In an effort to encourage self-help groups (SHG) to organize themselves to facilitate business, district collector Archana Patnaik visited Thenchittur village near Pollachi last week and inspected the betel leaf fields cultivated by a 21-member SHG. She interacted with the group members, talking to them about the cultivation process.
Their efforts yield 6,000kg of betel leaves each month. Keeping environmental concerns in mind, they use organic manure. To encourage their green initiative, the collector ordered the officials to help them get organic certification, which would allow them to sell their produce at higher prices.
“We would get the certification for organic betel leaves and develop the marketing strategy,” said collector Archana Patnaik.
“We used to pick betel leaves in our village. We decided to form an SHG (Thenchittur betel producers). We leased eight acres from a farmer and availed funds through the Pudhu Vazhvu Thittam, a government scheme that provides funds to self-help-groups to start small businesses, with assistance from World bank. They were given funds worth 77,800 in 2011. Our first yield came after three months and we were able to produce 6000kg monthly after that,” said G Latha, an SHG member.
The women from the SHG were involved in irrigation and plucking of betel leaves. “We planted brinjal, spinach and banana as intercrops, for additional revenue,” she added. They market their produce in Valparai and Palani, selling 1kg for 120. Cost of production including wages works out to 70 per kg.
Collector, Archana Patnaik and District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) project director Tha Murugan visited Thamaraikulam village near Kinathukadavu and inspected the coir rope manufacturing unit. Five SHGs have been engaged in the production of coir ropes. The district administration has planned to provide transport facility for the SHGs to boost business.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Coimbatore / A. Subburaj, TNN / June 15th, 2015
If all goes well, Coimbatore will be the first city in Tamil Nadu to get a Bus Rapid Transport System (BRTS). The final City Mobility Plan report submitted to the commissioner of municipal administration in Chennai on June 8 found that this system was feasible for Coimbatore.
The civic body is discussing the project with a government agency from Germany for funds. “We have sought 853crore for the first phase of BRTS and the delegation has responded positively. Soon after funds are allocated, the city corporation will lay a separate road for BRTS on Avinashi Road and Mettupalayam Road,” a senior corporation official said. Officials also plan to look at other avenues of funding including the World Bank.
To begin with 90 AC buses will be purchased to ply on the route. The BRTS envisages two dedicated lanes for buses to ply at high frequency. “As of now, more than 42% of residents use some form of public transport in the city. This will only increase in future. Thus, the ideal solution is BRTS,” the officer said.
The corporation had come up with the proposal to introduce BRTS, aimed at improving the public transport system and decongesting roads, last February. Soon after an announcement to this effect by former mayor SM Velusamy, commissionerate of municipal administration ordered a feasibility study by ICRA Management Consulting Services Limited.
Subsequently, ICRA picked Avinashi Road and Mettupalayam Road and conducted a detailed study. “The final city mobility plan was submitted a few days ago. We discussed the plan regarding the first phase, with officials in Chennai,” said the officer.
The civic body is now awaiting approval from the state government. Once the approval comes, the corporation will acquire land from Ukkadam to Thudiyalur on Mettupalayam road and from Ukkadam to Chinniyampalayam on Avinashi Road.
A few people are however skeptical about the project. “Mass Rapid Transport Systems have not yielded desired results in several cities in India. In Coimbatore, land acquisition poses a major hurdle. We need at least 30m of land along the entire stretch to implement BRTS. Besides, there are several connecting roads on either side of Avinashi and Mettupalayam Roads. The BRTS should not block these roads,” said D Nandakumar, president of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Coimbatore chapter.
At a meeting called recently by collector Archana Patnaik and corporation commissioner K Vijayakarthikeyan with stakeholders to discuss the mobility plan, questions about land acquisition and compensation for land owners were raised. For now, the authorities seem confident that land acquisition would go smoothly.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Coimbatore / by A. Subburaj, TNN / June 12th, 2015
Pushpalatha puts the finishing touch on her rocking horses at her workshop in Thanjavur. Photo: B. VELANKANNI RAJ / The Hindu
Pushpalatha and her husband have been crafting wooden rocking horses for 15 years
On the busy Moopanar Road opposite the head post office in Thanjavur, where the vehicular traffic roars up and down, making conversations difficult, J. Pushpalatha and her husband F. Joseph have been engaged in the craft of making rocking horses for the past 15 years.
