in a worse place than where you started. So you think, “why bother?”

You can use several different strategies to overcome your fear of success. The good news is that the more you face your fears, bring them to the surface, and analyze them rationally, the more you’re likely to weaken those fears and reduce your reluctance to achieve your goals.

Fear of not coping with success

For some, it’s more comfortable to stay in a familiar situation, even if it doesn’t feel great on the surface. But achieving success means you are putting yourself out there to be scrutinized and criticized, and exposing yourself to new pressures and demands.

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you’ll be up to the challenge. A small anxious part of you would rather not take the risk.

What to do about it:If you experience doubts, remind yourself of all the extra resources success will bring you:

1. A boost to your confidence

2. A bigger, more powerful network

3. A healthier bank balance

4. A growing reputation that opens new doors

Fear of selling out

Whatever choices you make, if you achieve any kind of public success, it’s a sad fact that someone, somewhere will be thinking and even saying nasty things about you including accusations of ‘selling out.’ Selling out is the compromising of integrity, morality, or principles in exchange for personal gain, such as money or recognition.

What to do about it:

1. Firstly, accept that you’ll never please everyone. Backbiting is part of the price of success.

2. Secondly, make sure you are comfortable with your choices.

3. Make a list of all the things you would consider ‘selling out,’ and which you’re not prepared to do. Then keep the list handy. As long as you don’t do the things on that list, you can look yourself in the mirror, whatever anyone else says about you.


1. Instead of thinking about change in terms of subtraction (losing your old self) think of it in terms of addition. You are about to discover and develop new facets to your personality, adding to who you are and what you bring to the world.

2. Getting used to your new role will feel exciting and you can still be the person you’ve always been to family and friends. Spending time with them will feel like slipping on your old comfy jeans after spending time in your trendy new clothes.

Fear that it’s impossible! I can’t do it

What can you do if you don’t believe it is possible?


• Use the Golden Rule: “If someone else has done it, so can I!” Almost everything on this planet has been done by someone else already at one time or another. I’m sure there is a case similar to yours. Usually achievement isn’t rocket science.

• Analyse what you have to do to achieve your goal.1. What do you have

in common with the person who has already achieved a goal similar to yours?

2. What else do you need to have or need to change about yourself?

3. What obstacles are in your way and how can you overcome them? Once you do all that, consider 80% of your job done.

The key to your success is following someone else’s example while making your contribution unique.

I want you to realize that it is not a question of the actual possibility or impossibility of your goal. It is your personal belief.

Journaling

1.Find some quiet time, pen and paper in hand, to get honest about what is holding you back from achieving what you want and continuing to strive higher. Is it a person, a feeling, a cultural standard?

2.Once you know what’s blocking you, ask yourself what you want your life to look and feel like.

3.What do you want more and less of in the areas of your life where you feel stuck, guilty, and afraid?

4.What is the next right action to releasing the fear of success? Do you need to have a heart-to-heart with the person concerned about your feelings of guilt if you become more successful than them? Do you need to talk to a friend about your fear that they will be angry or jealous of your success?

Journaling is very therapeutic because it allows us to process our thoughts and see them clearly on a sheet of paper. It’s also confidential, and you can refer back to what you have written and evaluate how far you have come or if there is another route to take.

Fear of becoming someone else, change itself is scary

It Will Change Me

“If I achieve that goal, I won’t be who I am, I’ll change somehow ... I will lose my personality.”

Very often people are afraid that if they reach their goal, they will have to stop being who they are and start playing someone else’s role.

Underline that. Remember it. Read it again. It’s big.

You must realize that you will have to change. But it doesn’t mean that it will be some freaky change. Life is a constant motion, a constant change. It throws down a challenge “Change or get left behind.”

That’s what keeps us growing, moving forward, getting rid of the obstacles that slow us down.

Is someone asking you to turn into an evil, bloodthirsty monster?

You can be a wonderful person, both spiritually and materially wealthy and still be tolerated by the majority of the people out there.

Success is often tied to all kinds of weird beliefs that have been squished into our minds. But the fact is, that achievement is something that is very good indeed and in all frankness ... do you want your kids to be successes or failures?

Then, why not yourself?

“A Goal properly set is

halfway reached”Ziq Ziglar

“He is able who

thinks he is able.”Buddha

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CONTACT US

HP : 016 2014236 | 016 [email protected]

PJ Office:Suite 3A52, Level 3A, Block A2, Leisure Commerce Square, Jalan PJS 8/9, 46150 Petaling Jaya, SelangorTel/Fax: 03 7865 7320

JB Office:No. 6-01, Jalan Bestari 4/2,Taman Nusa Bestari,81300 Johor Bahru, JohorTel / Fax : 07 3582320

Malaysian Indian Business is happy to write about your products and services and help you reach out to the other Malaysian Indian businessmen and professionals.

MARKETYOUR PRODUCTS AND SERVICES


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Prasath KanagarasBrand Strategist, Managing Director of Point Blank Mediaworks Sdn Bhd.

[email protected]

If you are asking yourself the question, “What is a Brand Ambassador” you are in the right

place. A Brand Ambassador is someone that represents a Brand in a very direct way. Early on in the Brand Ambassador movement there was a lot of confusion on what is ethical or not ethical. Now it is generally accepted that brand ambassadors must fully disclose their relationships and not try to trick people.

Let me give some classic examples in Malaysia, I think Actor Jackie Chan used to be the Brand Ambassador for Kaspersky in Malaysia, Yuna for Canon, Maria Sharapova for Celcom and Lisa Surihani for Marigold Peel Fresh drinks.

So is it a must that your corporate brand ambassador is a celebrity? Definitely not!

Becoming a brand ambassador means that a person is automatically a marketing representative of the company. However, it doesn’t mean that he needs a degree in Marketing. He

BecomiNg a BRAND AMBASSADOR

only needs to understand the market and a brief idea of his role to play. He will then just undergo some training to improve his skills. A brand ambassador should be able to develop ways to improve the program with the Brand Manager. As he is in the field and sees the day-to-day activities, he is able to identify issues and trends that people embraces. He should be able to make useful suggestions and improvements for the benefit of the brand and consumer engagement.

As we know that a product’s quality and image is being carried by the person who is representing it. A brand ambassador should not just speak for it but he needs to be the voice of the brand itself. If he does, people will clearly see the connection between him and the brand. A few moments where a speaker cannot introduce the product properly, may mean a lifetime of brand humiliation. The audience will not just lose their interest towards your product but also remember the shame that happened for a long period of time.

Now, to Brand Owners,

Always keep in mind that the presentation of your product and brand is being placed on the hands of your brand ambassador. As such, his purpose is to build a connection between your products and your audience through his image. Take note that no matter how great your product is, if it’s not delivered properly to the public, it would be useless as they will not spend time or attention into trying it.

Leadership is another big keyword for Brand Ambassadors these days. The main purpose of a brand ambassador is to embody the values, the character and the overall image inherent to the brand. He needs to stir up thoughts associated with owning the product. This way, he leads the customers not only to buying the product but also to their self fulfillment associated with possessing it. In other word, I’d say that Brand ambassadors are experts in speaking for and on behalf of your product. It’s natural for them to emphasize the benefits in a persuading manner. They develop good image and perception towards your events that’s why they can be the front people to talk to your guests.

Having said that, credibility ofyour ambassador is very important. You will not get someone with bad record, malicious life style and despicable personality. Normally, customers tend to give a lot of trust to your employees view about your company and its product. It’s because they have lesser stake than the top management. If your staff speak well of your product, it’s a plus to your promotion. A known and respected authority over a niche like bloggers, small publishers and others gain so much empathy and affection from their audience. That’s why it’s better to have these people for your brand rather than the extremely expensive advertising campaigns.

Speaking for your brand is one thing, building a solid relationship is another, and the latter is more important. Your ambassador’s face-to-face encounters with your target audience are very significant as these create the opportunity to build a relationship between your customer and your brand. Seize the opportunity by getting the right person to represent the brand.

This explains the best brand ambassadors are those who actually experienced your product. Often, they are the people within your customer base and not your employees. Monitor your brand’s online image. There you will see and identify customers who earnestly promotes your product. Is it always good to find out the scope of their influence by following their blogs and social media circles. Your ambassador is not just a display to your events. He needs to experience it to add value to his job. He needs to ensure that the customers are happy and are positively impacted in every event.

Well Indeed, brand ambassadors should be high-caliber people. But more than this, they should see themselves as part of the team. They must remove the misconception that they are the sole reason for your sales and popularity. This way, you ensure that your team works harmoniously and all issues prevented.

What exactly is a “brand ambassador”? It ranges from the owner and the board of directors; those who possess the greatest interest in seeing the company and its products succeed, to the employees: those who work to ensure that the very details are covered. These ambassadors need to settle any issues to effectively promote a brand. What’s worse is to see your very employees destroying your brand image.

Based on what I’ve shared, do you agree that Tan Sri Tony Fernandez is the key Brand Ambassador for Air Asia? Can you see the connections?

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UtiLiziNg microsoft exceL for HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT

Palani MurugappanFounder & Principal Trainer. A HRDF certified trainer and author of 51 books to-date on various software applications, Palani is passionate on what Excel can do, and how best to present data in different formats.

[email protected]

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Employee driven organizationFar sighted employers will definitely agree that employees are the greatest asset of an organization. The human resource perspective is the main driving factor that contributes towards the success of any employee driven organization. With the right “fit”, companies can go a long way towards ensuring the success based on the effectiveness of their employees.

One aspect of realizing the above is to ensure that besides having the tools to succeed; employees must also have the necessary skills that must be continuously and periodically updated to reflect the use of tools in achieving the growth and success of the organization. This is where the element of training plays a crucial role.

When the management decides on implementing

something new, it is always based on the “haves” and “have nots”, starting with the operational data, and followed closely by utilizing employees to manage the new task. There will come a point in time where management will require ad-hoc reports on the progress and development of the new task. Many data systems in place today can produce various reports. However, to produce ad-hoc reports based

What analysis can we perform from the above? To keep it simple, let us look into the number of employees who have been with the organization on a yearly basis. The conclusion that can be drawn is in the first year of operations, there was only one employee. As the years progressed, it is obvious that the organization has grown to 20 employees at the end of year 2008. Using a built-in function of Excel, the calculations have been tabulated as below.

Next, we can also deduce the total number of employees based on the salary scale as displayed below. How do we counter check if the calculations are correct? Look at the header Employee Count on the right diagram. As you add previous cell of the Employee Count (cell Q2) to the current cell (Q3), the total is reflected on the same row as in cell N3 (total count of 8). By adding the total Employee Count in column Q (which adds to 20), the last figure in the No. of Employees column is also 20 (cell N10). Again, Excel functions were used to perform the tabulation.

on non-standard conventions produced by the system, one of the better tools to gather meaningful information is to map the data into spreadsheet format and perform data analysis of it. One such tool is Microsoft Excel.

Analyzing human resources dataLet us look at the data below. It represents a simple employee database with details such as Employee Name, Date the employee joined the organization, Salary, Department, Sick Days taken in a year, etc.

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Analyzing salary detailsA simple payroll system calculates aspects of an employee’s salary. However, some may be limited to the types of analysis that can be performed. For example, in the illustration below, Excel can be utilized to perform an analysis of employees based on Department. The analysis below indicates the Number of Employees based on the various departments, their average salaries, number of

Multiple criteria analysisAt times, management may request for specific information. For example, when rewarding employees based on a lucky draw, we need to find out how many employees have names beginning with the letter “R”? Excel can tabulate this calculation very quickly with a built-in function to provide an answer of 4 as below.

Moving on, management may request further information with 2 criterias i.e. How many employees in the organization have salaries greater than $50,000 and taken more than 5 Sick Days? Again, another built-in function of Excel calculates this to be 6 as displayed below.

To perform a total sum of multiple conditions, yet another function of Excel can be used for the following request i.e. What is the total salary of employees beginning with the letter “R” and Overtime rates of less than $500? A value of $29,000 is detected from the database as depicted below.

