The Magical Era of Doordarshan Serials – Part 1

July 29, 2013

The 1980s are considered to be the golden era of Doordarshan in India. For those who are ignorant, Doordarshan is the mother of all television channels in India, which still clings onto its legacy role as a public broadcaster. Particularly, DD National was the only channel available to the masses before the advent of cable TV in India in 1991. This was the time when most of today’s generation was young and impressionable. When I look back, I have to agree that nothing we see on TV today seems matches up to it! What gave the TV shows of that era their universal appeal? How did those shows manage to mesmerize an entire generation that they are still nostalgic about it? Was it merely the newness of having a TV set in your house or was it something beyond that? Here’s an attempt to find out.

1. Humlog

Doordarshan Serials, Hum log serial — Hum log serial – Courtesy: Wikinewforum

Humlog was Doordarshan’s longest running television serial, having aired over 150 weekly episodes! This serial was quite popular when it was telecast in 1984 and many characters from this serial had a fan following which rivalled even film stars at the time. Even today they have a fan page on Facebook and my mother refers many of Humlog’s actors by their character names! Humlog was a story of a middle class family with each member of the family having a unique quirk and different aspirations. 52 episodes of this serial were originally written and telecast and then the story was stretched as per the audiences’ response. Bollywood doyen Ashok Kumar as the ‘Sutradhaar’ used to sum up each episode in a unique interaction with the audience. The show received audience response letters in huge numbers. There was a time when people thought that one of the characters was really a social worker and Ashok Kumar had to subsequently clarify that she was just an actor and not a real social worker! The appeal of this serial lies in the fact that many Indians during the ’80s could relate to the characters and the issues it dealt with.

2. Nukkad

Doordarshan Serials, Nukkad serial — Nukkad serial | Courtesy: Flipkart

Nukkad was another popular TV serial telecast on Doordarshan during late 1980s. This was a show about the activities of a lower income suburban locality and the hardships they faced. Matching with an India that was urbanising, this show saw a lot of people identifying with the different colourful characters and could relate to their problems. Each episode was based on an everyday issue that often revolved around one or two specific characters at Nukkad. At the end of their day, members of the group met at Kaderbhai’s tea shop and talk about their day. Some of the characters from this show, like ‘Guru – the leader’, ‘Khopdi – the chronic drunkard’, ‘and ‘Gupta Seth – shop keeper’ became memorable. The first run aired for 40 episodes and each of them dealt with different everyday issues and concentrated on one or two of the main characters. Every episode ended either on a happy note or on a sad note, but what made each episode endearing was that it was true. People could see the reflection of their life, their issues in there. Subsequently there were attempts to revive the show, but nothing could match the magic of the original.

3. Malgudi Days

If there was one show that fascinated both the young and the old alike, that was Malgudi Days! It was based on the short stories and novels of renowned author R. K. Narayan such as “Swami and Friends” and “The Vendor of Sweets”. Directed by the late Kannada director, Shankar Nag, the series was shot near Agumbe in Karnataka. The main story, “Swami and Friends” revolved around the life of a ten-year old boy Swaminathan (Chamy), living in a fictitious town of Malgudi. Swami hates school and prefers to roam around the town with his two best friends, Mani and Rajam. The story also included the day-to-day travails of the people in the town in general. The serial’s titles were showcased with beautiful sketches by Narayan’s brother and acclaimed cartoonist, R. K. Laxman along with the immensely hummable tune, “Taa naa na, tana nana naa…” Doordarshan aired 39 episodes of Malgudi Days in its first season. The show is running even today on Doordarshan and is aired every Saturday morning at 10am. The appeal of this series lay in its simple and realistic look; and the children, of course, couldn’t wait to see what mischief Swami got into next!

Ramayan

This was the first mythological epic TV series that gained incredible popularity in 1987-88 when 78 episodes were aired on Doordarshan. The series directed by Ramanand Sagar, was a TV adaptation of the great Hindu religious epic and was based on “Ramcharitmanas” written by Tulsidas. The Limca Book of World Records claims it to be “the world’s most viewed mythological serial”. Being a country of God fearing people brought up on mythological stories, Ramayan was bound to attract immense appeal by bringing these mythological characters to life. Incidentally, Doordarshan officials were initially sceptical about the response for such a serial and wondered if it would breed an atmosphere of communalism. But they were in for a surprise when Ramayan achieved such a popularity level due to which daily life used to come to a standstill on a Sunday morning when hordes of people gathered around the closest available TV set. Arun Govil and Deepika Chikhalia who played the roles of Ram and Sita were revered as demigods where ever they went!

Factfile –

http://en.wikipedia.org
http://akshaygn.blogspot.in
http://movies.rediff.com
http://www.flipkart.com/
http://www.malgudidays.net

Myths About School Drop Outs

Priyanka Rele

July 22, 2013

Everyone says that childhood days are the best days of our life and that we should enjoy it while it lasts. Schools, playgrounds, chocolates and lots of laughter; life seems so perfect and carefree. But what do we find when we zoom into those schools and playgrounds? Headmasters, teachers, punishments, bullies, homework and dreaded exams seem to make life miserable. Zoom in a bit more and we’ll find exam results, peer pressure, comparisons and lots of confusion. Doesn’t it seem like this “best part of life” also has other aspects to it that we tend to overlook? Just the way we overlook the real stories about those kids who drop out of school!