An errant head carpenter who vanished with the money to buy mango wood for a big order angered Pushpalatha so much that she decided to learn the art herself. “My husband was initially afraid of losing business and supported the carpenter, but when he ran away, and I decided to try my hand at making the rocking horses myself, he started to help me,” says Pushpalatha, 49, who has done a certificate course in carpentry and upholstery.
The couple’s 10 feet by 20 feet shop has no electricity, and no room for anything else except the stock of mango wood planks used for creating these toys, but they are not complaining. “We spend Rs.3,300 on one rocking horse, but we sell it for Rs.1,300 only, as we’d like more children to be able to play with them,” says Pushpalatha. “This used to be a toy for children from rich families, but we are now supplying this, and the rocking swan, to schools as well.”
Joseph, a former administrative worker at the Khadi and Village Industries Commission, also helps out with procuring the materials.
Pushpalatha admits her first samples were rather disappointing. “But I picked up slowly through trial and error. It takes me a whole day to saw the different parts and assemble them, and around three days to paint the rocking horse,” she says. “We use seasoned mango wood because it’s the safest for children, and eucalyptus for the handles.”
Each piece is individually measured and fitted into notches.
Once the skeletal structure is nailed together, the entire toy is coated with ‘matti’ – a thick paste of chalk powder and plaster of Paris – and allowed to dry. A coating of red oxide follows next. This allows the toy’s sharper edges to be moulded.
The horse is then sandpapered and smoothened to remove any stray splinters. “Since this will be used by many children, we have to be very careful about each part, especially the seat area,” says Pushpalatha. The horses assume their final shape with their caparisons painted on in bright colours.
The toys, made in batches of 12, are available only at their humble premises (at an advance notice of 15 days) for now. “Many toy stores have approached us, but they want a higher price tag, which could hit business,” says Pushpalatha.
Except the basic planks that are machine-sawn at the mill, everything else is assembled by hand at the Moopanar Road workshop.
Pushpalatha and Joseph are proud to say that these toys helped them to put their son and daughter through college and become engineers. But they do worry about who will take over next. “We are ready to train anyone, but don’t have the facilities for it. If the government can provide artisans like us with a centre, we can easily conduct classes,” says Pushpalatha. “Otherwise this art will die.”
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus / by Nahla Nainar / May 29th, 2015
A well-known city-based film production company, Wide Angle Creations, which has produced Papanaasam with Kamal Haasan in the lead, played an important part in the making of Dheepan , which won the Palm D’ Or at the Cannes film festival.
This would mean that Kalieaswari Srinivasan, who plays the lead, is not the only connection the film has with the city. The film, which was shot for not more than 7-8 days in parts of Mandappam (near Rameswaram), and Ooty among other places in Tamil Nadu, in the month of December and January, has actually made use of a number of local technicians and several hundred junior artistes.
Suresh Balaje, one of the partners of Wide Angle Creations, said the Palm D’ Or came as a pleasant surprise./ Photo: R. Ragu / The Hindu
Suresh Balaje, one of the partners in the company that specialises in ‘line production’ in India, said that he did not really expect to win the big prize. “There was a lot of interest in the film because of Jacques Audiard, whose earlier films have been received well by the press. But, honestly, nobody was expecting to win, although everybody was proud that the film was selected in the competition section,” he said.
While the crew only shot for a few days, it wasn’t a small-sized production, says George Pius, Mr. Balaje’s partner. He says that except for the camerawoman, Jacques Audiard, costumer and the art director, the support crew were all locals.
Many of the actors and technical support staff of the film directed by Jacques Audiard were from India —Photo: Special Arrangement
“We erected a big set in Mandapam of a refugee-camp. We worked with hundreds of junior actors on the sets. Even the technical crew had very few people from France. They came with a small crew and the rest of the technicians were locals,” he explained.