Sampling data with HistogramLet us look at a manufacturing scenario now with 61 Divisions and different Number of Employees per Division.

A built-in feature of Excel called Histogram can be invoked as an Add-on to perform analysis as below. The Frequency header indicates the total Divisions with the Number of Employees based on the Interval. For example, there are 2 Divisions with 0 to 5 Employees; and 5 Divisions with Total number of 6 to 10 Employees; etc.

For ease of understanding and quick analysis, the data above can be plotted as a Histogram, as in the illustration below.

When one has the expertise in exploiting Microsoft Excel with its built-in functions, deep and meaningful information can be gathered quickly and efficiently. This is where the author showcases various examples in his many training sessions, all using Microsoft Excel as a tool.

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sick days taken and the average sick days taken over a year. By going purely on the Total Sick Days taken, it appears that the Administration and Finance departments have the highest casualty (total of 19). However, probing it in detail, you find that that average sick days taken by the IT and R & D departments are the highest (average of 7). Note that the highest average salary is for the R & D department. This simply states that the employees in the

R & D department are drawing a much higher salary compared to the other departments.

Further probing the database, you will find that a large portion of the salary goes towards the Finance department, followed by the Marketing department. Note that the Total salary can be ranked (from highest to lowest) using an Excel function as in the Rank column below. Decision making process becomes easier now.

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Arikrishnan SubramanianLeapfrog Business Strategist.

is the Executive Secretary of Klang Indian Chamber of Commerce. He is passionate in mentoring and developing entrepreneurs, while consulting businesses to leapfrog their profitability on exclusive basis. He currently researching online innovation business model for SMEs to fulfill the requirement for PhD (Business Administration).

[email protected]: arikrishnan.subramanian

chaNakya’s seveN eLemeNts FOR BUSINESS SUCCESS

In the ancient Indian scriptures such as Ramayana, Mahabharata, Upanishads we often

found brilliant discussions of management strategies. A classic good example from Ramayana is, Jambavan (the manager) motivated Hanuman (subordinate) to realize his full potential and act accordingly. However, we never appreciate such great content of it mainly due to wrong misconception.

In this article, let us look into the Kautilya Chanakya’s Seven Elements for Business Success as discussed in Arthashastra. Chanakya is considered as the pioneer in the field of economics and political science in India. He widely credited for having played an important role in the establishment of the Maurya Empire. Kautilya Chanakya was a key advisor to Emperor Chandragupta Maurya, who stopped the advance of Alexander the Great’s successors, and was the first ruler to unite the Indian subcontinent.

In his sixth book The Source of Sovereign States Chanakya drawn out seven pillars of an organization:

“The king, the minister, the country, the fortified city, the treasury, the army, and the ally are the constituent elements of the state.” (6.1.1)

1. The King In the context of business, Chanakya’s the King should be made reference to organization’s leader whom at current days known as Chairman, President, Managing Director, etc. that sets the right direction of an organization.

The success of any organization depends on the leader’s best qualities namely inviting nature, intellect, enthusiasms and self- possession. One of the key element is the ability to control the neighbouring kings, that strategically means business leaders should form partnership with their competitors and while differentiate themselves rather than battle each other.

Any business leaders interested in getting better results, becoming more productive and ultimately more successful should not be addicted to procrastination i.e an act of putting things off that can be done later.

2. The Minister

Chanakya says the minister or officer that runs day to day operation plays vital role in the success or failure of the king (business leader). Chanakya felt that in the absence of the strong council of ministers, the king couldn’t attain anything even if his defence force is strong. Chanakya’s set of qualifications for a person to be a minister can be used by business leaders in selecting their trusted officers. The qualifications are:

• possess sharp intellect, strong memory power, energy and trained in kinds of arts.

• be a man of proven administration capability.

• should controlled greed, anger, haste, and fickleness.

• should be man of dignity and self- possessiveness.

5. The TreasuryChanakya went to the extent of saying that in case of great financial troubles, the king could collect taxes by demand. He advocated severe punishment for those who avoided the payment of taxes. He advised the king to use the people’s money wisely and keep proper accounts. Similarly, the only way business can prosper is by keeping its financial strong with continuous positive cash flow. Give very much attention to nitty gritty to financial management and proper accounting. While, keep learning new financial skills such as investment, low cost funding sourcing methods, latest tax structures and reporting procedures.

In many cases business leader tend to refuse innovative and creative projects recommended by subordinates purely on the ground of lack of financial. This tend to demotivate and discourage subordinates from further sharing their plan. When Chanakya got to know the treasury was empty he managed to conceal trick and cleverly idea to fill it up. Similarly business leaders must think out of all possibilities of how to create money that is required but you don’t have.

3. The CountryThe country is another important element, without which there is neither the king nor the kingship. In pretext of business, it’s the marketplace or customers that Chanakya refers as the country. There shall be no qualities of patriotism or brand loyalty without any customers. The marketplace is where business generate revenue and cash flow, thus business need to dominate it’s niche territory and create monopoly over the segment.

The marketplace is where the leader and officers showcase their superior talents and skills by way of marketing strategies. Chanakya favoured vast territory for an ideal state, which gives economic advantages that literally means businesses must able to expand its market beyond local reach. In searching for new marketplace Chanakya demanded officers to look out for territory that rich with minerals and food grain indicating the need for business to identify new market place with high growth potential.

4. The Fortified City Calamities or disaster either human origin or divine nature can be avoided with careful planning. Chanakya wants fortified city to protect his citizen and provides ample scope for development. The fortified city is where business houses its leader and officers to plan and execute right policies and strategies for growth and be prepared for unforeseen. The fortified city also houses necessary infrastructures such factory that carefully constructed with internationally recognized standards. As center of administration the fort should be build according to your needs and surroundings preferably easily assessable with all safety measure to prevent information leakage.

“Even after winning a battle a ruler with weak Army and Treasury is loser”

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6. The ArmyThe kind of team members (employees) an organization possesses reflects their strength. The more skilled, professionals and efficient employees the better productivity. Chanakya recommended to recruit the right people, invest in them by trainning and pay them well, and focus on producing quality product or services. By following Chanakya’s tips the leader will automatically bring under his control not only his army (employees) but also the competitors. The army as far as business concerns not only the salesmen but rather inclusive of all level of organizations employees including the tea maker and production staff.

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7. The AllyChanakya says “an equal should over reach, or help an equal” which means you should reach out to help your ally or friends even before he asks for help. The ally is like minded per-son that stays with you through thick and thin, in good time and bad and whom don’t under-value or overvalue you.

Business leader as far as possible should try to build good friendship with established, stronger and trustworthy person whom you can depend upon when problems arise.

Reach out to other Malaysian Indian businessmen and professionals in the only magazine dedicated to them.

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Malaysian Indian Business is keen in publishing your experiences that can inspire and motivate other budding Malaysian Indian businessmen and professionals.

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wishes heartiest congratulations tothe Indian Cultural Society of Multimedia University Cyberjaya, the organisers of Pritinggam Intervarsity Debate Competition which was held in Multimedia University Cyberjaya on 29th March 2014.



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Ravi Shanker never thought that experimenting with dance and theatre will

take him a long way and build him successful life in the arts industry. This is his amazing story from a dancer to a choreographer to an artistic director. The brains behind Asthana Arts, he has made Indian performing arts not only visible and accessible in Malaysia but has also presented a new contemporary face to it by boldly venturing into new age, fusion and semi classical themes.

Ravi Shanker Rama Murthy, the founder and artistic director of Kuala Lumpur based Asthana Arts can be described as a self-made entrepreneur or in his own words an “artspreneur” and a new age icon of the Malaysian Indian performing arts industry. With 15 years of experience behind him, he has helped shape the local Indian performing arts providing it with a distinct Malaysian identity. In this candid and enlightening interview he shares with MIB his inspiring entrepreneurial journey in the arts world – the excitement, challenges, rewards, the wisdom he has gained and the way forward.

Ravi Shanker’s journey began when he established Asthana Arts with the objective of preserving and bringing in fresh ideas in the world of performing arts and nurturing the artistic talents of dancers. He says, “My original goal was only to spread arts in campuses and in academia. But there was a request from our society -- why only in campuses, how about us? So this is how I started the company in 2008 from The Annexe Central Market. Since then we have shifted to Brickfields, which is more conveniently located”.

“Asthana Arts,” Ravi Shanker continues, “is essentially a dance studio where we invite dancers and artists to explore and experiment a variety of Malaysian dances in traditional, contemporary and fusion forms. We have qualified graduates from notable dance institutions and experienced dance instructors”. Besides Ravi Shanker, Asthana Arts comprises 1 studio manager, 1 branding director, 1 creative director, 1 costume director, 8 instructors ( Bharatanatyam, Contemporary, Odissi, Performing Arts, Production Management, Children Class, ballet and Theatre), 6 Choreographers, 30 performing artists (full time and part time) and 200 over students.

The studio is affiliated to Swarna Malaya Club of Performing Arts University Malaya, Putra Kalakshetra Club of Performing Arts University Putra Malaysia and Rasa Lavanya Club of Performing Arts University Kebangsaan Malaysia. In its short span of existence, the dancers and artists of Asthana Arts have toured Thailand, Indonesia, India and Amsterdam for Cultural Exchange visits.

Innovative and Cutting Edge Productions and Events

“We are an arts based company but we don’t sell arts. However, it has a value to itself ” replies Ravi Shanker when asked about Asthana Arts’ varied services. The two main pillars of Asthana Arts are performing arts and commercial events. We also hold classes for students who are keen on studying dance and theatre”.

“Our products include classy productions which are supported by our loyal customers. They buy passes and watch them in the auditoriums. We have created the most beautiful Krishna in Syamasundara; the wreath of Kannagi was showcased in Sillapathikaram; Naduvan featured an Aghora Shiva that was never seen in Malaysia before; and more recently we brought on stage the 10 Shaktis in Dasamahavidhya – Kali, Tara, Chinnamasta, Thirupurasundari, Bhairavi, Matangi, Bhuvaneswary, Kamala, Bhagalamuki and Dumawathy and Dasamahavidhya. This was the talk of the nation as we blended modern women in their daily chores and showed how Shakti resides in them.

Attire by Ardana Haran

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aStHaNa artS Blazes a New Trail iN The arTs world

June 2014.indd 24-25 27/5/2014 6:14:46 AM

Apart from productions, we do events, launchings for clients and vendors based on their requests and concepts. For example, we created 250 dancers for Citrawarna in a concept known as Swarnabhumi, and then the following year, we came up with the concept of PanchaBootha theme which comprises the earth, water, wind, fire and space. We also came up with Satyabhama in Deepavali concept, and Surya and the Navagrahas concept which made a major impact in the Malaysia Tourism Float parade. Asthana Arts has been conceptualising unique ideas and presentations for one of our prominent clients -- Agenda Suria Communication Sdn Bhd, - for their Indian Wedding events, Penang and Johor events as well as for the ever popular Global Indian festivals. South East Asia’s first High Definition channel launching was jointly conceptualized by myself and Sivakumar, the Head of the Indian Production of Astro. The turnout was good as it was digitally shot in HD and background of 5 elements was injected. This gave it a high end feeling”. ITFA, IFF and Miss India Worldwide Pageants are some of the notable choreography Raj Shanker has successfully done.

On the classes, Asthana Arts runs, Ravi Shanker says that they range from classical to traditional to contemporary and are open to anyone who wants to explore arts. These classes have no age restrictions.

The customers of Asthana Arts are from mostly the middle and high income group who hail from urban areas. Ravi Shanker says that youths and students are also avid supporters of their productions. In terms of pricing, he reveals that it is based on the quality of production and what is presented. “Extravaganza presentations can be created with a proper budget and through extensive promotions we can get people talking about them”.

