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October 2009 - March 2010
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Vol 7 Issue 4 - Vol 8 Issue 1
T
he Kohinoor Group's
first multi-specialty
Hospital, located at
Kohinoor City, KurlaVidyavihar, was inaugurated by the Hon'ble Chief
Minister,
Shri
Ashok
Chavan in the presence of
Chief Guest Hon'ble Shiv
Sena Executive President,
Shri Uddhav Thackeray, on
Sunday, 20 December, 2009.
Kohinoor Hospital has
earned the distinction of
becoming the first hospital
in the Asian continent, and
second in the world to win
Leed Platinum Rating under
the Leadership in Energy
and Environmental Design LEED
Green
Building
Rating System. The LEED
India Platinum plaque was
presented to Kohinoor CMD
Unmesh Joshi during the
ceremony in the presence of
Kohinoor Founder Shri
Manohar Joshi, Indian
Green Building Council
(IGBC) Chairman Dr Prem
Jain, Minister of State for
Home
(Urban)
of
Maharashtra, Shri Naseem
Khan, Mayor of Mumbai,
Smt Shraddha Jadhav and
other dignitaries.
As a 'Green Building', the
hospital is designed to use
resources like energy, water,
materials and land much
more efficiently than normal
buildings.
Additionally,
with more natural light and
better air quality, it will contribute to improved employee and public health, comfort and productivity. There
are special carbon dioxide
sensors which automatically
trigger injection of fresh air
in the hospital premises
when the carbon dioxide
exceeds a certain level to
ensure that patients and all
entrants to the hospital are
constantly exposed to a
clean healthy environment.
Says Kohinoor CMD
Unmesh Joshi, "Green is the
way to go for all future projects so that we do our bit in
conserving the resources of
the world and preserving
the environment. We have
made a good beginning
with Kohinoor Hospital by
achieving the highest LEED
rating for it - Platinum."
A 'green building' takes
only a small increase in the
initial cost over a conventional building, but the benefits
are
manifold.
Productivity, health benefits,
reduced operational costs
due to savings on energy,
water and waste reduction
are some of the benefits of
going 'green'. Studies of
workers in green buildings
have reported substantial
productivity gains including
reduction in absenteeism
and improved work quality
I
a
Padv
Gudi
May her in a e
us f peac
o
year rosperity
p
and
The LEED Platinum plaque was presented to Kohinoor CMD Unmesh Joshi by the Hon'ble Chief Minister of
Maharashtra, Shri Ashok Chavan, in the presence of Indian Green Building Council Chairman, Dr Prem Jain, on the
occasion of the inauguration of Kohinoor Hospital. Other dignitaries seen in the pic (from l to r) are Mayor of Mumbai,
Smt Shraddha Jadhav, Hon'ble Shiv Sena Executive President, Shri Uddhav Thackeray, Kohinoor Founder,
Shri Manohar Joshi and Minister of State for Home (Urban) of Maharashtra, Shri Naseem Khan
Asia's First LEED Platinum Rated Hospital
KOHINOOR HOSPITAL
INAUGURATED
BY CM ASHOK CHAVAN
◗ Pulmonary Medicine
◗ Gastroenterology
◗ Obstetrics and
Hon'ble Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Shri Ashok Chavan, inaugurating
Kohinoor Hospital. Next to him on the left are Hon'ble Shiv Sena Executive
President, Shri Uddhav Thackeray and Minister of State for Home (Urban)
of Maharashtra, Shri Naseem Khan and on the right are Kohinoor CMD,
Shri Unmesh Joshi and Founder, Shri Manohar Joshi
based on 'people-friendly'
green design. In other
words, green building
design has environmental,
economic and social elements that benefit all building stakeholders including
owners, occupants and the
general public.
ABOUT KOHINOOR
HOSPITAL:
Kohinoor
Hospital
marks the foray of the
Kohinoor Group into a
new segment - healthcare.
It is a multi-specialty hospital which is equipped
with world-class medical
equipment and technology. The Hospital, spread
over an area of approximately two lakh square
feet, is a ground-plus-fivestorey building with two
basements. It has highly
qualified expert consultant
doctors with vast experience. The doctors’ team is
supported by well-qualified skilled nurses, paramedics and an administration team.
Kohinoor Hospital has
used the best available
expertise and resources to
develop highly specialised
units in the following specialties:
◗ Cardiology and
Cardiothoracic Surgery
◗ Orthopaedics and Joint
Replacements
◗ Rheumatology
◗ Spine Surgery
◗ Neurology and
Neurosurgery
◗ General, Minimally
Invasive and Bariatric
Surgery
◗ Internal Medicine
Gynaecology
◗ Endocrinology
◗ Haematology
◗ Nephrology
◗ Urology
◗ Paediatrics and
Neonatology
◗ Oncology and
Oncosurgery
◗ ENT
◗ Critical Care
◗ Ophthalmology
◗ Plastic and
Reconstructive Surgery
◗ Oral and Maxillofacial
Surgery
◗ Dental Surgery and
Cosmetic Dentistry
Facilities available in
Kohinoor Hospital
◗ More than 15 Outpatient
Clinics
◗ 4 well-equipped
Operation Theatres
◗ 27 bed S.I.C.U. / I.C.C.U.
◗ Well-equipped 6 bed
N.I.C.U.
◗ 6 bed Dialysis Unit
◗ Custom-designed LDRP
Suite
◗ Cardiac Catheterization
Lab
◗ Blood Bank and
Pathology Lab
◗ Round-the-clock
Radiology and Imaging
with CT/MRI Scan
◗ Cardiac Diagnostics, 2D
Echo/Stress, Colour
Doppler, PFT
◗ 24 hr Pharmacy
Kohinoor Hospital is
committed to practices at
the leading edge of healthcare and 'creating a new
benchmark in healthcare'.
Mr Sudesh Bhelekar,
General Manager-MEP,
Kohinoor
Planet
Constructions Pvt Ltd
(KPCPL) elaborates on
LEED Platinum Rating
achieved for Kohinoor
Hospital.
What were the measures
taken by the Kohinoor
Hospital construction
team to achieve Platinum
Rating?
◗ Right from the design
stage and even during
construction, all
requirements of green
buildings were put into
process so as not to miss
out on any details which
would affect savings
envisaged for the future.
◗ Maximum vigilance on
the process of installation
and a thorough check that
no short cuts were implemented during the installation.
◗ Only the
approved
make and
quality of
materials
were used.
No
exceptions
were
made.
◗ Selection and installation
of all MEP devices like
glass, walls and roof insulation, sanitary fittings
with reduced flow, motors
with VFD drives for energy savings etc.
◗ Care during construction
to protect all equipment to
avoid damages.
◗ Above all, a strict check
to ensure that all processes required by the Green
Buildings Council were
adhered to by appointing
a third party which
regularly conducted surprise inspections.
What are the specific
benefits to patients visiting Kohinoor Hospital
for consultation, healthcare,
investigations,
treatment or hospital
care?
Patients have the rare
benefit of a healthy and
hygienic atmosphere with
extra fresh air in a controlled manner. This is
done with the help of carbon dioxide sensors.
When carbon dioxide in
the air goes above a certain level, it automatically
triggers injection of more
fresh air into the atmosphere. This ensures that
patients are constantly
exposed to a clean green
environment within the
hospital premises.
2
October 2009 - March 2010
Kohinoor-IMI Culinary Students
At The Marco Polo, Dubai
C
Shri Vithal Kamat, doyen of the hospitality industry, was honoured with the Kohinoor Award for
Professional Excellence 2009 on the occasion of the Annual Convocation of Kohinoor-IMI School
of Hospitality Management and Kohinoor Business School at Kohinoor Global Campus, Khandala.
He is flanked by Kohinoor CMD Shri Unmesh Joshi and Founder Shri Manohar Joshi
Kohinoor Global Campus
Fourth Annual
Convocation
A
s I attended the Fourth
Annual Convocation at
Kohinoor Global Campus,
Khandala, a line I had read
somewhere came back to me - It is
indeed ironic that we spend our school
days yearning to graduate and our
remaining days waxing nostalgic about
it. Such was the atmosphere at the
convocation held at on Saturday, 19
September 2009. Students from
Kohinoor-IMI School of Hospitality
Management and Kohinoor Business
School (KBS) had gathered to receive
their degrees and diplomas and boast
about their academic excellence,
which by no means would be a destination for young energetic professionals but an important milestone in
their life. Shri Vithal Kamat,
Executive Chairman and Managing
Director, Kamat Hotels, India, was
the Guest of Honour. The function
was graced by the presence of other
dignitaries like Shri Manohar Joshi,
Founder, and Shri Unmesh Joshi,
Chairman and Managing Director,
Kohinoor Group, Dr Bigyan Prakash
Verma, Director, KBS, Mr Rod
Bunting, Principal, Kohinoor-IMI,
faculty, students, parents and senior
officials of the Kohinoor Group.
