Musically inclined: Interview with Grey Shack, rock band
March 31, 2008
Mithra Suresh of Ergo chats with Grey Shack at Kafeoke
Musically inclined: Interview with Substance, rock band
March 31, 2008
Mithra Suresh chats with Chennai-based rock band Substance at Kafeoke in Thiruvanmiyur
101 lessons to learn from entrepreneurs
March 31, 2008
K.P. Natarajan (K.P.N. Travels) journeys from a tour operator to the owner of a fleet of buses across South India. P. Ponnudurai (Lion Dates) travels from a distributor at a cleaning powder company to becoming the largest supplier of dates in India, while director Maniratnam (Madras Talkies) calls himself an entrepreneur by default.If any of these successful people has made you ponder on their entrepreneurial journey, then you have 98 more reasons to get inspired. The Confederation of Indian Industry, Tamil Nadu released a special publication ‘101 Successful Entrepreneurs of Tamil Nadu’ at the Entrepreneurship Summit in Namma Chennai on Friday (101, for the auspicious number). Rags-to-riches stories to hurdles faced by start-ups, the book is a kaleidoscope of experiences.
How a starch manufacturer from Dharmapuri district (V. Anbalag) competes with international starch manufacturers from USA and Germany, how Tirupur has become a major exporter of garments… the fascinating journey of entrepreneurs from different districts and various sectors (health, education, technology and social) is another reason why the book should fascinate you.
The Taskforce on Technology, Innovation and Entrepreneurship of CII, which embarked on the project, took around 10 months to complete the book. With R. Ramaraj as Chairman, the team included Ashwin Mahalingam, Soundarya Rajnikanth, Varun Manian, Hari Kumar and Jayshree Suresh.
“The connecting thread in each of us was that all of us had a passion for entrepreneurship,” said Ashwin Mahalingam, one of the faculty advisors at the entrepreneurship cell at IIT-Madras. The book is published by New Horizon. Unfortunately, the book is currently not available on stands. You might have to get in touch with CII (044- 4244 4555) for a copy.
Meet the MASH brothers
March 31, 2008
If you are a regular at the Besant Nagar beach, then there is no way you haven’t visited or heard about MASH, a restaurant opened by four brothers. Well, the story goes like this: Immanuel Babu, Rohit Zachariah, Sunil Cherian and Thomas Babu are cousins and what commonly connects them apart from being in the same family is their passion for food. And they wanted to take this passion to the next level and open a restaurantThe four, in their 20s, have their educational background in Management/Commerce. However since they are all into their respective family businesses, entrepreneur skills runs in their blood.Immanuel, one of the four owners of MASH, says, “We initially did not start MASH for any commercial reasons. We wanted it to be like a bachelor’s pad where we can cater to our family and friends. And then when we took it to the public, we never really expected such a good response.”Speaking about his success, Immanuel adds that the initial investment was about Rs 20 lakhs, which included furniture and interiors. The business is getting better and they have planned some expansion and renovation.
Well, the food industry is nothing new to Sunil, who is the man behind the many Burger Man kiosks that you find all around the city. With an initial investment of just 3 lakhs, Sunil started off with a kitchen and 2 kiosks, which then grew to 25 quickly.
Well, talking about the success of the brothers, both Sunil and Immanuel agree that the main USP behind their success is passion, “If you are passionate about the food you serve, making it special, and initially not worrying about how much money you are making, then you are here to stay in the business.”
(If you are an entrepreneur with a successful business model or know one, write to us at firstinnings@goergo.in)
Review: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
March 28, 2008
That middle path between film and stage is treaded by Tim Burton and cast in this film reproduction of Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler’s legendary Broadway musical of the barber-gone-barbarian.
Judge Turpin (Alan Rickman in another sinister role) sends barber Benjamin (Johnny Depp) to prison after setting his sights on Benjamin’s wife. Benjamin escapes back to London only to learn from Mrs. Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter), his landlady, that his wife (Laura Michelle Kelly) consumed poison after being defiled by the vile judge.
Bent on revenge, Benjamin becomes Sweeney Todd and makes the razor his best friend. Nurturing a loyalty bordering on love for Benjamin, Mrs. Lovett becomes an all-too-willing aide.
After former rival Pirelli (Sacha Baron Cohen) becomes his first victim after threatening to expose Todd, Mrs Lovett comes up with the idea of using his flesh in her meat pies as a way to dispose off his body.
Slowly, Todd’s revenge against two people turns into a larger anger against the society in general. “All deserve to die,” he decides and each of his customers becomes meat for Mrs. Lovett’s pies.
Johnny Depp, as the possessed barber who becomes immune to everything accept his anger and need for revenge, brings out the character’s cold-bloodedness as if it were his own.
The director, thankfully, makes no attempt to bring out any element of grey in him, as is normally the tendency to portray the hero-victim. Though all starts as a vengeance for the wrong done to him, his deeds are never justified.