Where The Gods Come Alive“Whenever we create any production, we tend to create the most exact original characters. The most successful characters are Shiva of Naduvan, Krishna of Syamasundara and Kali of Dasamahavidhya. Once the production was over, when the crowd came on stage to take

snapshots, some even cried or touched the feet of the performer who did that particular character. I have realised that humans are always longing to see god, when the god is presented on stage, these people develop a personal connection with them. They talk heart to heart with the character…about their happiness, misery or any uncertainty in their lives. It was a very touching moment, during a photo shoot in Batu Caves when an old woman bought a laddu for the Krishna who was taking picture. A Malaysian artist basically hugged Shiva and cried for Naduvan so he can listen to her soul. We as performing artists, realized that each character that we portray on stage…its chosen by God and our body is the instrument.”

Putting in Art and SoulLooking back, Ravi Shanker reminisces that he always had an interest in the dance field. During his schooldays, he took to dancing as an extra-curricular activity. He found it refreshing, a stress reliever and a way to express himself. It eventually transformed into a lifelong passion. He explains, “I was basically a dancer, then turn into choreographer, then became an instructor and finally rounded it all up as an artistic director. I started by learning Odissi at the Temple of Fine Arts from Srimathi Geethashankaram Lam and had a short stint at Sutra dancers. During my St. John’s days, my involvement in literature class and Kesusasteraan Melayu class served me well as it sparked my imagination and curiosity. During my university days, I ventured into the Malay Arts and I was the one and only Indian student sent to Amsterdam and Peru to present Malaysian Arts. Then I became a regular face as Project Director to other countries. My Chinese Contemporary repertoires with Malaysia’s well known Anthony Meh also made me agile and flexible in the contemporary category. Mr Rey Bueno was my theatre activist in University of Putra where I explored and experimented Greek, English and Asian plays. Both dance and theatre have been a great combination for me to present arts in new age form”.

Ravi Shanker’s holds a Diploma in Broadcasting from Akademi TV3 and Degree in English and Business Administration from the Universiti Putra Malaysia. After his degree, he joined ASTRO as an intern and worked his way up. He says, “I was the assistant producer for Anugerah Era, Nadi KL, Beat TV, Roda Impian, Akademia Fantasia as well as Salam Bollywood. This gave me a very broad experience working in the Malay industry and the music scene. I was the pioneer Promotions Producer for Astro Hitz TV where various on-air and on the ground campaigns were devised to market the new channel. When Astro bought over THR, I was finally promoted as the Promotions and Marketing Manager for THR Raaga and Gegar. I conceptualised concerts, Raaga Road Cruisers, moduled the THR website, Pantai Timur campaigns and created the new look for THR Announcers. Today at Asthana Arts, I draw upon these rich experiences of event management, creativity and corporate lifestyles”.

Succeeding in a Rapidly Evolving IndustrySince 20 years ago, Ravi Shanker notes that the performing arts industry has evolved tremendously. He describes the phenomenon as positive and promising. “Great workshops, performances, productions and arts festivals are organised by various companies and Arts NGOs from time to time. We are grateful that people like Guruvayur Usha Durai, Ajit Dass, Joseph Gonzales of Aswara, Sutra, The Temple of Fine Arts and more for contributing their energy and efforts in bringing arts to the next level, while in the

commercial sector, Era, Ryhtmix, Tiamo and others are making waves in the industry”. He says that Astro’s expansion on dance competitions has encouraged this positive trend and created more commercial groups.

Asthana Arts is involved in both performing arts and commercial arts. “It’s not easy to create synergies under one roof but we have been successful in doing just that. Asthana Arts has created choreographers and numerous Artistic directors under its wings. We have created 15 various productions that deal with so many issues and epics”, he says.

An avid new age fan, he says that the new age arts are very vibrant and vast. “But it needs to be embraced very carefully. We can’t scrutinize and destroy any arts form. When it is presented it has to be either an original or a brand new creation”, he cautions.

As an artistic director, Ravi Shanker is in charge of all facets of the production. He says, “Arts is very subjective and abstract. So new ideas are always needed to enhance ourselves. Being fresh and uptodate is a must. One cannot be successful just by being a dancer. The goal must be to strive to become an artistic director who oversees, directs and is responsible for all the artistic activities of the studio. One should be able to choreograph, to dance, to act, to write scripts and songs, able to set design, design costume and make up concept, adapt to new ideas, should read a lot of novels and literature materials, be able to communicate and convince the clients and crowds on new ideas. An artistic director should be bold and determined in his

Productions• Panchasunthara

Taman Budaya, 2009• Thirunangai

Taman Budaya, 2010• Varna

Taman budaya, 2010• Mahakavi

Taman Budaya, 2010• The Unquenched Thirst

Soma Auditorium, 2011• Divas & Devas

The Actors Studio, 2011• Naduvan

Temple of Fine Arts, 2012• Naduvan The Final Judgement

DBKL, 2012• Syamasundara

Universiti of Malaya, 2013• The Bleeding Salangai

Tan Sri KR Soma, 2013• Silappathikaram

Temple of Fine Arts, 2013• Jananam

HGH Convention Centre, 2014• Dasamahavidhya

University of Malaya, 2014• Anarkali

Taman Budaya, 2014

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approach. He should not only be equipped in Arts knowledge but also in marketing, client relationship, publicity, online and on ground works, finance, welfare, manage media and the crowd, and have knowledge on logistic management and organisational management. He should be an all-rounder. All these qualities are vital for anyone wishing to become an Artistic Director.

The evolving industry has also presented challenges for Asthana Arts, the main being carbon copying of what it does. Ravi Shankar says, “The creativity and ideas should come from a learned person, not simply by copying. Eventually it will become a half-baked product with a half-baked price. Clients should be able to distinguish between the price and quality. The arts industry is unique and stands on its own. I don’t have much to complain about the performing arts industry; it is only in the commercial arts where people copy ideas. But I believe the original will always survive, the fake ones cannot sustain themselves for long”.

What type of marketing and promotions Asthana Arts does? Ravi Shanker says that during major productions they focus on radio advertisements. “Astro has always been supportive of arts and they have given Asthana Arts slots to be featured in their programs as well on air promos. I focus more on online marketing where we have more than 10k members in Asthana Arts Kuala Lumpur FB Group. Each time we have a production, an event created under this page garners a big crowd. We also do flyers and posters. Our branding and marketing works well on ground via Indian Wedding Fair and Global Indian Festivals by Agenda Suria Communication where we meet and greet our clients, future performing artists as well students. Ongoing promos in either of the medium is important for the branding and recognition of the company”.

Inspiring AchievementsThe hard work put in by this artistic director par excellence has certainly paid off. Besides winning a plethora of awards, Asthana Arts has been recognized both by the Malaysian government and the private sector. It has been partners in art for the Ministry of Tourism and Culture Malaysia Ministry has also done work for private companies such Agenda Suria Communication, Pak Ngah Production, Yayasan Warisan Johor, Astro and more. “Every production that Asthana Arts produces brings in ample support from local print media, Minnal FM, THR, Bernama, RTM, ASTRO and online media,” the arts entrepreneur reveals and adds, “This shows the content of Asthana Arts has substance and quality to be featured in their platform”.

Words of Wisdom from a Successful Artistic DirectorWhat are the qualities necessary for success, we ask Ravi Shanker. He says, ”Perseverance is a critical

How Organisations Can Support Asthana Arts through CSR Programmes and BenefitsRavi Shanker is big on social responsibility. He believes that arts is a powerful medium and should be used to highlight social issues. He says, “I see uncertainty in life of people. The ill treatment meted out to Mahakavi Bharathi, the outcast lifestyle of transgenders, Ardhariswara as androgynous god who is venerated, the unfair treatment of women, teenage pregnancies, alcoholism, abuse, poverty, illiteracy, life after death -- all these issues and questions raged in me. I wanted to use dance and theatre as a platform and get the community to think and become more aware and sensitive about these important and relevant public issues”.

For his part Ravi Shanker played his part by establishing the Asthana Arts Young Performing Arts Fund in 2009 to help deserving students learn dance and theatre dance on scholarship and grants and also to help arts based projects by young artists. “We help youths gain confidence and positive personality via arts”, he says and adds, “All future productions of Asthana Arts would be in the aid of Asthana Arts Young Performing Artist Fund.”

With respect to Corporate Social Responsibility Programs (CSR), he says that organisations and companies should explore new ideas on CSR programmes through Asthana Arts. He says, “Arts should be integrated into the CSR strategy of organisations as we support and help the local community in a multitude of ways. They should actively work with us to develop creative ways to address social issues. “Tax exemptions,

quality. Determination is vital. Nothing comes in shortcuts. You may be inspired on other people’s success, but do not do a fake imitation that brings down your name. Be Original. Be skilful. Be Brave and Bold. Malaysia has only 2 million Indians. We can’t afford to hate or despise each other’s achievement. Every single soul must be able to bless another soul. Be sincere in what you do. Because of fame or money, do not be carried away by unethical way of doing business. Life is like a wheel. Do not look down on others and be proud when you are at the top. It can reverse. So always be thankful whatever god have given, and start to give back to those who are in need. Life should not be a stressful bucket; it can be overcome with joy and laughter. Every problem there is a solution”.

“I created the words Artspreneur. This conjoins Arts and Entrepreneur skill. Our Arts people should only do arts if they have a passion for it. But it can be a successful business as well. With proper knowledge on Entrepreneur skills, Arts can be branded and brought up to the next level. One can always get big companies to become involved in Arts Development programmes by featuring great Kavyas and productions.”

Indeed, words of wisdom that should be imbibed by those interested in charting a successful profession in the performing arts.

publicity and promotions are some the added advantage working with arts based companies” he says. “Recently Asthana Arts with Shrad Charity contributed RM10,000 to the orphanage homes in Kuala Lumpur through Dasamahavidya production. But more than that, we also provide employment for youths and help them develop their skills. In short by engaging with us and supporting through donations and sponsorships, companies create a positive impact in society at a ground level and develop positive perception and also financially benefit through. I believe this is a win-win situation in all ways!

The Road Ahead – What’s Next for Asthana ArtsRavi Shanker, who is currently pursuing his master’s in performing arts at the University of Malaya, aims to make a mark in the local arts scene by focusing on new age, fusion and classical works. He derives his inspiration from the renowned Indian dancer and choreographer, Uday Shankar who pioneered modern dance in India. Ravi Shanker says, “He was best known for adapting Western theatrical techniques to traditional Indian classical dance, infusing them with elements of Indian classical, folk, and tribal dance. This laid the roots of modern Indian dance, which he later popularized in India, Europe, and the United States in 1920s and 1930s and effectively placed Indian dance on the world map”.

Ravi Shanker foresees that Asthana Arts will have branches all over the country in the future. He elaborates,” I aspire to make Asthana Arts a one-stop centre for dance, theatre and music as well production management. I want Malaysians to have easy access

to the arts world. I also believe in community development and empowerment through the medium of arts”. In the near future he plans to present Malaysia’s first Tamil – English musical ‘Surphanaka – The Revenge of Dravidian Princess’, involving 60 performing artists, 20 singers/artists, 10 music composers, 30 percussionists, 30 production team with an auditorium capacity of 2000 people.

Ravi Shanker has arguably achieved every entrepreneur’s dream. He is the embodiment of creative energy in the arts world. He has devoted his life in pioneering and bringing new energy and fresh concepts to performing arts in Malaysia and is an inspiration to arts enthusiasts. His robust approach and uncompromising standards has made Asthana Arts a torch bearer of contemporary productions which at ease with both new age and traditional Indian arts in Malaysia.

We at MIB wish him and his talented team at Asthana Arts best wishes in their pursuit to take Indian dance in Malaysia to greater heights.

