Everyday thousands, who are keen on punting their luck to become instant millionaire, storm into Macau often

touted as Asia's Monte Carlo, or the Las Vegas of the East. Several expansive, neon-lit and glitzy casinos are now the major attraction of this tiny territory neighboring Hong Kong and
What
Macao Museum City of Dreams Dasanba Street Historic Centre of Macau

When

October to December

Where
Pousada de Mong-Ha Mandarin Oriental Macau Altira Hotel Banyan Tree Macau

Map
View Larger Map

China. It drives the economy of this former Portuguese colony which in 1999 became a special administrative region of China.

Chinese philosopher Confucius said gambling was morally wrong, but preferable to being lazy and doing nothing. So it became a great pastime for the Chinese and close to home Macau emerged as a haven for the Chinese from the mainland and Hong Kong, only 60 km away across the Pearl River. Thanks to Chinas one country two system which allows gaming in Macau but not in China and Hong Kong. So on a recent Saturday morning when ferrying to Macau from Hong Kong, an hours journey by luxury boat, I discover that unlike mine, mission of most of my fellow passengers is mainly to thin or thicken their wallet at the gaming joints. I step into Macau, to taste its glorious Portuguese heritage.

The Portuguese after establishing themselves in Goa, landed here in the early 16th century and soon turned the impoverish area into an important trading port, linking Europe with China, Japan and India. During stay for almost 400 years, they bejeweled the village-like land with architectural marvels and developed it like a mini Lisbon. In 1999 the colonial regime ended, but the Chinese administration so far has been quite protective of the regions European heritage, despite the Portuguese population being only a small fraction of the regions total number of around 580000. Portuguese is still the official language alongside Chinese; street names and sign posts in two while most locals are fluent in both the lingos plus English. Hanging like a fruit bat to China, Macau is a peninsula less than 30 square km in size. The administrative region also consists of two islands Taipa and Coloane connected to the peninsula by three ultramodern bridges which symbolically link old with new, antiquity with modernity. The size of the region is increasing with more land being reclaimed and offered to entrepreneurs to build bigger and bigger casinos with other allied infrastructure like hotels, restaurants and shopping malls.

Portuguese colonial edifice. Photo: Sandip Hor

Majority lives on the peninsular where the old part, clustered with piazzas and cobblestoned streets, baroque churches, stone fortresses, neo classical edifices, bustling cafes and inviting shops, doesnt take much time to proclaim its European roots. Accompanied by my omniscient guide Aloniro Noriega who migrated to Macau from Goa three decades ago I being my sojourn through the tiled streets of this UNESCO World Heritage listed quarter and notice a unique mlange of Asia and Europe. I find Portuguese pastry shops next to a Chinese dumpling eatery, antique furniture store giving way to a noodle bar , colorful piazza with planter boxes, shutters and bench seats flanking a grey housing estate , European style lamp posts line streets where laundry is hanging on poles from the balconies of impoverish apartments ,Oriental design finding space in Art-Deco architecture and fine restaurants offering a cuisine called Macanese that bring the best of cross cultural influences.

Old Macau. Photo: Sandip Hor The landmark site from the glorious past is the Senado Square said to be the civic hub of the Portuguese colonial empire. Its striking features are the wave- patterned, stone mosaic streets created specially by experts from Portugal and the gorgeous pastel colored buildings. I feel like trundling along the paths of a European settlement and immediately get absorbed by its buzz

which tells me this is where Macaus heart has been pounding for centuries. At one end of the square is the former Loyal Senate and opposite to it is the 16th century built Holy House of Mercy, the oldest charity institution in China region. Its well known that the Portuguese introduced Christianity into the region, thats why the domain is powdered with so many beautiful churches which still play an important role in the life of Macau, maintaining hospitals, schools, old peoples homes and refugee centers.