The ceremony began with the conventional convocation procession led
by the Naval Band INS Shivaji,
Lonavala. The enthusiasm of the students and faculty was clearly visible
in their eyes. Then came the traditional lighting of the lamp and
Saraswati vandana after which CMD
Unmesh Joshi declared the convocation open. Dr Bigyan Verma and
Principal Rod Bunting presented
their reports about the performance
of KBS and Kohinoor-IMI respectively in the year 2008-09.
Shri Vithal Kamat, the doyen of the
hospitality industry was honoured
with the Kohinoor Award for
Professional Excellence 2009 by Shri
Manohar Joshi. He had the audience
in raptures with his high-spirited
speech. 'Don't work Hard, Work
Smart,' he advised the students. He
gave some useful tips to the graduating students who would now be
stepping out into the world to make
use of their skills - Use your hobbies
and talent in your business and you
will do your best in your job. Timing
is very important in life, he said, so
one should use every opportunity at
the right time. 'Mauka dekhke chauka
maro', he said. Only such people
become successful in life. Ideas are
your currency, encash them and a
calamity is actually an opportunity in
disguise, so grab it. He encouraged
the students and their parents to ask
him questions which he answered
honestly and light-heartedly, guiding them through their concerns and
apprehensions.
He urged students to take inspiration from great personalities and
learn from them how to become
achievers in life. He cited the example of Shri Manohar Joshi who made
it big from a small village Nandvi to
become Speaker of the Lok Sabha,
and a successful educationist and
businessman, an awe-inspiring story
in itself. He could reach such heights
because he dared to dream, and he
dared to dream big.
Shri Manohar Joshi then addressed
the students and congratulated them
for their achievement. He assured
them that he will always be there to
guide and help them through their
difficulties and problems. He then
presented the medals for Academic
Excellence. The degrees and diplomas were given to the students by
Shri Vithal Kamat while Shri
Unmesh Joshi presented the
Chairman's Scholarship to the most
outstanding students of KohinoorIMI and Kohinoor Business School.
Shri Unmesh Joshi then declared the
convocation ceremony closed.
This was followed by a sumptuous lunch. There was a lot of camaraderie among the students as this
was an important milestone in their
lives. Convocation Day became a
day which the young flag-bearers
of the hospitality industry and
upcoming managers of the business
world would cherish for all time to
come.
- Sugandh Bagi
KAS Trainee
ulinary students of Kohinoor-IMI School of Hospitality Management
Sneha Uttamchandani, Binoy Abraham Madayadil Chako Abraham,
Siddhesh Yerunkar, Akash Sharma and Ramandeep Singh B Gharu
were sent for industrial training to The Marco Polo Hotel, Dubai, a four-star
deluxe hotel in the heart of United Arab Emirates, which has the Royal Sheikh
Family, eminent corporates and elite business magnates as their regular clientele. The students cooked, braised and diced their way for 22 weeks to hone
their culinary skills at this prestigious hotel. Peter Gomes, HOD Food
Production, Training Kitchen at Kohinoor-IMI, Khandala, tells us why training at
The Marco Polo is an opportunity no student should ever pass up.
Marco Polo Hotel is just 15 minutes from the Dubai International Airport, and
10 minutes away from the two biggest shopping malls and the Dubai World
Trade Centre.
It has 126 well appointed rooms with all the luxurious amenities, ideal for
conferences, weddings and banquet parties. The famous Jaipur Ballroom is
the largest in its class with a seating capacity of over 250, El Rancho, with delicious Mexican cuisine in the big dining space, Bombay Brasserie offering traditional Indian dishes, Sugar & Spice, The Pastry Shop, Chopstix, the Chinese
delicacies and The Explorer, Coffee Shop & Grill are some of the delights at
The Marco Polo.
For our students the road to the kitchen was not easy, but they took up the
challenge and emerged winners. A lot of care and grooming went into
preparing them during their practical classes before they wielded the knife and
ladle. As part of the building experience, I guided the food production specialisation students and prepared them to participate in many activities related to
the department. Practice sessions were conducted using teaching tools and a
comprehensive list of resources to meet advanced needs.
I have been actively involved in adding value to Food Production classes and
supporting the Training and Placement Department with Overseas Training
and Placement of the students from 2006. I decided to take the initiative to get
a strong and long-term association with The Marco Polo Hotel, Dubai.
The culinary students from the second year
were referred to The Marco Polo Hotel
with a strong recommendation
from me and they got the
opportunity to get
wide exposure during their 22 weeks of Industrial Training in various aspects
of Food Production such as Basic Food and Hygiene, Job Knowledge and
Efficiency, Personnel Attitude, Interest towards Job, Grooming and Attendance
etc. The Marco Polo Hotel was kind enough to offer the students free visa,
accommodation, medical facilities, monthly stipend and overtime.
Our students got a good boost from their training at The Marco Polo. Binoy
Abraham M Chako got a chance to work for the Dubai International Festival
along with his industrial training. The training program also gave a platform to
Binoy Abraham, Siddesh Yerunkar, Akash Sharma and Ramandeep Singh B
Gharu to make individual and collective presentations on their training and
knowledge enhancement skills to the other students. Sneha Uttamchandani
was initially offered a job as a Restaurant Hostess, but in six months’ time, she
was promoted to the position of Restaurant Manageress for their Indian
Restaurant, Bombay Brasserie.
Kohinoor-IMI would like to reach out to different regions of the world
having their typical native cuisine. We believe that if we Chefs unite and work
towards this, we will be able to bring in more culinary students who will promote knowledge in this innovative culinary world of diverse cuisines to meet
the existing industry needs.
After this batch, we also sent two more students, Neelotpal Majumder and
Mohammad Iqbal, to The Marco Polo for 22 weeks of Industrial Training.
I shall always be thankful to the management of The Marco Polo Hotel, Mr
Sunil Marya, Vice-President, Mr Renhil Krishnan, Director, Food & Beverage,
and Mr A V Sujeet, Personnel Manager, for their ready support and cooperation.
I must add that the industrial training experience at The Marco Polo enriches our students with a wealth of knowledge and skills and gives them wide
exposure in the Food Production Department as they get an opportunity to
work under various versatile Chefs at The Marco Polo. This is an opportunity
they should never pass up.
- Peter Gomes
HOD Food Production
Training Kitchen
Kohinoor-IMI
Khandala
3
October 2009 - March 2010
Kohinoor International School To
Commence In Academic Year 2010-11
T
he new academic year 2010-11 will see
the opening of Kohinoor International
School (KIS) at Kohinoor City in
Kurla-Vidyavihar (W). Admissions
are already in progress and KIS is
committed to imparting not just academic education but ensuring holistic grooming of students
into fine individuals. The students of today are
the future of the country and KIS aims at shaping
them into innovative and dynamic change agents
who will make significant contributions in their
respective fields towards the development of the
country. KIS will also ingrain in them the right
values to make them upright, honest individuals
with a high sense of integrity who can lead India
to a more promising tomorrow. 'Nurturing
achievers who are also great human beings' is the
motto of KIS.
KIS will be affiliated to the ICSE Board initially and subsequently to the IGCSE Board too.
Classes will commence from June 2010. KIS will
have classes from nursery to Grade VI in its first
academic year 2010-11. The pre-primary section
of the school has been christened Kohinoor
Blossoms.
With a built-up area of 101,000 sq ft, the school
will have the most modern and complete infrastructure comprising:
`Spacious classrooms of 580 sq ft area with a
facility for LCD projector and screen.
`A well-equipped 1800 sq ft library with books,
informative material, CDs and DVDs on a wide
range of subjects.
`Individual laboratories for Physics, Chemistry
and Biology with the latest equipment and facilities along with a composite science laboratory
for junior classes.
`Computer labs equipped with LCD monitor
PCs.
`A language laboratory for training in communication skills.
`Mathematics and Geography laboratories for
secondary classes.
`Separate activity rooms for Music, Dance and
Art and Craft.
`All classrooms, library, computer labs and
activity rooms will be air-conditioned.
`A spacious dining hall that can seat 700
students at a time.
`Outdoor sports facilities for cricket, hockey,
volleyball, basketball, tennis, badminton and
athletics.
`Indoor games: table tennis, chess and carrom.
`A semi-Olympic size swimming pool.
`School bus services on various routes
encompassing Ghatkopar, Chembur,
Kurla, Vidyavihar, Kalina, Vakola,
Santacruz (E), Sion, Vikhroli, Powai and
Saki Naka areas.
That is not all. There is still a lot more.
