January - June 2006 Vol 4 Issue 1 & 2

The Wellness Hospital

3r3r3r3r3rddddd

AnniAnniAnniAnniAnnivvvvvererererersarsarsarsarsaryyyyy

IssueIssueIssueIssueIssue

3r3r3r3r3rddddd

AnniAnniAnniAnniAnnivvvvvererererersarsarsarsarsaryyyyy

IssueIssueIssueIssueIssue

When the KohinoorCity Hospitalproject came my

way, I somehow had a gutfeeling that here was mychance to set up a hospitalwhich would be ‘patientfriendly’, a wellness centre,affordable and yet providingall clinical, medical, nursingand support services – all un-der one roof; at long last, thehospital, a mental plan ofwhich was already built up inmy subconscious over a scoreof years spent in varied ad-ministrative and supervisorycapacities in several well-known hospitals in the coun-try and abroad.

When I actually put mymind to work out the strategyand plan to set up the hospital,realisation dawned thatthroughout my professional ca-reer, I had been making a men-tal note of all that a hospitalshould and should not be.

All these issues whichwere dormant in the deep re-cesses of my mind suddenlyerupted like an active volcanoand came to the fore when Iset about thinking how Ishould go about setting up thehospital at Kohinoor City.

In the very first meeting,the Kohinoor Group headhoncho, Mr Unmesh Joshi,impressed me as a man whowas absolutely clear aboutwhat he wanted, gave you anequally clear picture of whathe expected from you and leftthe nitty-gritty of how to do itto you, subject, of course, tohis approval of the all-impor-tant factor - finance.

In my subsequent meet-ings I discovered that when youapproach him with your plan,he patiently listens to you andvery convincingly gives those ex-pert modifying touches to bet-ter your plan.

Today, on the threshold oflaunching the hospital projecton the auspicious occasion ofDassera in October this yearwith a target of having the hos-pital commissioned by early2008, my gut feeling has turnedinto firm conviction.

Kohinoor City struck meas a very different townshipdesigned to encourage a warmhomely friendly interactionamong the residents (no high-rises). And it dawned on methat this would be just the

place where my mental imageof an ideal hospital should bearchitectured into reality. Hav-ing said that, let me share withyou my vision of an ideal hos-pital, or let us say, near idealhospital (for there is alwaysscope for betterment).

To begin with, the veryword ‘hospital’ brings aforeboding image. Under-standable, as a ‘patient’ canhardly say that he has hada ‘pleasant time in the hos-pital’. That is exactly whatI want to change. Wheneveranyone has to go to the hos-pital in Kohinoor City, itshould bring a smile andnot apprehension in theperson’s mind and that in-cludes children too. Andmind you, I shall toil hardat changing the Indianpsyche that one goes to thehospital only when one isseriously ill or unwell.

No, friends, you needto visit a doctor or go to ahospital to ‘keep well, feelfine and fit’. Believe me, theage- old adage ‘Preventionis better than cure’ cannothold more true when it comesto healthcare.

In that case, what reallyshould a hospital be to makeit a pleasant experience forpeople? Well, essentially, itshould have all the elementsof a ‘Hospital’ in terms of in-frastructure, medical facilities,equipment, diagnostic andpathological laboratories, ex-pert doctors, nurses, otherpara-medical and supportstaff, and so on. I’m sure youget the picture. So let’s say thatfirst and foremost it should bea good ‘hospital’ as under-stood in common medicalparlance or as any commonman perceives it.

Yet, that wouldn’t make ita pleasant experience, would it?At the most, the hospital couldstake a claim to excellent medi-cal facilities. Then comes thenext element ‘Care’. Rightfrom the moment, our patron(let’s stow away the term pa-tient) should feel cared for. Thatis going to be the next essentialelement in the hospital. So thatmakes it Hospital + Care. Ev-ery single representative of thehospital right from the securityat the entrance to the reception-ist, administrative and medicalstaff, consultants, resident doc-tors, nurses and attendants,shall strive to make his/her in-

teraction with the patron apleasant memorable experienceso that the patron remembersour representative with fond-ness.

What next? ‘Home’. Yes.Patrons should get the kind ofcare they get at home so thatthey feel they are taking

healthcare measures or gettingwell at home. In other words,the hospital should be a secondhome to our patrons. To put itin a nutshell, the hospital shouldbe a home to the patron and thepatron should be absolutely at homein the hospital.

So the three essential ele-ments of my near ideal hospi-tal are Hospital + Care +Home.

How do we plan to pro-vide all these three elements inKohinoor City Hospital(KCH) ?

KCH will be a 200-bedmulti-specialty hospitalspread over an area of about2,00,000 sq ft housed in aground plus five-storey struc-ture. The USP of KCH will beits patient-friendly design andambience, supported by 24x7Emergency, Radiology andImaging, Pathology, Diagnos-tics, Dialysis services with aPharmacy and Blood Bank.Emphasis will be on DaycareServices, Specialty Clinics forDiabetes, Obesity, Mother andChildcare, Pain Managementand other feasible medical ser-vices. Before large horrifyingfinancial figures start loomingup in front of your eyes, let meassure you that we believe inoffering these quality serviceswith minimum frills at an ‘af-fordable value-for-money’

cost in a typical average com-munity setting.

KCH has been carefullyplanned in a phase-wise man-ner after a thorough projectfeasibility study by the re-nowned Hosmac India, Hos-pital Planners and Manage-ment Consultants from

Mumbai. Leading architectsDSA Associates, headed byMr Sandeep Shikre, are theProject Management Con-sultants for this prestigiousproject.

The entire KCH, moreso the lobby, will have a wel-coming inviting ambience,prompting patrons to enterit. We also have plans to pro-vide a children’s play area,ATM counters, Cybercafeand a Cafeteria. Maximumcare will be taken to adhereto design standards laiddown by American Instituteof Architects (AIA) espe-cially in the medical andclinical areas. We also in-tend to authenticate and en-sure excellent quality andsafety standards with ac-

creditation to the world-fa-mous US body Joint Commis-sion International (JCI). Veryfew hospitals in India are ac-credited to this renowned USbody highly respected all overthe world.

The entire KohinoorCity has been designed to of-fer complete accessibility tothe old, infirm or physicallychallenged, round-the-clockemergency, safety and securityservices by Topsline, smokeand gas detectors, adherenceto the US Green BuildingCode, and many more suchfirsts. And all this goes forKCH too. We are also plan-ning to have a unique Keep-Fit-Always Lifestyle Spa inKohinoor City.

KCH will be an exclusivehospice, wellness and recuper-ating centre for people provid-ing them with sophisticatedand dedicated medical atten-tion, technology andhealthcare as per individualrequirement without makingthe patron feel a ‘patient’.

Selection of the KCH per-sonnel, especially service per-sonnel directly interacting withthe patron, like reception andcounter staff, office staff, doc-tors, nurses, paramedical staffand others, will be made verycarefully, with a focus on select-ing personnel whom I would

describe as medico-hospitable,that is, apart from being thor-ough with the medical or healthaspect of their service, theyshould have ingrained all desir-able elements of hospitality intheir demeanour to make ittheir second nature while inter-acting with patrons. For ex-ample, the staff for the geriat-ric/pediatric ward would becarefully chosen from peoplehaving a strong background ofhaving served such patrons forenough time to realise and ful-fil their special needs.

The concept of childbirthor the so-called maternity wardis undergoing a revolution inthe medical world. The lady inlabour no more goes into thedelivery room but sails into abirthing suite equipped with atelevision, Internet access andpantry on call. The whole at-mosphere in the birthing suitewould be very homely. Whilethe mother-to-be would beshielded by a screen duringchildbirth to give her the re-quired privacy, her near anddear ones would be waitingjust round the (corner) screento give her that mental andemotional reassurance of theirclose presence. They would bejust a call away, (even a feebleone would be enough) consid-ering that the lady is in labour.

Apart from the mother ofthe lady on the threshold ofmotherhood, her husband toowould be very much present inthe birthing suite (subject, ofcourse, to the mutual willingnessof both) to share the experience,give her confidence and gothrough that enthralling experi-ence of actually seeing their tinybundle of joy making his/hergrand entry into their world tolight up their lives.