Cobblestoned street. Photo: Sandip Hor Founded in 1587 by three Spanish Dominica priests, St Dominic Church draws attention by its magnificent yellow baroque exterior while the serene atmosphere inside gives instant peace. This church is famous for its alter, decorated wooden ceiling and the treasury of statues and other sacred art displayed inside a museum occupying the old belfry. A local tells me that it was from

here the first Portuguese newspaper in Chinese soil was published. This church also houses a statue of Our Lady of Fatima, a title for the Virgin Mary due to her reputed apparitions to three shepherd children at Fatima in Portugal. Aloniro takes to another nice little church named after St Francis Xavier, the 16th century Catholic priest whose mortal remains are housed in the famous Baslica do Bom Jesus in Goa. Macaus most familiar landmark is the Ruins of St Pauls. Nested at the top of a imposing staircase not far from St Dominic Church, its only the facade of what was originally the Church of Mater Dei built by Jesuits in early 17th century and later destroyed by fire in 1835. However the intricate carvings on the facade are daunting enough to remind modern day onlookers the architectural ingenuity of the Portuguese builders. Chinese dragons in the faade highlighting the cross cultural pattern dont miss my attention. Back in the 19th century, the Portuguese in order to boost their income opened doors for gambling which has now become its backbone. There are 33 of them, all operating under a common set of government rules.

Restaurante Litoral. Photo: Sandip Hor The biggest of the lot is the Venetian Macau, a visit to which lists in all tourist itineraries, even if gambling is not their cup of tea. So Im there as well to get stunned by its pomp and grandeur. With 550000 square feet of gaming space, its recognized as the worlds largest casino but for general visitors like me the key attraction is experiencing the ultimate in ersatz tourism an

imitation of eternal Venice with canals and gondolas, glittering sculptures and gildings and replica of St Marks Square. Bollywood dearly loves this setting. The prestigious IIFA Awards event, which was held here in 2009, returned this year again to match up the venues extraordinary gleam with Bollywoods glamour, the memories of which are still vivid among the Macau locals. Travel Notebook Getting There: One option is to fly Cathay Pacific (www.cathaypacific.com) to Hong Kong and the take fast ferry to Macau from the airport. Accommodation: Experience the glamour of Macau in style at Sofitel Macau (www.sofitel.com) located amidst the charms of the Macaus historical quarter.

Rahul hands-on, Modi only wants clash of individuals'

Chetan Chauhan and Saubhadra Chatterjee, Hindustan Times New Delhi, June 09, 2013 First Published: 18:29 IST(9/6/2013) | Last Updated: 11:46 IST(14/6/2013)
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As battle lines get drawn for the 2014 general elections, Union rural development minister Jairam Ramesh reposes unshakeable faith in Congress-led United Progressive Alliances track record of achievements. In a freewheeling interview with HT, he endorses Rahul Gandhis approach, while slamming Narendra Modi the BJPs man of the moment for subverting the Indian political system. There is an ongoing debate on whether Rahul Gandhi will be declared prime ministerial candidate. What is your take? Indian elections are fought by parties, not individuals. Parties contest elections on the basis of competing vision programmes and ideologies and individuals give content to the party programme. The fundamental contest in Parliament system is between parties. We will go to 2014 with what the Congress stands for. The BJP, for what it stands for. Mr Narendra Modi wants to reduce this very serious electoral battle between parties, vision and ideologies into matter of individuals. This is completely distorting and subverting the essence of Indian political system. Of course, Gandhi is our lead campaigner. He is our vice-president and is hands-on. He is chairing the election coordination committee. In the party he is clearly no 2. Declaring him as the prime ministerial candidate is a non-issue in my view. Congress president Sonia Gandhi stressed on more effective modes of communication. Is there any disconnect between the party and the government? No, elections are not fought just on achievement. They are fought on sentiment also. We have to be sensitive to both. We have to use all media. The party has to communicate. Maybe, we have not been aggressive enough in communicating what we have been able to do. Part of our problem is the states which have usurped our programmes. One state has issued pattas under UPAs Forest Rights Act (FRA) with the photograph of the chief minister. Another CM had renamed the Rajiv Gandhi Vidyutikaran Yojana as Atal Jyoti Yojana. Our president has been stressing for aggressive political mobilisation. Nand Kumar Patel (slain Chhattisgarh Congress president) was doing the same in southern Bastar and was exterminated by Maoists. Our party chief in Madhya Pradesh has covered almost 100 constituencies by now. I have covered over a dozen constituencies with him. We are trying multiple methods. Corruption is an issue UPA is battling with. How do you will deal with it in 2014 elections? We have cheapest call rates in the world and second largest mobile network and you focus only

