Thursday, August 30, 2012

Uphill Battle for Consumer Justice- Annulling Life Insurance Policy sold through fraudulent means


Frustration: High value 20-year payment term Endowment Policy mis-represented and sold as Single Premium by Birla Sun Life to 85-year old lady; needed to be annulled to avoid severe financial loss

Method Employed:
Step 1- Email to Customer Service & Grievances Cell. Email to grievances@birlasunlife.com returned; "mailbox full"!! No response to complaint in three weeks. Attitude no different from thousands of other grievance cases- as seen from consumer websites on the internet
Step 2- Email to CEO, highlighting deficiency in Corporate Governance, which allows Agents to mis-represent and resort to fraudulent means while selling policy; seeking his attention and intervention. No response for two weeks. 
Step 3- 
Strongly-worded email to CEO, directly accusing him to be "directly or indirectly complicit in the fraud-misrepresentation-cheating-misgovernance perpetrated and perpetuated by your Agents.", as demonstrated by his inaction and silence to such serious allegations with documentary evidence. Blind-copy of email to full Board of Directors- Birla Sun Life; selected Directors of Birla Group of Companies; Chairman & CEO of Sun Life International- Canada; Global Fraud Investigation Head- Sun Life International; Asia-Pacific and India Heads of Sun Life (Sun Life is a 26% shareholder in Birla Sun Life).

Result: The deafening silence of three weeks shattered. Within 24 hours of last email; calls started pouring in from the Office of Chief Grievance Redressal Officer & Compliance Department. From the documents produced by them from BSLI record, it was proved beyond doubt the Agent had forged income document to justify this absurdly high value premium policy. This was pointed out immediately, which further damned the company and it was left defenseless. The Policy was declared void ab initio, and entire premium was refunded immediately, with 11.5% penal interest. Both cheques delivered at home within two weeks.

The sequence of correspondence (chronologically) is below. Most names and certain numbers have been disguised to protect privacy. The clinching email dated August 1 is marked in Blue.

================================================================
July X, 2012To
The Head- Customer Response & Resolution
Customer Care Unit
Birla Sun Life Insurance Company Limited
One Indiabulls Centre, Tower 1

15th Floor, Jupiter Mill Compound
841, Senapati Bapat Marg
Elphinstone Road, Mumbai 400013
Dear Sir:
BSLI Bachat Endowment Plan Policy Number XXX dated XXX, 2011 sold based on misinformation; request for redress
In July 2011, my 85-year old grandmother, Mrs. XXX, was approached by your company, initially through telemarketing, and then by Insurance Advisor Mr. Rahul Bhattacharya of your corporate Agent ACS Advisory Services Limited (Advisor Code XXX), to subscribe to a BSLI life insurance policy.  He convinced this old and ill widow to invest her life’s savings in the high-value Endowment Plan.  He assured her that with an one-time premium of Rs. Y lakh under the above Policy, she or her chosen inheritor will get an assured return of about Rs. YYY lakhs.  He also suggested that she be the Owner/Proposer, while the undersigned being her only grand-daughter be the Life Assured.  In good faith on your company’s goodwill and out of love and affection for me, she agreed to make this huge investment.  Since she was given an impression that this is a one-time payment, her age did not seem to matter. 
 
Mr. Bhattacharya then got the Application signed by her, rushed to my office and obtained my signatures.  He also arranged for a medical test for me at my residence with utmost haste.  Since my grandmother was convinced by him, and the same impression was conveyed to me, I did not see the need for detailed scrutiny from my end and followed his advice in every step.  When the policy papers reached Mrs. XXX, she was extremely ill.  She used to stay alone at her residence, and I could visit her very occasionally in view of my family and professional commitments.  She told her caregiver to store the document safely and she informed me that the Policy document has arrived.  Neither she nor I suspected any wrong-doing; therefore none of us thought it was necessary to go through the fine-print of the policy within the 15-day look-in period or even beyond.  At that time, her health was of more immediate concern.
 
Mrs. XXX (Client ID: XXX) has since expired on XXX, 2012.  Her death certificate is attached.  This month, I am shocked to see a notice from your company intimating that the premium of Rs. Y lakh for the above Policy is due for payment between July-August of this year again.  I then dug out the Policy document and went through the details.  I realize now that the premium to be paid is on an annual basis, which is completely contrary to what your Advisor Mr. Bhattacharya told my grandmother.  The amount of premium is even above my total annual income.  My grandmother’s assumption and purpose of doing this Policy was as a gift to me through a Single Premium Policy, and this was clearly explained to your Agent.   
 
