Historic Brands That Transformed India

July 12, 2013

After India shed its socialistic legacy, the country has become a breeding ground for world’s leading corporate brands. While most of these brands have emerged since the days of liberalisation, some of them are historic brands that date back to the pre-independence era. In this compilation, I have tried to collect a few historic brands that have shed their old image and donned a new identity in sync with a nation in transformation. So don’t be perturbed if you can’t find great names like Godrej, ITC and Bata that have not changed their logos much.

Gattu to Gradient ribbon – Asian Paints

Asian Paints old logo

The origin of a brand that is India’s largest and Asia’s third largest paint company is surprisingly humble. In 1942, the founders, Champaklal H. Choksey, Chimanlal N. Choksi, Suryakant C. Dani and Arvind R. Vakil, chose their company’s name ‘The Asian Oil & Paint Company’, by picking a name randomly from a telephone directory! However, the founders of Asian Paints understood the concept of design much before any Indian company realised the value of branding and design. In 1954, they commissioned the famous cartoonist R K Laxman to design their mascot: “Gattu”.

Asian Paints new logo

After over four decades, Gattu was eventually phased out in 2002 during a rebranding exercise. Again in 2012, the Asian Paints logo was rebranded, but this time, the previous logo’s logotype has been kept intact, with a change of colour and accompanied by a gradient ribbon.

http://rupeeblog.wordpress.com
http://brandingsource.blogspot.in

Bajaj Auto

Bajaj Auto old logo

It is hard to forget the famous Bajaj Auto ad, “Bulandh Bharat ki bulandh tasveer, Hamara Bajaj!” Aired at a time when there was only one TV channel across India, that ad became imprinted in every young Indian’s mind. The company was founded in 1930 by Jamnalal Bajaj and soon the Bajaj brand gained a foothold in every Indian household through its omnipresent Bajaj scooter emblazoned with the hexagonal Bajaj logo.

Bajaj Auto new logo

However, the advent of liberalisation brought in a wave of latest technology Japanese bikes and scooters that made Bajaj look jaded. By early 2000s, motorcycle sales surpassed scooter sales and Bajaj Auto lost its market share to Hero Honda. In an attempt to recapture market share, Bajaj Auto restructured its business and launched new motorcycle models under a new brand. ‘Inspiring Confidence’ became the leitmotif of Bajaj Auto in 2004 with a dynamic, stylised and trendy ‘B’ with the logotype moving from lower caps to upper caps.

http://www.icmrindia.org

Banyan tree revitalised – Dabur

Dabur old logo

While Bajaj had to undergo a total transformation to shed its old jaded image, Dabur wanted to remain connected to its roots, literally! This homespun herbal specialist brand was started way back in 1884 by a Kolkata based doctor, Dr S K Burman. His name became so trustworthy that the company’s name ‘Dabur’ is derived from his name, ‘Daktar Burman’! The original logo had a banyan tree – a symbol of nature and protection – and a logotype underneath it.

Dabur new logo

The current logo adopted in 2004 retains the tree image, but gives it a dynamic and vibrant visual. The tree trunk mirrors the form for three people with their arms raised conveying exultation in achievement. The broad trunk represents stability and its multiple branches represent growth. The transformation in the company has reflected the change in its brand, which has become the world’s largest ayurvedic products company with a billion dollar turnover today.

http://www.business-standard.com
http://www.dabur.com
http://kikkidu.com

Hindustan Lever to Unilever

Hiindustan Lever old logo

Established in 1933, Hindustan Lever Ltd has dominated the Indian consumer goods market as though it was born in India. In fact many people did not even realise that it is an Anglo-Dutch multinational company until the company’s name was changed to Hindustan Unilever Limited! The erstwhile logo of Hindustan Lever had a bold typography in letter ‘H’ with a foundation of a steady effect of an angular, growing leaves, depicting the letters ‘LL’. The logo’s dark green colour lent an evergreen appeal to the visual that has high recall value even in current times.

Unilever new logo

Just before completing its 75 years in India, the company became Hindustan Unilever Limited in 2007 and adopted a new logo with a new visual treatment of 25 different icons inside the letter ‘U’ (signifying the organisation’s diversity). However, I feel the distinct leaf green image of HLL was far better than the present cluttered look of HUL logo!

Hero Honda to Hero Motocorp

Hero Honda old logo

Remember Hero Puch? The trendy 50CC handgeared moped was the favourite mode of transport for youngsters in 1980s. The moped’s manufacturer soon joined hands with a Japanese motorbike maker and a new brand was born. Hero Honda Motors began producing India’s first 100CC bikes that were light, easy to manoeuvre and affordable as well.