on corruption. You dont focus on how ubiquitous telecom revolution has been in India. We view corruption as an issue in Karnataka. We have a track record of achievements. It is how we are able to project our record. We have a worthwhile record legislatively as well as from executive point of view. How can you say that you have a worthwhile legislative record? In the last two years, not a single bill has been passed? If Parliament is not allowed to function, how will the bills get passed? We have to go to the people and tell them the reason why the bills were not passed. The effectiveness of our outreach will matter. The BJP decided to do with India Shining in 2004, they failed. Every political party has a communications plank. In terms of our legislative track record in UPA-2, we were hamstrung that BJP did not respect the mandate of 2009. They thought it was their inalienable right to form the government. They did not allow the Parliament to function. The casualty was legislative business. The UPA has spent lot of money on the social sector, but hasn't inequality risen? I admit inequality has risen. We measure inequality in consumption terms and not in income terms, as done in some other countries, and may not depict the correct picture. But, all our social sector programmes are to reduce poverty. Our annual rate of poverty reduction has been about 2 percentage points, double of what it was earlier. High growth meant better access to social services. Access to higher education has increased from 8% at the time when UPA came to power to about 17% now. Access to public health has also improved. The way mining projects are approved in tribal areas appears to go against the governments development plank to check Naxalism? Our approach to mining in Naxal-affected areas should be cautious. In some areas, it should not be allowed. Where mining is a must, it should be done in a responsible way. Locals should benefit, not only outsiders. I have advocated moratorium on mining in Naxal violence affected areas such as Saranda (forest) in Jharkhand. It has not happened. I think the mining lobby is politically powerful and we have seen it in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand and Odisha. I have also made it clear that in the Schedule V areas, the consent of gram sabhas should be mandatory for mining activity. We have made the consent mandatory for acquisition of land in schedule V areas.

I think mining has contributed to Naxalism in the last 50-60 years because of multi-level displacement, environment degradation and poor implementation of relief and rehabilitation packages. Locals not benefiting from mining projects has contributed to Maoist violence. Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) is almost six months old, but its penetration is poor. Do you think DBT will work? To me, it is not DBT. It is Aap Ka Paisa Aap Ke Haath or Direct To Home (DTH) money. I think this is also the view of the Prime Minister and the finance minister. It is an ambitious and comprehensive reform programme. The programme has been much slower than anticipated. I believe it has shown progress in Andhra Pradesh, not all 22 districts but 7-8 districts where Aadhaar enrollment is high. What are the main problems with DBT? I think the biggest issue is getting the banks on board. It is a huge challenge. The response of the public sector banks is lukewarm. That is the reason we have to move to post offices for DBT. The second big issue is lack of clarity on commission to the banking correspondents. Nilekani report recommended 3.14% commission to make banking correspondents viable. The finance ministry has agreed to only 2%. It is not enough. The banking correspondent model has to be open architecture to allow inter-portability. We have to look at the Andhra Pradesh model under which womens self-help groups have been notified as banking correspondents. There has to be clarity on multiple banking correspondents at the village level. Implementing DBT will not be possible without high Aadhaar penetration.

Historians tell us that the first and, mercifully, the last military coup in India occurred during the Mauryan age. The last Mauryan emperor was assassinated by his army chief in an open court. Another coup occurred in Delhi, although it has been largely unreported. It was carried out by the police in Delhi in 1978 when, overnight, it broke ranks from the supervisory magistracy. It upgraded itself from just a directorate under the home department of the local government into virtual rulers of Delhi.