Awards• The Asian Young

Ambassadors Award 2008• The Malaysia Top 10 Awards

2009• The MIC National Arts and

Culture Award 2012• 1Malaysian Indian

Student Performing Arts Ambassador 2013

• The Edison Award for the best Malaysian Arts team 2013

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at a GLaNCeName of Company:Asthana ArtsFounder and Artistic Director:Ravi Shanker Rama MurthyYear Founded:2008

Services:Performing Arts and Commercial Events. Productions include

New Age, Fusion amd Semi Classical focussing on variety social

issues, epic renditions and community development

Address:No. 166, 2nd Floor Wisma MAB, Jalan Tun Sambanthan, 50470 Kuala Lumpur

HP:012 6966 407/016 907 7693Email:[email protected]@asthanaarts.comWebsite:www.asthanaarts.comFacebook:Asthana Arts Kuala Lumpur

Achievements:• Winner of Multiple Awards• First to initiate Indian dance clubs in Universiti Putra

Malaysia, Universiti Malaya and Universiti Kebangsaan

Malaysia • Encouraged non-Indians to take up Indian dances

• Pioneered New Age concepts with an Indian theme

• Choreographed 250 cast and dancers in one presentation,

Malaysian’s Largest Tourism Float

• Choreographed 40 International beauty queens for grand

opening of Miss India Worldwide within 3 days

• Conceptualized and created countless Artistic directions,

choreographies and creative presentation in Malaysia and

abroad. • The only Malaysia India Performing Artistic with both

management, theater and dance as background, academically

and by experience.

Inspiration: Uday Shankar, father of modern Indian dance

Future Plans: • Establish branches all over Malaysia

• Make Asthana Arts a one-stop centre for dance, theatre and

music as well production management.

• A leading Indian new age based performing arts studio.

• Present Malaysian Indian Broadways and Musical theater to

the mainstream market.

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Question: Who is your inspiration or role mode that you look up to -- in your personal life and in your business/

career. (eg parents, teachers, Tony Fernandez, Bill Gates etc)

Why are they your inspiration? Please explain.

Gonasagaran, Puchong Oprah Winfrey has been my role model from the time I read the quote “Lots of people want a ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down”. She has inspired me in ways I could never think of. As a public figure, she has always upheld her dignity in a manner so professional, so motherly yet so friendly. She is my inspiration because of how she has outlived herself despite her dark childhood history, It only means that anything is possible if you are willing to love yourself and come out to live the life of your dreams. Her messages are always so down to earth and things that we normal people can associate to. Everyone has had some struggle in their lives, but try turning your wounds into wisdom she says, and you will do better.

Syafiq Ali, Kuala LumpurMy inspiration or role model is my DAD that i always look up to. My dad is a taxi driver, but nonetheless he make sure that all of his family get what they want through his hard earn money, he never fail to make sure that all of us get to pursue our studies until higher level and we are lack of nothing. He will back home tired and we can see his pain through his eyes but he never shows that to us, that’s my dad, a man full with love and care and have the title of father.

Rukesh Roa, PuchongSomeone they admire or a role model. A role model is someone who is inspiring and that you look up to. My role model is my dad, Ramasamy. He is my role model because he never gives up,he is supportive, and respectful. The main reason my dad is my role model is because he never gives up. He stand up by his self to success in his life and prove to everyone in his life that he can do it without any problem or in wrong way ... That’s my dad and he is my inspiration.

Prasanna Ravichandran, PuchongThe person I inspire in my life is Mahatma Gandhi. He was a great leader and a true patriot who led India to independence. He also inspired movenents for civil rights and freedom across the world. “You must be the change you wish to see in the world” by Gandhi.

Gogilavani D/O Perumal, Pasir Gudang JohorI choose my parents as my role model because they themselves will put a great efforts to fulfil our expectation as a children. They don’t think or worried to fulfil our expectation even when they were in trouble. They spend most of their time and money for us even when they actually have other work to proceed.

Vethanayagi, PuchongMy role model is Malliga Murugan.She is something special to me. She is like my parents, sister and friends. She is very kind and friendly person. She is always beside me when I was down and also she is a positive thinker. I love her so much.

Jannatul Hajira, Pasir Gudang JohorMy inspiration is my father who worked very hard to provide us best education and best in everything he gave me. He lost his father which means my grandpa when he was 10 years old. Even he faced many problems but never left his hard work. He made me to learn well even from the bad.

Aswinkumar S/O Gunasekaran, PuchongThe person I look into is my mother, Punithavathi d/o Ramsamy. My mother is someone very special to me because she thought me how to live a life. My mother is a single mother, we been through many difficulties in life when I was 8 till today (19 this year) . The pain of life brought me to success. I love my mother a lot. Thanks to her for making me such a great person. My mother is my inspiration. She thought me when there is no pain in life, there is no gain.

Yamunaah Rani Ravichantar, PuchongJust like any other teenage girl, my favourite tv channel had been E!entertainment. I still remember watching that channel day and night. Until one day they aired a program called Forbes top 20 richest women in the world. J.k rowling was placed 2nd, which surprised me and i was anticipated to know who got the first place. It was none other than the lady of inspiration Oprah Winfrey. She was such a powerful figure that from that day on i followed her talk shows and her official websites. The Oprah Winfrey show, even a caveman would be familiar with the show. The issues that discussed and had been highlighted was life changing. There were shows moved me and

Puvanesvaran Perumal, PuchongThere are totally two of them my role modes. Dr. Kamalhassan and Ajithkumar who are Tamil film industry actors. Professionally they are actors,besides that they are also very nice human beings.They help poor people and never expec publicity by any chance.They r on their track and won’t listen to other discouraging advices but take it as a challenge and overcome it.Moreover I inspired by their hardwork.They will put their 100% in each small perspective work they do.They never had give up although they face so maby challenges which is important to succeed in life.If u ask me to give 1 word for both of them...I will say they are LEGENDS...

Goekulan S/O S.Rajendran, PuchongThe person I admire the most would be Bill Gates. I was about 12 years old when I first read about Bill Gates. I was inspired by his biography of outstanding achievements and have admired him since that moment. Due to my interest on business world, he is my best role model that I can be inspired of. Furthermore, Bill Gates was a very successful business man.Also, he is a great leader of his Microsoft Company, and he is very generous. Bill Gates also has a beautiful attitude of caring others who needs help from him. Eventually, Bill Gates really inspire me with his fantastic qualities.

put me in tears. Its not how much money she earned that inspired me, its how many people’s life she changed, including mine. From a poor background she became a billionere, nothing is impossible suits her best. And my ambition to be a writer and journalist fuel up after reading her autobiograpy. Too bad the show has ended. I always dreamed and wanted to be in one.”As you become more clear about who you really are, you’ll be better able to decide what is best for you-the first time around” & “the biggest adventure you can ever take is to live the life of your dreams” my favourite quotes of Oprah Winfrey.

Melashiny Karunakaran, Petaling Jaya I would say my role model is my dad. his name is K.karunakaran. he is such a simple man but yet he will be always my superhero. he inspire me in many ways such as being humble and patient in handling situation. Being a friend who listen to their children and gives them his full support.He also teach his children how to face adversity with courage and teach his kids to never compromise their beliefs to please others.

Arvind, Petaling JayaMy inspiration is my Mother, She may be the homemaker but she control’s and manages everything in the home. Her treating with everyone inspired me a lot. She never share her sadness with everyone but the happiness. I have learnt lot from her like hardworking, getting the work done.

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June 2014.indd 32-33 27/5/2014 6:15:19 AM

K.Kavitha Rubiny, Petaling JayaMy mother is the person who has the most impact in my life, and she made me a better person.she is V.sumathy ,also my hero in many ways. My mother has many good qualities and values, and being a strong woman, supportive, and spiritual are the most important description of her personality. My mom is the strongest person I never seen. She used to work before i was born but after that she has sacrifices her job and dream just to raise her children. She never complained about her life., she always makes time to her family, and makes sure that we have done our homework. I learned

Subra, Petaling JayaFriends I would like to express my view about my role model. My role model is my parents and I think each and every human being now or then always want to be like like their parents because they have spent all their time with them and by seeing all the affection and worry of their parents towards us will make us to understand what our parents have sacrificed for us to make our life beautiful. We can never feel their pain when we are in any trouble cause they don’t want us to know what they feel at that moment they just try to make our problems as theirs and find solution for that and try to teach us how to get rid of those problems.

Elangovan, Pulau PinangJackie chan because he know his skills and talents and he still developing that skills and talents. He know so many things in the world. His knowledge and hard working are inspired me to develop my skills and talents. Every successful man only can from his talent development.

Sangita, Kuala LumpurI’m inspired by my brother and my sister in law. They always advise me to be cautious and don’t be careless. That’s why I got a good job. They work hard in the field. They also advised me “work will not come to you, you need to gain knowledge and you will get a good job in your future”. I will not forget them. They are like my angels in my life.

Shalini, Cameron HiglandsMy inspiration is my father who worked round the clock to provide us best education and best in everything he gave me. Even from his childhood he faced many problems but never left his studies. He was very patient even correcting all my faults and providing me the correct paths. He made me to learn good even from the bad.

Jeevan, Kulim The person who inspired me a lot is Dr. A. P. J. Kalam because he came from very middle class Muslim family but with strong determination he achieved everything that he wanted. He wanted to became pilot and fly very in the sky he does not fulfill this aim but he really reached to the highest position in the life. Apart from scientist and India’s ex president, he is poet, a dreamer, a challenger, an achiever and my role model. He and his life inspires me a lot.

Megarajan, Pulau Pinang My previous boss; he groomed me on how to approach projects by hand, how to work within time frame and deliver on time, and to even be true in what you believe in.

from my mother that if I worked hard, I will get what I want. She always said “dont do any bad thing to other person that u don’t want other person do to you ”. don’t be a selfish to bring yourself up by putting other people down. I learned from my mother to be honest and believe in God. If I have to make any big decision, I always asked my mom for advice because she has the wisdom and experience. I know she will tell me the truth even if it is not pretty but with kindness and without any judgment.

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June 2014.indd 34-35 27/5/2014 6:15:21 AM

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MALAYSIA REDOUBLES EFFORTS TO BE HIGH-INCOME NATION

MALAYSIA-TURKEY SUCCESSFULLY SIGN FREE TRADE AGREEMENT

‘FRIENDSHIP BRIDGE’ WILL ACCELERATE SINGAPORE’S INVESTMENT FLOW: JOHOR NGOS

MALAYSIAN FIRMS URGED TO VENTURE INTO BIOMASS SECTOR

FOOD SELLERS, RESTAURANT OWNERS LAMENT OPERATIONS BADLY AFFECTED BY WATER WOES

MALAYSIA-US ECONOMIC TIES WILL CONTINUE TO BE VIBRANT, MUTUALLY REINFORCING, SAYS ECONOMIC COUNSELLOR

TREMENDOUS OPPORTUNITIES FOR E&E SECTOR TO SINGAPOREAN, MALAYSIA BUSINESSES

PERAK WANTS TO DEVELOP ITS SOUTHERN REGION USING ISKANDAR MALAYSIA MODEL

Malaysia is taking the necessary measures in redoubling its efforts to attract investment, drive productivity and innovation in its pursuit to be a high-income nation, said Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

He said the Malaysian government had emphasised a paradigm shift in its policies and mapped out its approach through detailed and comprehensive long-term reforms. “For Malaysia, we believe that to be a high-income nation, it requires redoubling our efforts to attract investment, drive productivity and innovation,” he said.

The Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) with its National Key Economic Areas (NKEAs) and Strategic Reform Initiatives (SRIs) was being implemented to chart the way forward, he said.

“To date, we have made good progress in delivering social development and economic growth under the ETP, particularly in creating new opportunities for both foreign and local investments,” he said, adding that as testimony, the Malaysian economy expanded by 4.7 per cent last year.

Malaysia and Turkey successfully signed a bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in Ankara, Turkey, that would serve as the catalyst to boost bilateral trade to US$5.0 billion in 2018.

The construction of the ‘Frienship Bridge’ connecting Singapore and Johor will accelerate investment flow from the republic into the state, thus fostering closer ties of both countries. Leaders of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) were of the view the bridge proposed to be built was timely due to the booming industrial sector in Iskandar Malaysia.

Chairman of Johor Real Estate and Housing Developers Association (REHDA) Koh Moo Hing said the real estate sector would be among the sectors to benefit. “It is high time for a third route connecting Johor and Singapore. If the bridge materialises, it will certainly boost Johor’s economy,” he said.