The whole idea is that themother-to-be should be ex-tremely comfortable and relaxedas at home, while the close fam-ily members would actually livethe entire joyful experiencerather than wait anxiously athome awaiting the result.

Besides, we plan to havepatron relationship executives tocordially welcome patrons at theentrance, find out what hasbrought them to KCH, preciselyguide and help them to get theservices they are seeking. Wait-ing time will be minimised sothat patrons do not have to wastetime in futile pursuits or inactiv-ity just waiting.

Contd on page 8

Kohinoor City Hospital is conceived to give a whole new meaningto the word ‘hospital’, says Shailesh DalvieShailesh DalvieShailesh DalvieShailesh DalvieShailesh Dalvie

January - June 20062

Government Recognition forKohinoor Technical Courses

TWIN EVENT HELD

Joshi’s Kohinoor technicaland vocational courseshave now won govern-

ment recognition with a land-mark public-private educa-tional MoU signed by Joshi’sKohinoor Technical Institute(JKTI) with MaharashtraSelf-Employment TrainingBoard (MSTB), a body affili-ated to the Ministry of Hu-man Resources Develop-ment, Government of India.JKTI-MSTB will now jointlyconduct vocational courses inthe fields of Computers, Elec-tronics, Electrical, Mechani-cal and Industrial and pursueother educational activitieswith the objective of encour-aging self-employment.

Joshi’s Kohinoor Tech-nical Institute has been arevolutionary pioneer in tech-nical and vocational education,venturing into the field at a time(1961) when academics wasconsidered the only means toa successful career. The focus,however, was to equip techni-cally oriented youth with pro-fessional skills so that theycould become entrepreneurs orprocure employment. Close tofive lakh students have passed

out of JKTI till date andsought gainful self-employ-ment/employment. JKTIpresently has about 30branches across the state ofMaharashtra.

MSTB is a nodal agencyformed by Government ofMaharashtra to undertaketraining activities to promoteself-employment under

various schemes of thestate government. Underits promotional activities,MSTB appoints Autho-rised Training Centres(ATCs) to promote self-employment throughvarious vocationaltrades.

Under the agree-ment, MSTB has nowprovided affiliation toJKTI for carrying outtheoretical and practicaleducation for courses inthe following areas -Computer Training,Beauty Parlour Training,Tailoring, Fashion De-signing and Dressmak-ing, Nursery Teachers’Training, Video Shootingand Photography, Print-ing Technology Educa-

tion, Industrial Training (ITI)and Screen Printing at itsbranches all over India. Withthis landmark agreement, theMaharashtra government hasput its seal of approval on allJKTI courses conducted at itsvarious branches all overMaharashtra and recognisedits relentless efforts of impart-ing technical and vocational

education with the singularfocus on generating self-em-ployment/employment.

While JKTI has beenrendering yeoman service byconducting courses in theseand more areas at very reason-able or nominal fees for almostfour- and-a-half decades, theagreement with MSTB hasadded more muscle to JKTI’sefforts. JKTI students willhenceforth have the added ad-vantage of government recog-nition as a result of this agree-ment. Successful students willreceive certificates bearing thelogos and signatures ofauthorised signatories of bothJKTI and MSTB.

JKTI students of all 30branches also stand to get sev-eral other benefits like detailedliterature containing Entrepre-neurship Development Input(EDI) through which studentsget the required knowledgeand information to use theskills acquired as a self-em-ployment tool. EDI also in-cludes guidance for preparingproject profiles and availing ofloans from banks under vari-ous government-sponsoredprograms, etc.

JKTI will now have thestrong support of MSTB toimplement various governmentschemes related to training andself-employment at all itsbranches. Students will also beeligible for travel concession fa-cility provided by State Govern-ment Transport Authorities inIndia. The certificate issued byJKTI and MSTB to successfulstudents can also be registeredin the employment office underself-employment inMaharashtra and other states ofIndia.

MSTB Executive DirectorRamlal Wagh and Regional Of-ficer Manish Ranshur played akey role in consolidating thisunique public -private collabora-tion. This landmark public- pri-vate educational alliance willenable JKTI students to have anexpansive umbrella of added ad-vantages.

With this shot in the armfrom MSTB to strengthen its edu-cational programs JKTI is poisedto expand rapidly and increase itsbranches to give the benefit ofthese JKTI-MSTB self-employ-ment/employment generatingprograms to more and moreenterprising youths.

Kohinoor BusinessSchool (KBS),Khandala, recently

hosted a unique twinevent at Kohinoor Conti-nental, Andheri. A first ofits kind for KBS, two eventswere held parallely at thevenue, the KBS-2006Research Conference andVyaktitvam - an annualHR Summit. Prof KNeelakantan, Director,SIES-CEMRD (Centre forExcellence in ManagementResearch and Develop-ment) played a major rolein organising this event.

The twin event wasinaugurated by Mr UnmeshJoshi, Chairman andManaging Director,Kohinoor Group, afterwhich Dr B P Verma,Director, Kohinoor Busi-ness School and AdjunctProfessor, Sprott School ofBusiness, Carleton Univer-sity, Canada, presented thewelcome address.

In his inauguralspeech, Kohinoor CMDUnmesh Joshi set everyonethinking by raising an

interesting question – Canwe not look at attrition in apositive way by having aplanned attrition on thelines of the Reliancemodel? While setting up anew unit or business, alarger workforce may berequired. Once it is set upand stabilised, only amaintenance workforcemay be necessary while theextraneous human re-sources can be diverted tonew ventures. Is this notplanned attrition and a verypositive way in which tolook at attrition?

Twenty-five selectresearchers presented theirpapers at the KBS-2006Research Conference. Thespeakers were - Dr RGopal, Professor, MGM,Navi Mumbai, Dr GulnarSharma, Professor, SNDT,Mumbai, along with MsMeghashree Dalvi, KumarAbhishek and PrashantSrivastava, students of IIM,Pune, who spoke on variousaspects of Retailing;Vaibhav Pallival and SulalMathai, Sadhana Centre,

Pune, who spoke onEducation; Dr Ketna Mehta,Associate Dean, Welingkar,Mumbai, Prof MeenalDhotre, Cummins Manage-ment College, Pune, spokeon Healthcare. Mr AvinashMandle presented a researchpaper of Ms Sonal Sisodiya,SBS School, Ludhiana, onthe same topic. Mr C TAbraham, ADB, Delhi,Dr Srivastava and Prof RSrinivasan, Somaiya Insti-tute, Mumbai, who spoke onPublic Services; Prof.Prakash Jagdale, ICFAI

Business School, Mumbai,Prof. Mohsin Shaikh,CMRD, Pune, who spoke onHuman Resources; ProfAnuradha and Mr VishalTiwari, SIMS, Pune, MrDhwini Patel and Mr SandipMatte, IIM, Pune, Mr RahulPomal, IBSAR, NaviMumbai, who spoke onTelecom.

The keynote address for‘Vyaktitvam’, the AnnualHR Summit, was renderedby Dr G Chandra, President– HR, Cap-Gemini Ernst &Young. Dr Chandra ex-

plained the theme of thesummit, ‘Talent Manage-ment: Managing Attritionin the Service Sector’. MrDeepak Deshpande, Head– HR, Lion BridgeTechnologies Inc and MrArjun Naik, NationalManager – HR – KellyServices, spoke on Manag-ing Attrition; Ms ShrutiAmbegaokar, Consultant -Watson Wyatt (WorldWide), spoke on EmployeeManagement in ServiceIndustries. Mr TarakGhosh, DGM – ICICIOnesource, on HRScorecard and PerformanceManagement; Mr P P Roy,HR Consultant & FormerChief, HR – HerdilliaChemicals on Compensate,Don’t Pay Salaries.

This was followed bya Panel Discussion on ‘AnApproach to Self-Regula-tory Mechanism to PreventPoaching’. The panelistswere Mr Rajiv Vaishnav,from NASSCOM,Mumbai, Mr ArvindMurwaha, SeniorManager-HR, RelianceInfocomm, Mrs SonalSatelkar, Manager-HR,Kohinoor Group. Thediscussion was moderatedby Mr K S Kumar, Execu-tive VP-AFH Investment &Research.