Based on the above situation, I now appeal to you for redressal- either through refund of the premium paid by Mrs. XXX as the Owner/Proposer of the above policy, or by providing me with her Death Benefit.  I am sure you will realize and appreciate the following while considering a favorable consideration of my appeal for redressal:
1.                  A lady of age 85 years will never voluntarily agree to pay premium for 20 years, as no one expects to live for 105 years or beyond.  So evidently she agreed based on mis-information regarding her continued payment liability.  Even from your company perspective, there seems to be no rational basis for you to assign a 20-year Policy to an 85-year old lady.  
2.                  Your Agent/Advisor got the blank form signed by us and filled it up with fabricated information in his own handwriting.  I note in the policy document that your Agent’s Advisor has arbitrarily indicated the income of Owner/Proposer and Life Insured as YY lakhs and YY lakhs respectively.  No proof of income was asked for.  I wish to state that both incomes indicated are inaccurate.  The income of both the Proposer/Owner and the Life Insured are less than VV lakhs.  Income Tax returns can be provided to prove this if necessary.  Your Agent/Advisor filled up this information and other parts of the form on his own without our consent and concurrence.  On what basis did he sell the Policy with an annual premium which is above the annual income of both the Policy Owner and the Life Assured?  Are there no guidelines either from you on a corporate level or from IRDA regarding not signing up customers for policies with premiums above their annual income?
3.                  In your Policy Brochure, it is clearly written that Monthly Base Premium for this Policy is Rs. 400-5000.  How did he sign up the customer for a Monthly Base Premium of Rs. YY,YYY as written in his own handwriting in the Application Form?
4.                  There is no explanation in your Policy document or in your Brochure about what happens if the Policy Owner/Proposer dies.  I am wondering if I am even entitled to the Death Benefit for the Policy in this case, since the Owner/Proposer has died.  I request your views on this.
5.                  Under no circumstance, I am in a position to continue with the Policy by payment of annual premium of Rs. Y lakhs, if this be the appropriate eventuality according to you.  The premium amount is above my entire annual income, as stated in point (2) above.
6.                  With the name of Aditya Birla Group associated, your prospective customers have a high degree of trust on your Advisors and Agents.  The Advisor from your Corporate Agent completely misused this platform of trust in this transaction.
I hope that in keeping with BSLI’s Vision “to be a leader and role model” and Mission “to help people mitigate risks of life, accident, health, and money at all stages and under all circumstances Enhance the financial future of our customers” and valuing your corporate Value of Integrity, you will kindly agree to refund the premium paid (with interest if applicable) and allow me to exit from this Policy, unless you ascertain that I am eligible for Death Benefit in this case on account of death of the Owner/Proposer.  Such a gesture will reinforce my trust in the company and help me to consider future investments with the Group.  I also urge you to issue strict guidelines to your Agents and Advisors to avoid such incidents of misrepresentation in future.
I look forward to your urgent reply.   

Regards,
ZZZ
Encl: Death Certificate of Mrs. XXX   
 
 From: UUU
To: Jayant Dua  
Sent: Tuesday, July 17, 2012 12:00 AM
Subject: Fw: BSLI Endowment Plan Policy Owner died- appeal for redressal & corporate governance issues

Dear Mr. Dua:
Greetings from Kolkata. While I await feedback on my 1-week old appeal below through the established grievance redressal and complaint escalation process, I am writing to you with my concern (expressed in detail in my letter attached) regarding the corporate governance issues associated with the case. Being associated with the Birla Group for nearly two decades, and in your current capacity as the Chief Executive Officer and member of Board of Directors of Birla Sunlife Insurance, I think you should be aware and will be concerned about the actions of your agents (the actions of a particular Agent in our case is illustrated in my letter) which tarnish the brand equity of one of the most respected corporate entities of India. Some of the serious corporate governance issues in this case are:
a) mis-representation of the benefits of the Policy (annual premium policy sold to a client who wanted single premium policy with an objective of gift)
b) impractical terms (20-year annual premium Policy sold to an 85-year old lady)
c) mis-representation of facts in the proposal form (writing inflated and unsubstantiated income to justify high value annual premium Policy)
d) selling products beyond the stipulated range of value mentioned in product brochure (monthly premium of Rs. YY,YYY against maximum of Rs. 5000)
e) lack of clarity in Policy Terms and Conditions regarding eventuality of death of Policy Owner (if Life Assured is a different person)
f) insensitivity and apathetic attitude regarding the concept of grievance redressal. The email to grievances@birlasunlife.com on July 9 was returned, with a message: "The recipient's mailbox is full and can't accept messages now. Please try resending this message later, or contact the recipient directly."
I hope you will take due note of the above and take corrective actions as necessary.
Please feel free to contact me for any clarification, if needed.
Warm Regards,
ZZZ
Kolkata
 