Koh said the bridge would also help increase the migration of Singaporeans to Johor in the future. In addition, 140 sectors related to real estate would receive spillover effects of economic activities with the construction of the bridge.

He was commenting on the statement by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak on the proposed Friendship Bridge connecting Johor and Singapore.

Malaysian companies should be aggressive in venturing into the renewable energy sector, said the Malaysia-German Chamber of Commerce. “Malaysia should go out more often and conquer the market due to the advantages and huge potential that the country has in the biomass sector, which derives mainly from its oil palm industry,” MGCC General Manager Thomas Brandt told reporters.

The water woes occurring in Selangor over the past two months have taken their toll on food stalls and restaurant operators, not only in the state, but also in the city.Muslim Restaurant Operators Association (PRESMA) President Noorul Hassan Saul Hameed said over 600 members of the association had lodged complaints that their businesses were badly affected by the water crisis.

Malaysia-US economic ties will continue to be robust and mutually reinforcing with the US high technology and knowledge intensive investments contributing to Malaysia’s vibrant economic growth.

After 57 years of diplomatic relations, the US has become one of the largest foreign investors in Malaysia, and Malaysia’s top trading partner, while Malaysia is the 25th largest trading partner of the US.

The presence of large US firms in Malaysia is particularly significant in the manufacturing, electronics and energy sectors. Today, American investments are shifting towards high-end manufacturing and research and development initiatives are being undertaken by Malaysian talents.

Between 2003 and 2013, Americans have invested over US$13 billion in Malaysia. There are over 100 American MNCs in the country, from Motorola, Intel and Agilent to General Electric, Halliburton, Bose and Dell.

There is tremendous potential and opportunities for Singaporean and Malaysian businesses alike through trade, says Malaysian High Commissioner to Singapore Datuk Husni Zai Yaacob.

The Perak government plans to create the Southern Perak Development Region encompassing the Batang Padang and Hilir Perak districts as the area is not within any economic development corridor.

Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir said the area’s overall development plan, when fully completed, would be officially forwarded to the federal government.

“We want this area to be developed using the models of the economic development corridors or the Iskandar Malaysia Development Region in Johor,” he said.

Brandt said many German companies are coming to Malaysia in search of partnerships, especially in the supply of machinery and technologies.

“The biomass sector is very attractive and people realise the potential in the area,” he said, adding that the government has also given it priority with its “National Biomass Alternative Strategy Initiative” to tap the country’s huge potential. “We have the machines that can process any material such as wood and palm oil waste into pellets and briquettes, while Malaysia has the biomass resources,” he added.

Malaysia’s International Trade and Industry Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed and Turkey’s Minister of Economy Nihat Zeybekci signed the agreement, which is Malaysia’s seventh bilateral FTA with foreign countries, after Japan, Pakistan, New Zealand, Chile, India and Australia.

Total trade between Malaysia and Turkey increased 86 per cent over five years, reaching US$1.1 billion in 2013.

At its core, the Malaysia-Turkey FTA (MTFTA) is an arrangement that provides preferential market access for Malaysian goods entering the Turkish market and vice-versa.

“Now, we have to spend between RM300 and RM500 a day just to purchase clean water, as well as disposable plates and cups,” he said. The water rationing plan in Selangor was implemented last month when the water treatment plants in Cheras Batu 11 and Bukit Tampoi were forced to stop operation after the ammonia content in the raw water rose to dangerous level.

In 2013, he said Malaysia’s total trade amounted to US$434 billion (RM1.37 trillion).

“Exports amounted to US$228 billion (RM720 billion) while imports totalled US$206 billion (RM650 billion). “About 33 per cent or US$75 billion (RM236.7 billion) comprised electrical and electronic (E&E) exports, making E&E the biggest export component for Malaysia,” he said.

“Malaysia-Singapore total trade in 2013 stood at US$57.2 billion (RM180.6 billion) making Malaysia the second largest trading partner for Singapore after China.

Zambry said the proposal was a long-term development plan which would strengthen the area’s economy involving the education, port, and automotive and other industrial sectors.

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According to Forrester Research Forecast, spending on cloud computing services is expected to grow to RM509bil globally by 2020. Cloud computing investments in Malaysia are expected to head towards an upward trend, too, reaching RM2.8bil by 2020 - a sharp increase as compared to RM140mil recorded in 2012. The figure showcased the need for businesses to adopt cloud storage and systems as the way forward, which has also been acknowledged by the government through its various initiatives such as MSC Malaysia Cloud Initiative for SMEs.

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Dimension Data also released a set of pre-configured cloud server images that makes it easy, safe and cost-effective for cloud clients to have a new cloud server operational in Dimension Data’s Managed Cloud Platform (MCP) within 30 minutes.

Dimension Data offers integrated, enterprise-class cloud services that enable businesses to leverage the flexibility of the cloud for both temporary and mission-critical data centre workloads. For further information on Dimension Data’s cloud services.

g Person’s name

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Bhairava ShivabaratyFounder of Zenzone Transformation.Trainer, motivational speaker, counsellor, yoga teacher, hypnotherapist, siddha medical practitioner, Indian martial arts expert and more.

[email protected]: zenzone transformation

BUsiNess sUccess via astro scieNce:CREATING A MILLIONAIRE

Is it possible to overcome major lost in our business by using Astro science? If you finding a continues lost in your or

stagnant in your business there could be some major reasons as socio economical statues, marketing strategy, wrong investment and finally coordination of the cosmological phenomenal.

We all know that value of time is immeasurable. The celestial forces procreate every object in the nature at a particular moment, develop it for a certain length of time and dissipate it on an appointed time. To comprehend this phenomenon, it is essential to understand the heavenly currents that influence the recurrent activities. It is suffice to know that we are living in an environment of vibratory energies which regulate the cyclic functions of creating developing and destroying.The radiations emanating from the celestial bodies though invisible, it greatly affect the proceedings relating to life cycle.

The Sun which unites energies, has the predominance over solar system and thus is the prime force in governing the life process .The perpetual assimilations of this

planetary energies by our ancient sages were subtle and accurate which formed the fundamentals of Vedic Astrology, especially in MUHURTA because the elected time for a specific event is that when all the propitious vibrations are focused onto it so that the energy produced at that moment counters all the inauspicious forces and guarantees success in the venture.

The electional astrology though simple in its application, it serves most useful purpose. The knowledge of celestial’s concepts are exceedingly important to fix the favorable

time for those who wish to celebrate a function or launch a new project etc. Infact, NAKCHATIRAS [constellation] are the key factors in MUHURTA.

Many of the business people failed to understand the natural force which is influencing in a very subtle way into our daily actions. How can we use this wonderful science to overcome major tragedies in business world? There are many hidden secrets and formulas to enhance our business and minimizing the lost.

Basically we have 12 houses which are related with many mundane and material functions as below.

THE 1ST HOUSE, REFERRED TO AS THE ASCENDANT: THE SELF, DEMEANOR, AND VITALITY.It describes the personality, the natural demeanor of the native as he faces the outside world, and also his physical appearance. It is an essential component for the interpretation of the natal chart, and it is one of the four angles of the natal chart (the four most important houses, which are dealt with below). It is located on the left hand side of the natal chart and corresponds to the place where the sun rises.

THE 2ND HOUSE: MONEY EARNED AND MATERIAL GOODS.It describes material goods, how they are managed, and how money is earned. In brief, it includes all financial matters but also represents greed and all sorts of possessions.

THE 3RD HOUSE: IMMEDIATE SURROUNDINGS, SIBLINGS, SHORT TRIPS, AND STUDIES.It deals with communication, the close environment (siblings, colleagues, schoolmates), primary and secondary education, apprenticeship. It also describes short trips, transportation, modern means of communication and all practical things.

THE 4TH HOUSE: FAMILY, HOME, ORIGINS, HEREDITY, AND THE MOTHER,PROPERTIES.It represents the native’s family, ancestors, roots, and home, both the home he comes from and the one he will set up. This house also describes the real estate patrimony, childhood, and emotions. It is located at the bottom of the chart, and like the Ascendant, it is an angular house. For some authors, 4th house represents the mother.

THE 5TH HOUSE: LOVE MATTERS, PLEASURE, LEISURE, CHILDREN, CREATIONS, INTUITIONS, MENTAL STABILITY It describes the person’s creative and recreational activities, his hobbies, as well as his love affairs, his luck in gambling, his relationships with children in general, including his own. This house covers all pleasant things in the native’s life.

THE 6TH HOUSE: EVERYDAY LIFE, DAILY WORK AND COLLEAGUES, LOWER-RANKING CO-WORKERS, ENEMIES AND HEALTH.It describes the native’s everyday life, his behaviour at work, minor obligations, servitudes, lower-ranking co-workers, and pets. It also concerns health, medicines and minor illnesses.

THE 7TH HOUSE, REFERRED TO AS THE DESCENDANT: UNIONS, MARRIAGE, OTHER PEOPLE, ASSOCIATIONS, AND CONTRACTS.It is opposite the 1st house and thus, represents other people, the native’s behaviour towards other people, his partner (spouse or associate). It concerns contracts, associations, marriage and open enemies. It is through the 7th house that the native perceives other people. It is opposite the ASC, and is located on the right hand side of the natal chart and corresponds to the place where the sun sets.

THE 8TH HOUSE: PASSIONS AND CRISES, T R A N S F O R M A T I O N S , DEATH, FINANCIAL INVESTMENTS, AND SExUALITY.It concerns the native’s birth and death. However, it does not necessarily mean actual physical death. It may be a symbolic death,

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and thus, it is synonymous with evolution and transformation. This house also represents inheritances, money earned by other people, but also sexuality, power, all things hidden, and interest in occultism.

THE 9TH HOUSE: TRAVELS, ABSTRACT AND HIGHER CONCEPTS, SPIRITUALITY, AND FOREIGN MATTERS.It is the realm of spirituality and philosophy, higher ideals, faraway travels, both physical and inner ones. Contrarily to the 3rd house, this house represents higher education and universities, as well as the understanding of abstract topics. It is also related to law and legality, and religion.

THE 10TH HOUSE, REFERRED TO : SOCIAL SUCCESS, PROFESSIONAL DESTINY, CARRIER, SPECIFIC BUSINESS INVESTEMENTS… It is opposite the 4th house and corresponds to the native’s professional career, as well as his social elevation as compared to his

family background. It symbolises his ambitions and his achievements in the society. It is also related to the general public, potential fame, and the mother’s influence. The 10th house is in the Southern part of the natal chart and located at its top.

THE 11TH HOUSE: FRIENDS, COLLECTIVE PROJECTS, SUPPORTS AND HOUSE OF GAINING.It represents the native’s projects, his friends, and his protectors. It describes the nature of his friends, his group activities, and the place he occupies within the group, contrarily to the more individualistic 5th house. This 11th house is related to all kinds of humanitarian topics.

THE 12TH HOUSE: ENEMIES, DIFFICULTIES, SOLITUDE, HIDDEN ORDEALS, AND SECRETS.It corresponds to the native’s inner self, ordeals underwent his whole life through, hidden enemies,

and serious illnesses. It is related to places of confinement such as hospitals, prisons, convents, etc., and also includes solitude and major inner crises.

The Tradition classifies houses because, on the one hand, their influence on an individual is not equally important, and on the other hand, they have different specificities in terms of characterology. There are three classifications. The first one deals with accentuation, and the other two, with quadrants and hemisphere emphasis. Here is a short outline of the three classifications:

Based on the individual natal chart one can find an accurate timing of the investment and the source of gaining. Through my past years’ experience I have noticed that many unexpected business flops took place because of the inappropriate timing . The core secret of this wisdom is to understand well on the synchronization between the cosmological movements and human. One can succeed in their business field if they

know the right way to balance the cosmological rhythm with our bio rhythm though. It is not simply caught into unwanted remedies talismans and rituals. Just by using a proper colour and symbols in your name cards and office will make tremendous changes indeed.