 KIS will offer cricket coaching based on
a recognised coaching plan and methodology, possibly supported by an international certification at different progressive levels.
 The school will have free access to
a state-of-the-art auditorium in
the Kohinoor City Education
Complex that can accommodate 550 people.
 School students will
be taken for summer
camps/trips to the
Kohinoor
Global
Campus situated in
the serene and beautiful
environs
of
Khandala as well as to
other places.
 School students will
have access to vocational training in areas such
as automobile servicing, electrical repairs, home
appliances and electronic gadget repairs, mobile
phone servicing, computer hardware and networking, garment making etc at concessional
fees.
 Routine medical and dental check-ups by the
doctors of Kohinoor Hospital located in
Kohinoor City itself.
In order to identify and hone other talents of
the students Efforts will be made to identify each child's
inherent talent and s/he will be encouraged to
pursue an activity as per her/his special talents.
Every student will be motivated to participate
in extra-curricular activities and encouraged to
actively take part in at least one activity, be it a
sport, music, dance, art, craft, drama, debate,
writing or anything else, depending on the
child's interest and aptitude.
Separate timings will be allocated for these
activities every week, with experts being made
available to guide the students. The facilities for
all these activities will be provided mostly at the
school's own premises, and in a couple of cases,
at other premises.
Bearing in mind that it is the teachers who play
the most important role in moulding the students outside of their home, Kohinoor
International School will make a special effort to
engage teachers who are not only masters in
their subject, but teachers in the true sense 'with
a passion for teaching and a caring approach
towards the students'. The teachers at Kohinoor
International School will be fully dedicated
towards achieving the mission of the school Nurturing achievers who are also great
human beings.
Kohinoor International School
will place great importance on
practising the high core values it
professes  KIS believes that every child is
special irrespective of his/her
level and type of natural ability,
and that it is the duty of the school
to treat each child with trust, love
and caring so that s/he may grow up
into a good human being with high
self-esteem.
 KIS recognises that different
children have different talents
and interests. A school, therefore, must offer its students the
opportunity, environment and
freedom to pursue different
activities to develop their individual interests and abilities.
 KIS is aware that children
learn more from what they see
as being practised by elders
around them than what they
merely hear from them.
Therefore, KIS lays great
emphasis on right conduct by
the teachers in the school and also urges the
parent community to set the right example for
their children.
 KIS is committed to excellence and shall
constantly strive to inculcate the habit of excellence in its students.
 KIS believes that children learn best when
they find the learning interesting. Therefore,
KIS considers it its sacrosanct duty to find ways
and means of making the learning experience
interesting for its children.
 KIS believes that overall development of a
child happens only when s/he is spurred to
pursue at least one of her/his talents apart from
academics, whether it is sports, arts, literature,
oratory or any other talent.
 KIS believes that the school and the parents
are equal partners in the development of a child
and a relationship between the two based on
understanding, trust and sensitivity to each
other's positions is of paramount importance in
achieving the common goal of the child's
all-round development.
The Kohinoor Group has been doing stellar
work in the education world for the past 48
years. The founder of the Group Shri Manohar
Joshi is still a teacher at heart and a renowned
educationist who was one of the pioneers in
vocational technical education. His son and
CMD of the Kohinoor Group, Shri Unmesh
Joshi, has not only inherited his passionate
approach towards the betterment of education
but taken it further with novel educational ventures in hospitality and business education in
the new millennium. The Group is further
widening its interest in education by starting
the top-class Kohinoor International School in
the first decade of the new millennium.
Kohinoor International School also has the
distinct locational advantage of being near the
epicentre of Mumbai at Kurla-Vidyavihar,
which is easily accessible to residents of central
and western pockets like Ghatkopar, Vikhroli,
Powai, Kanjurmarg, Chembur, Sion, Bandra,
Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC), Kalina, Vakola,
Santacruz, Saki Naka and even Navi Mumbai.
Apart from school buses operating on several
such routes, which will facilitate easy travel for
KIS students, the upcoming metro railways
(Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar, Bandra-KurlaMankhurd, BKC-Kanjurmarg via airport) and
the double-decker Santacruz Chembur Link
Road (SCLR) with a direct link to Kohinoor City
will make access to the school from all these
areas faster and easier.
Kohinoor International School is not a standalone venture but will be part of the Kohinoor
Educational Complex in Kohinoor City. Apart
from Kohinoor International School, the educational complex will also house ` Mumbai centres of the currently Khandala
based AICTE approved Kohinoor Business
School & Center for Management Research
(KBSCMR) and Kohinoor-IMI School of
Hospitality
Management
affiliated
to
Yashwantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open
University (YCMOU)
` Kohinoor Science & Commerce College
` Kohinoor Community College
KIS has received an overwhelming response
for admissions so far and that speaks a great
deal for the confidence Mumbaikars have in
Kohinoor - even in a greenfield area for the
group like school education. Each class will
have a strength of about 45 students. So if you
are seeking admission for your child for the academic year 2010-11 and wish to give him/her
the distinct KIS advantage...
Please contact Kohinoor International School
for admission on 91-22-61408412/22 or
info@kohinoorschool.ac.in and do visit the
school website: www.kohinoorschool.ac.in
4
October 2009 - March 2010
KBSCMR Launches
Campaign
Police officers receiving a token of appreciation on the eve of 'Be a Proud
Indian’ campaign organised by Team Phoenix, Brand committee of Kohinoor
Business School, Khandala
O
n 26 November
2009, students of
Kohinoor Business
School and Center for
Management
Research
(KBSCMR), faculty members, press reporters and
other non-teaching staff
took a solemn oath at
Kohinoor Global Campus,
Khandala - 'Indianism is our
religion, Peace is our motive
and Unity our strength'.
Team Phoenix, Brand
Committee of KBSCMR,
launched a patriotic and
secular campaign - 'Be a
Proud Indian'. As part of
the 14-day campaign, which
started on 12 November,
students distributed 600
cards carrying the mobile
phone numbers of Senior
Inspector
Langile
and
Inspector Gaud and the
landline
numbers
of
Lonavala and Khandala
Police Stations to people in
these places and also to
tourists visiting Khandala
and Lonavala. This was an
effort to educate every
Indian about the importance and greatness of the
Indian Police. The effort
was greatly appreciated by
the police force. They
encouraged the students by
extending their complete
support in the operation.
The campaign ended with
a function to pay homage to
the police personnel who
sacrificed their lives to protect and rescue their brothers and sisters caught in the
throes of a dastardly terror
attack on 26 November
2008. A video on the valiant
task executed by the
Mumbai
Police,
AntiTerrorism Squad (ATS),
National Security Guards
(NSG) also known as Black
Cats and MARCOS, the
commandos of Marine
Commando Force (MCF),
was shown as a mark of
respect to all those who
fought valiantly and sacrificed their lives.
The message sent out loud
and clear was - No evil like terrorism can ensnare us if we
stand united and each one of us
is conscious of his/her sense of
responsibility towards fellow
Indians. It was like reaffirming the motto of Mumbai
Police, “‚º˝ˇÊáÊÊÿ πÊ‹ŸËÉÊ˝„UáÊÊÿ” in
Sanskrit which means 'To
protect the good and to punish the evil'.
- Prof G M Jayaseelan
Co-ordinator
Team Phoenix
Brand Committee
KBSCMR
Two students from Kohinoor-IMI School of Hospitality Management,
Khandala, Harshal Gala and Edelbert D'Souza, went on scholarship for
internship for two months to Vatel Institute in France. The internship
was rigorous, but it was a great learning experience for both of them.
The pic shows Harshal (left) and Edelbert during their training at Vatel.
Kohinoor-IMI
Reaches Out To
The African Continent
K
ohinoor-IMI has been
admitting
students
from Korea and the Middle
East. But now, thanks to
the Internet, the name of
Kohinoor-IMI School of
Hospitality Management
has crossed the Asian
borders and reached the
eastern shores of Africa.
For the first time an African
student
has
joined
Kohinoor-IMI at Khandala.
Kohinoor-IMI School of
Hospitality Management is
pleased to welcome Joyce
Winnie Julius Rugina from
Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania.
She has two brothers who
are also studying in India.
Joyce speaks lovely English
and her mother tongue is
Swahili, a new language
for Kohinoor?
What KAS Means To Me
be a big fish in a small pond,
fish in a big pond".
S be a small"Don't
"Don't be a small fish in a big
ome say:
Some also say:
pond, be a big fish in a small pond".
I say: "It doesn't matter if you are a big fish
or a small fish….as long as you have the
potential to make the pond big".
Here is a look at Kohinoor Administrative
Services or KAS, as we commonly know it, from
the eyes of a KAS Trainee.