However, it is Helena Bonham Carter who deserves kudos for bringing out Mrs. Lovett’s multi-layered character. For her, everything, including her sense of right and wrong, becomes subservient to the affection she nurtures for her tenant. Though her dreams for the future include Benjamin, her and her loyal assistant Toby (Edward Sanders), she wouldn’t mind sacrificing the latter to protect Benjamin.
However, the film’s sub-plots, especially that of Benjamin’s daughter Johanna (Jayne Wisener), are never given any time to develop. The cinematography, where everything except the colour of blood is in black or grey, serves as a reminder of the film’s inspiration. The lyrics, bordering between the dark, funny and witty, add to the effect.
How cool are my track pants?
March 28, 2008
If sportswear to you means those baggy tracks you wouldn’t want anyone to see you dead in, your’re obviously a century late. With sportswear now becoming hipper and even designer, sportspersons and gymmers never had it so good.
One look at the new lines launched by sportswear biggies like Nike, Puma, Adidas and Reebok, and you know it’s not only about comfort anymore. A lot of innovation is happening, not just in sports technology but also into taking the style quotient a notch higher.
Fish Fry, anyone?
The target are people who would prefer a balance of comfort and style instead of just either of the two. So we have Manish Arora introducing kitsch in Reebok’s Fish Fry line, where neons, gold and silver, hitherto unthinkable in sportswear, come live and kicking.
According to Sajid Shamim, Director (Marketing and Product), Reebok India, “Athletes started the trend on the field. Who would have imagined a long-haired Dhoni 10 years ago? Consumers are now more aware. Apart from the functional and technical aspects, they are now looking for style. The attention to design is chiefly to meet the consumer’s need.”
On Reebok’s collaboration with Manish Arora, he says, “He’s an original and he used our sportswear silhouette and brought in his own design.”
Africa on swimwear
The launch of Puma’s Spring Summer 2008 collection in Mumbai amidst much fanfare was another step in redefining the concept of once-boring sportswear. Marine blues, bright yellows and floral greens adorn the new range for both men and women. It’s mix-and-match halter tops, bikini tops and skirted bottoms for women, along with cover-ups to ease the transition from beach to bar. African prints are the dominant theme this season. For once, men needn’t frown as there are trunks, shorts, bermudas loose-fit boxer shorts plus co-ordinating t-shirts, tanks and vests.
Says Rajiv Mehta, Managing Director, Puma India, “We are essentially a sports brand, though the objective has been to provide products that are fun, fashionable, trendy and wearable. However, though we have moved from pure sport toward lifestyle, we relied on our sports heritage and drew inspiration from it. It’s a very gradual progression from sport to lifestyle.”
The new target
On whether the target consumer of sports companies is now changing from sportspersons and gym-goers to a wider group, Rajiv says, “If you are a sports brand, your target is obviously those involved in sports. But now, with more companies entering the fray, it is only natural for them to want a larger share of the pie and try and target a wider consumer outside the field of sport.”
Nike’s new gym wear collection is a mix of dance corsets, jackets, racer-back tank tops, capris, knit pants, soul pants in stretch satin, hooded jackets and cargo pants in bold and funky colours. Lace, embroidery, gold and silver embellishments and intricate designs are now being used subtly, further blurring the line between fashion and sportswear. Even the shoes, fitness bags and water-sippers are fully colour and style co-ordinated. And with more and more designers getting sporty in their prêt-a-porter collections, the influence is obviously two-way.
Makhaya Ntini, the party animal
March 25, 2008
South African pace spearhead Makhaya Ntini kept the party going at the Taj Connemera on Sunday evening. He danced, he cooked, and he joked. Ntini was the cynosure of all eyes, while rest of the South African team decided to have a quiet dinner inside and they had Bengal tiger Sourav Ganguly for company. Neil McKenzie and Morne Morkel also reluctantly wore their chef cap and took turns behind the grill.
“Bring and Braii” organised by South African Tourism was all fun and people indulged themselves; biting into assortments of meat; cooked African style and you had bottles of bear to gulp it down with.
“We are very proud to be South Africans. It’s an honour bestowed upon all of us to play for our country and hopefully we will achieve great things. It’s wonderful to see our country being promoted so well by the tourism board. It’s a beautiful country and we want all of you to come and see it,” Proteas skipper Graeme Smith said.
Francis Moloi, South African High Commissioner in India said: “More than 2.5 billion years ago, the subcontinent of India was part and parcel of that huge land mass at the centre of the world called Africa. These two countries were one. And that shows you the connection that South Africa and India have. So we want more Indians to come to South Africa and experience our country.”
How to design a bus in less than a year
March 24, 2008
There’s more to being an engineer, scientist, product manager or design leader – 25 young executives from Ashok Leyland discovered that when they got to design the company’s new ‘iBus’ from the scratch. The iBus – the ‘i’ standing for intelligent, innovative and Indian – was the cynosure of eyes at the Anna University campus recently.
Members of Ashok Leyland’s Young Executive Initiative say that the vehicle was the result of an idea that germinated and grew over numerous coffee breaks, discussions, online chats and mails. The group features executives from different centres of the company, all below 30 years of age.