From: UUU
To: Jayant Dua
Cc: "customerservice@birlasunlife.com"
Bcc: Full Board of Directors- Birla Sunlife; Members of Board of Directors- Aditya Birla Nuvo (holding company of BSLI); Chairman- SunLife Financial- Canada; Heads of SunLife Financal- Asia Pacific & India operations; Global Head- Fraud Investigation, Sunlife Financial (in U.S.)
Sent: Wednesday, August 1, 2012 1:32 PM
Subject: BSLI indulging in fraud, mis-representation, cheating, corporate mis-governance
Dear Mr. Dua:
I note, with deep regret, your and (therefore, predictably) your organization's lackadaisical attitude towards consumer grievance and corporate governance issues. I have received no response whatsoever from your Customer Response Unit, with whom a formal grievance was lodged dated July 9.  The email to customerservice@birlasunlife.com received an automated acknowledgement and the copy to grievances@birlasunlife.com was returned by postmaster@birlasunlife.com saying that mailbox is full! In view of such unprecedented "grievance handling" opening scenario, I filed the same grievance online, which was acknowledged with a registered token number BSLI-P-2012-XXX dated July 10. Simultaneously, you have chosen to ignore my allegation regarding gross violation of corporate governance issues by your Agents and my appeal for redress regarding the harm caused to us. By your silence, you have amply demonstrated that you are directly or indirectly complicit in the fraud-misrepresentation-cheating-misgovernance perpetrated and perpetuated by your Agents. No wonder that the consumer complaint websites on the internet are choked with hundreds (if not thousands) of complaints by anguished customers. One would expect a large company with brand equity of Aditya Birla Group and a joint venture of one of the largest financial services company of the world to react with alacrity to such serious issues of corporate mis-governance. But evidently, that’s not what you and Birla Sun Life India believes in. And extremely ironically, you also seem to head the "Policyholder Protection Committee" of your company!
 Kindly allow me to educate you on why you should have looked at this more seriously:
a) The first among the declared "Values" for the Aditya Birla Group is "integrity", if you know what it means. I suggest you take a refresher course on your company's internal Mission, publicly declared Vision and Core Values.
b) Your 26% joint venture partner, Sun Life Financial, has a separate link on the opening page of its website on Corporate Governance. The company proudly declares: good corporate governance is at the heart of what we do every day. It goes on to say: "Our business is based on trust. Trust in our products and services. Trust that we’ll guide the company in a way that upholds the confidence of our customers, shareholders and business partners around the world. Building trust and maintaining our reputation depends on the decisions we make, the values we maintain, our leadership strength and the personal integrity of each and every employee. We take seriously the responsibility inherent in helping our customers secure their financial futures.  It’s why we’ve developed and adhere to guidelines for strong and consistent governance throughout the organization. We have a strong and independent Board of Directors, who regularly review its corporate governance processes and practices...From our earliest beginnings, ethics and integrity have been cornerstones of the way we do business. These qualities are embodied in our core values and in our Code of Business Conduct. Each year, all employees, officers and directors must provide assurance that they have been, and will continue to, comply with the Code." I suggest you read the above paragraph twice over, and consult Sun Life Financial on the sections which you do not understand.
The stipulated 15-day response time for my grievance is now over. As per your premium renewal alert (which I dispute, through the contents of this and earlier emails), the last date of payment of "second premium" is August 24, 2012. I am merging my appeal for redress and complaint about corporate mis-governance, since they are so closely intertwined. I will now escalate my grievance/complaint in every way as I deem appropriate. To start with, I am blind-copying members of the Board of Birla Sun life India and senior executives of Sun Life Financial in this mail, for them to be aware of the serious issues raised herein and take appropriate steps.
 [Respected Members of Board of Directors- Birla Sun life Insurance & Executives of Sun Life Financial:
I raise serious issues regarding fraud-misrepresentation-cheating-misgovernance in Birla Sun life India for your attention and discussion. The issue should have been dealt with at the level of your CEO, but unfortunately he chooses to ignore/condone/perpetuate such issues, thereby forsaking ethics over short-term and ill-gotten growth. This complaint is regarding BSLI Bachat Endowment Plan Policy Number XXX dated July X, 2011 with Mrs. XXX (Client ID: XXX) as the Owner and the undersigned (her grand-daughter) as the Life Insured. The Policy Owner has since expired on XXX, 2012. We have now discovered (after receiving a premium notice and going through her papers thereafter) that the Advisor of your Corporate Agent ACS Advisory Services (Advisor Code XXX) sold the 20-year 20-payment term Policy with annual premium of Rs. YYY,YYY to this 85-year old lady (also ailing, widow and staying alone) based on misinformation and misrepresentation of facts. My grandmother’s assumption and purpose of doing this Policy was as a gift to me through a Single Premium Policy, and this was clearly explained to your Agent. The case is explained in detail in the attachment and forwarded mails; I hereby provide a summary for your quick review:
a) MIS-REPRESENTATION/CHEATING/FRAUD
- of the benefits of the Policy (annual premium policy sold to a client who wanted single premium policy with an objective of gift),
- leading to impossible contractual terms without knowledge of the client (20-year annual premium Policy sold to an 85-year old lady. Did BSLI expect her to live and beg/borrow/steal to pay premiums beyond her annual income till the age of 105?)
- mis-representation of facts in the proposal form (writing inflated and unsubstantiated income in your Agent's own handwriting to justify high-value annual premium policy. Assessed income of both the Policy Owner and Life Insured is less than the value of the annual premium.
- telling the Owner to inform me about her consent and rushing to the office of the life assured to get the Application Form signed without giving her the time/space to review the terms contained therein
- selling the Policy beyond the stipulated range of value mentioned in product brochure (monthly premium of Rs. YY,YYY against maximum stipulated value of Rs. 5000)
- lack of clarity in Policy Terms and Conditions regarding eventuality of death of Policy Owner (if Life Assured is a different person)
 
b) CORPORATE MIS-GOVERNANCE
- selling policies beyond the annual income of both the Policy Owner and Life Insured. No statement of income or documentation is asked for. This non-requirement ensures that your Agents can continue to sell policies through fraudulent means with the sole objective of pocketing the commission from first premium and knowing fully well that the policy will lapse thereafter.
- stonewalling grievance redressal at the first level. The email to grievances@birlasunlife.com on July 9 was returned, with a message: "The recipient's mailbox is full and can't accept messages now. Please try resending this message later, or contact the recipient directly." As explained above, Customer Care Unit or the CEO did not care to call, clarify or remedy the grievance which was submitted by email and online methods.
- No response within the stipulated 15 day period of grievance redressal mechanism
- The company seem to foster a culture of fraud and mis-representation, as demonstrated by the hundreds (if not thousands) of customer grievance in the various websites. The suspicion that this is done with direct/tacit support from top management is strengthened when the CEO decides to turn a blind eye to direct appeal to him in context of our specific case.
In light of the above, I had appealed for one of the following remedies (listed in order of eligibility according to my initial judgment):
a) allowing me to claim death benefit, in light of the facts stated above
b) waiver of premium till maturity of the policy
c) refund of premium paid by Policy Owner, with interest and compensation as applicable
I also demand that:
a) BSLI terminates the services of the Corporate Agent/Advisor who perpetrated this fraud so ruthlessly and heartlessly on an ailing widow of 85 years, and impose appropriate financial penalty
 