For me, KAS is not a job; it's a career. We do a
job to earn a living, whereas, a career itself is 'living your profession' and much more gratifying. A
job has a very limited perspective and a bounded thinking, whereas a career is permanent, has
a broader horizon, and ultimately becomes the
identity of a person. KAS is my identity.
I would describe KAS in two words - Vision and
Opportunity. The vision of Shri Unmesh Joshi has
marked the beginning of KAS, and has presented
to us the opportunity to exhibit our calibre
and potential, in order to drive organisational and personal growth.
Kohinoor is expanding, and is
expanding big time. All the
verticals of the group Real Estate, Hospitality,
Education, Power are
on a high growth
phase. Newer verticals are being added in terms
of Kohinoor Hospital and Healthcare. As per
industry estimates, the Indian Hotel industry is
projected to grow at a rate of 8.8 per cent
between 2007-2016, whereas the Real Estate
industry in India is growing at a rate of 33 per
cent. Education and Healthcare are currently
seen as sunrise sectors in the Indian industry,
and are among the favourites of both domestic
and foreign investors. All these facts lead to a
Golden era for Kohinoor in the coming years.
Connecting this to the fish-pond analogy,
Kohinoor is the pond which has immense growth
potential. It just requires the right fish, with the
right attitude and capability to make the growth
happen. I believe that we, along with Kohinoor's
experienced workforce, are the fish that this pond
requires to grow larger and larger into an ocean.
The experience that I am having as a KAS
Trainee is wonderful. The kind of treatment and
respect that we receive, the amount of resources
spent on us, and the knowledge and training
provided to us is overwhelming.
I am sure that if all of us take KAS in the right
spirit and work hard and smart with the right attitude, we shall surprise ourselves and everyone
else by delivering much more than expected.
- Saurabh Karkhanis
KAS Trainee
October 2009 - March 2010
5
Festival Times Are Special Occasions At
Kohinoor Continental
Some festival times at Kohinoor Continental are times devoted to children of society who may not be as
fortunate and privileged as the rest. These are times when they are invited as special guests to the hotel for
a fun and frolic program specially arranged for them to convey that they too are loved and cared for
Divali Party for Underprivileged Children
K
ohinoor Continental organised a Divali party
for underprivileged children at the Emerald
Hall. This is an annual event and the children look
forward to this function. When the hotel staff went
to invite the children two weeks prior to the date of
the function, the children became so excited that
they could not get their minds off the imminent
Divali party and kept buzzing about it.
A special bus was arranged for the kids to be
picked up and when they arrived at the hotel, they
were welcomed by the hotel staff and the executives who escorted them to the Emerald Hall.
Welcome drinks were served and there was a compere who hosted games for the children. The winners were given special prizes and gifts.
There was a lot of fun, excitement and gaiety. The
kids danced lustily and really enjoyed themselves.
Later, the children were served snacks, followed by
a lovely buffet spread which included mouthwatering Chinese and Indian cuisine. All the children were given gifts while leaving.
Cake-Mixing Ceremony for Dilkhush
Special School Students
Kohinoor Continental recently organised a cakemixing ceremony for the students of Dilkhush Special
School to make them feel special and cared for.
Dilkhush Special School is a school for children who
are mentally challenged. Around 30 students were
brought in to Kohinoor Continental along with their
teachers and warmly welcomed by Mr Mukund
Kamat, Vice-President - Hotels Division, Kohinoor
Group, Mr Lester Pereira - Deputy General Manager,
Kohinoor Continental and other senior staff members
of Kohinoor Continental. A welcome drink and snacks
served to put them at ease and kick off the festive
mood. "The children love cooking and are very thrilled
about the cake-mixing ceremony," said their teacher
Carol on the festive occasion.
Mr Mukund Kamat himself donned the Chef's cap
to conduct the cake-mixing ceremony for the children.
The children were delighted to actually participate in
the cake-mixing ceremony by mixing raisins, red cherries, tutti-frutti, dates, almonds, figs, cashew nuts and
other dry fruits. Later, the Chef and other F & B staff
marinated the mixture prepared by the students by
soaking them in various liquors and added the finishing touches to it.
"Preparations for making the Christmas cakes begin
about a month before Christmas. During the ceremony, the dry fruits are marinated by soaking them in
rum, brandy and wine to make them ready for the
cake. The longer the dry fruits are left soaking, the
better the cake," informed Mr Kamat.
After the ceremony, the students and teachers were
treated to a sumptuous lunch. That was not all. This
was followed by songs and dance in which the children took an active part. The camaraderie culminated
with token gifts given to the Dilkhush School students.
"Periodically we organise such events for children in
our society who happen to be less privileged so that
they too are made to feel that society cares for them.
Nothing is more gratifying than bringing a smile on
their faces. We at Kohinoor Continental believe that it
is the moral responsibility of every citizen to do their
little bit for such children. By organising such events,
we try to make our own modest contribution to this
worthy cause," Mr Kamat said in conclusion.
6
Excavation
October 2009 - March 2010
9 February 2008
Raft and Foundation
31 July 2008
1st Floor Slab
3 April 2009
7
October 2009 - March 2010
2nd Floor Slab
4 May 2009
3rd Floor Slab
8 July 2009
THE MAKING OF
4th Floor Slab
pump the water out, dry marked areas and start
work there. We knew that this was not the ideal
way to go about it and we may have to redo about
20 per cent of the work, but there was no choice
and this was the most feasible option. It was not
easy to convince the contractors to work in such
conditions. Many of them started with a 'no', but
we somehow persuaded them, sometimes cajoling, sometimes encouraging, sometimes reprimanding them. We could not be just bosses, but
had to give them the confidence that we were as
much in it as they were, sharing all they were
going through, willing to listen to their troubles,
at the same time uncompromisingly demanding
results.
Contd on page 8
Against all odds, the Kohinoor construction team achieved
the impossible task of completing the hospital project
within just 25 months of breaking ground, says Bharat Ishi
T
Finishing Work
19 November 2009
Plant Room Work
19 November 2009
Brickwork
18 November 2009
he Kohinoor Hospital project was
completed within just 25 months of breaking ground, probably an example of sorts in
project management. This is no mean
achievement. A lot of sweat, toil and tears of the
entire hospital team has gone into this mammoth
breakthrough project executed at breakneck speed
against the onslaught of untold difficulties and
obstacles, not to speak of natural calamities and disasters. In this captivating story which unfolds below,
Bharat Ishi, Vice-President (Constructions),
Kohinoor Planet Constructions Pvt Ltd (KPCPL),
gives a candid account of the making of Kohinoor
Hospital…
The
bhoomi
pooja
(ground-breaking
ceremony) of Kohinoor Hospital was held on
17 November 2007. This was a first for
Kohinoor as the Group was making its foray
into healthcare with this project. The multispecialty Kohinoor Hospital, spread over an
area of approximately two lakh square feet,
would be a crucial project for Kohinoor. Work
on the hospital commenced soon after breaking ground, but it had not gained enough
momentum even after a year.
7 December 2008: Kohinoor Foundation
Day. CMD Unmesh Joshi made a sensational
announcement and made a commitment to
Founder Shri Manohar Joshi - Sir, Kohinoor
Hospital will be commissioned on 7
December 2009.
External Plastering
14 November 2009
This shook the very insides of the entire
hospital team. How could this be possible?
There was such a lot to do! But everyone knew
that the CMD's word and commitment was
sacrosanct and there was no backing out. The
hospital had to be ready by 7 December 2009.
No one had a clue how to achieve this, but
each one set about his work in right earnest
keeping in mind the target of 7 December.
But a hospital building requires tremendous
team work and one must link the work of each
of the groups, which need to work in sync
with each other to achieve the goal. By July
2009, we managed to complete just two to
three slabs. We now had just five months left
and almost 70 per cent of the work remained
to be done.
At this stage, I set about thinking how the
situation could be remedied. I realised that a
lot of coordination was needed between the
various teams involved - architects, engineers,
contractors, medical team, consultants etc.
Each one needed to augment the efforts of the
other to produce a catalytic effect and take the
project to completion. There was a lot of discussion, disagreements, even arguments
between the various teams and it took long to
resolve matters and reach a consensus. But
now there was no time for that. We had to find
innovative solutions to achieve our targets
without compromising on the quality.
Finishing Work
7 September 2009
6 November 2009
Conventional methods of working would have
to be abandoned and new effective measures
introduced. For this, each one would need
tremendous motivation and there was only
one person who could do it - CMD Unmesh
Joshi. I discussed the seriousness of the matter
and impressed upon him that he would have
to intervene.
A 'trigger meet' was held at Kohinoor
Continental on 16 August 2009 for all the
teams involved in the hospital project, where
he reiterated his dream and vision of Kohinoor
Hospital. He spurred everyone to fall in line
with his vision and have one single-minded
goal - Kohinoor Hospital must get going on 7
December. This meet truly served to inspire
everyone and trigger everyone into action to
achieve what seemed impossible. It also created a hitherto undiscovered close bonding
between all the individuals and the teams,
now having a more conciliatory approach.