Kohinoor CMD Unmesh Joshi inaugurating the twin event, KBS-2006Research Conference and Vyaktitvam-Annual HR Summit, a first for

Kohinoor Business School, Khandala, while KBS Director Dr B P Vermaand a student look on.

Kohinoor Business School held itsfirst Research Conference

and HR summit

The government-recognisedcertificate awarded to JKTI students

January - June 2006 3

KOHINOOR – IMI’S YCMOU ADVANTAGE

In a strategic educational partnership with the renownedYashwantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open University (YCMOU),occupying the fifth pride of place among open universities inIndia, Kohinoor – IMI now offers its students the advantage ofand additional BBA degree in Hotel and Tourism Managementgranted by YCMOU in addition to the Swiss Higher Diploma inHospitality Management certification. YCMOU was established in1989. Today it offers more than 120 academic programs fromcertificate to post graduate and research levels in a wide range ofacademic disciplines. It has international collaborations withCommonwealth of Learning, Canada, and CommonwealthSecretariat, London. With Kohinoor – IMI and YCMOU comingtogether, Kohinoor – IMI students will now have the advantage of‘single curriculum, dual certification’.

KOHINOOR – IMI LAUNCHESMBA PROGRAM IN HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT

With the YCMOU collaboration, Kohinoor – IMI has now launched a two-yearresidential MBA program in Hospitality Management at Kohinoor GlobalCampus, Khandala, starting this academic year. Considering that Kohinoor –IMI started with an undergraduate program in 2000, graduating from an under-graduate program to a post-graduate MBA in just six years is no mean achieve-ment.

This is what the Kohinoor City marketing team strongly believes in. In a rare gesture to give customers added valuefor money, Kohinoor City of fers its customers a choice in the look and ambience of their f lat at no extra cost.Recently, Kohinoor City customers were invited to for a ‘customisation drive’ to select f loor and wall tiles in variousparts of the f lat (living room, passage, bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchen), sanitaryware and modular kitchen elements,etc from various samples on display. The customisation drive was extended to overseas customers too. The market-ing team f lew to Dubai and Muscat with all the samples to of fer expat customers the same choice, learn theirpreference and execute further work in their f lats as per their choice.

As for what customers have to say about the marketing team and this initiative, we’ll let them do the talkingthemselves –

SBI AND HDFC LOANSFOR KBS AND KOHINOOR – IMI STUDENTS

Students of Kohinoor Business School and Kohinoor – IMI can now avail ofloans from two prominent banks, State Bank of India and HDFC Bank, to fundtheir education. To make it easier for students, the loans can be applied for andprocessed at any of the various branches of both these banks all over India.

I booked two flats in Kohinoor City based on their presentation made inDubai. I liked the project, its location and the fact it was different from allothers where the builders focus only to maximise their returns by increas-ing constructed areas without regard to greenery and open spaces.

My family was apprehensive as I booked the flat and paid the firstthree instalments without even seeing the property. I visited the site for thefirst time in June 2006. I met Ms Bijal Patel and she took me around themodel flat and my flat on the sixth floor, whose structure was ready. I wasvery impressed with the design of the model flat and satisfied with theprogress of the construction. What impressed me the most was the cus-tomer service from Ms Patel and the special interest she took in explainingthe details of the flat and its progress. I have bought more than five flats inIndia and this was by far the best customer service interface. This is whereKohinoor differentiates itself from other established large builders whohave the attitude of “we know it all - if you have to buy from us we offerthe best and we know better than the customer.” Hats off, Kohinoor, forhaving excellent staff, who make every customer feel important and caredfor.

Two weeks later Ms Bijal and Mr Modak visited Dubai to offercustomisation choices.There was an overwhelming response as this is thefirst time a builder has come all the way to a foreign city to offer customers

a wide choice. Once again, Kohinoor has establishedhow much they care for customer satisfaction. BothMs Bijal and Mr Modak did an excellent job, spendinglong hours with customers at the cost of their personaltime (they did not even have a chance to site-see!)

Now, eight months after deciding to book a flatwith Kohinoor, I am confident I have made the rightchoice. I will strongly recommend Kohinoor to myfriends when they launch future phases of the project.

Mr Srinivasan Arun, Chief Financial Officer,Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange,

UAE

Since the time Kohinoor has been directly interactingwith the clients in Muscat , we have got the best updateof the development of Kohinoor City.

We have been informed of stage-to-stage construc-tion and recently to our greater surprise, they informedus that they would be visiting Muscat for flatcustomisation. The staff of Kohinoor were very pleas-ant and courteous, giving us enough time to make ourbest choice of interiors - flooring, bathroom tiles, andmodular kitchen cabinets.The team to Muscat was ledby Mr Atul and his best staff Himanshu and Bijal.

Every detail of the flat was explained to us, andwonderful suggestions were made, enabling us to makeour choices in just 15 minutes. The Kohinoor team wasreally great. Seven days later I visited the site and wasstruck by their dedication, construction quality and thebuilding concept. The scheme has shaped up really well.The project has developed much ahead of time. I wasalso able to see work being done in my own flat.

I feel I have put my precious hard-earned moneyin a safe investment. The people I deal with contributetowards these feelings. I wish the Kohinoor Construc-tion management well in this project, and in all theirfuture projects.Mr Merwyn Mascarenhas, Senior Sales Excecutive,

Zubair Automotive LLCMitsubishi Showroom, Muscat

I have booked two apartments in Kohinoor City. Ever since, Ihave interacted with Kohinoor City personnel on various oc-casions – during pre-booking days, registration, getting my loansanctioned from a financial institution. I have also visited thepremises on a couple of occasions, as these buildings were get-ting ready. I have found the people at Kohinoor City veryfriendly, focused and professional. I must especially mentionthat their effort in terms of giving the apartment owners achance to “customise” according to their taste and liking isindeed credit worthy. Although every person that I have dealtwith has been very helpful, two names that strike my mind areMr Atul Modak and Miss Bijal Patel. I am looking forward toseeing Kohinoor City come up to its full glory.

Mr Shankar Dutta, Country Business Manager & VP,Entertainment Imaging Kodak India Private Limited

House-hunting can be a nightmarish experience for anyone who is looking to fulfillvarious lifestyle parameters with a limited budget in hand. Fortunately for us, ourswas an exception to the rule. It is but natural that everyone aspires to have a housein a good location in close proximity to the family house, railway station, bus stop,airport, market, school, office, religious shrines depending on one’s religion etc.Wewere all excited to know that a project was to come up just opposite our currentresidence in Kurla. Naturally we lost no time in contacting the builder’s office atDadar. Our requirement was a 2 BHK flat and accordingly our focus was on whatthe builder had to offer for this type. We were amazed to learn that the amenitiesincluded in the package were in line with what we were looking for. In fact, to behonest, we were getting more than what we had expected.

What impressed us most was that the builder’s sales team was very warm,courteous and accommodating and we could see that there was transparency in alltheir dealings.We would not hesitate in recommending Kohinoor to our relativesand friends, who may want to book flats in projects undertaken by them. We wishKohinoor all the best in their future ventures.

Mrs Judith Sequeira, Asst Manager - Sales,APL (India) Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai

(Mrs Judith Sequeira was the first to book a f lat in Kohinoor City)

Damn, no fantasy mommies here!During a lazy Sunday afternoon newspaper reading session, I came across the ad for Kohinoor City,

almost by accident. And what immediately caught my attention was the intimacy in the communication.Unlike the usual real estate advertisements, there were no pictures of toy houses with toy cars, toy trees,toy fathers taking their toy kids for a walk, no mandatory hot babe by the pool, playing the perfect wifeand perfect mama almost proclaiming that the model home comes with the model fantasy mommy free,clubhouse included! No, the ad had a black and white picture of a kid, accompanied by all the amenitiesbeing provided by the Kohinoor City developers. Stark simplicity, straight messaging... the hardworkingcommunication was direct, yet intriguing.