George Pius, who worked on the film, said that this recognition for Dheepan would likely open many doors, which were earlier not available for production companies from the South. “Previously, only companies from Mumbai were working with foreign productions. After this award, I hope companies like ours also get a look-in,” he said.
Though Dheepan is a French production, it is said that at least 75 per cent of the film is in Tamil. Asked if he thought if the film would clear the censors, Mr. Balaje said, “ I do not think there is anything wrong with the film. It should release without a hassle,” he said.
The awards for Dheepan are likely to flow as the film will also be in pole position to win the Best Foreign film at the Oscars next year.
City-based Wide Angle Creations played a key role in the making of Dheepan
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Udhav Naig / Chennai – May 27th, 2015
The intention was to get chatty about cheese. But the conversation veered off to reveal how Kodaikanal’s best known family for producing cheese is famous for a lot more
You will never get it wrong while visiting the Manis in Kodaikanal. A visit to their home is invariably greeted with the ‘eat cheese’ welcome! The plate loaded with rusk and toasts topped with the ‘Kodai Cheese’, the brand they are reputed for, lay in front of me temptingly through the interview. And honestly, the ‘cheese content’ of the assignment remained restricted only to eating. For, when you are sitting with the two ladies of the family – Lalitha Mani and Janani Harisanker, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law duo – you can only hear and see how they share their homes, lives and hearts with animals, patients and people in general.
The business of cheese is of course managed by Lalitha’s husband G.S.Mani and her son Harisanker. And both are mostly away at their newly established factory in Batlagundu (see box). But it is this dynamic pair of saas-bahu making news more often in Kodaikanal. They are either chasing tourists who make the Kodi roads dirty or rescuing stray animals from the streets or ensuring good medical care of patients in the hospital started by them.
Lalitha Mani and Janai Harisanker. / Special Arrangement
And when they are not doing social service, they are either landscaping their gardens or playing golf. Lailtha and Janani connect so well that you fall in love with them when they say, you can drop the ‘in-law’ bit from our relationship. “We are like mother and daughter,” they echo, asserting on the beautiful relationship.
Janai Harisanker with Pebbles. Photo: Special Arrangement
When Chennai-bred Janani wedded into the Mani family seven years ago, she was not sure whether her in-laws would be happy with her role as a silent volunteer for the Blue Cross, the 55-year-old animal welfare organisation based out of Chennai. She was even more upset when her mother told her that her adopted stray dog Pebbles, was missing her and refusing to eat. With much trepidation she checked with her mom-in-law if she could bring Pebbles over to Kodaikanal for a few days.
“Pebbles is your dowry we will happily accept,” Lalitha told her newly-wedded daughter-in-law. That one line not only changed the relationship between the two women forever but it also made Pebbles a permanent resident of Kodaikanal.
“Amma has an amazing way of dealing with people and is extremely supportive where she sees something good,” says Janani fondly about her mother-in-law. Lalitha returns it with, “And Janani is very friendly and caring”. But these are not just complimentary words for each other. They go much beyond in action.
Just a few days ago, says Lalitha, while returning from work we saw people in the car ahead of us throwing chips wrappers out of the window. “We stopped and picked up the empty packets, overtook the car, handed over the packets back to them with the request that they should properly dispose them off,” narrates Lalitha. “And we both are pretty well known in the town for doing this,” laughs Janani.
Though they are often referred to as the “dynamites of Kodi”, Lalitha worries about when people will ever learn to be responsible by themselves. The duo distributes garbage bins and bags to various agencies in the hill town and also places them at strategic locations in the heavily crowded tourist hotspot. But look at Kodi, rues Lalitha, how dirty it has become. She came post-marriage in the Seventies and finds it difficult to digest how the idyllic town with flowing streams has been reduced to such a trash spot.
For her own peace, she along with her husband does the landscaping of her properties and much to her delight has found her daughter-in-law sharing the same interest. Janani being the quintessential nature lover and environmentalist is a student of urban architecture and of late has been doing projects in Coimbatore and Kodaikanal, particularly the villa properties. “I never encourage any exotic species of flora or fauna but only promote and integrate the locally known birds, animals and trees for perfect harmony with the territory and environment,” she says.