The force bypassed several supervisory levels and rushed to the then prime minister, who dutifully signed the dotted line. The then PM was an interim entity, without a popular mandate. The timing was perfect. Parliament was in recess. The legislation to overthrow the civil magistracy and erase all civilian control was rushed through the ordinance route. The legislation that placed Delhi under the police force repealed the earlier law on the subject, the Indian Police Act of 1861. It needs to be recalled that the latter Act was just a brief adjunct to the main Act, i.e. the Criminal Procedure Code of 1860. Historically, the Criminal Code was the first piece of legislation in India that set the country firmly on the road to a modern democracy. The Police Act of 1861 that was repealed was routinely dubbed colonial by some police officers, without ever elaborating what was colonial about it. If this flawed argument were to be accepted, then all three core Acts would fall under that category the Criminal Code, the Penal Code and the Evidence Act. These Acts that have stood the test of time are still in existence, largely unchanged over the last 150 years or so. The police derive their powers of investigation from the Criminal Code. As the code did not regulate the internal working of the police force, the British enacted a brief adjunct to it in the form of the Indian Police Act one year thereafter, in 1861. The two Acts worked in tandem. Today, the mainstay of the criminal justice system is the Criminal Code. The police are under civilian control and in civil disputes, the police have no jurisdiction. Preventive powers are with the magistracy and not with the police. Civil licensing powers are vested exclusively in the magistracy. The Criminal Code authorises the police to investigate all offences as defined in the Penal Code. Once investigation is complete, the matter is placed before the court, which examines and weighs the evidence, and issue processes to compel appearance of witnesses and the accused. The presiding magistrates alone are authorised to issue warrants of arrest if the accused fail to appear. The courts are exclusively authorised to examine witnesses, on oath, if the case requires oral evidence. However, in 1978, the Indian Police Act was repealed through an ordinance. The successor Delhi Police Act, 1978 is draconian in the extreme, to put it mildly. Ostensibly, it was meant to update the earlier Act, which only regulated the internal functioning of the Delhi Police. Under the cloak of internal regulation, it has, in effect, tampered with the core Acts. Thus, the Act of 1978 has created an entirely new class of offences, undefined either in the Penal Code or the Act pushing, annoying, shouting etc.

This provision, unprecedented in jurisprudence, has sinister implications. An undefined offence necessarily implies that the police will determine what is annoyance, etc. Besides, there is no categorisation of offences. Civil lapses, as distinct from civil wrongs, can be treated as criminal offences. In other words, both the Penal Code and the Criminal Code have been turned upside down. All preventive powers under the Criminal Code have been usurped from the magistracy and appropriated by the police. Similarly, all licensing powers, essentially a civil function, have been grabbed by the police. As a consequence, the Delhi Police extorts around Rs. 40 crore per month from half a million hawkers in Delhi, as reported by the central vigilance commissioner in 2005. It is anybodys guess what the figure would be now. Bacon, the great English law giver, had famously warned: A bad law is the worst tyranny. The Delhi Police Act, 1978 is one such prime law. Ashok Kapur, a former civil servant, is director general, Institute of Directors The views expressed by the author are personal

Theres a sense of great urgency

Hindustan Times July 16, 2013 First Published: 22:41 IST(16/7/2013) | Last Updated: 22:45 IST(16/7/2013)
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The Reserve Bank of Indias move to curb currency volatility, even if it may eventually come at the cost of higher borrowing rates for consumers, clearly mirrors the sense of urgency among Indias monetary and fiscal authorities to stem the rupees slide. A sliding rupee is toxic. For a start, it means that India needs to shell out more cash to import fuel, and this in turn raises the prices of transporting goods, leading to higher inflation. And high inflation means that the RBI will hesitate to cut interest rates, a step needed to boost economic growth. So, consumers need to keep paying large chunks of their income every month towards repaying housing loans, even as the cost of food and petrol rises and the prospects of decent salary hikes recede because the economy is struggling. Its not just households. Companies that import raw materials are badly hurt, and this will further hurt economic growth. Indias wholesale price index (WPI)-based inflation, the countrys main gauge for economy-wide price movements, inched up to 4.86% in June, reversing a four-month falling trend on higher food prices. A sub-5% WPI-inflation is still well within the RBIs comfort zone, but with high retail inflation that looks good to canter well into double digits this month, the central bank will unlikely slash lending costs in its July 30 review meet. Estimates show that a sustained 10% rupee depreciation, adds roughly 1 percentage point to headline wholesale price inflation. Higher diesel and petrol prices would knock up the cost of ferrying goods, including food items, across locations, which, in turn will push up overall prices. Its not just soaring fuel costs that will push food prices up. A weak rupee will raise prices for most manufactured and imported goods a large component of a households monthly grocery consumption such as pulses and edible oil. For instance, India is a net importer of pulses a key staple for most families. A weak rupee means it will push up the cost of essential food items. Eating out could be even costlier as restaurant owners are likely to jack up rates to cover for rising processed food and cooking fuel costs. Edible oil and pulses import grew sharply by 15.5% and 26.21% respectively in 2012-13 compared to the previous year, driven by flat domestic production and rising consumption demand. A weak rupee will raise the landed costs of these staples. The rupee is falling because foreign investors are selling the currency, preferring instead to plough into the US market, which is showing signs of resurgence.