Hero Motocorp new logo

By the time the 5 millionth bike was rolled out in 2001, the joint venture between Honda and Hero Motors was beginning to wear out. Both the partners decided to separate amicably and in 2011, Hero Honda became Hero Motocorp. As part of its major rebranding exercise, a new logo was created utilising the negative space to depict ‘H’, forming as part of a ‘Closure’ technique. The designer also claims to have incorporated the Indian catapult in the design, which is not easy to spot! Whatever that is, the company’s rebranding was a phenomenal success with the “Hum mein hai Hero” TV ad becoming the anthem for the youth.

http://www.desicreative.com
http://www.heromotocorp.com

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Booming Brands – Inspiring Journeys of 11 “Made In India” Brands

Life in Big Indian Cities!

Levine Lawrence

July 11, 2013

Image – Satish Krishnamurthy

I was speaking to an old friend who is working in Mumbai. He said there is no life in the big city these days; just a mind-numbing rat race between 9-to-9 with no work-life balance whatsoever. Another friend from Delhi echoed similar feelings. “Every day it’s an uphill struggle just to get to office and return home. Weekends are lost in just lying around and recuperating from the pain. Even if you go out for shopping or cinema during weekends, the crowd everywhere just squeezes out all the fun!”

Image via Flickr by Padmanaba

These words made me think… Is there any life left in big cities? Can we rate Indian cities based on standards of living and quality of life? Studying the latest data from the Census of India, 2011, I found an interesting way to find cities with better living standards. I filtered out cities with more than 3 million people and ranked them on literacy rate, gender ratio and population density. Accordingly, Nagpur, Pune and Chennai led the ranking, followed by Bengaluru, Lucknow, Ahmedabad. Surprisingly, Surat the top ranked city ‘Quality of Life’ surveys, shares the bottom rank with Kanpur due to its poor male-female ratio of 1000-758, which is one the lowest among all cities in India!

Ranking based on Human Development Indices
City	Population	Sex Ratio	Literacy Rate	Population Density	Rate
Nagpur	2,405,421	961	93.13	10,550	1
Pune	3,115,431	946	91.61	11,205	2
Chennai	4,681,087	986	90.33	25,501	3
Bengaluru	8,425,970	914	89.59	6,642	4
Lucknow	2,815,601	915	84.72	4,218	5
Ahmedabad	5,570,585	897	89.62	22,473	6
Mumbai	12,478,447	852	90.28	22,937	7
Hyderabad	6,809,970	945	82.96	18,480	8
Kolkata	4,486,679	899	87.14	27,774	9
Delhi	11,007,835	875	87.61	29,155	10
Jaipur	3,073,350	898	84.34	27,613	11
Surat	4,462,002	758	89.03	23,196	12
Kanpur	2,767,031	842	84.14	1,366	13

Incidentally, some recent surveys have also rated cities based on other criteria. Chandigarh ranked first in the national sanitation and cleanliness survey conducted under the National Urban Sanitation Policy in 2010. It is followed by Mysore, Surat and New Delhi. Similarly, the newly launched Annual Survey of India’s City-Systems by Janaagraha, Surat was the top-ranked city for urban planning, cleanliness, water supply, crime control and government services. It was closely followed by Pune and Ahmedabad. So is there life in big cities or should we all move to smaller ones? Check the data and decide.

Quality of Life Ranking
City	Rank
Surat	1
Pune	2
Ahmedabad	3
Mumbai	4
Chennai	5
Kolkata	6
Jaipur	7
Hyderabad	8
Bengaluru	9
Delhi	10
Kanpur	11

Factfile –
http://pib.nic.in
http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com
http://www.ronanlyons.com

Memories of A Simpler Childhood

Rashmi Raj

July 8, 2013

The other day, the 1980s Bollywood classic ‘Mr. India’ was being shown on TV and my entire family was glued to the set. The scene where the protagonist finds the bracelet which could make him invisible brought out squeals of delight from my kid. All through the movie, whenever Mr. India, the invisible messiah ran out to help the oppressed, my son cheered for him. He laughed uncontrollably every time the unseen hero performed his antics and pounded his enemies and made them scream “Jai Bajarang Bali!”