We live in a society that expects us to excel; they do not judge us on what we excel in, only the fact that end of the day we are the best at what we do. However, this opinion is voiced only after we excel in our chosen field. When we were kids and were about to give our first exam, our parents expected us to excel in exams even if we had other interests. You would hardly find parents asking their kids to take their exams lightly just because they were more interested in dramatics or sports. Curricular activities are viewed as the first major milestone in life that you have to excel in.

There are so many myths around school dropouts; one of the most common myths is that such kids are not very smart. When smart kids who don’t score a distinction are often questioned, what chances do the other kids have who don’t clear their exams! With such a strict narrow mindset in place, it’s only natural that school dropouts are viewed as a lost cause. Our education system does try to identify what every kid is good at, but in the end they always rate all kids based on their scholastic scores. Some kids may not be great at cracking those exams, but they could be brilliant at other skills that are not evaluated in schools. The massive turnout at reality dance and music competitions indicates that children are desperate for an outlet to their extracurricular talents.

School-education — Excellence beyond studies

Another myth about school dropouts is that these kids belong to underprivileged families. Kids belonging to middle class or upper class families are believed to have almost everything going for them, and so the necessity to drop out never comes up. A perfect example to bust this myth would be that of K. Kamaraj, one of the well known chief ministers of Tamil Nadu. This man did attend school briefly and his family was able to afford school. However tragedy struck soon and Kamaraj had to quit school immediately to work in his uncle’s cloth shop as a salesboy. Later, he got into politics and achieved great success. Kamaraj belonged to a family of traders, and he wasn’t exactly from a poor family, yet he got out of school. So, let’s not get judgemental when a kid drops out of school and assume that it is because of his/her financial status.

Indian families are closely knit; most of us live with our parents almost all our lives. In such a society, we get judged based on how our parents brought us up. If a kid fails in his/her exams or decides to quit school, parents get labelled as – being too easy on their kids, not teaching them responsibility, not making them understand the value of education, etc. However, we need to realise that parents can only guide their kids; forcing these little adults to do something they do not like will not to do any good for the kid or the parent.

Famous School Dropouts	Career Details
Dhirubhai Ambani	Ambani started his career at the age of 17 by working with an oil firm in Yemen in the 1950s and moved to Mumbai in 1958 to start his own business in spices.
Gautam Adani	Choosing not to join his father’s textile unit in Ahmedabad, Gautam set up his own diamond brokerage business in Mumbai, at the age of 20 during the 1980s.
K. Kamaraj	In 1914, at the age of 11, Kamaraj dropped out of school to support his family by working in his uncle’s clothshop as a salesboy.
Micky Jagtiani	Born in 1952, Jagtiani joined a London accounting school from which he dropped out. He drove a taxi in London for a while before taking over his family’s shop in Bahrain.
P N C Menon	At the age of 10, Menon lost his father and he had to drop out of college to do interior decoration business. Later at the age of 26, he met an Arab businessman who invited him to do business in Oman.
Sachin Tendulkar	Not a classic case of school dropout, Tendulkar scored a world record partnership during his school days in Shardashram Vidyamandir at a tender age of 15. He could not continue his education afterwards due to his international cricket career.
Shahid Balwa	Born in 1974, Balwa dropped out of college and joined his family’s hotel business. Today, he is the youngest Indian billionaire to be featured on the Forbes List.
Subhash Chandra	Born in 1950 in a small north Indian town, Chandra dropped out after Class 12 and entered his family’s rice export business at the age of 19.
Vasantdada Patil	Born in 1917 in Maharashtra, Patil could only study up to the secondary school. While working on his father’s farm, he took interest in politics and joined the Indian freedom struggle in 1942.

Gautam Adani is a billionaire commodity trader; he had his dad’s flourishing business to take care of. He was admitted into a good school but soon he dropped out. Gautam could have easily taken over his family business and settled quite comfortably. Instead he moved out of his dad’s shadow, and started his own trade to become one of the richest men in the world. Gautam broke another myth that kids who drop out of school have their ancestral wealth to fall back on.

The famous saying – “Don’t judge a fish by its ability to fly”, is quite fitting. School dropouts are much more than these myths; each one has their own stories and destinies to work towards. Not all of them achieve great success and not all of them waste their life either. Schooling is only as important as we make it to be. In the end, we are only remembered for what we have achieved and not our degrees.

Factfile –

http://www.boostup.org/en/facts/reasons
mythdebunked1
http://www.myjourneytobillionaireclub.com
http://indiapulse.sulekha.com
http://www.nytimes.com

Historic Brands That Transformed India

Levine Lawrence

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

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