I was sold. The immediate corollary to this was an immediate trip to the site, lazy Sunday afternoonbe damned. I was greeted by the very earnest and sincere Bijal Patel, helping me glide through the plans,processes and procedures. Bijal and her associates ensured that my fears and anxieties were taken care of,and not very long after, I was filling up the forms to book my own house.

And if I thought I would have a tough time figuring out the home loan and my papers, I had notknown Atul Modak yet! Atul was there for all, and more, making the whole process of registration, et al,a cakewalk, sans any of those labyrinthine queues or those compulsory trips from one table to anotherthat one typically associates with any of the bureaucratic set-ups.

(One minor complaint, though. Despite my regular requests, our man could not find time to havechai with us! Guess he is waiting for us to shift in. Smart.)

I also want to talk about the very professional after-sales services; updates through regulare-mails, text messages or phone calls or the customisation sessions at the site; guess that calls for anotherfeedback note! So we will keep that for some other time.

Mr Vaibhav Vishal, Director, Marketing,MTV Networks India Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai

The Customer’s Wish is Our Command

From Kohinoor’s ‘First Cityzen’

Mr Atul Modak (second from right), Head -Kohinoor City Project, with his marketing team

Customers responded enthusiastically to theunique customisation drive

January - June 20064

Raja-Rani Paryatan Bhavan, 1st Floor, 214, L. J. Road, Near CityliTel.: 2446 7675/76 Fax: 2444

Thane: 32476765 Pune: 9520-24Email: info@rajaranitravels.com, Website: ww

ShoppersMumbai is aShopper’s paradise. Here every-

thing, and that means lit-erally everything, is avail-able off the streets! Clothes,perfumes and cosmetics.Gadgets and gizmos,books, music and VCDs,even furniture and ani-mals... you name it andthe streets haveit !!

Though the gov-ernment has been com-ing down hard onhawkers, and certainareas have beencleared completely,

these hard-headedbusinessmen just keep com-ing back.There are certainareas where you find a bit ofeverything, but the city has

its share of specialitymarkets too, where thebazaars are divided ac-cording to the goods theystock. So you have a ChorBazaar named for the sto-len goods sold there in thepast which has retained itsold name, although it isnow completely on the upand up, and best known forthe stunning antique furni-ture and the replicas thatline the winding streets.

The Oshiwara Joona-Poorana Market is theNorth Mumbai counterpartof Chor Bazaar, which is inthe heart of south-centralMumbai. There are scoresof markets in this city thatsurvive on trade — fromZaveri Bazaar (or the jew-ellers market) to Null(i.e., Tap) Bazaar andLohar Chawl toBhuleshwar, these offera side of the city that isnothing like what isseen on the ‘safe’tourist circuit.

Colaba Cause-way is probably des-tination number onewhen it comes toforeign touristswho enjoy puttingaround the streets

and looking for a great,cheap buy. Beaded belts, silkscarves, and beaded baublessell like hot cakes, as do thekitschy kurtas embellished

with an Om or the imageof Shiva. Brass knick-knacks fight for spacealongside rose quartzes, asCDs and DVDs sit nearhandbags, funky glasses andbestseller novels. Keep youreyes open... you are sure towalk away with somethingworthwhile.

Looking for interestingor ethnic silver jewellery?Of course, there are the oft– frequented shops in thebylanes of Colaba, but besure to check out the hand-ful of tiny silver shops thatsit nestled among the veg-etable vendors at the Colabavegetable market. If it isclothes you are looking for,head to Fashion Street atFountain without a second

From roadside stalls to high-profilefull of treasures

thought if you are inSouth Mumbai, or toLinking Road if you are inthe suburbs. Both theroads are l ined withwooden stalls, packed sar-dine-like with the trendi-est of clothes, shoes andaccessories.

And even though theprices are incredibly lowdon’t forget to bargain —it’s almost expected ofyou! Walk around theChurchgate and FloraFountain area and theheart of South Mumbai,not only for the neo-Gothic architecture butalso for the book andmagazine-lined pave-ments - a bibliophile’sparadise. Here you cannot only pick up new (in-cluding pirated versions)as well as used books at afraction of the actual costbut also sell the books youare tired of reading overand over.

Want to try out some-thing more robust? Ex-plore some station mar-kets l ike the one atSantacruz station, espe-cially renowned for itsglass bangles and trinkets.

Gandhi Market nearMatunga station is famedfor the variety of fabrics itstocks, the endless numberof tailors there and the de-signer knock-offs that arehanging within the darkhovels. Too far from yourperch in the heart ofSouth Mumbai? Head onto the Crawford Marketand the neighbouringMusafir Khana instead, ashort taxi ride from Foun-tain, and be sure you willfind yourself amidst com-plete chaos. In one part ofthis open-air market youcan pick up a retriever, a

cockatoo, even a rabbit.Yes , it is an animal mar-ket — and if the animalrights activists have theirway, it will be a thing of thepast (hopefully).

The sheltered part ofthe market is dedicated tofood – fresh as well astinned, home-grown aswell as imported. The vari-ous adjacent streets (don’tbother with names – youwon’t remember anyway)are also buzzing with activ-ity; on one, you will findonly stationery, on anotheronly clothes merchants, onanother, glass and table-ware, and on yet another,lights and electrical fix-tures!

You will findsmall roadsidestalls, cartspiled withgoodies aswell as largershops here, aswell as huge(football fieldhuge) godownsserving as asingle marketand sub-dividedinto smaller stalls.

At the otherend of the spec-trum are the haunts o fthe city’s rich and famous.Designer stores and exclu-sive boutiques with bothprêt and couture wear onoffer have all mushroomedover the city of late, asstand-alone outfits or partof the malls and shoppingcomplexes.

The city’s first de-signer store, Ensemble, isstill going strong and con-tinues to be one of the topmoolah rakers and partnerTarun Tahiliani recentlylaunched his flagship storenear the Taj. At The Court-

International-style malls have trans-formed the way people shop in Mumbai

The best cosmetics and perfumes fromaround the world are available in the city

From a defunct mill to a buzzing shop-pers’ delight - the Phoenix has come

Heavy traditional designs, or moredelicate contemporary style... jewellery shops inthe city have something for everyone

January - June 2006 5

4, L. J. Road, Near Citylight Cinema, Mahim, Mumbai - 400 016. 2446 7675/76 Fax: 2444 9652 32476765 Pune: 9520-24477676travels.com, Website: www.rajaranitravels.com

ers’ Paradisells to high-profile stores ... the streets of Mumbai arefull of treasures for shopaholics

yard at Colaba are a stringof boutiques brandishingnames such as Rohit Bal,Suneet Verma, ManishArora, Rajesh Pratap Singhand Neeru Kumar amongothers, as are others alongthe Juhu Tara Road, alongJuhu beach.

Raymond’s Be: storeshave sprung up all over thecity too — at Kemps Corner,Phoenix Mills and theswanky new Inorbit Mall atMalad, as have internationalbrands like Mango, Marksand Spencer and Morgan deToi. Louis Vuitton has justlaunched at the Taj andTommy Hilfiger is scheduledto set up shop at Inorbit Mall

as well; and recently, therehave been talks of the lat-

est in prêt and couturefrom international

biggies (readV a l e n t i n o ,

Armani, Gucci,Prada and the

like) up forgrabs, too.

If abattle of wills in

bargaining is whatyou enjoy, but cannot bear

the thought of trudgingalong the crowded streets inthe muggy heat, fear not.

The Oberoi ShoppingArcade offers a great selec-tion of personal effects, es-pecially handbags andleather goods — all at nego-tiable rates.

Unwitting foreignersare often quoted five timesthe going price — so alwayskeep your ears open to theconversation around to getan idea of exactly how muchyou should be paying. Thesame holds good for the nu-merous shoe shops liningKemps Corner - in fact, youwill be assured of a discountthe moment you walk in.

usual furniture,and ar tif icialf lowers, amongother things…

When you reach the endof Linking Road, turn left to-wards the Juhu Tara Road,where a clutch of designer bou-tiques rub shoulders with luxuryhotels and palm-tree borderedbungalows.

