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December 23, 2011
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Rugs and More – A Store Sparkling with Royal Grandeur By Sowmya Nandakumar HOUSTON: A show business professional opening a rugs and home décor store is quite some news! Located on 7320 South West Freeway, “Rugs and More” owned by Rajender Singh, had a grand opening on Saturday, December 17 at 10:30am. Guests entered the store and were lost to its splendor of antiquity and luxury. It is a haven for interior designers and those who are looking to bring a tasteful but expensive artistic flourish to their homes. A walk through the store gives one an experience of its royal grandeur – while the antiques and rugs are interesting and attractive, one has to keep in mind that this is about “rich and royal grandeur”, and the prices conform to those descriptions as well. The highlight of the event was the arrival of Houston’s Mayor Anise Parker, who cut the ribbon and formally inaugurated the opening of the store. She said, “It is businesses like these that are the engine of Houston’s economy. I get invited to cut the ribbon on many occasions, but today I thought it was important for me to be here for this community, to support your entrepreneurial endeavors”. According to her, despite the economic
crisis, Houston is still a place filled with optimistic prospects because of such entrepreneurial initiative. Anise Parker then cut the ribbon to cheering applause, and took a tour of the inside. She sure seemed to have enjoyed the store’s classical aura and charm as much as any of the others who were there. Rajender Singh is the President and owner of Star Promotions Inc., and is popular for the shows and star performances he has brought to Houston. Originally from Jaipur, he is also a writer and has authored a best seller in India, titled Vatan Se Door (Away from the Motherland). When I asked him if he usually writes in Hindi, he laughingly answered, “Don’t worry. I always write in Hindi. I am not going to start competing with people like you who write in English.”.
HOUSTON (Hindu): A bipartisan bill has been tabled in the U.S. House of Representatives to make companies that move call centres overseas ineligible for grants or guaranteed loans from the federal government, a move aimed at stemming the tide of jobs heading to nations like India. Introduced by Rep Tim Bishop and Rep David McKinley, the U.S. Call Center Worker and Consumer Protection Act would also put some aggressive mandates on call centre operations. “Outsourcing is one of the scourges of our economy and why we are struggling so to knock down the unemployment rate,” said Bishop. Under the protectionist legislation, not only would customer service
representatives, working overseas for U.S. corporations, have to disclose their locations upon request, they would also have to offer callers the option of being transferred to call centres back in America, the Huffington Post reported. Besides, the proposed legislation requires the Secretary of Labour to maintain a list of employers that locate call centres overseas. The companies also require to provide 120-day advance notification before moving a call centre overseas.
Why a rug store? I have been partners with a friend of mine in India who manufactures these rugs and I am familiar with the business. What was your inspiration? I always wanted to open a rug store. So “Jab hona hai, tab ho jata hai” – things happen when they have to happen and what I had been thinking
Rajender Singh with wife Amrit at Rugs and More See Collage on Page 28
about for a while finally came true. Where do all these patterns and designs come from? Our rugs are international because they come from India, Pakistan, Turkey and Italy. What sort of market demand can your store cater to? We are ready to undertake custom and wholesale orders apart from being open for regular sale. Now that the store has opened what do you hope for?
I believe that we offer great prices for our products. I am hoping that interior designers and others looking for home décor realize this and start frequenting the store. Why did you shift from the show business to the rug store? I have not shifted from the show business. The show business has always been a part of me and I will continue to do it because it is my passion. I have worked with many stars including Shah Rukh Khan, Amitabh
The call centre bill has strong backing from the Communications Workers of America (CWA), a union which represents 150,000 call centre workers in the U.S. In a report, issued recently by the CWA, the union alleged that outsourced call centres, including some based in India, pose a serious security
threat as there are insufficient safeguards in place to deter fraud. The report, titled ‘Why Shipping Call Center Jobs Overseas Hurts Us Back Home’, cited several examples of security breaches, involving outsourced call centres, including in India. Owing to the insufficient protections in place, it is impossible to deter this type of fraud, the report said. Some call centre operators, particularly those in rural areas, are trying hard to compete with overseas call-centres and some rural call centre operators say they are seeing a trend toward companies moving call centres back to the U.S. The ability of home-based workers to use a broadband connection to con-
Bachchan,Abhishek Bachchan,Asha Bhosle, etc. and I have enjoyed being a Star Promoter. The rug store is in addition to what I already do. What sort of competition do you expect in the future and how do you plan to deal with it? I never think of competition. I believe that if you work hard and do your best, you will do well anyway. As an accomplished businessman, what would you tell younger entrepreneurs in the community? Dream big, work hard, be completely dedicated and stay focused. What were the greatest challenges you faced getting here? First I had to find a lucrative location for the store which I eventually did. While I have great prices to offer now the challenge is for me to keep the prices at that level. The Mayor, Anise Parker spent a lot of time at the store. What did she think? She really liked it. She said that the antiques and the rugs were very beautiful. For those of you who are rugs and antique connoisseurs, Anise Parker is absolutely right! This is a store you want to visit because it is “Rugs and More”!
Now, Call Centres a Target of Anti-Outsourcing Bill
INDO AMERICAN NEWS • friday, DECEMBER 23, 2011 • WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
duct call-centre duties has helped fuel that trend. Reverse’ call-centre outsourcing driven by broadband could create 100,000 U.S. jobs. If passed, the proposed call centre legislation would likely further fuel a move of call-centre jobs back to the U.S. Our Chennai Correspondent adds: “Non-captive call centres will not be affected,” said Allsec Technologies Chief Executive R. Jagadish. “People in America are not willing to work for lower salaries. Today the outsourced jobs just cost only $11-12 an hour. Similarly the unemployment benefits have been extended to 180 days or more by the present Obama Government. As a result, they are not willing to work for low salaries. This is the ground reality,” he added.