My five-year old, who saw the movie for the first time enjoyed it so much that I felt really proud. Proud to be of a generation that made simple films like Mr. India, which impress children even today when they are exposed to all sorts of super-hero flicks. I was proud to belong to the generation that knew the simple joys of being children, to be born at the time when Google was not an answer to all the questions in the world!
Unlike today’s children, for us playtime meant fresh air and getting drenched in the rain; playing for hours soaking wet and then returning home to be scolded by our moms; only to be rewarded with a hot steaming cup of Horlicks or Bournvita. Our favourite games were not the destructive and very addictive Xbox games or the Angry Birds; but ‘land and water’, ‘hide and seek’, ‘lock and key’, Gilli Danda, Lagori, skipping, Kite flying, etc. Today’s games on the computers, game consoles and tablets are no match to any these outdoor games. Playground rules were simple, ‘finders keepers, losers weepers!’

Galli cricket, with our own indigenous rules was another highlight. If you hit the ball till the building compound wall you scored four runs and a six if the ball went out on the road. You got out for breaking a glass and had to be the one facing the music when the uncle or the auntie would come out screaming and threatening to never ever return the ball. The disappearing act that we pulled then would impress Mr. India himself!

My son got his first cycle when he was two years old. I never owned one! And yet, I love cycling more than he does. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that we used to rent bicycles and ride around the neighbourhood. Fifty paise for a half hour and one rupee for an hour were the standard rentals. One of our favourite things to do on Sundays was to get up really early and go rent a cycle. Ride around for an hour or more and then get back home in time for ‘Rangoli’, the Doordarshan TV show that featured Hindi film songs.

I also belong to a time when chai and pakoda meant just that, Chai & Pakoda! We were all treated with homemade hot fried snacks the best ‘happy meal’ ever! Laddoos, farsaan, chivda, chakli, shev, bhel, dhokla-the list is endless. It felt like our mothers and grandmothers had the powers of a genie. Chocolate was a rare item that was something that a relative staying abroad brought us once in a while. On a regular basis, candies were more than enough.

The white and black striped candies that tasted like today’s Polo, Ravalgaon Mango-bite and Pan Pasand; and the half-moon shaped orange and lime coloured candies were the most in demand. Cone ice-cream was a treat that one got only when our exam results were declared and that too, only if one had scored good marks! Nariyal pani, the hygienic fresh juice was available in abundance and Maggi was just then sneaking into our lives.

Hindi Horrorcore VCR | Courtesy: Finderskeepersrecords

Recording a collection of our favourite songs on audio cassettes, renting video cassettes and VCRs once in a while to watch movies with the entire family and neighbours… There’s so many more memories, so much more to fondly remember. Apart from watching movies on VCR at home, going to a theatre for the latest release was also a community activity. The entire neighbourhood used to be locked out and the keys handed over to one hapless neighbour who was unable to come!

However, my heart goes out to all the children of today. How different is their childhood from ours… Ours was much simpler and yet fun. Now, I think things have changed drastically due to our urban concrete jungle where there is no community feeling or any outdoor activity! Children are locked up at home since there is no security outdoors nor there is any outdoor space left to play. They have ended with their expensive gadgets and 24×7 cartoon channels; but are they really having as much fun? Or maybe they are, and I am just missing my simple childhood!

Factfile –

The Magical era of Doordarshan Serials

https://www.facebook.com
http://ezinearticles.com
http://en.wikipedia.org
https://www.facebook.com

Why Simple Logo Design is Better

Caleidoscope

July 5, 2013

A logo needs to be memorable and easy to duplicate. Highly detailed logos can prove to be difficult in both cases. When someone looks at a company logo, it needs to be a symbol of the company it represents. As Microsoft uses five colors in its makeup, people recognize the image as that belonging to PC compatible software.

1. Ink Prices

The cost of producing an image in multiple colors is far more expensive than one that consists of one or two. From a printing standpoint, each detail requires various shades and gradients in order to reproduce the effect. The cost may be minimal for one or two letter-heads, but could begin to escalate in mass production. Even the printing of signs and posters can cost between five and ten times more than they need to.

2. Iconic Imagery

Anyone who has a smartphone knows the image of the apple with a missing piece or the little green robot. Both of these images represent quality of products to the respective owners. The logos used by Apple and Google have made a profound impact in how consumers purchase their products and are void of high detail in either image.

3. Time Span

Whether it is printing or developing the logo’s image, detail will be at the expense of time. This could be the time it takes a developer to create the image or duplication. Any graphic designer loves to create extravagant imagery, but a logo doesn’t need such practices. As time is money in most cases, a simple design could save money on your advertising budget by reducing the man-hours needed to create your iconic representation.

4. Association of Memory

As long as the marketing department does its job well, even the simplest of images can be effective. An image with which your consumers can associate your specific product or service is all that is needed. For instance, Google’s green robot is associated with anything Android. People associate the Android robot with smartphones and tablets without giving it a second thought. It is how we look for items at the store when shopping. Most people will know what they are looking for at a retail store by just the logo.