b) BSLI put in place a much stronger corporate governance mechanism to minimize opportunity for Agents/Advisors to perpetrate such misrepresentation/fraud while brandishing the name of one of the most respected business leaders of the country. Your executives, in their scramble for short-term targets, are ruining the brand equity of your company and the long-term prospect of private sector insurance industry in India. Your unscrupulous agents are happily taking advantage of this to defraud customers, pocket the commission and run away. Due to deliberately apathetic customer grievance redressal mechanism, the customers are left financially ruined and anguished.
While I shall move forward with my plans to seek redress from statutory authorities and/or judicial system of the country, I shall look forward to a line of communication from the BSLI Board regarding your view on my complaint.]
 
Regards,
YYY
Tel: +XXX

 
 
From: UUU
To: ajay kanth
Sent: Thursday, August 2, 2012 2:31 AM
Subject:
BSLI- fraud, misrepresentation, cheating, misgovernance- now conclusively established
Mr. Ajay Kanth
Senior Manager- Compliance Department
Birla Sun Life Insurance
Dear Mr. Kanth:
Thank you for your call today evening to discuss specifically one aspect of my complain- selling policies beyond the annual income of both the Policy Owner and Life Insured. Thank you also for informing that your Agent had actually submitted "Income Tax Return" for both Policy Owner and Life Assured to substantiate the figures he wrote in the form, and sending the documents from your record by fax to us for authentication. As stated over telephone, this was a big surprise since neither any verbal statement of annual income nor any documentation was asked from us. After receiving the papers from you, our surprise has turned in to shock. I hereby certify that both the ITR-IV documents received from you are forged in terms of content and signature. The facts of the case are as below:
a) For XXX- The PAN number (I could not read the last alphabet in your fax)- YYYYYYY is correct. Rest everything is falsified/fabricated and signature is forged. The date of the Return in your document is illegible, but the year is shown as 2011. I wish to confirm that no Income Tax Return was filed by XXX in 2011. This was because according to Union Budget 2011 (order effective June 1, 2011), senior citizen above 80 years age became eligible to get Rs.YYY,000 income tax exemption. Her income was below that threshold, and therefore she had no tax liability or mandatory requirement of filing Annual Return. However, the ITR-4 copy you provided shows a fictitious Income Tax return in her name with Gross Total Income of Rs. Y,YYY,YYY and Net Tax Payable as Rs. YYY,YYY. In the previous (AY2010-11) year, XXX's Income Tax was filed vide ITR-1 acknowledgement dated June XX, 2010 with Gross Total Income of Rs. YYY,YYY only, and Net Tax payable on that income as NIL. Her income in previous AY2009-10 and AY2008-09 were even less. The facts as stated above by me can be easily verified by you or the investigative agencies through the Income Tax Department, Ward YY(Y), Office of The Addl./Jt. Commissioner of Income Tax- Kolkata, if deemed necessary. The oval stamp shown in your document, without any ward number, is another give-away of the planned fraud/forgery. The stamps that have been used by her Ward in AY2010-11 and previous years is square in shape. The Status code also does not match. Thus, the entire form submitted by your Agent as "income proof" of the Life Assured, along with the stamp and signature therein, is forged, and the Policy was issued by you on the basis of it.
b) The bank statement copy as provided by you is authentic. XXX received some lumpsum payments in April 2011 as her investment maturity proceeds, and she intended to make the single-premium investment in the subject BSLI policy out of the same.

c) For ZZZ- The PAN number quoted- XXX- is correct. Rest everything is falsified/fabricated and signature is forged. The date of return shown in your ITR-4 document for AY2010-11 is December XX, 2010. In reality, her return for AY2010-11 was submitted vide ITR-1 on XXX, 2010. The Gross Total Income shown in your document is Rs. YYY,000. According to the actual document, it is Rs. YYY,YYY. Net Tax Payable is shown in your document as Rs. YY,YYY. As per the real document, this amount is Rs. YY,YYY. The income in the previous year AY2009-10 was even less. The facts as stated above by me can be easily verified by you or the investigative agencies through the Income Tax Department, Office of The Addl. Commissioner of Income Tax, Range XX, Kolkata, if deemed necessary. The oval stamp with floral design shown in your document, without any ward number, is another give-away of the planned fraud/forgery. The stamps that have been used by my Ward is round in shape. The Status Code also does not match. Thus, the entire form submitted by your Agent as "income proof" of the Life Assured, along with the stamp and signature therein, is forged, and the Policy was issued by you on the basis of it.
In view of the above, my allegation of fraud, mis-representation and cheating is now conclusively proved. It is nothing less than a horror story, bordering on unbelievable. If I did not see the documents, I would not have believed that Birla Sun Life India is issuing life insurance policies based on documents forged on Government of India stationery on which the National Emblem is printed, even incorporating stamp of Income Tax Department and forging the hapless customers' signature on it without their knowledge. Since you do not incorporate scanned copy of this document in the Policy, the customer has no way of knowing that such gigantic fraud has been perpetrated. Looking at the meticulousness of the fraud, I hope such incidences are not systemic. The vicarious liability for such acts of its Agents fall squarely on BSLI- reinforcing my point on corporate (mis)governance.
 plan to ponder on my action plan regarding the case, in view of the stunning findings of today's evening. Meanwhile, I hope to hear from you, on an urgent basis, the decision of your company regarding this case. According to me, the Policy has lost the ground on which it is supposed to stand, and therefore the only option left to discuss (among the three originally listed by me) is of refund of premium paid, along with interest and compensation.
Warm Regards,
ZZZ
 