Then I took matters into my own hands.
While I decided to tackle all problems related
to civil and construction work, my colleague
Sudesh Bhelekar took over the MEP (mechani-
External Plastering
2 November 2009
cal, electrical, plumbing) part of it. We formed
sub teams like the Design team, Civil
Execution team, MEP Execution team, Interior
Execution team, Infrastructure Development
team, appointed heads for these teams and
assigned specific responsibilities with specific
deadlines to them. The process of modifying
drawings as per changes required was taking too
long; so we decided that on-the-spot decisions
would be taken and work would continue to
progress. The paper work and drawings could
be taken care of a little later at the earliest. At
any cost, the pace of the work should not suffer.
A lot of coordination was required between
the architects, consultants, site engineers, contractors, BMC, medical team etc. This coordination was accelerated. The work progressed
at a much faster pace and it was a great relief
to see the rising slabs.
In the meantime, nothing was done in the
basement. The basement was still wet, rather
filled with water, to say the least. Then we
racked our brains as to how we could do work
in the basement. We decided that we would
Brickwork
1 October 2009
5th Floor Slab
7 September 2009
Terrace Slab
7 September 2009
Brickwork
7 September 2009
8
External Painting
October 2009 - March 2010
22 November 2009
Facade Work
30 November 2009
Terrace Waterproofing
30 November 2009
9
October 2009 - March 2010
Finishing Work
3 December 2009
Infrastructure Development
Work
4 December 2009
Reception
20 December 2009
THE MAKING OF
Contd from page 7
Labour Delivery Recovery
Postpartum (LDRP)
20 December 2009
Operation Theatre
20 December 2009
Neonatal ICU
20 December 2009
ICCU
20 December 2009
We also had to face a couple of disasters and
natural calamities. One dark day, a portion of
the road belonging to our neighbouring builders
collapsed. This seriously hampered the movement of our materials. We had discussions with
them to get the road back into shape. Just when
we thought the monsoon had bid us goodbye
for this year came the unseasonal heavy rains
which again filled the basement. The same exercise of pumping out water, drying and doing the
work had to be repeated. By this time, the contractors and workers were demoralised and at
the end of their tether. They just said they wanted to quit. Again we spoke to them at length and
convinced them to continue the work.
We also found that improving the housekeeping would bring a lot of relief to the woes of the
workers. A housekeeping team was pressed into
action. Rubble was cleared regularly. Measures
were taken to protect and keep the workers in
good health and take care of infections with
medical treatment. Again, movement of trucks
and consequently raw material supplies were
hampered because there was no room for more
than one truck at a time to enter the premises.
The movement of trucks had to be regulated. In
the meantime, Mr Bhelekar and I coordinated
our work together so that there was no loss of
time. Sometimes he would complete his work if
I needed a little more time for mine and vice
versa. That was the civil and construction part
of it.
A hospital has many specific medical requirements - design of the OPD, rooms, operation
theatres, consulting rooms, pathology, X-ray
department, CT scan, sonography, reception,
lobby, entrance… the list was endless. Each of
these has its specific requirements and we needed to know these from the medical team at this
stage. Looking at our drawings and plans, they
could not really picture how they would look.
They were still not convinced that we could get
everything ready and achieve our target.
A mock-up OPD room was created to give
them a good idea of how it would actually look.
This proved to be a learning experience for both
Maternity Dept.
20 December 2009
the medical team and the construction team in
understanding the final result. We understood
their specific requirements and saw to it that
these were met with during construction.
An additional facet was that we were in the
process of acquiring Platinum rating under
LEED Certification for 'Green Building' for the
hospital. The standards for this and required
documentation also had to be taken care of. A
dedicated team was put in place to take care of
this.
It was also Mr Unmesh Joshi's dream to have
an escalator in the hospital. We went ahead with
the structural work for this, but somewhere
down the line I realized that this would not
work out as it took up a lot of space. Again I
shared my apprehensions with him and he was
convinced that we would have to change the
plan. This was not easy, as the structure was
already erected, but we went ahead taking a calculated risk and succeeded in suitably executing
the modified plan.
Parallely, Mr Unmesh Joshi made it a point to
visit the site every 15 days. This helped tremendously to boost everybody's morale and they
produced much better results as though they
had suddenly discovered they possessed a lot
more potential to deliver than they thought they
had. The productivity increased manifold.
To further speed up the work, some unconventional decisions were also taken. We were
now in October and 7 December was too close
for comfort. Casting normal overhead tanks
would have taken at least a month and a half; so
we ordered overhead tanks from Singapore well
in advance. These tanks could be assembled at
the site itself in just 21 days. Many such innovative time-saving measures were adopted.
To expedite the hospital work even more from
the functional point of view, Mr Joshi formed a
hospital task force comprising experts from the
Kohinoor Group. Mr Mukund Kamat - Vice
President, Hotels Division, Kohinoor Group,
Mr Atul Karanjkar, now Director, Kohinoor
Group, Mr Subodh Kulkarni - Vice President,
Projects & Alliances and Mr Milind Patwardhan
- Head, Design Cell, who enthusiastically took
over the jobs of the kitchen and housekeeping,
Paediatric Dept.
20 December 2009
recruitment, systems, signage and uniform
designs respectively. Mr Sainath Rajadhyaksha,
Vice President (Regulatory Affairs), mobilized
the required permissions. Mrs Madhavi Joshi,
Director, also played an important role in deciding the furniture, décor and colour schemes.
However, forming a task force was not
enough. Regular meetings of the task force at an
interval of 15 days were conducted, and then
things started falling in line.
The work at the site was executed in full
swing and completion of the finishing work was
soon within sight. We all were geared up for 7
December 2009.
Sometime in November, Mr Unmesh Joshi
expressed his wish to have the Vaastu Shanti
function on 27 November 2009. In order to facilitate the function and perform the pooja in the
basement, it would to be have functional.
By this time, we had pulled out all our engineers from other sites and put them on the job at
the hospital site. I could see that they were losing energy and were totally fagged out. I
requested CMD Sir to give me the additional
support of four KAS trainees. He understood
the seriousness of the situation and deputed the
entire KAS team at the site. This proved to be a
shot in the arm and worked out well particularly in the areas of housekeeping, handing over
the premises to the medical team and organizing the functions.
To add to our difficulties, the disasters continued. With the breakdown of sump pumps
and ingress of water from the cut-outs of the
basement, water again flooded the basement on
the night of 24 November. When Mrs Madhavi
Joshi inspected the site the next day, she was
scared to see the basement in such a deplorable
state and almost lost hope of performing the
pooja on 27 November.
But we are made of sterner stuff. We were not
ones to come this far and now give up. We
pressed all our reserve forces into action to combat the onslaught of this new calamity. The KAS
trainees and housekeeping agency cleaned up
the basement, the admin areas were completed,
the furniture was assembled and put in place.
Mr Bhelekar succeeded in starting the television
Physiotherapy Dept.
20 December 2009
set in just one day. The lift for Shri Manohar
Joshi was pressed into operation. Finally we
won the battle and the Vaastu Shanti was held as
per schedule.
This proved to be a blessing in disguise as the
Vaastu Shanti function helped us to complete the
ground floor, first floor and the lower basement.
We decided to hand over certain areas to the
medical team so that they could settle down and
learn more about the hospital. We got excellent
cooperation from the Kohinoor Hospital team.
There was very good synergy between the construction team and the medical team.
The visits of the LEED Audit Team, BMC
engineers, MOEF officials, Food & Drug
Inspectors were also happening simultaneously
and the statutory approvals were falling in
place with the help of Mr Sainath Rajadhyaksha
and Mr Sandeep Shikre.
Architects Sandeep Shirke and Anuja played
a vital role in giving their inputs for enhancing
the finishes as a result of which, the elevation of
the building, atrium and pharmacy had come
out with a marvellous finish.
Smaller surprises like water leakages from
plumbing pipes, AC ducting, shafts etc. continued, but we took everything in our stride, sportingly accepted the challenges and found solutions to win over the situation.
At the same time, there were commitments
for the mall, educational complex and Phase III
of the residential complex in Kohinoor City
which had to be honoured. This work too was
going on simultaneously along with the hospital work. But the commitment of 7 December
made by CMD Sir to our founder Shri Manohar
Joshi HAD to be honoured at any cost.
Work continued at a furious pace even on the
D-day right till 6 pm. My special thanks to the
medical team for setting up medical furniture
and equipment in just one day. With that, we
finally won the long drawn battle and the hospital was ready as committed on 7 December 2009.