Your logo doesn’t need to be extravagant in order to produce the intended result. While it can be fun at times to design an elaborate image full of detail, it’s not practical to use such an image in full-scale production. As long as your image is memorable to the customer, it will be a success.

Memories of Manipal

Caleidoscope

July 1, 2013

Manipal University | Courtesy: Arvind Kumar

Manipal has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. This tiny student town is known for its amicable society and peaceful co-existence of students and locals. As a student I had been reluctant to enrol in Manipal University, as I had underestimated it. As a fresher, I was blinded by my anxiety to go away from my comfort zone to a far off location. I always chose to look at the brighter side, overlooking all the resources and the opportunities that I had been presented with in this student township.

The massive portraits of the founder of Manipal hung in every building in the campus ensure that every student gets to know the history of the place. Manipal gets its name from the lake, ‘Manipala’. It was supposedly a barren land 50 years ago, when a lightning bolt of an idea struck a visionary man. Precisely, it was 1953 that Dr.T.M.A. Pai founded India’s first private medical school, Kasturba Medical College. KMC was followed by a string of other education institutions that became the Manipal Academy of Higher Education, in other words ‘Manipal University’.

Of course Dr.T.M.A. Pai made a fortune in the education business and passed it onto his children. While one can be extremely cynical about it, but to build a university town is no child’s play! The Pai family did possess well-structured and concrete plans; it was not just about building multi-storied fancy buildings on a high terrain away from the city, but it was about building an educational community that has thrived in a place probably inhabited by wild animals.

Students at Manipal campus | Courtesy – Sunnyq2010

It almost took me around 3-4 months to get adapted to this student community, and most importantly to shake off my apprehensions and discomfort, and fully accept my surroundings. That’s when I started to observe things around me. The endless walks at End Point, lovebirds under every tree, numerous food varieties, exam time visit to the Venugopal Temple, Timmy Anna’s Night Canteen, TC, Dollops, all have left an imprint on my memory.

Autorikshaw drivers in Manipal have a notorious reputation for fleecing the new comers in town. One of those situations, when I was badmouthing an auto driver for the extremely unreasonable rates charged on students. In the middle of my rant, the driver comes up with a sarcastic comeback, surprisingly in fluent English. After many such embarrassing encounters, I realised that auto drivers, bus drivers and even waiters and almost everybody speak fluent English, and of course Hindi with the south Indian accent! So basically you can survive in Manipal, without having to learn the local language Kannada, which is an unlikely situation anywhere else in South India.

Boys Hostel of MIT 1997

Shifting focus towards my fellow students, I observe a lot of girls, who try so hard to match up to the ideals of what they think the western teenage girl would do. They wear as much make-up and hairspray as they can and sneak out in the middle of the night, which is quite strange. On the other hand, I see another set of women still stuck with their backward ideas such as women do not need more rights and freedom and they think we are indebted to our parents. Such narrow minded ideas make me literally bang my head against the wall.
Such instances prove that studying in the Manipal University is an experience in diversity itself. In addition to Indian students, lots of foreigners visit the campus for an internship or a project. I have seen such eclectic set of people from diverse places, and with different mentalities, that I guess I am a now better judge of how to deal with different people. Another eye-catching aspect is the cultural contrast between the neighbouring temple town of Udupi, which is quite traditional and extreme diversity of Manipal, which is quite modern in its outlook!

The Manipal town and the students have a symbiotic relationship. Every year, a fancy modern eatery or a bar or a gaming centre comes into existence to fulfil the daily needs of the students, and sometimes even a bookstore. Students from across india and international students from Middle East and Africa have been an indirect cause for the varied number of cuisines you find in here.
Today, I am no more a fresher and a sense of belonging has begun to sink in. When I manage to do one of those night-out jigs, just to stay awake till dawn and observe the red burning sun rising beyond the Western Ghats and the play of the colours in the sky, from grey to mauve to crimson and to bright yellow, I get a sense of fulfilment.

Text – Sanjana Sandeep

Factfile –

http://manipalblog.com/2013/06/23/the-manipal-auto-boycott-is-it-reasonable/
http://manipalblog.com/2013/05/29/30-nostalgic-photos-of-manipal-1997-to-2001/
http://lifeinmanipal.wordpress.com/2008/01/08/the-beauty-of-manipals-end-point/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/aaykay/with/358365122/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/46654842@N02/with/4284714220/

Munching on the streets of Mumbai

Devangini

June 28, 2013

Mumbai Café Mondegar

It was a cool pleasant afternoon and we were strolling around Mumbai. Strolling? cool? in the maximum city? Wait, correct that – rushing from one point to another, with a long list of locations trailing from my husband’s hand. This was his wish list of all lists. The 40 best places to eat out in Mumbai!
Yes, we do this in every city we visit and I follow him around, happily savouring the outcome of his research! Well, the point in question: we had 10 days in Mumbai and 40 places to visit; right from Ashok Satam’s famed vada pav to Akouri on toast at B Merwan & Co Parsi restaurant, to a MAFCO outlet of Bombay sandwiches – could we really do it?