 
From: CGRO
To: UUU
Sent: Tuesday, August 7, 2012 11:52 AM
Subject: FW: Policy Number XXX / Reference ID: XXX
Dear Mr XXX
Please find the email copy below which was sent to you on August 03, 2012.
As discussed, you shall receive the physical copy of the cheque’s in this week itself. Also for your information on receipt of both the cheque’s at my end, I shall arrange to send the scanned copies of the cheque’s to your email id. You may get in touch with me on my direct landline number mentioned below.
Warm regards,
XXX
Priority Handling Team
Customer Service
Birla Sun Life Insurance Co. Ltd
Tel : 022-39961450
(Toll Free): 1-800-270-7000
Timing: 9 am- 9 pm (MONDAY TO SATURDAY)
Website: www.birlasunlife.com

 
 
From: CGRO
To: UUU
Sent: Tuesday, August 7, 2012 4:35 PM

Subject: Policy Number XXX / Reference ID: XXX
Dear Mr XXX,
This is in response to the concerns raised by you and our subsequent telephonic conversation with respect to policy number XXX.
As desired, please find the scanned image of the cheque’s that would be dispatched to our Kolkata branch today. The branch shall receive the cheque’s latest by tomorrow evening. Our branch personnel shall contact you on your contact number post receipt of the cheque’s, to check your availability and shall ensure that the cheque’s are handed over to you.
Further note that I shall send a formal acknowledgement to you vide email, on receipt of the relevant documents that shall be submitted by you on receipt of the refund cheque’s.
If our response is not as per your expectations, you can contact the Ombudsman Office located nearest to you. Please refer to your policy document for further details in this regard. In case we do not receive a reply within 8 weeks from the date of our response, your concern will be considered as resolved.
In case you require any information or assistance, our customer service executives would be glad to help you. Please feel free to get in touch with us at your convenience on the touch points mentioned below.
Kindly visit our website or the nearest branch for assistance in registration of your updated contact information.
It is our endeavor to enhance your financial future by providing you the best services at all times.
Warm Regards,
XXX
On Behalf Of Chief Grievance Redressal Officer
Birla Sun Life Insurance Company Limited.
(Toll Free): 1-800-270-7000
Timing: 9 am- 9 pm (MONDAY TO SATURDAY)
Website: www.birlasunlife.com
Registered Address : One Indiabulls Centre, Tower-1, 15th floor, Jupiter Mill Compound, 841, S.B. Marg, Elphinstone Road, Mumbai - 400 013.


Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Varanasi Ganga Mahotsav- a perfect tourism promotion event

The Ganga Mahotsav in Varanasi on Nov 8-9, 2011 was a treat to watch, and a reason by itself for someone to visit Varanasi. This is an annual tourism promotion event organized by the Government of India, in partnership with U.P. Tourism. The four-day open-air event on the bank of the river ends a day before Kartik Purnima (the full moon day of the 7th month of the Hindu calender) and the and Dev Deepavali festival, with the best of the events scheduled in the last two days. This creates an opportunity to showcase local culture to the large number of Indian and foreign tourists and pilgrims who congregate in Varanasi for the special day ahead. The traditional games are scheduled during daytime, while the evening is for cultural events involving some of the best exponents of India. A number of traditional games were scheduled on 8th- the day I reached. Boat race, pony race and kite flying events were scheduled at different locations. I rushed to the nearest venue at RPG just in time to see some amazing examples of “pehlwani” (traditional exercise regimen of body-builders and wrestlers) that Varanasi is famous for. Two famous pehlwans competed to rotate two huge conical weights (locally called “Jodi”), each looking like a truncated cone and weighing 22 kilograms each! The special variation of the equipment used in this case was called “kaantewali Jodi” (mace with nails) and the people who can twirl these around their head and shoulders are becoming rare even in Varanasi. The pehlwan who won performed 30 rotations of both hands with these massive weights in each. The one who lost did it 27 times.
I would be buried and stapled to the ground if I tried doing this even once! But then, these strong men go through a rigorous training, healthy diet and regimented lifestyle for a long time to reach this level. India had a glorious past in wrestling- the 60s was the golden decade in which India won several medals in Asian and Commonwealth games. It was also a popular fitness regime in the cities. Even Rabindranath Tagore had a wrestling teacher named Kana Pehlwan. The emcee was heard lamenting on the microphone that the reason for decline of the sport is the fascination of the young generation with cricket. After the pehelwan show, a bunch of young boys performed a delightful show of Malkhamb. This is a traditional Indian sport in which gymnast(s) performs feats and poses in concert with a vertical wooden pole or rope. Three tables of decreasing surface area were stacked and balanced on glass bottles. The top-most table had the pole which could rotate on its vertical axis. Five boys did some amazing formations on the pole. It was a treat to watch them gracefully positioned on the pole, the one on the top balancing himself on his stomach and the others gripping the pole with their hand or feet, and turning the pole slowly to present a 360 degree view of the entire formation. Not once did the entire structure, delicately balanced on glass bottles, topple over. The audience for all this was senior officials from the state and police administration, along with hundreds of locals and tourists cheering the performers. The venue was an amphitheatre-style section of the Rajendra Prasad Ghat adjoining the main Dasaswamedh Ghat. The river provided a beautiful backdrop for the event. In the evening, the venue transformed itself in to a perfect cultural concert stage.