Both of them are now trying to work out a waste management proposal for Kodi in collaboration with Wasteless from Auroville. While Lalitha feels there is not much hope, Janani says, there is still a chance to save the township.
But it is her animal rescuing mission that sets Janani on a hyperactive schedule. In the last five years she has rescued 45 stray dogs and cats, all of whom have found a place either in her or Lalitha’s home, or in friend’s homes. She has attended 20-odd emergency calls and treated injured dogs, horses and cows. She practices reverse psychology with pony owners and makes them take care of their animals better.
Animal welfare works with care and compassion, not threat,” she underlines.
Both the women have also been instrumental in reviving one of the oldest units of SPCA (Society for Prevention of Cruelty Against Animals) in Kodaikanal. It was established in 1929 by the Americans and continued to work with the help of senior citizens of Kodi. But the association went defunct in 2002 following diversion of Government funds to the Dindigul unit of SPCA. So now it has been renamed Kodaikanal Protection and Care for Animals and Janani is in the forefront rescuing stray pups and kittens.
In the middle of all this when does she find time for golf? With my father-in-law laying the first organic golf course in Kodi, I could not stay away from it for long being a sportsperson, smiles Janani, already on a winning spree in various city tournaments.
Both her’s and Lalitha’s minds are cluttered with ideas to better the environment of their much loved town. “Recycling is the buzzword for everything now,” they say.
The Kodai Cheese
For four decades the “Kodai Cheese” brand has been popular for its special range and nutritious value. “We believe in creating our own brand and identity with value-added quality,” says Harisanker who now controls the business with his father G.S.Mani, who took over Kodi’s famous Cheese Factory from his father in 1977.
Harisanker./ Photo: Special Arrangement
The family has a word of mouth reputation to uphold and prides in producing boutique innovative cheese with techniques adopted from around the world.
What started from a rural village as a family-owned dairy with six suppliers in 1972 has grown in magnitude manufacturing 150 metric tonnes of cheese every year. In the beginning horse-drawn wagon collected 50 litres of milk per day, today 4,000 litres of milk goes into the making of Cheddar, Mozarella, Ricotta, the Blue cheese and the latest handmade Cambrie. The entire line is made with fresh antibiotic-free milk, experience and from authentic recipes in eco-friendly way, according to Harisanker. The whey created in the cheese making process is used for making organic compost for the entire vegetation, fodder, flowers, fruit and other trees grown on their property.
The KHMS Hospital
The Kodaikanal Health and Medical Services is a Trust formed by G.S.Mani with six other trustees to cater to the health and medical needs of the residents and visitors to Kodaikanal. The trust runs the 16-bed hospital established in 2009 and is equipped with a pathology lab for basic investigation facilities and essential facilities like the ICU, Operation Theatre, Ultrasound, X-ray machine, pharmacy and an ambulance. “The idea is to stabilise the patient here in case of an emergency before they can travel to a big hospital in Madurai or Dindigul,” says Lalitha Mani, who holds charge of administrative responsibilities. The hospital caters to 25,000 patients in a year and the treatment is highly subsidised.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus / by Soma Basu / Madurai – May 07th, 2015
Some of the country’s distinct arts and crafts awarded the prestigious Geographical Indications (GI) tag have, for the first time, been compiled in a book.
The GI tag, a form of intellectual property right, is distinct from other forms of intellectual property rights (IPR) as it ascribes exclusivity to the community in a defined geography rather than to an individual as in case of trademarks and patents.
Madras high court additional government pleader P Sanjai Gandhi in his ‘Arts and Crafts of India’ has collated and described 64 arts and crafts that have been accorded the prestigious tag.
Thanjavur doll, Madurai Sungudi Saree, Swamimalai Bronze Work, Arani Silk, Salem Silk and Fabrics, Kancheepuram Silk, Kovai Kora Cotton and Bhavani Jamkkalam Carpet are some of the products from Tamil Nadu detailed in the book.
