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R HEART U O Y S E H C T H AT T O U Y L I A D G IN AN INSPIR Vol. 1 No. 16 Pages 16 PUNE, THURSDAY MAY 10, 2012 Rs.4 WEATHER Sunrise .....................06:03 Sunset ......................18:59 Moonrise .................22:30 Moonset ..................10:01 Temperature Min ...........................23 0c Max ...........................37 0c
SKETCHING CRIMINALS
THE PARALLEL WORLD OF CINEMA
SWAPPING FORTUNES?
Meet a graphologist who helps detect crime >> P5
FTII Pune is rearing a new breed of storytellers >> P7
Read about Barcelona’s transfer dilemma >>P13 Pics: Nitin Lawate
Chai goes MOBILE!
Meet these human vending machines who serve piping hot chai right at your office table. This novel social enterprise is the brainchild of a tea company and an NGO who have developed a knapsack gadget that serves instant tea
SUCHSMITA PAI
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magine a vending machine casually strolling up to you, armed with the beverage rage of your choice! What if it were able to talk and smile pleasantly at you while ile handing you a delicious milkshake or some steaming ng hot coffee? Freaky? Not really! Thanks to the he collaboration between the Shram Shakti Foundation and Brooke Bond, the walkingtalking vending machine has now become a reality. The innovative product developed ped by the team enables a human man vending machine to walk up to you and serve you a beverage age the way you like it, with a little help from a strap-on gadget.
z A gadget that straps on like a backpack and leaves both hands free, makes it very convenient for the vendors to pour out milk, mix sugar, tea or coffee. z Gainfully employing young men who due to lack of marketable skills, end up being sidelined by the society at large
serving you to juggle the flask and the cup at the same time? How many times have you craved for tea, only to be disappointed after discovering that the vendor has only coffee, or vice-versa? That is all set to become a thing of the past! With the fluid container strapped on the back and a small tray on the chest, the vendors have both hands free, making it easy for them to focus on the beverage preparation drill, geared to serve you your favorite drink.
Sustainable employment avenue The novel concept has now been embraced in many cities in India. From Bengaluru to Lucknow and from Ranchi to Pune, the brigade of youngsters, unskilled yet potentially employable, have been absorbed by the Foundation. Apart from a fixed salary, their boarding and lodging is also taken care of.
An ideal alternative e Have you ever had coffee or tea spill on you, just because se it was difficult for the person on
The Foundation also provides them with benefits such as medical insurance. Working with Brooke Bond, the Shram Shakti Foundation has designed the entire system and equipment, which is extremely userfriendly. They have started with hot beverages, including more than one flavour of tea, and will be adding milkshakes to the line up soon. Currently, Pune boasts of 17 gainfullyemployed young men, selling 700-800 cups a day in different parts of the city. The brainchild of Manish Pande from Pune and Vivek Gupta from Delhi, the concept was born out of the need to fruitfully engage young men who, for lack of marketable skills, tend to while away their time, fall into self-destructive traps and eventually end up as marginalised, misdirected youth. Since the Foundation lacked sufficient capital to set up its own tea shops,
coming up with an engaging, sustainable idea involving skill enhancement was the primary challenge. To be successful, the model had to be scalable and replicable so as to ensure that it works equally well in all parts of the country. Chai, with its mass appeal, cuts across every divide and will never go out of fashion; driven by this belief and a carefully-formulated project design, the ‘human vending machine’ dream was finally realised by Manish and Vivek. When innovation meets a will to help, you can do a lot, and the duo has certainly proved that!
EXTRAA Pune contact: Nitesh Shrivastava nitesh_shrivastava08@ rediffmail.com +918421684148
Map your way round the UoP campus LOCAL BUZZ
The all-new mapping system employed by the varsity is expected to make the job of navigating the massive UoP campus an easier exercise
What is your
LIFE 365 daily all about?
SAMARTH GOYAL
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he University of Pune (UoP) campus is a fine 490-acre jigsaw puzzle, full of intertwining sections and a maze leading to various departments scattered all over the vast premises. With the entire facility peppered with rather confusing nameplates and arrows, our guess is that you’d struggle to explore the campus in its entirety even with the help of a magnetic compass. To dispel the ambiguity surrounding the directions, the UoP has introduced an all-new mapping system which will help students, faculty and visitors pinpoint their location in the huge campus. Splashed across a black and blue background, the maps will
mark the road network in white, while a red dot will indicate your position on the campus. R V Patil, Executive Engineer, Estates Department, UoP, is confident that the move will put an end to the hordes of complaints made by directionally-disoriented visitors. “It’s a huge campus, so confusion’s bound to arise. We used to get several complaints from students, visiting faculty and visitors on a regular basis. The nameplate and arrow system wasn’t helping much. We felt pictorial representations would work way better.” A sample map has already been placed near the hostel office. “Following the feedback, we will discuss the final mapping with the help of professional mapmakers,” Patil added further.
Just like Pune is a city that still respects values, welcomes ideas and supports genuine efforts, Life 365 is more than just a daily. Going beyond news that has already been done to death, Life 365 rejects negativity,
Pics: Rahul Deshmukh
A systematic web of maps z The University authorities will put up 19 maps at various major junctions in the campus, along with maps at the three entrance gates. The maps will be made as per
sensationalism and superficiality in its columns. We are here to promote good values, good people and good work. As a cosmopolitan, commercial hub, the city today abounds with enlightened individuals, talented
IRC (Indian Road Congress) standards with the focus being on simplifying the complex road network of the campus to avoid direction-oriented confusion.
creators and innovators, genuine activists and social groups. All inspired and inspiring citizens. Life 365 will strive to capture the mixed ethos of it all. We promise to function as a responsible and
responsive member of the Fourth Estate. We believe it is doable. All we need is for you to believe in us… editorlife365@gmail.com Call 020-25534888/25538835 or 8806 365 365