Check out funky labelIxtapa, and more conventionalAraiya, and stop for a bite atThe Chaat Café or Pizza Hut.

POWAIPut aside an entire after-

noon for a trip to Powai, par-ticularly to the HiranandaniGardens. You have to pinchyourself to make sure you’re notdreaming when you get here, forthis complex of luxurious apart-ment blocks, lush landscapedgardens, and open spaces lookslike anything but the madly cha-otic city you have left behind.There is a lake here and moun-tains, a reasonably well-equipped shopping centre, in-cluding a big branch of the mu-sic store PIanet M, and the onlyoutdoor entertainment centre inMumbai, the Hakone Entertain-ment Center.

If you are travelling withchildren, or you are simplyyoung at heart, you might wantto put an entire day aside atEsselworld and Water King-dom , the two massive perma-nent amusement parks in thenorthwest of Mumbai.

MANGOPosh Spice’s favourite

label comes to India with aflagship store in Mumbai. TheMumbai store has a wide vari-ety of women’s wear styles –leather and suede skirts, tops,trousers, and accessories - rang-ing from Rs.1,500 upwards.

MARKS AND SPENCERMarks and Spencer is

here! Don’t go expectingsomething on the lines of theMarble Arch store and youwon’t be disappointed. Theclothes are strictly okay andvery pricey, but the body andbath section is great fun. Andof course you can pick up genu-ine M&S lingerie here! Also atInorbit Mall, Malad West, atPhoenix Mills, Lower Parel -56669808.

HANDLOOM EMPORIUMGur jari (Gujarat), 27

Khetan Bhavan, J Tata Road.Opp Ritz Hotel 22852143.

Open: 10.30-6.30 hrs.Closed on Sunday.

It doesn’t hurt to try thisat the other boutiquesaround, but you probablywon’t get anything more thana dirty look, so don’t be toohopeful. Heera Panna, thefirst shopping centre Mumbaisaw for imported (and conse-quently smuggled) brands inthose pre-globalisation days,is another place where youcan attempt to get perfumes,cell phones and chocolates atthe price you quote.

A smaller, less crowdedversion is Maker Arcade atCuffe Parade. But now withmost of these items easilyavailable in the market, theprices have also becomemore or less standardised. Soif you want a bargain, con-centrate more on the clothesand other fashion accesso-ries. And if it’s Bandra youare around, go to Hill Road,where shopping arcades andboutiques interspersed withroadside stalls offer you yourlast opportunity to bargainindoors.

LINKING ROADLinking Road runs

through the suburbs ofBandra, Khar and SantaCruz, so when you are donewith Linking Road, Bandra,take a left on the Khar DandaRoad to reach Fab India,where you can shop for up-holstery, curtains, lamp basesand shades, cushion covers,towels and table linen in themost contemporary designs.Fab India, further up on PaliHill, sells kurtas, long skirts,tops, and shirts for both menand women in trademarkblock-printed and vegetable-dyed fabric.On the Santacruzstretch of Linking Road isTresorie, a store for funknick-knacks, candles, photoframes, garlic and green-pep-per swags for kitchens, un-

Coffee shops and ritzy lounges add aspecial zing to social evenings

Old favouriteHeera Panna still holds its own,with electronics items and foreign goods

Factory outlets offer great deals for thosewith an eye on their budget

Now, you can shop in comfort for a widerange of home accessories

January - June 20066

The Hidden ArmyThe second annual housekThe second annual housekThe second annual housekThe second annual housekThe second annual housekeeping exhibition and workshop ateeping exhibition and workshop ateeping exhibition and workshop ateeping exhibition and workshop ateeping exhibition and workshop atKKKKKohinoorohinoorohinoorohinoorohinoor-IMI was a grand success-IMI was a grand success-IMI was a grand success-IMI was a grand success-IMI was a grand success

The sun rose early onKohinoor - IMI SchoolOf Hospitality Man-

agement, Khandala, on Feb-ruary 8 and 9. After a remark-able performance by studentslast year, this year too the stu-dents of Kohinoor-IMI de-cided to repeat the House-keeping exhibition. Many re-nowned people from the in-dustry were invited for thisannual event, ‘The HiddenArmy’, to observe and judgethe students’ performance.The judges were Mrs Marga-ret Zacharias (Orchid); MrRanjan Mukherjee (Dean);Mrs Anjum Sarwal (TheLeela); Mrs Ayesha Siddiqui(Sinhgad Institute); Mr VijayR Thakur (Sinhgad Institute);Mr and Mrs Oberoi (WeekendNursery); Mr P Purshottam(Dukes Retreat) and MrsBharti Uple (Head Office).

On February 8, all stu-dents, from the first to thethird level, were involved inthe exhibition of stalls and dis-plays of their fine talent in de-signing various chart papers.On this spectacular day, thesecond-year students provedto be the best, bagging all three

prizes in the chart pa-per competition andthe first prize amongthe stall displays.

The stall thatranked first displayedtheir knowledge on‘Safety and Security’.They were followed bythe third-year batchwith two prizes fortheir display of stallsand then by the firstyear with one stallachievement. However, thesecond prize for the stalls wastied with the first and the thirdyears with equal points – thefirst-year students getting thesecond prize for their displayon ‘Horticulture and Garden-ing’ and the third-year studentsfor their display on‘Outsourcing’. This brought avery tiring but a fruitful end tothe first day of the exhibitionwith encouraging commentsby all the judges.

The second day startedearly with a healthy competi-tive spirit by participants of thequiz competition. This was fol-lowed by presentations thesame afternoon. The quizevent involved five teams with

a combination of students ofall the three years in eachteam. The quiz was both alearning and entertaining ex-perience, not only for partici-pants but also for spectators.As the Vice- Principal, MrArunangshu Bhattacharyasaid: “A quiz is an event whichinvolves a little knowledge aswell as a little luck”.

Later that day, the stagewas set for the presentations.Seventeen students spoke onselected topics and sharedtheir knowledge. Each studentwas given exactly eight min-utes to present his/her topic.A stunning performance byMr Rohit Karnik of the firstyear brought him into first po-

sition, speaking on the topic‘Housekeeping in the Com-mercial and Welfare Sector’.He was closely followed by MrSuraj Chatlani of the secondyear, speaking on ‘Frequencyof Cleaning and Daily Rou-

tines’ and the finalposition wasachieved by MrAnurag Joshi of thethird year, on thetopic: ‘Being Eco-Friendly’.

The overallranking for both daysleft the second yearscoming out on topbagging five out ofnine prizes and a tiebetween the first andthird years with two

prizes each.All the students who partici-

pated in the Workshop wereawarded participation certificates,and winners were presented withboth certificates and prizes. TheHousekeeping staff and decora-tion team, who had helped a greatdeal, were also given token giftsand all departments were giventhank you letters.

It was the great effort of allthe students of the college thatmade this exhibition and work-shop a grand success and hope-fully it will be even better in theyears to come.

Contributed by House-keeping Department,

Kohinoor-IMI, Khandala

Kohinoor Continental isbecoming increasinglypopular as a venue for

marriages. In fact, it is also ameeting point for prospectivebrides and grooms and theirfamilies. If the outcome ispositive and the two familiesdecide to come togetherthrough a marital alliance,Kohinoor Continental con-gratulates them with compli-mentary gifts.

Mr Amar Sharma, Gen-eral Manager, Essar Group,who recently performed themarriage of his daughter Aditiwas good enough to send ushis appreciation narrating hisexperience. So over to MrSharma in his own words…..

When Aditi’s marriagegot fixed, it was a joyous mo-ment for all of us. There wasa shubh mahurat (auspicioustime for the marriage) on 3rd

February 2006. It suited all ofus. The next step was to selectand finalise the venue. My jobinvolves extensive travellingand I am more out of Mumbaithan in; so this job was left tomy wife Asha, Aditi and hersister Akanksha, the groundwork at least.

Living in Andheri, we

Marriage InThe Family?

had passed by KohinoorContinental several times, butnever been in. Asha and Aditidecided to ‘take a look’ andone day sauntered into the ho-tel lobby. Sensing that theywere on the lookout for some-thing, a smartly dressed manstepped out from behind theBanquets desk and politely en-quired, “I’m Raghu. How canI help you, ma’am?”