It also describes the origins of Budithi Bell and Brass Metal Craft, Kondaoalli Bommalu (wooden toy), Nirmal paintings, toys and crafts, Pembarthi Metal Craft, Silver Filigree of Karimnagar, Siddipet Gollabama Sarees, Pochampally Ikat Fabrics and Machilipatnam Embroidery from Andrhra Pradesh as well as Karnataka’s Bidriware, Kinhal Toys, Mysore Rosewood Inlay, Ilkal Sarees, Molakalmuru Sarees, Mysore Silk, Kasuti Embroidery and Sandur Lambani Embroidery. Alleppey Coir, Aranmula Kannadi (metal mirror) and Screw pine craft from Kerala are also mentioned .
Highlighting the rich legacy of the products, the book, for instance, explains how the Swamimalai Bronze Icons of Tamil Nadu can be traced to the Chola period (850-1279 AD) and how Kancheepuram’s weavers manufactured silk sarees for the royal families of Chola and Pallava empires. Similarly, Kovai Kora Cotton of Coimbatore dates to the Vijaynagara Empire and the Madurai Sungudi Saree is traced to the 16th century Nayak dynasty. According to folklore, Aranmula Kannadi, a mirror made of metal alloys, was first made by bronze casters of Tirunelveli. Around 400 years ago, a priest from the Aranmula temple in Kerala brought them from Tamil Nadu.
We also learn, through the book, that Puneri Pagdi of Pune was first worn by Justice M G Ranade in the 18th century. Since then, it has been worn by leaders such as Lokmanya Tilak and D D Sathye.
The manufacturing of some products takes into account scientific principles. Thanajvur dolls are made on the concept of gravitational force. Perhaps, the process of making these dolls began long before Sir Issac Newton propounded the theory of gravitation.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Chennai / by Manish Raj, TNN / May 04th, 2015
The Thanjavur Consumers Cooperative Wholesale Stores (TCCWS), a cooperative institution that has impacted the daily life of all sections of society here for the past 75 years, is celebrating its platinum jubilee anniversary by firming up a five-year plan to shore up its finances.
Registered on April 20, 1940, it commenced its commercial operations on May, 1940 with 16 members with a share capital of Rs. 390. Now, it has 2,634 members with a share capital of Rs. 41.14 lakh.
Under its control, there are 70 fair price shops in urban areas of the city through which the premier cooperative institution is channelising 1,137 tonnes of rice, 144 tonnes of sugar, 39 tonnes of wheat, 54 tonnes of toor dhal and 57,000 litres of palm oil every month to the attached 72,636 family cards.
Besides, there are six kerosene bunks in the city limits in its fold through which 29,444 family card holders were getting 75,870 litre of kerosene a month.
Serving as the lead society, the TCCWS has been facilitating supply of essential commodities to 2,00,315 family card holders attached to 467 fair price shops functioning under the aegis of 126 primary agricultural cooperative credit societies in Thanjavur, Orathanad, Pattukkottai, Peravurani and Tiruvaiyaru taluks, the TCCWS Managing Director M. Mohamed Rafi told The Hindu here.
The self-service section functioning in the main TCCWS complex has been doing a brisk sale of Rs. 15 lakh a month while the cooperative medical shop within the complex is extending 12 per cent discount for medicines and five per cent rebate for food items besides providing free door delivery facility to buyers on demand. Medicines and food items sale touches Rs. 5 lakh a month. The stationery section was recently refurbished to lure more customers and is doing a sales turnover of Rs. 2 lakh a month, Mr. Rafi said.
There are 119 employees against the sanctioned cadre strength of 133 and a democratically elected Board of Directors in administering the TCCWS.
One future plans, he says six new fair price shops were ready for opening in urban limits of the city while it was planning to carve out four new full-time fair price shops to serve specific area customers better.
Though the TCCWS has run up a cumulative loss of Rs. 6.24 crore up to the audited period of 2011-12, it has drafted an ambitious five-year plan to wipe off the deficit and turn the corner. Already, during 2012-13, the TCCWS earned a profit of 8.15 lakh due to efficient functioning and Mr. Rafi hoped to build on that performance in the years to come.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Tamil Nadu / by L. Renganathan / Thanjavur – May 02nd, 2015
The Coimbatore-based Slivertex Engineers has tied up with Teijin, a Japanese company, to manufacture products made of Teijin polyester fibre.