I am also happy to make another declaration
about the hospital. By God's grace, the whole
project was completed without any casualty or
fatality to any of the workers. It gives me a lot
of satisfaction to say that as far as workers are
CT-Scan
20 December 2009
concerned, the hospital was a zero casualty/fatality project.
In my entire career of 20 years, this is my first hospital project. Though I have been used to working
under stringent deadlines, Kohinoor Hospital has
been a unique experience, one of the most challenging and satisfying projects for me, and the credit
goes to each and every team member involved in the
project as this feat could never have been achieved
without their staunch drive and support.
- Bharat Ishi
Vice President (Constructions)
KPCPL
Atrium
20 December 2009
24 Hrs Pharmacy
20 December 2009
CT-Scan
20 December 2009
10
October 2009 - March 2010
KTI Organises Principals’
Meet At Vadodara
K
ohinoor
Technical
Institute (KTI) recently
organised a Principals’
Meet at its Vadodara branch to
create brand awareness. The
theme of the meet was 'Today's
Scenario of Vocational Technical
Education and Importance of
Vocational Technical Education'.
B S Soni, retired Principal of
Industrial Training Institute
(ITI), and N M Vyas, Senior
Manager, Training, Gujarat State
Fertilizers and Chemicals (GSFC)
were invited as speakers for the
occasion.
The meet was attended by 13
school principals, who very
actively participated in the program.
Chhaya
Khedkar,
Divisional Manager, Kohinoor
Technical Institute, instituted the
session by giving details of the
Kohinoor Group activities.
Mr Soni made a presentation
on
'Today's
Scenario
of
Vocational Technical Education'
while Mr Vyas expressed his
views on 'Importance of
Vocational Technical Education'.
Later, an open discussion was
held to understand the views of
the principals on vocational technical education. B F Rathod,
who is the Principal of Mahireva
High School, Bajwa, Secretary of
Vadodara District Acharya
Sangh
and
President
of
Vadodara
Career
Corner
Teachers’ Association said,
"Kohinoor Technical Institute is
serving society by providing
vocational training at a reasonable course fee to economically
backward students so that such
students can learn vocational
technical skills and have a better
life. Congratulations to the
Kohinoor family for such wonderful work. I wish them more
success for the future."
Expressing his views, V B
Shah, Principal of T R Patel High
School, Nizampura, said, "The
Kohinoor Technical Institute Principals’ Meet has
proved to be an eye-opener and truly brought out
the need and importance of vocational technical
education in today's era. It has also given us valuable information on how students should be guided towards vocational education. I am very happy
to know that KTI is serving students who are coming from modest families by giving them training at
very reasonable fees."
The other principals also expressed their eagerness to invite Kohinoor Technical Institute to
educate their students about vocational technical
education.
JKTI SIGNS MoU WITH
IGNOU AND HERO HONDA
Joshi’s Kohinoor Technical Institute (JKTI) recently signed a
Memorandum of Understanding with Indira Gandhi National
Open University (IGNOU) and Hero Honda Motors Ltd (HHML),
at its Deccan Branch, Pune, to implement a Certificate Course
in Motorcycle Service And Repair (CMSR) under the IGNOUHHML Motorcycle Technicians Competency Development
Project. Seen here (l to r) are Fanindra Khanapurkar, Zonal
Training Head (West), HHML, Kalpana Gupte, Regional Director,
IGNOU (Pune), Jitendra Perkar, Manager (Academics), JKTI,
and Sandip Kavde, Regional Manager, JKTI, Pune.
Transcending Conventionality
H
aving spent a few fruitful months as a KAS
(Kohinoor Administrative Services) Trainee,
I am in a credible position to share our
experiences with you.
The adventure began on 1 June 2009, with our
induction program which started with a visit to
Kohinoor Global Campus (KGC), Khandala. We
were instantly awestruck by the surroundings. After
a sumptuous breakfast we got introduced to the
coordinators of the program in a lecture room. This
was where we would be spending the rest of the
day for the induction.
It started with the usual ice-breaking session, but
there was a splash of creativity to it. This was followed by a series of activities wherein our intellect,
team spirit and creativity was tested through indoor
and outdoor events. Outdoor activities were really
enticing for all of us. We had a great time. As
evening broke, it was time to say goodbye and we
realised that we had developed a unique bonding
among ourselves. It was a great feeling. Just imagine entering into an organisation, and by the end of
the first day itself you find a like-minded breed of
colleagues always ready to work as a team!
With Day one being so fantastic, it was time to
move on to the Real Estate, Hotel and other
Education divisions. For me and four of my colleagues who began the training in the Real Estate
arm of the group, the excitement was ten-fold as
the CMD of the group, Mr Unmesh Joshi drove us to
the Kohinoor City site in his car. On the way, he even
shared his knowledge about the various businesses and asked us about our aspirations. I experienced a feeling of 'nervous happiness' and will
always remember this journey during which I came
a step closer to Kohinoor.
At the site, all of us were greeted by the decisionmakers consisting of the Senior Managers and the
Vice President (Constructions), Mr Bharat Ishi, who
briefed us about the project and various aspects of
the training we would be going through in those
ninety days. As our training began, we were
exposed to each and every aspect of the construction business. From something as small as mixing
cement to attending decisive management meetings, we saw it all. Every day was a new adventure
of manoeuvring through construction sites and
even driving the JCB cranes on certain occasions,
making work fun. Being exposed to the activities in
each and every department, we developed a holistic view of the entire business and picked up root
cause identification and problem solving skills that
would help us become better business leaders of
tomorrow.
The KAS trainees in other businesses also have
similar stories to tell. From the dusty roads in a rural
branch of JKTI to the posh banquets of Kohinoor
Continental, the KAS management trainees have
shown immense respect and dedication towards
various functions and disciplines.
Sheetal Savrikar was among the first group of
trainees to be trained at Joshi's Kohinoor Technical
Institute (JKTI). She visited the Pune, Chiplun and
Hyderabad branches. "My entire tenure at JKTI was
divided into four locations; Pune, Chiplun, Mumbai
and Hyderabad. Although I had to understand the
standard business processes, each branch was different and a fascinating learning experience. The
Pune branch was quite systematic. I worked with
the counsellors, branch manager, regional manager, faculty members, accountants and the placement executive. Getting walk-ins was not too much
of a challenge there. Outdoor media like hoardings,
pamphlets, road shows etc generated sufficient
enquiries. Hence it was easier to achieve monthly
targets. The SSC results were announced the day I
reported at the Regional Branch, Deccan, and the
entire staff was gearing up to go to different schools
to distribute the pamphlets to the students who had
come to pick up their results and I too was one
among them! I actually stood outside the school
and distributed around 200 pamphlets in a matter
of an hour," she said.
"Chiplun being a smaller branch, there were days
when it had no walk-ins," she continued, "So creating awareness about JKTI in and around Chiplun
required extra efforts. Here, along with the usual
promotional activities, every month, the entire staff
travelled to nearby villages and did door to door
advertising and counselling. But Hyderabad was a
different scene altogether. The work culture was
quite different and they were not really aware of
how popular and big we are in Maharashtra. This
branch was also facing challenges to meet admission targets, but things improved drastically after
aggressive marketing efforts were undertaken. My
overall experience at JKTI was a total eye-opener
because I had never been exposed to something
like this before. Providing education to the needy is
what JKTI does best," Sheetal concluded.
Tushar Jahagirdar got the opportunity to head the
JKTI Parbhani branch for nearly a month. "People at
the branch showed a lot of respect towards me and
were very supportive of my decisions," he said.
Some KAS trainees were also trained at the corporate office in the HR department in functions ranging from Recruitment to Performance Appraisal
involving interaction with internal and external customers. The interaction with internal customers was
in the form of the Employee Satisfaction Survey and
the Training Needs Analysis for the employees of
Kohinoor Planet Constructions Pvt Ltd and with the
external customers was in the form of the Customer
Satisfaction Survey for the customers of the Banquet
Hall of Kohinoor Continental. But the time spent by
the trainees at Kohinoor Global Campus, Khandala,
where they extensively interacted with the students
and faculty members, was most interesting. They got
a taste of the exciting campus life. "Looking back into
our short stint at KGC, it is unbelievable that we could
learn such a lot in such a short time. The knowledge
that we gained on varied aspects such as Supply
Chain Management, Administration, Duty Charts
and Optimum Utilization of Resources is something
we will always value," says Shraddha Dey.