Specifically the 10 house and the 11 house are playing a major role of an individual towards their carrier or business opportunities. If one can pick the right source of living with a proper analysis he may win the battle.

If your business is not moving well, then check your current ruling timing at your natal chart. If your timing shows that the 6th house 8th house or 12 house are in the progress than it will bring major failures or lost unto the business . Those 6th 8th and 12th houses are considered malefic houses which can bring worst issues and lost in our carries or investment’s.

The starting point of your ascendant could be at any one of the 12 houses. So the ascendant considered a first house of your natal chart. Each individual houses are connected with specific colours, gem stones, symbols, grains and plants. By using all these methods we can prevent great lost in our business and archive more gaining’s in our future undertakings.

Will explain more in details in my future article about the methods and techniques. Don’t worry, everything in life have solution..

Regards,

Bhairava Shivabaraty

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SINGAPORE AIRLINES NAMED MOST ATTRACTIVE EMPLOYER FOR 3RD STRAIGHT YEAR

PORT OF SINGAPORE REGISTERS GOOD GROWTH IN 2013

SINGAPORE, VIETNAM ENHANCE ECONOMIC COLLABORATION AND TIES

SINGAPORE UNEMPLOYMENT REMAINS LOW DESPITE RISING SLIGHTLY IN Q1

Singapore Airlines has been named the republic’s most attractive employer at the Randstad Awards for the third year running, an achievement which will see it inducted into the Randstad Award Hall of Fame.

The Randstad Award recognises the organisations Singaporeans most want to work for, and were presented in front of an audience of senior executives from Singapore’s 75 largest employers.

Commending Singapore Airlines for its outstanding achievement, Randstad Country Director Michael Smith said: “Singapore Airlines is well-known for providing world-class training and development paths and international career opportunities, which was reflected in its high ranking across each gender, age group and education level.

“It strives to achieve excellence in all facets of business. As a result, it is universally admired not only in Singapore, but around the globe.

“It is vital that employees are proud of the company they work for. Singapore Airlines’ status as the most awarded airline is a testament to its 14,000 employees who make flying with the airline such an enjoyable experience for the 18 million passengers it carries each year,” said Smith.

Singapore Airlines ranked extremely favourably across all key criteria including offering interesting job content, good training, strong management, good financial health, concern for the environment, competitive salary and employee benefits, a pleasant working atmosphere and career progression opportunities.

Singapore Registry of Ships also continued to grow in size and ranks among the top 10 worldwide. Singapore is also now home to about 130 shipping groups. The maritime cluster employs more than 170,000 people and contributes some seven per cent to Singapore’s Gross Domestic Product.

These were reflected in the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore’s advance estimates of port indicators announced by Minister for Transport, Lui Tuck Yew. He said annual vessel arrival tonnage reached 2.33 billion gross tons (GT) in 2013, an increase of 3.2 per cent from the 2.25 billion GT achieved in 2012. Container ships and tankers were the top contributors, each accounting for around 30 per cent of total vessel arrival tonnage.

As the global economy slowly returned to growth, the Port of Singapore maintained its global lead in bunker sales, and achieved good growth in annual vessel arrival tonnage, container and cargo throughput in 2013. The

Singapore and Vietnam will continue to seek greater economic collaboration and forge stronger bilateral economic ties. This was highlighted during the 10th Singapore-Vietnam Connectivity Ministerial Meeting. Minister

Unemployment remained low, despite rising slightly in the first quarter of 2014, while layoffs declined after rising in the preceding quarter. These are the key findings from the “Employment Situation, First Quarter 2014”

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for Trade and Industry Lim Hng Kiang co-chaired the meeting with Vietnam’s Minister of Planning and Investment Bui Quang Vinh. As Vietnam continues to liberalise and develop its economy, Singaporean companies can contribute and participate in Vietnam’s economic development in a wide range of sectors including urban solutions, retail and food services, logistics, telecommunications as well as tourism and hospitality.

Noting the strong growth in bilateral trade and investment services between the two countries over the past decade, both sides agreed there is potential to deepen and expand bilateral economic collaboration. “With urbanisation and rapid economic growth in Vietnam, there is scope for further collaboration in a diverse range of sectors. I encourage companies to continue exploring business opportunities in Vietnam,” Lim said. Bilateral trade has grown steadily over the last decade, achieving a three-fold increase since 2003 to reach S$17.4 billion (US$13.85 billion) in 2013.

report released by the Ministry of Manpower’s Research and Statistics Department. Preliminary estimates showed that the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 2.1 per cent in March 2014 from 1.8 per cent in December 2013. According to the report, total employment grew by 24,900 in the first quarter of 2014, lower than the seasonally high increase of 40,600 in the fourth quarter of 2013.

The increase was also lower than the 28,900 in the first quarter of 2013. There were 3,518,700 persons in employment in March 2014, 3.9 per cent higher than a year ago. This rate of increase over the year was lower than the 4.1 per cent in December 2013. The report showed layoffs declined, after rising in the preceding quarter.

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It’s our pleasure to interview, Dr. Prema an inspiring entrepreneur that passionate to contribute back to society through education. Read on to know her story.

Prior to establishing Sinar Ideal, what were your other work experiences?Interestingly, I started out as a kindergarten teacher at age eighteen. It was from 1992 until 1993. I recall teaching at Tots Dale Kindergarten and Convent Kindergarten. From 1994 until 2003, I juggled several jobs. In the daytime I worked at Public Bank, then from evening until late night I worked as a cashier at a restaurant. I also do weekly cleaning services at some bungalows.

Her affection in tender loving and believe that every child can be nurtured into a great personality. Dr Prema decided to found Sinar Ideal Kindergarten in year 2006 despite successfully managing a factory with 20 workers between year 2004 until 2008.

What sets apart Sinar Ideal from other kindergartens?We place a lot of emphasis on discipline in our work ethics. The teachers and staffs are trained to deal with any types of problem a child may encounter, even psychological ones. Our approach is to communicate with the parents directly in one-on-one sessions. Based on our observation and the type of problem a child has, we would advise parents on how they should deal with their child at home. We also counsel parents on methods they could implement to mould their child’s character. Our methods are effective as until now we have managed to handle all problematic child sent to Sinar Ideal. So far there is not even a single unsuccessful case.

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‘Kindergarten’ is a German word which literally means “children’s garden” – a fitting metaphor for preschool education. Just as how plants are carefully tended with care from young, the same could apply for children.

Dr Prema Lata Ponnusamy,PhD believes that every child deserves a lovely introduction to learning. As a mother, she wanted to enrol her daughter in a good kindergarten. However despite much searching, she couldn’t settle for the right place. She felt something essential was missing; a loving environment. After further thoughts and fuelled by her personal ideals on learning, she decided to establish her own kindergarten.

It was not an easy path but Dr Prema was determined. As the eldest of four siblings and being single-handedly brought up by her mother Mdm Sellamah, she knows well the value of hard work and sacrifice. Fast forward today, her efforts have paid off. Dr Prema is now the proud founder and owner of Sinar Ideal Kindergarten. She also owns a child care centre.

What Makes kindergarten a Fertile learning environMent


We differentiate ourselves from other preschools by instilling goods value and provide children the tender loving care environment in line with our motto of “Instilling value in loving environment”. The effectiveness of our approach attracted parents residing as far 30 kms or more sending their child to Sinar Ideal Kindergarden.

At Sinar Ideal also emphasis on leadership , confidence and politeness to the younger generations. We educate all our children with a general knowledge each day of schooling.

Please give us little insight on how things are run at Sinar Ideal.Well when we first started we only have twenty five students but the number gradually increase to over hundred now. At this figure, we’re trying to put a limit to balance with our current capacity. We also try to maintain it at one session as my childcare centre need attention as well. Our students are of different races and this proves that the kindergarten is versatile as it does not just cater to one race. Generally , we use English as our teaching medium. However we also made it compulsory that our students master their mother tongue and other languages to develop their confidence–I consider this to be very important.

Our teaching method focus only 40% of academic results while the rest are evaluated based on children character and performance. This method enable myself and my able sister Ms Prem to identify problems and rectification steps taken immediately such as inviting parents meet respective teachers on monthly basis.

Tell us more about your students.I’m very fond of my students; it is hard to be away from them for even a day. Many of them can be problematic at first but the more they learn their characters will improve. They can be very confident and humble as well.

What are the qualities that you find sets your students apart from students of other kindergartens?My students are confident. They can give multilingual speeches on stage despite their young age–some as young as six years old. Their level of confidence is remarkable because not everyone, including adults can speak comfortably in public on stage. My students can also be very loving and caring. We would teach them to show love and appreciation to their parents. To the parents delight, they started to show it through adorable gestures like little hugs and kisses. It’s nice to see everyone happy; I believe that with love we can make anything possible.

Do share with us some memorable instances of students who have experience a good change after enrolling at Sinar Ideal Kindergarten.A boy by name of Radzi had emotional problems. When he joined us at age four he has had unsuccessful experience with four pre-schools . With proper care and guidance, he changed tremendously and stayed on until age nine. Another boy name Hazim enrolled at age five. He couldn’t read because he didn’t know the alphabets. But by age 6 he could read well; he would read newspapers and signboards. He is now a prefect at his primary school where he led 500 over students to read Rukun Negara during their assemblies. We also had a girl name Parvani who won’t speak much in public due to low self-confidence. She became more confident after enrolling with us. In primary one and two she emerged as the best student among her peers. There is also another boy name

Darshan who feared preschool a lot. He joined us at age five and we did our best to make him feel comfortable and normal at school. Now he attends school without any fear or difficulty.

Who are the folks who help you to ensure the kindergarten runs smoothly?The first most important people are the teachers of course. At present the kindergarten’s teaching force is a strong multiracial line-up of 12 dedicated teachers. Most of them are diploma degree holders. There is currently one Chinese teacher and next month we will welcome two more. We also have four Malay teachers and the rest are Indian teachers. Most of our teachers are diploma degree holders. The administrative side are placed in very resourceful and capable hands of my sister Prem Sutha. I’m grateful to her as it’s enable me more to focus more delivery and improving quality of teaching.

What are the important traits you expect from a teacher?An effective teacher is one who demonstrates a caring and loving attitude. He or she must be self-motivated, creative, intuitive and strong-willed. A teacher should also possess an authoritative air which is crucial to gain control over any noisy classrooms full of energetic children. I would remind my fellow teachers to always treat their students well. I encourage them to take notice of every student’s progress, be a good listener and be fair. This kind of caring and belonging approach will bring a positive change to the children.

Over the years of running a kindergarten, what sort of challenges you have faced?In my opinion, the greatest challenges can be the parents especially those with character problems and a narrow mind-set. It’s not an easy task to inform them about their child’s performance and advise them if they’re not open to changes or even keen on their child’s

progress. Parents must be willing first to welcome good changes and advices if they want their child to evolve further. When we encounter such parents, we do not easily give up off course. We will patiently convince them with the right approach. After all if we can’t change the parents then we can’t change the child either.

Tell us one thing satisfying which you have realised in running a kindergarten.The confidence shown by parents to Sinar Ideal proofs that with love and care we can mould talented children. To reach this I ensure that all my teachers and staffs understand the need to be good listener without ignoring any of them.

What’s your take on Malaysian Indian involvement in our local preschool industry?I noticed that many Indians like myself has ventured into this industry to set up their own kindergartens. The difference here is they focus only on Indian students. In Kulai alone there are about five kindergartens run by Indians; each with a high percentage of Indian students. At Sinar Ideal Kindergarten, we focus on diverse races. Fifty five percent of my students are Chinese and there are other races too. This is something I’m proud of because it shows how much confidence and trust we have gained from parents across all races.

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Sinar Ideal Kindergarten

Sinar Ideal raises independent & self-disciplined children.

15 years experience in English education & handling kid’s problem.

SRJ NO:2871

No. 2014, Jalan Kemboja 36/20,Indahpura, 81000 Kulaijaya, Johor.