From 8 pm till 11 pm, India’s leading exponents of dance, classical vocal, sarod and santoor performed on 8th and 9th. Kathak dance performance by Ravishankar Mishra and Mataprasad Mishra and santoor recital by Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma were big attractions. The open-air ambience and the appreciation of the large and discerning audience (mixed equally between foreign tourists and local visitors made the event truly memorable.

Monday, November 14, 2011

Varanasi Trip- Train Travel Tales

I am a citizen and resident of India- urban bred and generally privileged. I had heard that there are two countries residing in the same geographical space- India and Bharat. I started my sojourn of the social and religious festivals of India last year at the Kumbha Mela with an objective of exploring the soul of Bharat- through people-centric experience at these events. The 3-day Ganga Mahotsav (mega festival centered around the river Ganga) in Varanasi, culminating in the Dev Deepavali (God’s festival of lights) celebration on Kartik Purnima (full moon day of the 7th month of the Hindu calendar, coinciding with November-December of the English calendar), which this year was on November 10th, seemed to be the perfect opportunity for this year. So, I trawled the internet for background information on the oldest living city of the world that is Varanasi, and its older incarnation- Kashi. The outcome was a seven-page background note for the trip, including two pages on food- if you know me, you won’t be surprised at this. Some people eat to live, some others live to eat.


My people experience began earlier than I bargained for. The Doon Express had an unmistakable Varanasi destination profile, with foreign passengers starting to arrive at the platform. They arrived in small groups, but started to coalesce and ended up with a group of about a dozen men and women. Surely they had booked through a common travel agent or site, as their seats were assigned together too. I had talked to a sub-group of three when we were pouring over the reservation chart. The gentleman from France, sporting a large tribal design pendant and a saffron scarf with Ohm splattered all over it, said he keeps visiting India for the “people experience”, and this time he has brought his niece and her friend with him. They had stayed in a tribal village in Koraput district of Orissa for three weeks before heading for Varanasi. We had a nice conversation before heading for our coach when the train arrived. However his group members didn’t turn out to be quite as decent. Soon after the train started moving at 9 pm, the group started having “fun” and the celebration got louder as the night progressed. The secret of the exuberance was thinly concealed in the glass of “cola” they were sipping. Past 10 pm, some of them felt an urgent need for music, and connected an i-Pod with a portable speaker. The coach attendant and the ticket examiner of the coach were heard grumbling among themselves but dared not throw the rulebook at them. Around 11 pm, I stood up to use the bathroom and had to cross the party zone. My friend the Frenchman was seen resting in peace in his berth, but a brash young guy with a few ladies was keeping the pot boiling. Evidently the spiritual destination did not make me a philosopher yet, because I decided to confront the leader of the pack and ask why he was drinking, playing music loudly and whether he was aware of the railway travel rules. His answer was he is drinking a cola, smell if any is coming from somewhere else through the air-conditioning duct and he is not disturbing others as no one else is complaining. His dismissive and arrogant attitude sparked a late night parliamentary talent in me. The ticket examiner meanwhile had shuffled up behind me and nodded his head vigorously whenever I needed an affirmative nod from him. After a few minutes of loud and fast paced conversation on his knowledge of Open Container Law in his own country, and a politely threatening request for him to calm down and be more sensitive, his party was spoilt and the lights finally dimmed. The coach attendant and an Indian co-passenger later thanked me for standing up and dealing with the issue.
The rest of the journey was otherwise uneventful, except for constant movement of short-distance passengers which you should expect in a train that has multiple stops through states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The only other interesting episode happened when the train reached Mughal Sarai the next morning. The train stops here for about half an hour. A few minutes before arrival, I was intrigued to see our coach attendant moving around wearing only a gamcha (Indian hand-woven towel). As soon as the train stopped, he quickly hopped out of the train from the non-platform side of the train, pulled out a hose that is used to refill water in the train toilets, and started bathing like an elephant, right under my window. It was certainly a regular affair, as he perfectly timed his shower, and even used a soap and worked out profuse amount of lather. When the train was about to roll again, he was back in the compartment, dressed and fresh as a daisy.

Arrived at Varanasi Junction at 11 am, hopped on to a rickshaw and headed on towards the old city in search of a hotel with basic amenity before embarking on the floatel of spirituality. More on that in the following posts.

From India to Bharat- Ram Ramapati Bank in Varanasi




On the first day of my trip to Varanasi on the occasion of Kartik Purnima-Dev Deepavali in November 2011, I visited the Ram Ramapati Bank, located at D-5/35 Tripura Bhairavi, Dasaswamedh, Varanasi 221001. This was located inside the famously labyrinthian alleys of Varanasi, within walking distance of the main Dasaswamedh Ghat and very close to the Vishwanath Temple. I learnt about this unique spiritual institution when doing my research on Varanasi. Run for over eighty years as a family initiative, the Bank does not deal with money. All that an account holder has to do is scribble Lord Ram's name in red ink 125,000 times on paper and keep it as a “deposit” with the Bank. At a rate of 500 per day, the task is scheduled to be completed exactly in 8 months and 10 days. The clientele of over 100,000 is spread over different states of India and also U.S., Canada and West Indies. After the sacred scribble is deposited by a particular account holder, the Bank carries out a series of rituals that are aimed to bring prosperity and good luck to his life. The Bank even gives a loan till the time an account holder writes Lord Ram's name the required number of times and returns the paper. Then the loan is considered repaid. The account holder has to deposit all the sacred scribble within eight months and 10 days from the date of sanctioning of the loan. There are other conditions, such as taking a bath before the scribbling. Account holders are also required to shun non-vegetarian food, onion and garlic during the entire period. The Bank does not charge a penny for its service, rather it even provides the paper and pen. It does not have a sign board outside, and is clearly publicity-averse. However, everyone seemed to know the place when I asksed for directions.