P. Muthiah, managing director of Slivertex, told presspersons here on Friday that the company had invested Rs. 15 crore at its plants in Coimbatore and Madurai and planned to invest Rs. 10 crore each in Pune and New Delhi to set up new facilities this year.
Agreement
It entered into an agreement with Teijin a year ago for raw material and technology. The raw material (high performance polyester fibre) was sourced from Japan and polyester cushion materials were made in Madurai. These were then made into mattresses here.
The Pune plant would be to make acoustic material with the same raw material and the New Delhi plant to make products for the automobile sector.
The company produced about 200 mattresses a day now and this would be scaled up to 400 in three months. The mattresses were sold under the brand Fibbo.
In the case of acoustic and automobile products, the company was a tier-two supplier to larger companies.
Kenichiro Yabuki, managing director of Teijin India, added that the 98-year-old company was present in India since 2007 in automobile applications, protective apparels, photo voltaic modules for the solar energy sector and electrical and electronic product segment.
It supplied the products to the Indian market from its manufacturing facilities in other countries.
It needed to see increase in volume of sale to invest here.
While the Teijin fibre was supplied to India (Slivertex) to make products for the domestic market, these could also be used to supply to countries in West Asia and Africa, he said.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Coimbatore / by Special Correspondent / Coimbatore – May 02nd, 2015
How the city-based spice brand well-known across the world has now reintroduced its products in the country.
In 1920, while India was still ruled by George V and Madras was still a Presidency, Punjab Mittulaul Lalah started a spice business from a small shed in Triplicane. His sisters used to help blend and pack the various masalas, including a curry powder that would make a mark for itself in kitchens all over the world.
Today, the company, known as Lalah’s, operates out of a swanky glass and wood panelled office on TTK Road. Their state-of-the-art factory is in Tiruppur district, with a capacity of 15,000 metric tonnes per annum. The machines might do the roasting, grinding and packaging, but the blending is still done by hand. And that, says Laavanya Manradiar, vice-president of marketing, head of new product development and great-great granddaughter of Mittulaul, is what gives their spice blends a human touch. The fourth generation to be part of the management, she is passionate not only about the history of the company, but also about its future.
“My maternal grandfather, Dowlathram Seth, took over the thriving business after his father. He was a dynamic personality and travelled the world over, taking the brand to 25 countries at a time when ships were the fastest mode of transport. However, he passed away early, when only my mother Jayshree was married, and so my father stepped in and took over the business,” she says. Jayshree and her husband Rajkumar Manradiar, who was from an agricultural family in Erode, worked together to consolidate the overseas business and expanded operations to the 37 countries they supply to now.
After running a software company with her husband Ishwar for a few years, Laavanya joined her parents in the family-owned business in 2012 (she has an elder sister who has settled in Coimbatore and teaches the visually-challenged). She says, “With meticulous planning, my parents put a lot of systems in place. My father believes in quality, service and commitment; he calls them the three pillars on which we function. My mother has a keen business sense, and she personally does the sourcing of our raw materials, which is the most important part of bringing out a quality product.” And 38-year-old Laavanya seems to have inherited that business acumen, as she did her MBA in finance at the University of Hull in the United Kingdom. “Since U.K. is a great market for us, I could actually understand Lalah’s as a brand while I was there. In that sense, I was initiated into the working of the company quite early,” she says.
Blending it right Laavanya Manradiar Photo: R. Ravindran
“My focus is on innovation,” Laavanya reiterates, seated in her office with an assortment of Lalah’s products lined up on the shelf behind her. “The most important thing was knowing our competition. We stopped retailing in India in the early 90s, but when we looked into the current market, we felt that the time was right to step in again. In India, only 30 per cent of the spice suppliers are from an organised sector. So on November 30, 2012, we decided that we would bring home not only the products we are best known for, but also a whole new range.”