On learning that theywere looking for a suitablemarriage venue, Raghu cour-teously invited them to the ban-quets desk, made them com-fortable and studiously wenton to learn all the details and

requirements from them. Hethen went on to explain howeverything could be workedout. The best thing was thatthe hotel would take care ofeverything. He further es-corted them to the banquethall (The Emerald) and thepoolside, where, he said thebuffet dinner would be ar-ranged for the guests. The ad-vantage was that there wouldbe a moving crowd thus pre-venting any overcrowding inthe hall; plus the guests could

enjoy dinner by the poolside.I must say Asha and

Aditi were impressed. Raghuspoke with such confidenceand sincerity that both of themwere convinced that the hotelstaff would ensure that themarriage would be a grandsuccess. Subsequently, thewhole family (including myyounger daughter Akanksha)visited the hotel and the man-ner and confidence with whichthe hotel personnel attended tous left no doubt in my mindthat I had come to the rightplace. Akanksha was thrilledwith the ‘welcome drink’ andgushed, “Papa, Didi must getmarried at Kohinoor Conti-nental only.” That was that.Our decision was made.

In all our further interac-tions with the hotel staff, theywere always very prompt, cour-teous and gave us exemplary ser-vice which only convinced us allthe more that everything wouldbe taken care of and the functionwould be memorable. Even theVedi mandap and stage decora-tion fitted our budget.

The marriage was indeed

Kohinoor Continental could be just the venueyou are looking for, says Amar SharmaAmar SharmaAmar SharmaAmar SharmaAmar Sharma

a great success. Although it ex-tended to the wee hours of themorning (4 am), the hotel staffwere present to personally super-vise and ensure that everythingwas executed as planned givingus an unmatched comfort level.Even after such long hours ofwork and keeping awakethrough the night, they served uswith the same zeal and enthusi-asm. The snacks, food and ser-vice were par excellence. We hadabout 350 guests, but everythingwent off very smoothly. We re-ceived so many complimentsfrom our guests and friends. Imust say that Mr MukundKamat and Mr Lester Pereirahave built up an excellent team,not to speak of their efficiencyand polished interaction withcustomers.

The event made such animpression on the guests thatmany of my colleagues have nowstarted booking rooms atKohinoor Continental wheneverthey need hotel bookings.Kohinoor Continental has be-come the venue of choice forAsha’s kitty parties. Most impor-tant, all of us, especially Aditi, arevery happy that the first marriagein our family was a grand success,thanks to the Kohinoor Continen-tal team. A cordial personal rela-tionship has been established withthe hotel. Aditi keeps in touch withMr Raghu and the Banquetsteam.

Whether it is for rooms orfunctions, I always confidently rec-ommend Kohinoor Continentalto my friends and relatives. If youhave a marriage in the family, dotake a look at Kohinoor Continen-tal and my bet is that, like us, youtoo will find it to be just the venueyou are looking for.

Mr Amar Sharma at Aditi’s wedding reception with his younger daughterAkanksha, son-in-law Vishal and wife Asha

Mr Amar Sharma performing the marriage of his daughter Aditiwith Vishal at Kohinoor Continental

Wider choice for KBSstudentsStudents selected for Carleton’sHonours UG Program will nowhave the option of specializingin any of the following three dis-ciplines – Marketing, Finance orInternational Business. In keep-ing with Kohinoor’s tradition ofoffering its students uniquevalue-added educational oppor-tunities, we now offer KBS stu-dents a wider choice.

Kohinoor GlobalCampus on ZeeKohinoor Global Campus wasrecently featured in a tremen-dously popular youth programYuva on Zee (Marathi) channelwhere the campus and life onthe campus at Khandala wasextensively covered. The pro-gram generated tremendous in-terest and an overwhelming re-sponse from viewers.

In another popular live in-teractive program on the samechannel, Namaskar Zee, MrsJayshree Kadne, Deputy Gen-eral Manager – Admissions,Kohinoor Global Campus,

provided valuable careerguidance to students on careeropportunities in the hospitalitysector.

Kohinoor - IMI students put up a stupendousperformance at The Hidden Army event

January - June 2006 7

Hospitality Students, This is For You!Jayant MahajanJayant MahajanJayant MahajanJayant MahajanJayant Mahajan met an impossible deadline for a research paper, and came up with some interesting findings

I was informed on Febru-ary 12, that I had topresent a research paper on

February 24. I felt it was im-possible. I had recently joinedKohinoor-IMI and knew littleabout the hospitality industry.

The next day, I receiveda call from the Head Office, in-viting me to a brainstormingsession.An hour later, we de-cided to do a presentation re-lated to the quality parametersof a hospitality student; KIMIcould also use the results to re-structure the current syllabusso it would fall in line with thelatest industry requirements.

I prepared the question-naire within a day and mailedit to 150 Training/HR manag-ers of four and five-star hotels,apart from retail outlets. Forty-five were willing to give me aninterview, and I managed tointerview 15. It was a greatlearning experience. Amongother things, I discovered thatthe service industry contrib-utes more than 56 per cent tothe Indian GDP, and this is in-creasing steadily.

I found that the hospital-ity industry is a fundamentalcomponent of every serviceunit, and that the service sec-tor has emerged as an impor-tant area in the wheel of eco-nomic prosperity. In fact, inseveral countries, it is the ser-vice sector that leads the wayin generating revenues, earn-ing foreign exchange and cre-ating employment opportu-nities - and service is incom-plete without Hospitality.

The industry’s signifi-cant contribution to theworld economy is illustratedby the direct industry contri-bution of 3.8 per cent to thetotal GDP. The global hospi-tality industry created about2.1 million new jobs in 2005.The current trend in hospital-ity is indicative of a steadygrowth factor in future.

India is exponentiallymoving towards a serviceeconomy without even striv-ing for it. The contribution ofthe hospitality industry to theIndian GDP was approxi-mately nine per cent in 2005.

Hospitality, the core ofthe service industry, is the abil-ity to give a warm welcome,make the guest comfortable,provide food and drink, and allthis in a clean and hygienic en-vironment. On a larger scale,with the intention of makingprofit, it takes the shape of thehospitality industry.

The core areas of Hospi-tality are the Front Office,Housekeeping and Food &Beverages (F&B). Providing awarm welcome and makingthe guest feel comfortable isthe primary responsibility ofthe Front Office. Making goodfood is a primary responsibil-ity of the F&B Production

Department. Serving that foodis a key responsibility of F&BService. Maintaining a cleanand hygienic environment isthe primary function ofHousekeeping. There are alsosupport functions like Infor-mation Technology, Market-ing, HR, Engineering andMaintenance.

There has been a remark-able increase in the need fortravel to and from India, lead-ing to an increasing demandfor hotel rooms, which meansmore hotels and generation ofemployment – and hence, ahuge demand for quality hos-pitality professionals.

I tried to look at expecta-tions of the Training and HRmanagers of various hospital-ity units while considering freshentrants. These includedgrooming, appearance, and ar-eas of knowledge. The Manag-ers were asked to quantify theimportance on a scale (1 to 5).

Attitude and Grooming: Atti-tude was considered to be themost important. Managers alsoinitially said that grooming isthe most important for all de-

partments (rating 5), but afterfurther discussion some wereready to compromise a bit forpeople who do not come in di-rect contact with guests. Hos-pitality schools have groomingstandards for students, but thereare no formal classes on groom-ing theory.

Physical appearance: Ap-pearance was on an averagerated at 3 but it was found thata great deal of importancewas given to how a person car-ries himself. In areas like theFront Office and F&B ser-vices this was considered im-portant.

Knowledge: Most TrainingManagers consider generalknowledge as being important(rating 5), in comparison withknowledge of core subjects.More emphasis is given toreading of magazines and pe-riodicals related to hospitalityindustry. Reading researchmaterial was not consideredimportant. Students are ad-vised to read light books andmanagement books.

Skills: Professionals men-

tioned the need for interper-sonal skills followed by com-munication skills.