When my husband had begun to draw up this list for our Mumbai trip, I had assumed that it would start and end at Chowpatty. But here we are, with a carefully researched list of names, hunting for a particular Parsi place in Fort Mumbai, which would serve yet another variation of Akouri on toast that he just HAD to try. We had begun looking for this place in the afternoon, after we devoured a plate of coconut and tamarind tempered shell fish at Trishna and later the squid session at Mahesh Lunch Home, in the Fort Area. And now, it was almost evening.

Mumbai Chez Vous

By late evening, we finally found this ‘hole in the wall’, and famished as we were, we quickly ordered the Akouri on toast that he was so eager to eat. The Akouri arrived, as did the ultra slim pieces of toast. He looked at it and I could see the look of puzzlement register on his face. Yet, he shrugged and wordlessly picked up the fork. Digging deep into the dish, he let it emerge with a sizable portion which he quickly put into his mouth. Then, looking up at the ceiling, he tried to decipher how good it was. And then it happened. His eyes opened wider and he made that face. The face. The face that told me something was wrong.
“What,” I asked?
“Oh my God.”
“What??”
“This tastes just like YOUR egg burji!”, which did not sound like a compliment at all! But rather than pound his head for dragging me half way across town – on foot – I began to laugh and the poor guy covered his face, utterly embarrassed! No more Akouri after that.

Mumbai Irani Chai B Merwan & Co

Later that night, we wound up at Bade Miyan after our horse carriage ride along the Marine Drive – the highpoint of our Mumbai trip. He ate the infamous Bheja fry and Boti kabab, while I ordered the less overwhelming Paneer roll. He suddenly remembered (after three consecutive nights at Bade Miyan), that I am a vegetarian. Note: good food does that to my otherwise considerate hubby!

So the next day, we landed up at Khau Galli, squeezed somewhere in the bylanes of Church Gate. The vegetarian fare was to die for. But that was not all. We made a trip to Chowpatty to try out the Bhel and it did live up to its reputation. He tried a spicy Maharashtrian dish named Misal pav, which went down well too!

Mumbai Tamarind tempered shell fish at Trishna

Next up was Ashok Satam’s famous vada pav. Again, the walks around Fort Mumbai began, during which I was frequently distracted by the second hand books being sold on the footpath. While we were picking up a few books, suddenly a whiff grabbed us. A yummy one. We turned our heads in unison to find scores of people emerging from behind a tree. With vada pavs in their hands. Ah! Satam – here we come.

Hubby being hubby, asked for the spiciest version of vada pav fired with a layer of red hot chillies, peanut and garlic chutney. He took a bite and I swear I could see the smoke escaping from his ears. Nevertheless, he finished it and even stopped by on the way to the guest room to grab another one!

Mumbai My family at Kalaraksha

Well, thereafter we reserved our appetite strictly for shopping and wound up at Café Mondegar or Leopold’s Cafe at night. Street food or not, these cafes have that quintessential Mumbai feel – one that made you feel like you belong here no matter where you come from, or the time of the night. The jukebox, the people, the food, the waiters, the buzz – all so worth it. We went back to Café Mondegar every night after we first discovered it.

But of course, the glorious trip had to end. We staked out the best fine dining place we could see around us, and grabbed a seat. This time it was a little eatery by the name of Chez Vous, run by a Frenchman who kept checking if we liked the meal and needed anything else – very European treatment there. As the picture shows, the food was delish!

Factfile –
http://www.lonelyplanet.com
http://travel.cnn.com
Wiki/Mumbai_culture

Ahmedabad Law Garden – A Glimpse of Real Gujarat

Caleidoscope

June 24, 2013

Author – Hemal Mehta

Law Garden Ahmedabad — Colourful streets of Law Garden in Ahmedabad

Street shopping is as famous as street food in India. However, while shopping at Fashion Street in Mumbai or on Commercial Street in Bangalore, you will realise that most Indian street markets sell affordable fashion imported from China or Thailand these days! Fortunately, street shopping at the Law Garden in Ahmedabad (or Amdavad as the locals call it) is a rare exotic experience.