The RBIs moves, at the very least, are clearly targeted at curbing punters from dominating the currency market. Its important to keep speculators at bay, because too much is at stake for the Indian economy.

No made-in-India tag yet

Manmohan Bahadur July 16, 2013 First Published: 23:30 IST(16/7/2013) | Last Updated: 23:33 IST(16/7/2013)
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Trending pan-India is the chant to Indianise our humongous arms procurement. Everyone desires indigenisation and hopes for a serendipitous accomplishment! If wishes were horses we would be riding them already but others are galloping away with our money! The Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) is an enabling document for capability building and indigenisation of our requirements. Though its latest amendments are welcome, the best of intent will fail if systemic attitudinal change is not effected. The DPP is not the culprit the reality is that we are unwilling to do an intellectually honest appraisal of our problem. The Department of Defence Production, DRDO, Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs) and ordnance factories are mandated to make India self-sufficient in defence equipment. While an official list of miscarried projects is unavailable, an Internet search would show the enormity of the numbers. Some simple questions beg unvarnished answers.

Barring a few success stories, how many lakh crores spent have translated into usable, in-time and truly Indian products is anybodys guess. Has any audit verified the quality of research being done by countless R&D labs? Have the enormous time overshoots (sometimes a decade) and cost over-runs (some 20 to 30 times) any justification? Does indigenous equipment have imported critical innards (LCA, Arjun tank et al)? Has costly transfer of technology been developed further (Bofors gun, submarines )? If not, have any careers of project in charges been short closed, like the projects they were meant to shepherd? Should fabrication of mere doors for Airbus and Boeing make us feel proud? The fact is that our polity has accepted mediocrity. Power, like water, fills unattended gaps. The American withdrawal from the Gulf and Iraq (soon Afghanistan) has beckoned the Chinese their taking over of Pakistans Gwadar port with bases in Seychelles and the Maldives makes the picture clearer. Was the incursion in Ladakh a mere aberration? The next discord could well be on water, considering the nonchalant Chinese attempts to dam rivers flowing into India. Whats required? While diplomacy is the logical first step, any prudent nation would keep its powder dry; and the powder has to be indigenous to retain strategic autonomy. In reality, India, which has bought the Bofors guns from tiny Sweden, is procuring, ab initio, trainer aircraft from even smaller Switzerland and will soon import the basic infantry weapon, the rifle. Why? Because we have barred our private players from the armament sector. They are as patriotic as the DPSUs and have accountability, a virtue conspicuously absent in the DPSUs. National assets like R&D facilities, military ranges, test facilities et al must be opened to them. If the DRDO can be funded endlessly, why not handhold the private sector by anointing Rashtriya Udyog Ratnas, a prescient recommendation of the Kelkar Committee? Amend the Explosives Act to empower them to make armaments, because if buying from a Raytheon is not taboo why not from a Tata? The skewed tax structure needs revamping and defence exports permitted as it is a sine quo non for the economic viability of the industry. Mere DPP-tinkering is a sure recipe for import perpetuity; a holistic thrust by domain experts, with full government backing, is imperative. Entrenched lobbies will rail, trade unions will try to obstruct it but the reality staring at us requires redress with cold logic and resolute will. Can we wish for bipartisan political support in this national imperative? To get our military shield or dhaal a genuine Made-in-India tag, maybe we need a Nelson Mandelasque Truth and Reconciliation Commission to help see the truth. Manmohan Bahadur, a retired Air Vice Marshal, was assistant chief of Integrated Defence Staff in-charge of tri-Service perspective planning and force structure.