In order to cater to thelarge number of foreigntourists in the country it is nec-essary for hospitality staff andentrepreneurs to be able tocommunicate in foreign lan-guages.

Manpower Requirement:Only 15 to 20 per cent of ad-ditional manpower is requiredbecause of growth and expan-sion. The rest of the man-power requirement is prima-rily the result of employeeturnover.

Employee Turnover: Most ofthe turnover is at the lower lev-els. Amongst various depart-ments, maximum employeeturnover prevails in F&B de-partment and Front Office de-partment. One reason for thisis poor pay scales; another islong hours of work.

It was also found thatthere is a great communicationgap between people in the in-dustry and academicians. Ex-perts say colleges are still

teaching old world doc-trines to students who arethen caught unawares onthe job.

When I raised theseconcerns with a few topacademicians, I found thatmost private hotel schoolstoday revamp their sylla-bus periodically to keep instep withindustry requirements. They are also flexible in al-lowing the faculty to add tothe existing syllabus if they

feel the need to do so.Some schools (like ours)

also have subjects like Hospi-tality Journalism, IndustrialCatering, Club Managementand Training Management, toname a few not so commonsubjects. Research Methodol-ogy, Business Enterprise, Glo-bal Marketing and Strategic

Management are also in-cluded. Hence, I think manyschools have realised the futil-ity of just teaching core sub-jects focused towards the ho-tel industry.

Professionals from otherservice-related industriesshould be ready to welcomehotel graduates with openminds. After all, what use is itfor us to teach our studentsmarketing and sales as one ofthe most important subjects

when the industry wouldprefer to hire MBAs with littleor no idea of hospitality or ser-vice in these positions? I lookforward to a future where stu-dents of hospitality are consid-ered for positions in industriesother than just hotels.

The reasons for attritioninclude:

1. The opportunity forhigher education at a low-costuniversity in US, UK, Austra-lia and other western coun-tries. New avenues are open-ing in China and Far East. (To-day, the lowest fees start at1500 UK pounds). The best

option to migrate is throughhigher education; this is an

open secret.2. The opportunity for

Internship for studentspassing hotel managementprogrammes in Westerncountries. You can go throughwebsites and apply for jobsonline to get a placement with-out any cost; their agents inMumbai arrange for internshipprogrammes.

3. With low salaries at the en-try level, students choose to workin call centres. BPOs, fast food out-lets like McDonalds, Cafe CoffeeDay and other retail outlets. Thepay package and growth is muchbetter than at five-star hotels.

4. Other options available tostudents are the cruise line indus-try after more than one year of ser-vice in five-star hotels, and also jobson land with Indian restaurantsopening up all around the world,who are looking for manpower.

It is time now for five-starhotels to look at ways to keep attri-tion levels low. Problems includepoor pay scales, long workinghours, no holidays and constantpressure.

These were some of my find-ings. Wow, my research was done!The paper was presented atKohinoor Continental on Febru-ary 24, and it was followed by loudapplause and compliments fromthe audience. Thanks to all my col-leagues and to everyone who con-tributed to this paper!

I learnt a very valuablelesson-for-life from this exercise.Most of the time, what seemsimpossible is not. It is only a great

challenge you need to take on. Ashospitality professionals, you willbe faced with many such chal-lenges. So don’t start (like I did) bysaying it’s impossible but take upthe challenge and say – Yes, I’ll doit. And make sure you do it.Your success will empower youto accept greater challenges andconquer steeper and higher pin-nacles of success.

Jayant Mahajan,Faculty: Information Systems,

Kohinoor – IMI, Khandalaemail:

jayant.mahajan@kohinoor.ac.in

EntrepreneurshipEntrepreneurship should be introduced as a subject in thefinal semester as a part of Management studies program.

• Students should be encouraged to take up small responsi-bilities involving financial and other risks independently be-cause entrepreneurship education is (in part) developing thoserisk-taking skills and realising that there are many ways toget resources to help you launch a small business.

• A classic example of this is to set up an outlet for cakes,pastries, cookies, biscuits and fast food, run wholly by thestudents. This would involve cash transactions and be oper-ated on a No-Loss, No-Profit Basis. Such an exercise wouldgive a real life demo into what it takes to run a successfulbusiness enterprise and how one could maximise profit.

• Hospitality management colleges should equip them withthe business skills they need. The schools should outline skillsand core competencies for specific Entrepreneurship courses.

• The courses should cover subjects like business planningand business financials contract law, facilities and conven-tions, conference and meeting planning as well as negotiat-ing, decision-making and problem-solving skills.

• There should be a strong liaison between the Hotel Man-agement School and successful local entrepreneurs who couldform a sort of talent pool for the institute. They could guidebudding Entrepreneurial Graduates. This could also be donewith Alumni.

• Faculty of the institute must undertake consultancyprojects for budding entrepreneurs from the Institute and thelocality. This gives the faculty a chance to stay in touch withlatest trends in the industry and qualifies them to guide stu-dents towards entrepreneurship. There is also a possibilityof doing this on a professional basis, wherein faculty takesup projects and works on the same with a team of students,giving them a first-hand experience of what it takes to gener-ate income and employment for yourself and for others.

January - June 20068

Published by: Hotel Airport Kohinoor Private Limited, Kohinoor Corporate House, Senapati Bapat Marg, Dadar (W), Mumbai 400 028. Email: kohinoortimes@kohinoorgroup.co.inWebsite: www.kohinoorgroup.co.in Editor and Publisher: Mr Ullhas B Kulkarni Printed by: Amal Offset Products (P.) Ltd, F-111, MIDC, Satpur, Nashik-422 007. Editorial and Design: The Source(mail@editsource.com) For Private Circulation Only.The editors and Kohinoor Group do not necessarily subscribe to the views expressed in this publication. Copyright © 2006 Hotel Airport Kohinoor Pvt Ltd

As I have already said, apart from those requiring medicalcare, the focus will be on preventive healthcare so that we ensureour patron’s well-being through regular, timely wellness screen-ings. We are also planning to have a membership scheme wheremembers will be alerted and invited for wellness check-ups as andwhen they are due so that taking care of their health becomes aconscious routine and not a fire dousing exercise when their bodysets off an emergency siren. In time, we intend to make this ahighly personalised customised service for our patrons.

This is what KCH is conceived to be. Your well-being is ourprime concern. We want you to be fit and fine now and always,and shall strive no end to achieve our goal. This is our missionsacrosanct.

And so friends, while we shall be fully prepared to tend topeople who have the misfortune of falling sick and put them backon their feet (after all illness is an irrefutable reality of life one

can’t overlook), we unabashedly say ‘Wel-come to KCH’ with the all-new perspective tothe term ‘hospital’, not because we want youto fall sick and come to our ‘hospital’ as a pa-tient for treatment but because we want to en-sure your well-being always, so that, God will-ing, you don’t have to ever come to us as asick patient.

(Shailesh Dalvie is Advisory Consultant,Kohinoor Healthcare Services)

Between u & me…

The Wellness HospitalContd from page 1

On a relaxed Sunday, I was watching my sonengrossed in a game on his mobile when Icasually asked him a question parents oft asktheir children –“iCaraYaU, Maae#a ‡aLYaavr TaU k aYa hae<aar? (Chirayu, what willyou become when you grow up?)”“iBa‡NaeSa (Business),” he replied absent-mindedly butinstantly without even a moment’s thought orhesitation in a tone as if to say I had asked him arhetoric, “ TauMhqTar TauMaCYaa ke ibNaMaDYae Maa‡q $ebl -%ucsPa<aTaYaar #evl q Aahe.(You have already kept my table andchair ready in your cabin.)”

Cut. My mind flashed back 20 years. My father toohad set up my desk next to his in his cabin. I really don’tknow exactly when I decided to join my father’s busi-ness, but it came very naturally to me. Must be in mygenes. Right from childhood, I had seen my father pas-sionate about business and politics. Politics never heldany attraction for me; so business it was. By the time Ifinished my education, I had made up my mind. Only,what I decided at that age, my son had decided for him-self in Std IV, or maybe even earlier.