Contd on page 12
11
October 2009 - March 2010
Kohinoor Hospital Evolving As
A Centre For Minimal Invasive Daycare
Spine Surgeries
ADVANCED ENDOSCOPIC SPINE
SURGERY BY DR DESTANDAU'S
TECHNIQUE
February 6: Today late in the
evening, Dr S M Rohidas,
Consultant
Spine
Surgeon,
Kohinoor Hospital, and Dr Jean
Destandau, Neurosurgeon from
Bordeaux, France, performed an
innovative advanced endoscopic
spine
surgery
using
Dr
Destandau's unique minimally
invasive technique at Kohinoor
Hospital, Kohinoor City, Kurla. Dr
Destandau's unique minimally
invasive technique is an endoscopic technique pioneered by Dr Jean
Destandau to treat spinal degeneration pathologies. This technique
in a way minimises the approach
related trauma to the tissue, and at
the same time, achieves adequate
decompression of the compressed
nerve root by discectomy and neural foraminal decompression on
both the sides. Dr Destandau,
international
faculty
from
Bordeaux, France, has been using
this technique since 1993. He has
performed around 8000 surgeries
so far.
Dr S M Rohidas is one of the few
cervical endoscopic spine surgeons
in India. He introduced Dr
Destandau's technique in India in
2002. With this minimally invasive
procedure, it is possible to treat
pathogenic conditions like Disc
Herniation in the lumbar, cervical
and thoracic region. Procedures
like
Endoscopic
Lumbar
Discectomy, Endoscopic Lumbar
Canal Decompression (also at multiple levels), Endoscopic Anterior
Cervical Discectomy, Endoscopic
Posterior Cervical Discectomy,
Endoscopic Posterior Cervical
Laminoforaminotomy, Endoscopic
Posterior Cervical Laminectomy
with Canal Decompression and
Endoscopic Removal of Intradural
tumour like Neurofibroma and
Meningioma can be performed
using this technique.
"With this minimally invasive
spine surgery, patients are
mobilised within four hours of surgery and discharged on the same
day, as the post-operative pain is
less. This minimally invasive spine
With this minimally
invasive spine surgery,
patients are mobilised
within four hours of
surgery and discharged
on the same day, as
the post-operative
pain is less.
- Dr S M Rohidas
First Surgery At Kohinoor Hospital
Performed Successfully
Kohinoor Hospital successfully performed its first surgery on Monday, 18th
January 2010. A surgery named 'Superficial Parotidectomy' which is done
for suspected malignancy of the parotid gland was performed on a 48year old lady residing in Kurla. This surgery was performed by Kohinoor's
Oncosurgeon, Dr. Rakesh Badhe. The post-operative recovery of the patient
was very good and the patient was discharged the very next day in the
morning
Kohinoor Hospitals will play a leading role in expanding the horizons in
advancements of various superspecialties, not only with a focus to make
these advancements more patient friendly but also more affordable. Our
beginning of these superspecialty surgeries within one month of launch
reflects the pace that we are setting in reaching these advancements to our
patients.
Kohinoor Hospital is part of the well-known and fast growing Mumbai
based Kohinoor Group. The Kohinoor Hospital building has the unique distinction of being Asia's first and World's second Platinum rated hospital
building under the world recognised LEED certification for 'green buildings'.
Kohinoor Hospital is equipped with world-class equipment and technology,
supported by highly qualified consultant doctors, all of whom are recognized experts in their respective domains and conversant with the latest in
medical technology. The hospital's highly qualified and experienced nurses,
paramedics and administrative staff have been specially trained to make
full use of the hospital's modern facilities and provide cutting edge care to
the patients.
surgery technique is evolving very
fast as a daycare spine surgery.
With this technique, adequate
nerve root decompression with
preservation of spinal stability is
achieved. Thus it is a functional
disc preserving spine surgery,"
says Dr S M Rohidas.
Dr Mustafa T AL Rubayi, himself
an ophthalmologist based in Iraq,
was the patient who was operated
upon by Dr S M Rohidas on
Saturday (6 February) at Kohinoor
Hospital. He felt extremely relieved
after the surgery. This is what he
had to say, "I had a disc prolapse
three weeks ago with severe pain,
numbness and weakness on my left
side. My friends advised me to meet
Dr Rohidas. I contacted Dr Rohidas
through the Internet. He asked me
to come down to Kohinoor Hospital
in Mumbai, India. I came here on
3rd February, 2010 with severe
pain. I could not move my leg
smoothly, there was difficulty in
walking and sitting and I came here
almost sleeping. After a few investigations for two days, I was operated
on 6th February. Just after the operation there was dramatic improvement. No pain, I could walk, sit. It
was like magic and that too with a
very small incision. Now I can walk
for a longer time and there is
absolutely no pain. Regarding
Kohinoor Hospital, I am really
astonished. I did not expect such a
welcome and great treatment. The
staff is very polite and kind. I felt at
home. Many thanks to Dr Rohidas
and Kohinoor Hospital. I asked one
of the hospital staff, “what is the
meaning of Kohinoor”? She said it
is a kind of diamond. Kohinoor
Hospital is a really like a diamond."
Dr Rubayi was ready to be discharged the very next day and he
also flew back to Iraq the following
day.
This surgery has been performed
within one month of four successful daycare surgeries named
Percutaneous Disc Decompression
(PDD) using the recently advanced
Coblation Wand technology.
FOUR BACK TO BACK SPINE
SURGERIES PERFORMED IN A DAY
WITH COBLATION WAND METHOD
January 19: An innovative
advanced spine surgery was performed today on four patients suffering from discogenic low back
pain at Kohinoor Hospital. The surgery performed is technically called
Percutaneous Disc Decompression
(PDD) using Coblation Wand technology also referred to as
Nucleoplasty.
Chronic low back pain is the most
common ailment in modern industrial societies. It ranks first among
musculoskeletal disorders, resulting in serious consequences. When
the discs of the spine enlarge and
start pressing on the nerves (herniated disc), it causes severe back
pain. Surgical treatment of intervertebral disc herniation such as open
discectomy, microdiscectomy, and
laminectomy are often targeted for
patients with uncontained or large
herniations, and/or sequestered
discs.
PDD using Coblation technology
is an effective procedure in cases of
discogenic back and/or leg pain
where conservative therapies have
failed and the patients are not considered suitable candidates for open
surgical interventions. In the PDD
using Coblation Technology, a
cobaltion wand is inserted in the
nucleus of the disc. The wand then
o
o
imparts heat of 40 C to 70 C to the
surrounding area, shrinking the
herniated disc and gives relief from
low back pain.
This innovative form of minimally invasive surgery was witnessed
by more than 100 doctors across the
city. Dr Vishwanathan Iyer, Spine
Surgeon, Kohinoor Spine Centre,
performed these surgeries along
with international faculty from
Malaysia Dr M K Radhakrishnan.
Both are specialised in doing
Percutaneous Disc Decompression
with coblation wand technology.
Dr Iyer says, "This is an ultimate
form of minimally invasive spine
surgery. It is a daycare surgery performed under local anesthesia.
Patients get immediate relief from
pain and can go home the same day.
They can even resume work soon.
"Treatment of back pain by primary care providers typically
involves prescription of opioids,
expensive
non-steroidal
antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), or
physical therapy. Though these are
common treatments, they may not
be the optimal solution. Opioids
may be addictive and patients are
likely to build drug tolerances.
NSAIDs have potentially dangerous side-effects, and physical therapy may be ineffective. Many
patients suffering from discogenic
pain become refractory to medical
management after some time.
Minimally invasive techniques
addressing the discogenic pain
should therefore be made available
to these patients. "
Kohinoor Hospital is committed
to play a leading role in expanding
the horizons in advancements of
various superspecialties, not only
with a focus to make these advancements more patient friendly but
also more affordable. The beginning
of these advanced superspecialty
surgeries
(Endoscopic
Spine
Surgery with Dr Destandau's technique as well as PDD with
Coblation method) within two
months of launch reflects the pace
that Kohinoor Hospital is setting in
reaching these advancements to its
patients.
"These innovative techniques in
spine surgery will give quality life
to patients. In order to pass the benefit to the patients suffering from
back pain, Kohinoor Hospital had
organised a Special Spine week
from 15th February to 20th
February 2010 at our Spine Care
Centre," informed Dr Pravin
Swamy,
General
Manager,
Kohinoor Hospital.
12
October 2009 - March 2010
Between u & me…
The aftermath of the inauguration of Kohinoor
Hospital took two days to sink in. It was like the
sudden vacuum after the hectic activity of a daughter or a sister’s marriage. My wife Madhavi proposed a short holiday, but we were already on 22
December. I had to be back for the new year party I
have been hosting for the past 20-25 years. Where
should we go? Going anywhere in India would
entail long journeys and uncertain bookings. From
somewhere Thailand emerged as a good destination
for this quick trip. Having seen Thailand earlier,
getting a break and relaxing was more the motive
than sightseeing. Visa on arrival made matters
simpler. My bosom pal Sandeep too readily agreed
to come with his family. My Man Friday Eban and
Girl Friday Uma got the bookings done. And we
were off on Jet wings to Bangkok; I with my family,
wife Madhavi, son Chirayu and daughter Aayusha,
and Sandeep with his family, wife Alpa, sister-inlaw Mona and clone daughters Anisha and
Anusha.