When I sheepishly walked in to the traditional Benarasi style house, I was cordially welcomed by the Manager. He was seated in a thin mattress on the ground, which covered half of the large room. I left my shoes outside the room and tentatively sat on the edge of the mattress. I was advised to climb in and seat inside the mattress with my legs folded. This was the traditional seating arrangement in most homes at one time. The walls had several large photos depicting scenes from Lord Ram’s life, and there was a Ram temple in one corner of the room.
He asked for my whereabouts, explained the functioning of the Bank and then very kindly invited me to the inner courtyard of the house to see the Bank’s “vault” where thousands of prayers by the faithful account holders are safely kept, neatly wrapped in red cloth bundles. He then arranged for the temple to be opened and allowed me a darshan of Ramlalla (Lord Ram’s childhood incarnation). He even allowed me to take photographs of the place. At the end of the conversation, he gave me a rulebook written in Hindi, a simple account opening form and gifted me a packet of “pavitra roli” (fine red vermillion powder, used to mark foreheads as a sign of religiosity). He said with firm conviction that if I say Raam naam ten times every morning and apply the roli on my forehead, it will protect me from all dangers.

I went to Varanasi to explore the soul of India. Hailing from a society where religiosity is primarily in the private domain, bold acts of religious faith are scarce and philanthropy is usually on a timid many-to-one mutual-fund style model (subscription for community puja, private domantions to one or two large humanitarian institutions and contribution to Chief Minister's relief fund), this uniquely bold model of one family coming forward to strengthen the roots of faith for thousands of people on a selfless basis for nearly a century impressed and enriched me. I witnessed more examples of this model in the next day of Kartik Purnima (first full moon day after Diwali; on the 7th month of the Hindu calender) when many of the commercial restaurants ran Bhandaras (free meals) for the millions of pilgrims who convered in the city for a dip in the river on this auspicious day. This was my perfect introduction to the spirituality of this oldest living city of the world.

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Unsung heros- clay idol makers of Kolkata


Kumortuli. The name of the place in Bengali language means a potter's quarters. But the potters of this place in the last few generations have transcended the traditional boundaries of pottery to become artisans and creators, re-creating Hindu mythology through idols. Their creation is a freeze of the most dramatic moment of a mythological episode or a portrayal of the divinity of Hindu Gods and Goddesses in their traditional form. The explosion of nonchalant creativity that unfolds in front of the eyes of the uninitiated in a visit to this place, particularly in the busy idol-making sessions such as August-October, is mind-boggling. Like several other bloggers, photo-journalists, heritage conservationists and Kolkata-lovers, I am a big fan of this place. My interest in this place ties in very well to my larger interest in Kolkata's history, heritage and people-centric experience which makes this city unique in the milieu of other mega-cities of the world. I hereby devote this blog to the wonderfully talented artisans and craftsmen of Kumortuli area in Kolkata.

Dr. John Holwell was an employee of the English East India Company who was appointed Zamindar (landlord and tax-collector) of the Twentyfour Parganas District of Bengal. He later became a temporary Governor of Bengal (1760) as a successor of Robert Clive and was a survivor of the Black Hole tragedy of Calcutta in June 1756. When the British started building Fort William in 1758, he allotted ‘separate districts to the Company’s workmen.’ These neighborhoods in the heart of the Indian quarters acquired the work-related names – Patuapara (locality of traditional painters) Suriparah (the place of wine sellers), Collotollah (the place of oil men), Chuttarparah (the place of carpenters), Aheeritollah (cowherd’s quarters), Coomartolly (potters’ quarters) and so on. The potters of Kumortuli, who fashioned the clay from the river beside their home into pots to be sold at Sutanuti Bazar (later Burrabazar), managed to survive in the area. Gradually they took to making the images of gods and goddesses, worshipped in large numbers in the mansions all around and later at community pujas in the city and beyond. I found a wonderful research on the history, tradition and its significance and practices of Kumortuli artisans and clay images of West Bengal done by Dr. Jim Robinson (DPhil, Oxford University)over three months at site in: http://www.clayimage.co.uk/

Today's Kumortuli comes accross as the unreserved compartment in an otherwise reservation-based long distance train. The main settlement is along Banamali Sarkar Street in north Kolkata. The western boundary of the place, marked by the river, has remained largely unchanged; while the other peripheries have changed quite dramatically in the last three centuries. The urban sprawl of Kolkata is clearly evident all around the settlement of the 150-odd artisan families. The Kumortuli modernization project, worth Rs.260 million, planned under the Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission, is moving at a slow pace. According to the project blueprint, the urban authority will construct houses for the artisans over five acres of land in the Kumortuli area on the ground-plus-three-floors pattern. It will also build an art gallery for artisans to showcase their artefacts. Currently, some artisans have been relocated to a temporary space in a warehouse. But many artisans are still operating from their decrepit quarters, often spilling in to the streets and living under leaking roofs. They make the idols for a variety of festivals round the year, but Durga Puja in October is the most important event. Kumortuli images are generally ordered well in advance and there a few for off-the-shelf sale. Nowadays, Kumortuli’s clientele has extended to North America, Europe, Africa and even Australia, among the Indian communities living there.