Education completed, my father ,‘Sir’ Manohar Joshisaid that I should start attending office with himregularly. I hadn’t the faintest idea what I would or hadto do, but those days father’s word was command andsons didn’t ask questions.

Yet I asked him, “I know nothing of business. Whatwill I do there?”

“Just come and sit in our cabin with me,” he saidshortly.

That was that. My dreams of hanging out withfriends and having some fun after studies came crashingdown. I had no illusions about my father. He is a veryloving and benevolent father, but a strict disciplinariantoo. When it comes to business, he means business andgets down to business. I was to be a Management Traineein Kohinoor B-School. In the office, I knew he wouldcease to be my ‘Baba’ (that’s what we call him at home)and I would be expected to work.

But it wasn’t that bad. I was expected to attendoffice for about three hours in the morning and two hoursin the evening. So I had some time to spend with my ‘gang’too.

I used to go in the morning to our favourite meetingspot Gypsy Corner (a famous fast food joint at ShivajiPark where I live), lounge around with the ‘gang’ andthen rush to the office to dash in and be at my desk just-in-time (JIT) before ‘Sir’ made his entry. Living close tothe office, we used to take a break around 1 o’clock and

go home for lunch. So again it was JIT to office via Gypsyin the evening too.

My lessons in Kohinoor B-School thus began to-wards end 1988/early 1989. They started with justwatching my father handling the business. Lookingback, I now realise that this was a very smart move.He was just acclimatising me to and familiarisingme with the Kohinoor business. For two years, I wasin the kindergarten of Kohinoor B-School literallyled by the hand by my father and mentor.

Then ‘Sir’ became Leader of the Opposition inthe Maharashtra Legislative Assembly and he couldspare very little time for the business though he didcome to the office. During this phase, I learnt theropes of business under his guidance and control.

In 1995, my father rose to become the Chief Ministerof Maharashtra; and this was just the beginning of a greatswoop in his political career as he went on to become aCentral Cabinet Minister and then Speaker of the LokSabha. I was both proud and happy, yet apprehensive athis political upheaval, for I was now left holding theKohinoor baby. Yes, there was no one else to nurse andnurture the Kohinoor baby. Would I be able to do it? Therewas no choice. I just had to.

By this time, I had already had a whiff of the thrill ofbusiness and was beginning to enjoy it. With my fatherand ‘Sir’ busy in the CM’s office at Mantralaya, I donnedthe mantle of CMD (Chairman & Managing Director),Kohinoor. This is when my hard-core lessons began atKohinoor B-School. I was now on my own and solely re-sponsible for Kohinoor. Any decision of mine could buildit or break it.

This was the finest phase of my B-School training. Infact, it is still on as managing and nurturing a business isa continuous learning process. Gradually, as I got moreand more involved in the business, it gave me a tremen-dous thrill. I began thoroughly enjoying it and it becamethe be-all and end-all of my life.

Training in such B-Schools is akin to an ore being putthrough an elaborate refining process in a furnace. Thereis no fixed curriculum. Every day new problems are thrownat you. But this is no simulation. This is for real and youhave to evolve your own theory, strategy, solution and ei-ther crack it or fail. Sometimes, your moves are based onpure intuition, sometimes reasoning and logic. Very oftenthe risk is great. You may take a huge leap ahead or plungeseveral feet deep down in the dumps. But this is whatfinally brings out the mettle (metal) in you. You learn tohave a focused goal. My vision for Kohinoor is clear – Togrow perpetually.

Today, I am amazed at the transformation I have un-dergone at Kohinoor B-School. What started as a compul-sion in 1988-89, gradually became an attraction, liking, pas-sion and finally an irrepressible obsession. The irresistiblemagnetic Gypsy Corner pull had vanished. I was now atthe epicentre of a strong business magnetic field, and heart-ily enjoying myself too.

I was suddenly jolted from my reverial flashback by my seven-year -old daughter Aayusha persistently and desperately tuggingat my sleeve with all her might and her shrill beckoning, almost ashriek, “baba....(Baba…..)”“AaTaa Maq iTala Saa&>aa†U Xak Ta Naahq. Taq Mh<aTae, Mala baba&Naa kahqTarqivCaaraYaCa& Aahe.(Now I can’t hold her back any longer. She saysI want to ask Baba something)”, said my wife Madhaviexasperatedly.

I forced myself back into the present and affectionately ca-ressing my tiny tot’s head asked her, “bael be$a AaYauza,k aYa hvYa Taula? (Tell me, Aayusha dear, what is it that you want?)”

Aayusha has very wide open innocent eyes but a probinggaze that can undermine you. Her hurt probing gaze went throughme as a hot knife through butter though I just couldn’t under-stand what was bothering her so much. “baba, Maa‡q $ebl %uCas ku#eAahe ? (Baba, where is my table and chair?)”

Looking at my bewildered expression she repeated angrily asif explaining to a small child, “iCaraYaUdadala TauMhq TauMaCYaa ke ibNaMaDYae$ebl %uCas idlqTa. Maa‡q $ebl %uCas ku#e Aahe ? [You have givenChirayudada (Dada is a term used to address an elder brother) atable-chair in your cabin. Where is my table-chair?]”

I was aghast and dumbfounded. I have two sisters. Neverhad they asked this question. I’m sure the thought must havenever entered their minds. Nor had it ever entered mine. Buthere was my little daughter, not even coming upto my knees,who had me stumped with her googly. Times were certainly a-changing.

Completely flustered, I tried to seek refuge under, “TaUAJaUNa lhaNa AaheSa Naa ? TaU Jara Maae#q ‡aLYaavr AaPa<a kæ. (You arestill small, no? We’ll do it once you grow up a little more.)”“Naa Naa Naa Naa Naa __________hq. hq. hq. hq. hq. Mala AataaCa PaaihJae .Mala Pa<a ib‡NaeSa kraYaCaa Aahe.(NO,NO,NO,NO,NO, I want it just now! I also want to do business),” shebanged her foot down determinedly.

“br,#qk Aahe.(Ok),” I conceded.Excuse me, folks. I’ve got to go and make arrangements

for Aayusha’s desk. She could drop in at my office anytimefor ‘inspection’ and I just cannot risk becoming a soft tar-get for another of those piercing accusing darts from hereyes.

UMJUMJUMJUMJUMJ

At Kohinoor Global Campus We Deliver 100 Per Cent

Kohinoor – IMI is hosting its first NationalHospitality Conference ‘atithi ‘ 06’ onSeptember 22 and 23, 2006, at KohinoorGlobal Campus, Khandala. The theme ofthe conference is ‘Hospitality Industry inIndia – Today and Beyond. Renownedspeakers from all over the country will

participate in the conference and coverdiverse aspects of hospitality research.

The keynote speaker for the eventis Prof Atanu Ghosh, AssociateProfessor at School of Management, IIT,Mumbai, and Advisor to the Director, IIT,Mumbai.

In keeping with its track record, allKohinoor – IMI students of the 2006batch desiring placement have beenplaced at respectable levels in hospitalityunits of industry bigwigs like the Oberoi(OCLD), ITC and Hyatt group, Jet Air-ways, Pizza Hut, etc. Many students havegone for higher studies to renowned in-stitutes like Le Cordon Bleu College andVictoria University, Australia, IMI, Swit-zerland, and Les Roches, France, .

The first batch of KBS (KohinoorBusiness School) UG (undergraduate)students graduated from Carleton Univer-sity this year. Two students won highhonours and two have gone to CarletonUniversity, Canada, to pursue MBA. The

remaining were all offered coveted posi-tions by big names like World Bank,HSBC, CRISIL and Maximized Learn-ing, a US-based e-learning company.

KBS also procured 100 per cent sum-mer intern placements for its first batch ofPG (post-graduate) students at renownedcorporates like Tata Motors, ICICI Pru-dential, Airtel-Bharti Telecom, and finan-cial institutions like ILFS.

In fact, at KBS and Kohinoor – IMI,most students had two or three placementoffers to choose from. So whether it isKohinoor – IMI or KBS, at Kohinoor Glo-bal Campus, we deliver 100 per cent inkeeping with the Kohinoor tradition.

Shailesh Dalvie