There are many factors that differentiate this market from other markets in India. For starters, this colourful shopping street is a night market. Not a common sight in India unless you are in Goa! Since Ahmedabad is predominately a hot city with dry weather, a night market suits the city and its residents. Like other night markets that are illuminated with tube lights, this market too comes to bloom in the evening with some additional help from oil lamps! It is a dynamic makeshift market with no permanent shops.

Law Garden belts — Vividly Coloured Cowrie Shell Belts

If you visit Law Garden in the morning, you won’t even find any trace of the night market! By day, this area is famous for a law college and a garden aptly named after it – Law Garden! Later in the evening, the garden closes down and the wall adjacent to the garden transforms into a bustling market. It is believed that some affluent families had settled down in this area few decades back and the land around the garden was barely used at that point of time. Utilising this opportunity, hawkers from other areas packed their bags and moved in here to set up their temporary shops!

History aside, the most prominent differentiating factor that sets apart the Law Garden market is its sole focus on selling traditional handicrafts made by artisans such as weavers and quilters from Gujarat. No, this isn’t a market just for tourists visiting the city! It is a handicraft hub to which even the locals throng regularly to pick up unique pieces of traditional items.

If you love fashion then the Law Garden market allows you to explore the rich ethnic fashion sensibilities of the Gujarati community. Apart from the embroidered wall hangings, costume jewellery, the main highlight obviously is the Ghagra Choli that is worn during the Navaratri dance festival. For the uninformed, here’s a simple explanation – The Ghagra is a flirty long skirt and the Choli is a short blouse to go with it.

Law Garden table tops — Quilted Table Tops

Owing to the creative abilities of the Gujarati artisans, each pair of Ghagra and Choli sold here is a bespoke work of art. Although certain design elements such as Rabari designs, applique embroidery, the use of flower and animal motifs, mirror work and tie and dye prints do prevail over others, the ultimate garment is unique in its own respect and it is hard to find two pairs that are an exact replica. If you love a particular piece of Ghagra Choli, we suggest you pick it right away. Chances are that you may not find it at any other shop in the market!

If bling and accessories is more of your thing, then the Law Garden has a diverse range of pieces made from semi-precious metals on display. From small studs, to drop earrings to complete sets with neckpieces, matching earrings and bangles, you will find almost any design to compliment your look. My personal favourite accessory is the unique waist belt made from seashells and mirror work.

Law Garden chaniya choli — Intricate work on Chaniya Choli

If you are a guy with zero interest in women’s shopping, then head towards the stalls that allow you to take home an essence of Gujarat in the form of bedspreads, cushion covers, bags and tabletops. Intricate embroidery in bright colours forming myriad patterns such as peacocks, lotuses and fishes is sure to brighten up any room in your home!

They say you can’t put a price on art and everything in this market is sold as art! Therefore, don’t be shocked when you hear the ridiculously high prices. A Gujarati businessman will put in his best efforts to maximise profits, while the Gujarati womenfolk will put their best efforts in bargaining to get a good deal. If you are not good at bargaining, we suggest you take some help from the local aunties shopping there. Bargaining is a talent they definitely flaunt a lot at this market!

When you visit this market, you literally breathe in the Gujarati culture, which is vibrant, artistic and rooted in tradition! Next time when you visit Ahmedabad, make sure you do not miss the Law Garden!

Text & Pics – Hemal Mehta

Factfile –
wiki/Law_garden
http://www.tripadvisor.in
www.lonelyplanet.com/

‘Warp and Weft’ – Weaving a Rustic Tale

Levine Lawrence

June 21, 2013

It was in December 1999 when I first met an enthusiastic journalist in Bangalore named Vinay Jalla. I was working in a dot com as a photo-journalist focusing on travel and culture features, while Vinay handled the sports desk as well covered interviews of leading personalities in city. That he is well-read person was quite clear to everyone who dealt with him. There is a saying, “Every journalist has a novel inside him”. That dictum fitted aptly with Vinay!

Being an ardent fan of great Indian novelist R K Narayan, he used to quote characters and instances from the author’s books. Listening to his everyday travails which he presented in a comical manner, we had nicknamed him “Malgudi Chaami”! I remember the day the renowned author died, Vinay wanted to rush to Chennai to pay his last respect. However, we consoled him saying that the cremation would already be done by the time he reaches there. Soon after I left the company during the dot com bust days, and I got to know that Vinay had left for the UK. Recently, after a decade, I contacted him when I got to know that Vinay had published a novel, ‘Warp and Weft’.