The story of iBus started in February 2007, when the senior management assigned the team the task of bringing out a product with a fresh and young outlook. As a first step, they set out collecting feedback from over 1,000 youngsters on what innovative features they wanted in a shuttle bus. “We considered each of the responses to see how we could incorporate them in our design,” says 23-year-old S.Venkat Subramanian, the youngest member of the team.
Crossing barriers: The most challenging task, the team confesses now, was in getting themselves together. “As all of us were spread across different centres and we corresponded over the Internet. Moreover, most of the work was done only after office hours,” says Subramanian, Deputy Manager (marketing). For Bharath Rajagopalan, the challenge was to think lateral constantly.
“The concept had to be wacky and the conceptualisation different.” Like other members, senior engineer Suryanarayana A.N. Prasad, head of the design sub-group for iBus, feels the project has empowered their creative prowess.“It was fun working on a project with a free hand, except for the little bit of review we had,” says the naval architect-turned-aerospace engineer. While the bus will take close to a year to ply in all metros, Venkat, at least, plans to start a group on Orkut to keep the momentum going. Anyone for a virtual bus ride?
Photo credit: S.Thantoni
Audio Podcast: G.V.Prakash, music director
March 24, 2008
Abirami Muthukrishnan of Ergo chats up with 20-year-old music director G.V.Prakash at his studio in T.Nagar.
Fact File:
Born: June 13, 1987
Education: Chettinad Vidyashram, Chennai
Instrument: Solo Piano, Gold Medallist, Grade 8, Trinity College, London
Future projects: Leelai, Ananda Thandavam, Aayirathil Oruvan and Kushelan
First shot at fame: Sang in Chikku Bukku Railu, Gentleman when he was a kid.
GV Prakash: 20-year-old wonder
March 23, 2008
Roller skates would be an ideal present for G.V Prakash, who turns 21 this year. Squeezing an interview in between an exhaustive meeting with director Selvaraghavan for Aaryirathil Oruvan (in which he has replaced Yuvan Shankar Raja) and a composing session with lyricist Vairamuthu for the IPL’s Chennai Super Kings’ theme song, the young music director is on the go 24 by 7. Ergo caught up with him at his studio in T Nagar.
Two years ago you made your debut with Shankar’s production Veyil. How did that come about?
“When I met Shankar, I told him if I had composed for Kadhal, I would have done it better,” he laughs. “I was doing jingles and assisting other music directors then. Vasanthabalan, the director of Veyil, had heard my compositions for Nokia and first anniversary tune for Radio Mirchi and selected me.Later when I met Shankar, he laughed and told me, ‘You said you would do it better, right? Let’s see what you can do.’ He was very impressed after he heard the compositions for the lyrics in Veyil.”
10-films-old
Prakash has composed songs for the much-awaited Kushelan. Big project indeed, composing for the Superstar at this young an age.
How different is it, composing for your 10th film compared to the Veyil experience?
“There was a lot of pressure then. First film and Shankar’s banner as well. It was a dream debut, and I need to deliver. Well, now I am used to the pressure,” he laughs. “Three songs in Kushelan will feature the Superstar and one song is about the Superstar,” he says.
Which song of yours do you like the most?
“Some tunes come to me in 5 minutes, and some take days to come together. The one tune that I love is Idhu Enna Maaya‘ from Oram Po. The music is floating and light. Making music is like giving a piece of yourself. And the picturisation enhanced the feel I had infused in the music.
“The one you don’t like?
“I was not impressed with the way Uruguthey in Veyil looked, though I loved how Veyilodu Uravaadi in the same film was picturised.”
The director you would give an arm to work with?
Selvaraghavan is the one I absolutely adore. His movies have a certain quality in them that I admire. I have started working for his next movie. By God’s grace, I am getting wonderful opportunities.
Which spot is the best for composing?
“I have only gone to Kuala Lumpur,” he laughs.
If you could go anywhere, where would you choose to go?
“I would like to go to Australia, especially Melbourne. I have a thing for that place.”
We hear that you are a regular party animal. So where in Chennai is the best to chill after a long day at the studio?
“I like Pasha and Dublin. But I would have barely been there three times. There is no time to party,” a rueful smile appears.
What do you think of remixes?
“If the director insists, I suppose I will have to do it,” he grimaces. “But personally, I don’t believe in passing off other people’s hits with a few beats thrown in, as my own.”
Is it true you have a girlfriend in M.O.P?
He gets shy. Then retorts: “No. Where do these rumours originate? Maybe you could help me find one though.”
Where would you be five years from now?
“I am the kind that goes with the flow. But as far as immediate plans go, I want to do an album, my own kind of music, with international flavours. I am working on the concept for it now. It will release next year. And someday I would like to get into production. I love movies, watch one whenever time permits. I want to produce good movies, with international standards.”
Fact File:
Born: June 13, 1987
Education: Chettinad Vidyashram, Chennai
Instrument: Solo Piano, Gold Medallist, Grade 8, Trinity College, London
Future projects: Leelai, Ananda Thandavam, Aayirathil Oruvan and Kushelan
First shot at fame: Sang in Chikku Bukku Railu, Gentleman when he was a kid.
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