07 [email protected]

www.facebook.com/sinarideal

Instil ling Value in a Loving Environment

Preschool ProgramAge 4, 5, 6

Play GroupAge 2 To 3

Kindergarten Program100% English Medium With Pol Classes

Piano/Swimming/Taekwando ClassesWithout Extra Charges

Who inspires you the most?I am very much inspired by my mother, Mdm Sellamah since she has undergo so many challenges in her life to upbringing all four of us . She works for us without rest , thinking only about her children and with her dedication and hardworks we are here now extending her service to rest of mankind through Sinar ideal. Recognising her sacrifices she was awarded “Anugerah Ibu Tunggal” by Johor Menteri Besar.

What sort of values and approach did you adopt to be successful in your profession?Commitment is my strong point because I want to provide the best learning environment for my students. Once I’m fully committed, I’m also more patient. I practise confidence and I’m a firm believer of hard work. With these values, I try to present the right image at work. I pay attention to any issues that come up and I try to solve them in the best way.

What are your future plans?For the kindergarten, I want students to rely less on books but more on slide presentations during lessons. We’re now implementing bit by bit the usage of Microsoft Powerpoint in our lessons. I’m also in the process to set up a private primary school. My goals are still the same but this time it would be at primary school level. I want to prove that any child can be moulded into better individuals with excellent characters. If we can make them succeed with proper guidance in the right environment, then they will have higher chances to do well when they enter secondary school. Perhaps they can be responsible adults and hold important roles in society when they grow up.

Besides overseeing the kindergarten and the childcare centre, what other activities are you involved in?During my free time I like to travel and meet different kinds of people. I immerse myself with lots of social service activities lending my hand to some 400 people providing

education, counselling, medical and other aids. Currently I’m a division secretary at Persatuan Perlindung Pengguna Malaysia, state secretary for Majlis Lembaga Pengelola Sekolah, secretary for the Junior Golf Club and committee member of Persatuan Muafakat – MRSM-MARA. I also spend time to share my experience with high school and colleges by giving motivational talks.

What valuable lessons have you learnt as an entrepreneur?Great entrepreneurs can discover many opportunities and influence the way we think & live. If you want to be an entrepreneur you must be prepared for the unexpected. The first thing you need is self-confidence which is a key entrepreneurial trait. Then you need to know whether what you have in mind is something people would demand or not. As an entrepreneur you will take risks so you must know how to control the many fears you will face. For example, the fear of humiliation, failure, insufficient funds and etc. You must dare to be different and have

the ability to judge your choices and be perceptive of the latest trends. Do take note too that team work is very important. Do not distance yourself from your staff; treat them like family and this will motivate them to work harder with you. The more support you gain, the closer you are to success. Last but not least, you must also be strong so don’t give up easily and believe in yourself. Ignore negative opinions and focus on the bright side. When I wanted to open a factory and later a kindergarten, many criticised my choice but I persisted and today I reap the fruits of my labour.

Any words of encouragement for our readers who may be interested to venture on the same path as you?I would like to encourage more people especially ladies to venture into education because it is a beautifully rewarding line of work. The main focus here is not money but improving society and moulding our young generation into fine adults. As the saying goes, “It is not important how much you earned, but how many lives you’re changing”.

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What is Memory?

ObservationI have a question for you. Don’t look at your watch. Does your watch have Roman numerals, numbers or lines to mark out the hours? Do you know? Are you sure??

Now look at your watch to see if you were correct. If you were correct, well done! Your observational skills are better than most.

Oh by the way, when you looked at your watch, what time did it say? Most people, even if they get the first question right, get the second wrong.

‘The Most Important Aspect of Memory is Observation.’Regarding memory, the above statement is one of the most accurate that you are ever likely to read. For without observation, there can be no memory. Allow me to elaborate.

Imagine if you will, that you are sitting on your favourite chair, reading a newspaper, with the TV chatting merrily away in the background. Now there you are, reading through a mildly interesting article, when you become distracted by something that is being said on the television.

Now you continue to read through the article (that is your eyes continue to move over the text), but for just a few short moments, your minds attention is focussed on the TV. After a few seconds you realize that you have read through an entire paragraph of the article, yet

you have absolutely no idea what was said in that paragraph.

Now I feel certain that if you have never experienced that exact situation, then you have most likely experienced a similar one. That is a situation where your eyes were on one thing, whilst your attention (or observation) was on something entirely different.

Specifically, what the above analogy tells us is that one can see something, without necessarily observing it. Without observation, there can be no memory. To prove this point, I will offer a few specific examples.

Examples of the Importance of ObservationConsider a man at a party. There he is chatting away quite happily, when he thinks to himself – ‘Did I lock the front door before I left for this party?’ He cannot seem to remember whether he did or he didn’t. Now let us assume that the man did lock his front door. The problem is that he just cannot seem to remember doing it.

The reason for this man’s unfortunate predicament, is that locking the front door whenever he leaves his home, is such a natural thing for him to do, that he does it automatically (without thinking). And if he did not think about what he was doing when he locked his front door, then he did not observe the event.

No Observation = No MemoryA woman is at work, but did she remember to switch off the radio before leaving her flat? Again switching off the radio may be such a natural thing for her to do before leaving for work in the morning, that she did it without thinking. She therefore failed to observe the event.

Failing to observe the event, results in no memory being formed to associate with the event. So it is not at all surprising that she is so unsure.

For my final example, I would like you to imagine a man who embarks

on an holiday, only to be plagued throughout the entire journey, by the thought that he had forgotten to switch off his living room light, before leaving for the airport. He did switch it off, but again he did not observe himself doing it, and as a result he cannot recall the event.

Now that is the sort of thing that can really get in the way of enjoying a holiday! The above examples serve to make clear the point that observation is the singularly most important prerequisite of memory. A prerequisite I might add, that can be greatly improved upon. I will now explain how this improvement may be accomplished.

How to Improve Your ObservationThe method that I shall now outline is an incredibly simple one. Basically, all that is required is for you to make a conscious effort to use your observation.

For example in the above case of the man at the party, who was unsure as to whether or not he had locked his front door. All that he would need to do, in order to prevent all that needless worry, would be get into the habit of whenever he locks his door, taking the time to pause for a couple of seconds to think to himself. ‘I have locked the door.’ Now because he has made a conscious effort to observe himself doing this, he should not forget the event.

The same technique may be applied to the second example. All that the woman would need to do in order to remember switching off her radio, would be to pause for a moment when she does it, and to think to herself. ‘I am switching off the radio.’ Now because she has observed herself doing this, she also should have no difficulty remembering the event.

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Jeyaraman Seenivasagam

Buzan Licensed Instructor for Mind Mapping and Chief Training Officer of Success Edge. Professional trainer & speaker. Trained more than 26, 000 people ranging from students to top management on mind mapping, memory skills, public speaking, creative thinking, speed reading, communication skills and sales. He is available for talks and seminars on Mind Mapping.

[email protected]

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oBservatioNAND MEMORY

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Finally in the third example, all that the man would need to do, would be to observe himself switching off the light in his living room before embarking on his holiday. This should make his journey considerably less stressful.

Do you still think that your observation is good? Then read the piece of text below.

Are you sure that you read it correctly? Read it again. You may have noticed that a word is repeated.

All that I have said in this article, is said to make one fact absolutely clear in your mind, and that is that in order to memorize, one must first observe. This is a fact that is well worth remembering. With this fundamental principle, we will look at some proven methods to remember various kinds of information.

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The Spring

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Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and US President Barack Obama witnessed the signing of US$2 billion worth of commercial deals between Malaysian and American companies in the aviation, biotechnology and insurance sectors.

Obama said the close trade and investment relations between Malaysia and the US would create jobs and economic opportunities in both countries. “We have agreed (for a) new comprehensive partnership between Malaysia and the United States and work to expand our economic touch. The US is already the largest foreign investor in Malaysia and Malaysia is the fastest growing investor in the United states,” he said.

Felcra Bhd distributed RM106.3 million in the final dividend payout for 2013 to 73,132 participants of its plantation schemes on the back of net profit for the year of of RM282.7 million, said chairman Datuk Bung Moktar Radin.

The payouts included RM410,000 for 123 members of Koperasi Sukau Kinabatangan Bhd, he said, adding Felcra had paid in advance the first and second interim dividends of RM80.8 million and RM95.5 million respectively.

WORTH OF DEALS: MALAYSIAN, US FIRMS SIGN

DIVIDEND DISBURSED TO 71,132 SETTLERS

RM2 BLN

RM106.3 MILLION

Malaysians plan to increase their travel spend by nearly 20 per cent this year, with 91 per cent planning to travel domestically and 78 per cent planning international trips, said Tripadvisor. According to the third instalment of TripBarometer, an accommodation and traveller survey, Japan is the ‘dream’ destination for Malaysians to visit in the next 12 to 24 months, followed by the UK and France.

However, 76 per cent of Malaysian travellers said currency fluctuations are more likely to impact travel plans compared to 44 per cent globally.

Westports Holdings Bhd is optimistic of achieving between five and 10 per cent growth this year in container handling, underpinned by terminal expansion and a robust global trading environment. Chief Executive Officer Ruben Emir Gnanalingam said construction of Container Terminal 7 was on track and scheduled to be fully operational this year, increasing the port’s capacity to 11 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) from 9.5 million TEUs in 2013.

The Ministry of Youth and Sports are targetting 100,000 youth to venture into agriculture through the various programme implemented. Its Deputy Minister Datuk M. Saravanan said the programmes are lined up in association with the Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority (FAMA) and aimed at raising the economic dependence of youth in Malaysia, especially youth who are less educated.

“The Ministry has identified a number of crops that has vast potential to be ventured, including red chili and banana. FAMA will train the youth in aspects of training and marketing the products,” he said.

Eversendai Corporation Bhd, through its Middle East and India subsidiaries, have secured contracts worth an estimated RM172.2 million, for structural steel projects. Chairman and Group Managing Director Tan Sri AK Nathan said the procurement of these contracts proved that Eversendai remained a strong player in the industry. “We have a strong and established management which oversees the areas of planning, procurement and execution in a timely manner”. Nathan said the company also remained committed to its core values of compliance to safety, conformance to quality, adherence to schedule and ensuring consistent client satisfaction as it looked forward to a fruitful year in 2014.

India has sold its first aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant to a ship breaker for US$10 million following an auction. INS Vikrant, purchased as HMS Hercules from Britain in 1957, had played a keyrole in enforcing the naval blockade on East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) duringthe Indo-Pakistan War of 1971. The Indian Navy vessel was sold to a company named I.B. Commercial Pvt Ltd.and has 30 days to settle the payment and tow the ship away. The ship was commissioned as the first aircraft carrier of the Indian Navy in 1961.

Maybank expects its debit card billings to rise by 20 per cent to RM7 billion this year from RM5.7 billion last year, boosted by its first new Maybank Visa Platinum Debit card. Head of Regional Cards and Wealth B. Ravintharan said the new card aims to tap into the growing acceptance by Maybank cardholders in performing debit transactions. “We have been seeing significant increases in the number of debit transactions last year, the bank recorded more than 25 million debit transactions worth RM5.7 billion.

INCREASE IN TRAVEL ExPEDITURE IN 2014

GROWTH FOR WESTPORTS INCONTAINER HANDLING IN 2014

YOUTHS TO VENTURE INTO AGRICULTURE

WORTH CONTRACTS FOR EVERSENDAI IN MIDDLE EAST AND INDIA

FOR INDIA’S 1ST CARRIER

INCREASE TO MAYBANK’S DEBIT CARD BILLINGS

20 PERCENT

20 PERCENT

100,000

RM172 MLN

US$10 MILLION

20 PERCENT

30.006 mm

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An exquisite event broughtto you by ASC Agenda Suria Communication Sdn Bhd which will be a platform to deliver the real value by successfully targeting the right customers as well as discerning consumers who have vast spending power and are frequent purchasers of high quality Wedding Fashion & Jewellery.