When I read Vinay Jalla’s debut novel ‘Warp and Weft’, I could clearly feel the influence of his guru, R K Narayan. The story is set in a fictitious village called Zarivaram in Andhra Pradesh. Set in pre-Independence India, the story translates the rich South Indian culture, customs and traditions of that period in a lively manner. The novel delves into the intrinsic art of weaving handloom saris and about the lives of people connected to it.

Handloom weavers in Andhra | Courtesy: Ujjal Dey

Zarivaram reminded me of a small town I lived near Chitradurga district on the borders of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. The characters found in Zarivaram are reminiscent of the people I have met. Narayana, the poor protagonist, drunkard Venkataiah, wretched housewives Nagalamma and Gowramma, Konda Kothi the toddy tapper, Kallu Thalli the toddy goddess, Ram Das the village zamindar all have the rustic earthy charm to them! When I asked Vinay how did he come about writing such a novel, he narrated the travails.

“I started writing ‘Warp and Weft’ way back in 2001. Thanks to my grandmother who gave me sufficient material through her anecdotes about her life in the village of Dharmavaram, I concocted a fictitious landscape in my mind and wrote the novel. Even as a child I was fascinated to listen to my grandma’s wonderful tales and bedtime stories. Her stories instilled moral values and have shaped my point of view in life.

Being an ardent fan of the R K Narayan and his Malgudi, I decided to set my novel in a fictitious place. Inspired by Vikram Seth’s “A Suitable Boy” (one of the longest novels ever published in the English language), I aspired to write a long novel. To concentrate on writing the novel, I made a dubious decision and quit my job as a journalist working for a popular web portal in Bangalore.

I would sit in the city’s Central Library and write about 1,000 words a day on one-sided sheets of paper. Writing a novel can sometimes become a lonely experience – it’s just the writer and his characters for company. Some days I would saunter across to the nearby British Library for a change of scene or sit on the grass in Cubbon Park and write, while the pigeons flew around cheerfully.

After seven long months I managed to pen about 250,000 words but had to chop more than half of it as I felt I was wandering beyond the scope of the central character – Narayana. After editing and proofing, I was left with 100,000 words. Now that I had completed writing my novel, I was really confident that it would get published by a big publisher. And no, I wasn’t thinking about a million-dollar advance. Instead, I used up all my savings to fly to the UK to get the novel published!

I came to the UK in the cold winter of 2001. My novel received an even colder reception – it was widely ignored by publishers. After endless rejections and divorcing a couple of literary agents on the way, I decided to approach Amazon last year to self-publish my book. Thankfully the novel is out now for everyone to read about an unwritten region of India”.

Buy Warp and Weft from Flipkart.com

Factfile –
http://vinayjalla.wordpress.com
http://articles.timesofindia.com

Cutting Chai And Vada Pav

Caleidoscope

June 17, 2013

Image by Uday Disley Via Flickr

There is nothing that can be said about Mumbai that hasn’t been discussed before. There is nothing new that I can say except put my overwhelmingly strong feelings that I have for this city into simple words. Trash-strewn streets, muck, dabbawalas, slums and potholes are what people see when they come to Mumbai. The city has been rubbished almost as much as it has been praised. But as far as I am concerned, I see resilience, straight forwardness, a survival instinct in every Mumbaikar. Although I was born in Mumbai and spent a considerable part of my childhood here, I did shift out of Mumbai for a few years.

Image by Vimal Parmar Via Flickr

It is so easy to lose yourself in Mumbai- what with the maddening pace of life and all that it comes with. But what will genuinely help a newcomer are just a few moments of solitude every day. Movies, Monsoon and Masalaa are in abundance everywhere..Even artists find their outlet one way or another ..and if not, there is no scarcity of inspiring art pieces found painted on the walls of the street! The monsoon takes some getting used to- I agree; but Nothing can be more wonderful once you learn how to overlook all the expensive shows being rendered useless..

Image By Unlisted Sightings Via Flickr

Another incident that I recall was during the deluge of 2005. I was in school when the Principal announced that all the remaining classes were cancelled and we were to go home. I lived 5 minutes from school and had no problem reaching home in spite of the incessant rain. But for a lot of my classmates, travelling back home was a daunting 2 hour journey with rain lashing down against the bus window. Our principal arranged for sleeping bags and stayed back with the students all night- serving maggi and playing games all night long. Back home, it dawned on me, that the situation was

Image by GSZ Via Flickr

grave. The ground and first floor of the building I lived in was COMPLETELY submerged in water. People were running around, trying to salvage as many valuables as they could before water entered their house and rendered them useless. No one was spared the wrath of the monsoons. People were forced to walk hours to reach home from their workplaces because there was no means of transportation. But as people walked diligently, there were residents, who came out of their flooded homes, just to offer hot chai and parle-g biscuits to complete strangers in an attempt to make their arduous journey back home a little bit easier.