From Bangkok we proceeded to Pattaya and
checked into Centara Mirage, a cosy resort with a
lovely ocean view. On the first day, we went with
the family for a Thai Culture show. The show was
good, but when Sandeep and I get together, we cannot escape business creeping into our heads. It is
said that to be in business you need to ‘live and
breathe business’ and we both do just that. His
architect’s eye was absorbing the décor, lights,
dimensions and other architectural details while
my business eye was taking in the number of seats,
occupancy and mentally calculating the probable
capital cost and break even point. Our third eye
focusing on business is perpetually open.
On the second day, we went for the Coral Island
tour. Chirayu, being 10 plus, qualified for the
underwater tour. It is really strange how the
human mind works. While watching the Thai
Culture show, my mind was on business, but here,
a new experience was awaiting me. Although this
underwater tour was my third experience, it was
the first with Chirayu. This evoked the father in me
and all my attention was focused on Chirayu. Can
he bear the weight of the heavy helmet? Is he in any
way uncomfortable or is he enjoying it? Will he be
able to convey any discomfort through the signs
taught to him? These were the thoughts crossing
the mind of the anxious father in me. Everything
went through smoothly. He was perfectly fine and
enjoyed the tour, but this experience of taking my
12-year-old son for the first time for an underwater
tour made it unique. Then we also went parasailing. Chirayu went right ahead and was one of the
first to go. Again I spent some anxious moments
till he finished his parasailing and landed safely.
The next day all of us went to see the ‘miniature
world’, a fantastic world having everything from
replicas of the seven wonders of the world to so
many other wondrous things. We were strolling
along when we suddenly realized that Aayusha and
Anisha were missing. We looked around for them
but they were nowhere in sight. All of us got tense.
If these two 10-year-olds got lost here, how would
we find them? Fortunately I kept my cool and
decided to wait for a while.
Aayusha had stubbornly taken a mobile from her
mother ‘just for fun’. We knew she had it with her.
Sure enough, after a while, I got a call from her. The
smart brat knew my number and coolly dialled it.
“Baba, aamhi haravalo aahot (Dad, we have got
lost),” her trembling voice came through the phone.
It was then just a question of talking calmly to her
and tracing them. After some desperate searching,
we were relieved to find them. But I was to learn
more about Aayusha’s smartness. The girl cuddled
up to me avoiding her mother and asked for ice
cream. I gladly got ice creams for all. She took her
Cumberland Rum Butter : A Recipe
Ingredients
Half a pound of softened butter
6 oz Muscovado sugar (soft brown)
One glass dark rum (not white)
Ground nutmeg
Method:
Beat the butter and sugar until light and soft
(Some people would melt
the butter and add the sugar, the choice is yours)
Mix the rum and nutmeg
Taste!
… And A Little Story Behind It
Most of you will know that I am from the north of England; more particularly, I was
born and went to school in a special place called the Lake District, the home of
Wordsworth, Ruskin and other famous poets of yesteryear. To this day, despite my wanderings, I still have a home in the area. The Lake District is a place of natural beauty
which attracts millions of visitors every year and relies on tourism and agriculture for
most of its income. This National Park that is called the Lake District covers most of the
county of Cumbria, which was born out of the combing of the historic counties of
Cumberland and Westmorland about a generation ago. On the Western border of the
county of Cumbria is the Irish Sea, then out towards the Atlantic Ocean. Like every coastline, there is a long sea-faring history. Some of this history does not make pleasant
reading.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, ships left the important port of Whitehaven carrying guns and weapons to West Africa. From West Africa, native Africans were transported to the Caribbean and the southern states of the USA and sold as slaves. This triangular trip was completed by the ships returning to Whitehaven with a cargo of rum,
varieties of sugar and exotic spices for the rich families of England. The folks of old
Cumberland developed their own 'industry' by thieving more than a little sugar, rum
and spices from the dockside or warehouses and combined it with the abundance of
local butter to produce what is now known as Cumberland Rum Butter. Rum and sugar
is a wonderful preservative for the butter and the product will keep fresh for weeks.
There is a suggestion that after combining the ingredients, the Rum Butter could be put
into containers and buried in the ground, so that when the bailiff or policemen came to
investigate, no evidence could be found!
The recipe for this concoction varies from family to family but the ingredients do not.
Nutmeg from the Caribbean was also added as a final flavour enhancer. The concoction was and still is spread on biscuits, bread, X'mas mince pies, X'mas pudding or
anything which takes your fancy in times of celebration!
- Rod Bunting
Principal, Kohinoor-IMI,
Khandala
time licking the ice cream and enjoying it. Then
slowly, she sauntered up to her mother and buried
her face against her. Madhavi lovingly stroked her
hair and consoled her. Through the corner of her
eye, she mischievously looked at me and winked as
if to say ‘Aai patli (I’ve won over Mum, now she
won’t shout at me)’. So much for the smartness of
the new generation!
I get hardly an hour with my children everyday
apart from Sundays. Eighty per cent of my time is
devoted to business and about 20 per cent to the
family. But such holidays are rare occasions when
the ratio gets more than reversed and brings me
closer to the children. It strengthens our bond and
I get to see new hues to their personality.
After these good-bad experiences, we returned to
Bangkok for the usual shopping, but we didn’t shop
much. We come from a middle-class background
and even the ladies in our family are conservative
when it comes to shopping.
Looking at the multiple flyovers, huge skywalks
and metros in Bangkok, I couldn’t help thinking
that this is what Mumbai will look like in future
with the new infrastructure projects of skywalks,
flyovers, metro and mono rail progressing in the
megapolis.
We returned relaxed and happy with the trip.
Getting to spend some days at a stretch with your
family really does you good. Madhavi and I always
encourage our children to be bold and find their way
around even in a foreign country, whether it is asking for directions or interacting with the hotel staff
or room service. It is very gratifying to see your
children growing up, breaking free from you to
become independent and blossoming into confident
individuals. That is why I make it a point to go for
a holiday with the family at least once a year.
- UMJ
Transcending Conventionality
Contd from page 10
My story will not be
complete without telling
you about the Kohinoor
Continental experience. In
the hotel business, every
day is considered unique
for its experiential value.
Sugandh Bagi trained at
the hotel said, "The culture
revolves around the philosophy that the guest is
always right. The training
at Kohinoor Continental
not only comprised functional learning but also
aspects related to personal grooming which is such
an important facet in the
hospitality industry. Being
from the hotel industry, I
was aware of the basic
functions and culture of a
hotel. Therefore, I was
able to accept wearing
uniforms and varied shift
timings easily. An interesting training was that of
'Service
Excellence',
where we learnt about
the industry, culture, work
style, mindsets and various communication and
behavioural aspects of
the hotel business. It is all
about perception, the kind
of impression you create
in the guest's mind and
the fact that similar hotels
offer similar facilities.
What makes us unique is
our personalized service
and cordial relations with
guests. This was the success mantra we learnt.
We were also trained
extensively in Food &
Beverage service and
production, Housekeepin,
Front Office, Security,
Maintenance, HR, Finance
and Marketing."
All this was aimed at
developing KAS trainees
as individuals to play a
bigger role. Their stint at
Kohinoor
Continental
taught them that knowing
things is quite different
from actually doing them.
Tactfully
handling
different situations with
one's knowledge and
experience is crucial in
such a set-up.
There are endless
stories to share with you
about our KAS experience
but what is most important is that the Kohinoor
Group is grooming us
with great efforts and
precision under the leadership of Unmesh Sir. We
are sure that at the end of
this innovative KAS program, we will be shaped
into multi-faceted leaders
capable of taking on
responsibility in any of the
group businesses.
- Abhijit Chakravarty
KAS Trainee
Published by: Hotel Airport Kohinoor Private Limited, Kohinoor Corporate House, S B Marg, Dadar (W), Mumbai 400 028. Email: kohinoortimes@kohinoorgroup.co.in Website: www.kohinoorgroup.co.in Editor
and Publisher: Ullhas B Kulkarni Assistant Editor: Sequencia Kharvi Printed by: Lucid Prints, A 227, T.T.C. Ind. Area, Mahape, Navi Mumbai-400701. Editorial and Design: The Source
(kohinoor.source@gmail.com) For Private Circulation Only.The editors and Kohinoor Group do not necessarily subscribe to the views expressed in this publication. Copyright © 2010 Hotel Airport Kohinoor Pvt Ltd