And so they went back to the drawing board, to rediscover their own product, the original Madras curry powder, which she felt was a “champion” the way people spoke about it. “Even a champion needs to reinvent himself or herself. The market is already filled with region-specific brands catering to distinct palates. We wanted to make our curry powder so versatile that it could be used in any cuisine, from north Indian to south Indian to continental,” says Laavanya.
She was quite astonished that so many people could recall the brand, and more so, when they began singing “Lalah masala, ahaa, Lalah masala”. “We have been asked to bring back the jingle! It showed a lot of goodwill, and to capitalise on it, we took three years of ideating and production before we launched our new line,” she says. With 50 different spice blends and innovative packaging — each 100 gm packet has four sachets of 25 gm each — the revamped range began to retail in stores about a month ago. “Each of the sachets makes enough to serve four people. As it is individually packaged, it retains freshness. In spite of the fact that we don’t use MSG, preservatives or added colours, our products have a shelf life equal to that of other brands in the market.” But she refuses to call the products organic as she cannot vouch for the way the raw materials are grown.
Each packet comes with a recipe, most of which have been written by Laavanya. “We spent a lot of time on recipe development; our chef and I took a month to perfect a sambar recipe. But I also learnt a lot. For instance, we spent weeks trying to get a thick Alleppey fish curry the way restaurants serve it. After some research, I found that, in its authentic form, it was a watery gravy made by fishermen when they were out on their boats,” she says, adding that the recipes have garnered a lot of positive feedback, especially from people who are just learning to cook.
Blending it right Laavanya Manradiar with her daughters Photo: R. Ravindran
At home, Laavanya slips into an easy routine with her two daughters, Shriya (9) and Shakti (5). They read together, and spend more time talking than they do watching TV in the family room which is dominated by a photo wall. She does whip up meals at times, but says that her husband is the better cook of the two of them.
A former National-level tennis player, Laavanya encourages her kids to play sport; the elder one is an ace swimmer already, taking part in State-level meets and setting new records. The little one is quick to inform us that she knows how to bake a vanilla sponge cake, make volcano lava with vinegar and hot water and will one day be a doctor while her sister will be a scientist. Based on Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, she also likes to think that the family factory produces chocolate and not spice mixes. But she also confides, “I like the masalas that amma makes. Punjabi paneer makhni is my favourite.”
The family is excited about their upcoming vacation to the U.S., but Laavanya has her mind more on business and less on Disneyland. “There is so much scope for our brand there, and I will be focussing on expanding our operations. But I am looking forward to going to Wimbledon later this year,” she smiles.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus / by Susanna Myrtle-Lazarus / April 02nd, 2015
While most panchayats close to the city have grown rapidly in the last ten years, the Ettimadai town panchayat has remained the same, with very little development. While residents await good drinking water, wide roads and job opportunities, local body officials are completely out of tune with their needs. However, some industrialists predict that once the airport expansion begins, opening up the southern end of the airport, the area might become ideally located for development.
“Ten years ago, I was working in a spinning mill in Madhukkarai, but the mills and workshops closed down and we had no choice but to continue farming and rearing cows,” said R Kanakaraj, a milkman in the village. Residents said that even basic amenities such as good roads and drinking water were lacking in the area. “In the last ten years, several colleges were set up here but not even one private player was allowed to set up an establishment in the village,” said S Shanmugam, an auto driver. Some panchayat sanitary workers said that they did not have many job opportunities in the area and thus several people were moving out of town to look for work. “We don’t even have a health centre here,” said Subramanian, a local. A few residents blame the inefficiency of the panchayat president for the lack of development.
The village officials said that they have done all that they could for the village. “It is located in the border area and thus many people don’t like to settle down here. Proximity to mountainous terrain and forests do not allow the land to be sold to industries,” said a town panchayat official. According to industrialists, the entire stretch after Madhukkarai became a hot spot for development after the Vellalore integrated bus stand was announced. “Moreover, since all other stretches have been developed, the south-western stretch of Coimbatore including the bypass road would definitely develop in the next three years,” said D Nandakumar, president, chamber of commerce.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Coimbatore / by Komal Gautham, TNN / March 26th, 2015