For the first time in his political career, Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik has decided to go for a show of strength in Delhi to extract special category status for the state from the Centre. The enigmatic leader opened up in an interview with HT on Tuesday, not shying away from even sharing his views on the BJP with whom he severed ties in 2009 and its man of the moment Narendra Modi. Excerpts: Will you support the BJP or Narendra Modi as its prime ministerial candidate? There is no chance of that happening. The Biju Janata Dal will not be a part of the (BJP-led) National Democratic Alliance. My party is related story

BJP-JD (U) split 'certain', decision within a week

equidistant from both the BJP and the Congress. Is a non-Congress, non-BJP third front government a possibility? What are the chances? The third front will be a healthy alternative in Indian politics. It is early days and I do not want to speculate. Are you getting feelers from other parties for a third front? Are you in touch with Bihar CM Nitish Kumar? There have been no such feelers. No, I have not been in touch with the Bihar CM. Why has it taken you so long to flex your political muscles in Delhi for special category status? It is necessary now. Odisha deserves special category status. We should not forget that Odisha has a large tribal population (23%). Special category status will provide us 90% grant, reducing our interest burden. Besides, it will give tax breaks to units, thus attracting more investment in job generating industries.

Your rally comes after Nitish Kumars. Demands of both states are the same. Are you willing to offer a hand of support to him so that both states can pressure the Centre? Bihar has been promised Rs. 12,000 crore as a special plan under backward regions grant fund, while Odisha has only got Rs. 250 crore per annum. We have no issue if the Centre provides special packages to any state. However, it should be fair, transparent and not based on narrow political considerations. Would being a stakeholder in the government, directly or indirectly by providing outside support help you get Odisha the money? Central aid to states is a constitutional mandate and not a political weapon in the hands of the ruling alliance for political gain or survival. One should not strain the federal fabric of our great nation for narrow political ends. Are you accusing the Centre of discriminating against Odisha? The Congress-led UPA government believes in political blackmailing. They discriminate against parties who are not a part of their alliance. The states in which regional parties are in power, as in Odisha, are the worst sufferers of such discrimination. Hasnt the Naxal problem worsened in Odisha? At present, Maoists are said to be present in nearly 20 of the states 30 districts. Is it going to become worse? Left-wing extremism is a matter of serious national concern. The situation is getting better in Odisha where we have tackled it with a two-pronged strategy: development and welfare. Though there has been progressive improvement in my state, the situation is sensitive on the borders with Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. What steps are you taking to attract investment? Has the Posco issue adversely impacted the states image in this respect? We have one of the best resettlement and rehabilitation policies in the country. As far as the Posco project is concerned, there were some legal issues and they are being sorted out. The project is on track. Mining has become a political issue. You have set up a committee to formulate a long-term policy. What is your approach? The state government has constituted a committee of ministers to suggest measures for making available ore in a fair and equitable manner through a transparent process. The committee is likely to submit is report by June 30. The Gujarat model is being seen by many as the way forward. Given the abundance of natural

resources in Odisha, do you think Gujarat can serve as a model or reference point? Every state can have its own model of development. The cornerstone is good and transparent governance. Odisha adopts the best practices from other states. Similarly, several of our programmes have been hailed as models of best practices for other states. What is the reason for having a separate agriculture budget? One of the core commitments of the BJD is to make a positive impact on agriculture, which provides employment, directly or indirectly, to more than 60% of Odishas total workforce. With the agriculture budget, we have demonstrated our political commitment to the farmers. You have hand a long innings in power. Where do you see Odisha in the next five to 10 years? Over the next 10 years, I believe Odisha has the growth potential to catch up with the rest of the nation on most fronts including agriculture and industry.