I like to visit the temporary workshop on Rabindra Sarani, since it provides a great view of the works by various artisans under one roof, and it is possible to see the images in various styles, stages of finish and even components. For example, you will find a number of the heads- all looking exactly the same, which are probably cast in moulds and left to dry. It is unique to see semblance of mass production in an otherwise skill-based operation. But about 80 percent of the work is still hand-made by the artisans. Depending on the time you visit, you will either find the artisans either creating the skeleton by typing stacks of hay to a simple bamboo structure; or putting the first layer of clay to resemble the flesh and giving the idol a basic shape, or the clay being shaped for the final form with great care and being blow-dried on some occasions. Closer to the finish time, you will find the idols and their obedient animal follower being draped in fineries and painted with great care. An intriguing ritual of collecting the first clay sample from a prostitute's courtyard is still followed today in spirit. The priest himself is mandated to go for this important aspect of the ritual, and the most auspicious method of collection is to beg it from a prostitute and have her hand it over as a gift or blessing. The fitting finale is the day of Mahalaya, a week before the commencement of the Puja, when traditionally the eyes of the idols are drawn. I have read descriptions of artisans creating the idol of famous family-organized pujas at site meditating for hours in front of the idol with closed eyes and then suddenly with a swift stroke of the brush the third eye of the Goddess is drawn, as if with divine inspiration and the idol comes alive from that moment.






While the budget for the Kolkata Durga Pujas have multiplied manifold, thanks to the zeal of the sponsors to be seen and/or heard to the millions of prospective consumers, the price of the art churned out by the artisans have not gone up in any proportion beyond the normal inflation rate. In other words, the power of market forces which has bankrolled the individual puja organizers with unbelievable amounts of money (sometimes reported as over Rs. 2 million for a single puja organizer from a single sponsor) has not rubbed off its sheen on the economic condition of the artisans. Be it the idol makers, be it the traditional drummers (called Dhaki's- a puja is not worth its name till the sound of this instrument fills the air) or the thousands of craftsmen who painstakingly put together the marvelous structures (called Pandals). They are still mostly piece rate producers. "Darkness under the lamp"- an age-old proverb and still very valid. I cannot help think that in some other societies of the world, these craftsmen would have been the real celebrities of the event, not the fat cat organizers/the Very Improtant Persons who patronize and inaugurate the pujas.

Gobindaram Mitra, one of the famous residents of this area, was one of the earliest Indian officials under the British rule and earned a reputation for his wealth and extravagance. He was a tax collector for the East India Company. He was one of the earliest patrons of Durga Puja in Kolkata, and his celebration was marked with lavishness and extravagance. The entire image of goddess Durga was wrapped in gold and silver leaf. Thirty to fifty maunds (one maund is about 37 kg) of rice was offered to the deity, a thousand Brahmins were fed and given gifts. Mitra had a sprawling house at Kumortuli spread on 50 bighas (around 16 acres) of land. He also built a famous temple known as the Navaratna Temple, which became famous as the Black Pagoda. the Temple had a tower of 165 meter high and served as a navigational aid to the European sailors till it was destroyed in a major storm in 1737. Banamali Sarkar, after whom the main street of Kumortuli area is named, was also a wealthy resident of that area, famous for his palatial house that was the subject of urban folklores.






Last year, I visited when the idols were being finished. My lasting visual from that trip was the Asur (demon) being dried with a blow-torch; and my favorite Himalayan lion (who carries Goddess Durga on his back in her fight with the demons) being draped with pieces of towel, which will be painted to perfection as the animal's skin. My first visit this year was in end-August. I had two visitors in town, new in India and visiting Kolkata for the first time. We visited the workshop when the idols were in their median stage of creation. They could see abundance of semi-finished clay structures and artisans working to finish this stage before they move on to the painting stage. For the un-initiated, it is hard to believe that these creations are done to be destroyed only after four days of worship. I visited a week later and loved the walk during daytime along the streets of Kumortuli and watching the clay being kneaded with rice husk (which gives strength to the clay), potters painting some of the smaller idols and the excited photographer groups (seemed like photography school students) happily clicking away every bit of visual available. I also greatly enjoyed talking to some of the artisans. I plan to go back on the day of the Mahalaya next week, to see the drawing of the eyes on this auspicious day.

Note on how to reach- the nearest railway station to Kumortuli is the Sovabazar Metro. Sovabazar Ferry Ghat (alongside the Hugli river) is also close by. I like to walk down from the Sovabazar Metro Station, take a turn along Rabindra Sarani and enter Banamali Sarkar Street on the left or keep walking straight towards the temporary shed.

Kumortuli is a must-see for any visitor to Kolkata, particularly for the period of August-October. But first, the residents of Kolkata must be more aware of what happens there; how much skill, hard work, devotion and perfection is required to present the majestic idols in front of millions of viewers and worshippers; and what the city has done (or not done) to improve the quality of life for the artisans. Citizens must be proud of the artisans of Kumortuli, and their fellow-artisans in other fields of traditional creativity who work to make the Durga Puja of Kolkata such a memorable event. If we consider Durga Puja a cornerstone of "Bangaliyana" and the sponsors consider the carnival that goes around this so-called religious event as manna for economic blessings, then it is time everyone pays attention to the men who create the magic and nourish the soil which holds the roots of this giant tradition.