The IWF 2014 starts on the 25th April 2014 and ends on the 27th April 2014. The exhibition halls will be open from 10.00 am in the morning till 10.00pm at night. There is a total of 94 booths displaying various wedding related services. A total crowd of 50,000 are expected to attend.

IWF 2014 is a one-stop shopping experience where you can walk along aisles of exhibition booths and view only the best Indian wedding products and services in one convenient location. IWF 2014 will showcase the most beautiful and glamorous Indian wedding apparels never seen before in Malaysia.

Participating vendors create lavish exhibit displays showcasing their products so that you can easily see everything they have to offer for your wedding.

You’ll discover a comprehensive range of Indian wedding services at the IWF and save countless hours from driving all over town. Instead of looking on-line at pictures of wedding sweets & cakes, floral arrangements, and wedding halls, you will be able to taste Indian sweets from several prominent Indian sweet makers to discover the perfect sweet for your wedding!

Organized & Conceptualized by ASC Agenda Suria Communication Sdn Bhd this event will showcase the latest collections from manufacturers and distributors from the Wedding Industry and lifestyle sectors including several international names as well.

The event will highlight the presence of a niche group of businesses engaged exclusively in Indian wedding related products and services. The products / service range include Fashion and accessories for Brides and Grooms, Beauticians, Make-Up, Mehendi, Bridal Gowns, Bridal Hair Stylists, Bridal Sarees and Suits, Reception venues, Entertainment, Fashion Boutiques, Florists, Caterers, Furniture, Jewellery,

Honeymoon Destinations, Hotels and Resorts, Photo & Videography Services, Restaurants, Vastu, Wedding Cards, Wedding Planners, Astrology and many more you’ll find it all in one location.

IWF 2014 is also offers one-of-a-kind show specials. Many of our exhibitors offer booking incentives and special discounts not found anywhere else. Whether your wedding is large or small, you’ll find a wide range of wedding merchants eager to please a variety of tastes and budgets. There is so much to discover at IWF 2014 so make sure to invite all the members of your bridal party including the groom; you’ll appreciate their help in making your important bridal buying decisions.

After visiting the lavish wedding services exhibit displays, you and your entire bridal party will want to sit back and be pleasantly entertained by the highly acclaimed Indian Wedding fashion show. The runway show is also where we award all of our wedding gifts and special prizes from participating sponsors.

IWF 2014 showcases the best-of-the-best Indian wedding trends on stage so that you can see our top picks up close and personal. In See and experience the excitement of how the collections look, flow, and sparkle while walking down our runway. No wedding would be complete without a visit to The Indian Wedding Fair 2014.

The Indian Wedding Fair 2014 allows you and your entire bridal party to meet photographers, talk to wedding experts face-to-face and see the Indian bridal fashion show.

There is so much to see and do at IWF 2014; you could literally plan your entire wedding in one day. And think of the time and money you will save as you discover all that’s new in wedding planning. You know what you want when you see it, so see it all at IWF 2014.

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Bringing classto Indian weddings!

Kuala Lumpur, 19th April 2014

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MANGOES TO COST MORE IN INDIA DUE TO LOW OUTPUT & RISING ExPORTS

GERMANY TARGETS 10 PERCENT GROWTH IN TOURIST ARRIVALS FROM INDIA

AIR TRAVELERS CAN NOW USE MOBILE DEVICE ON AIRPLANE MODE AT ALL PHASES OF FLIGHT

MILK PRODUCTION CROSSES 121 MLN TONNES

VIETNAM, INDIA BOOST STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP

INDIA BLAMES SWITzERLAND FOR NOT SHARING INFORMATION ON BLACK MONEY

FIRST RUNWAY BRIDGE TO OPEN SOON

UNESCO TO SCRUTINISE DELHI’S BID FOR HERITAGE TAG

Mango lovers in India may have to fork out more for the national fruit due to short supply as a result of a 20 per cent drop in production coupled with rising export orders. “Mango production across India, in all likelihood, will remain about 15-20 per cent lower than last year’s 18 million tonnes,” the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) Secretary-General, D.S. Rawat said.

Exports are likely to remain muted this year as well, he said. “Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh which together account for about two thirds of India’s total mango production have recently witnessed nature’s wrath owing to unseasonal rains,” noted an analysis conducted by the Agri-business council of Assocham.

The weather condition coupled with hailstorm damaged over 50 per cent of the crop which was likely to hold up mango arrivals resulting in upward spiralling of prices, it said. Clocking a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of over five per cent, the production of mangoes across India has increased to 18 tonnes in 2012-13 from 13.9 tonnes in 2007-08.

Germany, which attracted 615,617 Indian tourists last year, is targeting a 10 percent growth in all visitor segments from India this year. Press Trust of India (PTI) quoted German ambassador to India, Micheal Steiner as saying Tuesday that Germany received more than 600,000 overnight visitors from India in 2013, representing a growth of 5.3 percent.

The Directorate General Civil Aviation (DGCA) has decided to allow the use of Portable Electronic Devices (PEDs) including cellphones on airplane mode at all phases of a flight. “The use of PEDs shall be in the non-transmitting mode commonly called flight/airplane mode,” the Ministry of Civil Aviation said in a statement.

Milk production across India has grown at a significant rate of about 19 per cent in five years between 2006 and 2010, with overall milk production crossing 121 million tonnes as of 2010 to 2011. India’s milk production grows at a compounded annual growth rate of over four per cent and is expected to rise

Vietnam and India held their 6th Political Consultation and 3rd Strategic Dialogue in India’s capital in the last two days during which both sides focused on measures to further boost their strategic partnership. Vietnam’s Deputy Foreign Minister Pham Quang Vinh and Indian counterpart Anil Wadhwa spoke highly of the rapid development of a bilateral strategic partnership, following Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong’s state visit to India last November.

India has blamed Switzerland for not sharing information on black money stashed away by Indians in banks there, China’s Xinhua news agency reported.In a letter to Swiss Finance Minister Eveline Widmer Schlumpf, India’s Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said Switzerland is yet to honour the terms of the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) between the two countries.

India’s first runway bridge in Chennai, the capital of Southern State, Tamil Nadu will be put in use. The runway and its bridge across Adyar river, which is one of the two rivers which winds through Chennai, received safety clearance from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, The Times of India reported.

The runway was closed for extension work in 2009. With the opening of the second runway, aviation experts said flight handling at Chennai airport would increase from 27 per hour to at least 40.

However, planes coming in to land will not touch down on the bridge though AAI had been claiming the bridge had been constructed to withstand landing weight of an A380 aircraft, said the report.

It has been decided to mark the touchdown point from the Manapakkam side after the bridge because of two reasons - to provide required safety buffer zone at the end of the runway and DGCA’s reluctance to take a risk on the bridge.

The United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) will be sending a team of archaeological experts to Delhi in June to examine the heritage sites in New Delhi and Shahjahanabad.

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“Germany comes second to Spain as a European travel destination for Indians. We have huge potential. Germany is a fast growing travel market and we will do our best to facilitate visits,” he said.

Sales and Marketing director of German National Tourist Office (GNTO) in India, Romit Theophilus, said Germany recorded a 60 percent growth in tourist arrivals from India between 2007 and 2013.

Besides directing all operators to report any suspected or confirmed PED interference or smoke or fire caused by PEDs to the DGCA, it also laid down guidelines for crew training.

The sites had been included in the dossier submitted by India’s Culture Ministry to be accorded the tag of World Heritage City. The experts will be from countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh, Singapore and Hong Kong, who are more familiar with the Indian monuments than archaeological experts from Europe and the United States.

“To ensure unbiased scrutiny of these sites, none of the experts will be from India,” The Hindu reported quoting unnamed senior official of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), which had submitted the dossier to UNESCO in January this year. After examining the sites, the experts will prepare a report, said the English Daily. “Based on the report, UNESCO will eventually decide whether to accord Delhi the status of a World Heritage City or not. The announcement would be made in June 2015.”

Interestingly, INTACH has compartmentalised New Delhi, which includes landmarks like Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House and other iconic places like Connaught Place and Shahjahanabad built by Emperor Shah Jahan in the 17th Century.

to about 177 million tonnes by 2019 to 2020 and that will help meet the projected demand of 150 million metric tonnes by 2016 to 2017.

However, despite being the largest milk producer in the world, per capita milk availability in India at 252 grammes falls below the global average of 279 grammes per person per day, according to a study entitled “Unlocking the growth potential of Indian dairy industry.”

New Zealand (9,773 grammes), Ireland (3,260 grammes) and Denmark (2,411 grammes) are top three countries in terms of per capita milk availability, revealed the study conducted by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India.

“Switzerland’s refusal to provide information to India and other countries on the grounds that the source of information requested is based on ‘stolen data’ means Switzerland still believes in bank secrecy,” he wrote.

“This is not in tune with the modern era,” he added.

Chidambaram warned that if information continues to be denied to India under the Double Taxation Avoidance Convention (DTAC), the Indian government “will drag the European country to multilateral foras like the G20”.

Both ministers discussed ways to effectively implement the 2013-2015 Action Programme aimed at developing partnership in a strong and comprehensive manner particularly in economy, science-technology, culture and education, politics and security-defence. They shared views on regional and international issues of mutual concern,including maintaining peace, stability, security and maritime safety in the East Sea, and pledged to continue supporting one another at regional and global forums.

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INSPIRATIONAL QUOTES FOR BUSINESS AND WORK ABOUT SUCCESS

“The difference between a successful person

and others is not a lack of strength, not a

lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will.”V ince Lombardi

“Be patient with yourself. Self-growth is tender;

it’s holy ground. There’s no greater investment.”

Stephen C ovey

“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize

how close they were to success when they gave up.”

Thomas A. Edison“The entrepreneur is essentially a visualizer and

actualizer... He can visualize something, and when he

visualizes it he sees exactly how to make it happen.”Robert L. Schwartz

“Always bear in mind that your own resolution to

success is more important than any other one thing.”

Abraham Lincoln “Give yourself an even greater challenge than the

one you are trying to master and you will develop the

powers necessary to overcome the original difficulty.”Wil liam J. Benn

“Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities!

Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your

own powers you cannot be successful or happy.”

Norman V incent Peale Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it

can achieve. Thoughts are things! And powerful things

at that, when mixed with definiteness of purpose,

and burning desire, can be translated into riches.Napoleon Hil l“Successful and unsuccessful people do

not vary greatly in their abilities. They vary

in their desires to reach their potential.”

John Maxwel l To be successful, you have to have your heart in

your business, and your business in your heart.Thomas Watson, Sr

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Balamurugan Deivakumaran

Vertex Leadership Sdn Bhd. An Official Partner of Brian Tracy International. GOALS!

Have you ever wonder why is that some people are more successful than others?

The answer is most successful people or businesses has the ability to set GOALS and make plan to accomplish it. People with clear, specific, written goals accomplish more in a few months or a few years than most people accomplish in a lifetime. Fortunately, goal setting is a skill that anyone can learn through instruction and practice. Once you have this skill, your future will become unlimited.

Several years back Harvard Business School had made a research on goal setting and they found out that 3% of people who had written goal were earning 10 times as much as the other 97% who had no any written goal.

Goals activate your positive mind.

Goals give you a sense of power and purpose in life.

Goals trigger ideas for goal attainment.

Goals builds persistence & determination for goal attainment.

Your ability to set goals and to make written plans for their accomplishment is the “master skill” of success.

The benefit of goal setting is:

Decide exactly what you want?

Be specific, clear and detailed.

Make your goal measurable and objective.

Determine why you want it. What’s in it for you? -The more reason you have, the more motivated you will be.

Make sure your goal is logic and achievable.

Set a deadline for achieving your goal.

Write it down & Take action!

An example of an ideal goal is“I need to save RM 100,000 for my child’s education and I will achieve this by 20th December 2015”. This goal is specific, measurable, achievable, has reason & deadline.

The great key to success is for you to determine exactly what it is you really want in life and then do something everyday that move you toward the accomplishment of your major goal.

So here are the 7 keys to setting goals :

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