Image by Premshree Pillai Via Flickr

And of course, the sea. I cannot think of Mumbai without thinking of its lifeline. The never ending vastness that is the Arabian sea is the glue that holds it all together attracting to itself a multitude of admirers. Nothing makes me happier than curling up against my window with the rain lashing down against it with a piping cup of tea and a good Jane Austen novel to give me company. Life is beautiful. Mumbai is, and always will be my favorite place in the world. The place I call home.

Text: Swati Ramakrishnan
Also Read-
Sizzle with Misal Pav | Memorable Mahim | Queen’s Necklace

Voluntourism – Renewing Travel Experiences

Aditi Patnaik

June 11, 2013

Travel constantly creates opportunities to meet new people: while on the move, at restaurants and even generally while engaged in common activities such as trekking. This is more incidental than by design. Travelling with a purpose of meeting fellow travellers and more importantly the native residents of a country and getting to know their lives, has emerged as an exciting prospect. One easy way that people across the world have done it is through volunteering while on tour. This is what we know today as “Voluntourism” or “Volunteer Tourism”.

Wikipedia throws some light about Voluntourism and its origins. Way back in 1958, people from Europe would travel for supporting short-term community development projects in Asia or Africa, which wasn’t much of a vacation in the traditional sense. However, that scenario has changed over the years, and now people are more open to taking a vacation to work for a cause. This could range from low-skilled jobs such as building community projects, organic farming teaching, etc to providing highly skilled expertise in specific areas such as web design, architecture, etc.

Being a regular traveller, I was eager to explore opportunities in Voluntourism and gain some experience. There is a gamut of Voluntourism options available today, but I was keen on exploring opportunities where the traveller is not required to pay. One such prospect was WWOOF – World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms, which is a global non-profit organization that connects volunteers to hosts of organic farms. The model is to encourage interested travellers to work voluntarily on organic farms in exchange of lodging and basic meals.

WWOOF – the leader in Voluntourism

WWOOF provides an excellent platform for volunteers to learn about organic food and a farmer’s way of life. It also helps volunteers understand an ecologically sound way of living. I spoke with Harish Tiwary, who is a champion of organic farming and also the coordinator for WWOOF in India. Harish has an illustrious career in organic farming being an agricultural microbiologist with significant research specifically in composting.

Harish established WWOOF in 2007 with a network of 14 organic farms as hosts, which has today grown to 172 farms across 16 states in India. Harish also provides consulting to people helping them set up organic farms and thus, has brought many into the fold of WWOOF. These farms grow a host of organic produce and are ideally located across the Indian countryside. While most of the WWOOF host farms are located in rural areas, a few of them such as the Sukrushi Farm outside Bangalore are located near major cities as well.

The peak season for WWOOFing in India is between September and February, when on an average 1,200 people come to volunteer in India. The other half of the year is lean with just about 250-300 people volunteering. Less than 10% of the volunteers are Indian and most participation happens from European countries. Further, about 70% of the volunteers are single women, 20% single men and the rest are couples. The volunteering process is simple: you register on the WWOOF website for a nominal fee of $25 for a year and you are given a list of farming hosts across the country, whom you can reach out to and make a worthy vacation.

Various options for Voluntourism

If getting your hands dirty in a farm isn’t your thing, there are still a variety of options. The Alternative provides a comprehensive list of 40 places to volunteer in India. I spoke with Sudakshmina Mandal who had volunteered to work with SECMOL – The Students Educational & Cultural Movement Of Ladakh. It was founded in 1988 by a group of Ladakhis to help reform the education system in the northern-most part of India.

SECMOL welcomes volunteers for various activities such as teaching, gardening and even ice-skating! But a major reason to invite volunteers is also to interact with the students who need help in improving their English and to facilitate cultural exchange as well. The system is quite open and flexible, enabling volunteers to join in at any level of engagement that they find comfortable. If you are planning to visit Ladakh, check out this Ladakh Tour Packages.

Hearing about these experiences, I feel that Voluntourism is a great way to meet the local people and interact at a very different level, given that you’re practically living with them. As Sudakshmina puts it “The most amazing thing was the visible changes that could be perceived in the kids even in the short time that I was there. I hope to go back again sometime.” I know she will, and I will as well.

Top 10 Places for Voluntouring in India

Factfile –
http://en.wikipedia.org
http://www.wwoofindia.org
http://www.secmol.org
http://www.huffingtonpost.com
http://thealternative.in

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