RITZ August Issue 2019

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AUGUST 2019 VOL 16 ISSUE 01 ` 100

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UPPINGANTE! UPPING ANTE! Meet Vaasantosh Venkatesan and Haresshvar Sakthivelu, two young entrepreneurs who have the right recipe to incite your mind, body and spirit!

EXCITING INTERVIEWS, RESTAURANT REVIEWS, FASHION TRENDS, BEAUTY NEWS AND LOTS MORE!

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BEAUTY Go, get that Natural Glow, Girl!

Harness the potent ingredients from mother nature and make your beauty regime organic and cruelty free

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PERSONALITY Upping the Ante!

Meet Vaasanthosh Venkatesan and Haresshvar Sakthivelu, two young entrepreneurs who have the right recipe to incite your mind, body and spirit

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SPOTLIGHT Celebrity Bridals!

Ritz gets into a conversation with the Kochi designers who are setting new fashion goals with our beautiful celebrity brides MeenAviyal Magic!

Ritz meets the trending ‘MeenAviyal’ web series trio Archana Kavi, Arun Kurian and Vaishnavi Venugopal

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TRENDING NOW Pet Diaries!

Ritz catches up with pet lovers across Kochi who share their stories about the special bond they share with their pets The Rise of #ChennaiFoodies Meet top five Instagram food bloggers from Chennai to know more about their gourmet world

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FOOD True essence & flavours of Asian cuisine Head to Sriracha - Robata & Contemporary Pan-Asian Dining for culinary delights that look as good as they taste

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TRANSFORMERS Dr. Mohan Rajan, who started Chennai's Rajan Eye Care is now a city landmark that will celebrate its Silver Jubilee next year

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TRAVEL Island of the Gods Explore the dense forests, take a dip in the waterfalls, go beach bumming, dive in the deep blue ocean waters or get enchanted with the ancient temples as you immerse yourself in the surreal beauty of Bali

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EDITOR & PUBLISHER ARUNA R KRISHNAN

CIRCULATION MANAGER J. RAMADOSS

VICE PRESIDENT - MARKETING PRAVEEN KUMAR M

EVENTS AND FEATURES PHOTOGRAPHER - CHENNAI M.GURUNATH PRABHU

REGIONAL EDITOR - KARNATAKA NAMITA GUPTA REGIONAL EDITOR - KOCHI RIYA SONNY DATSON LEGAL COUNSEL SANJAY PINTO SENIOR MANAGER CONTENT & WEB DEVELOPMENT VASANTH PYARILAL R

EVENTS AND FEATURES PHOTOGRAPHER - KOCHI ANOOP AJAY EVENTS AND FEATURES PHOTOGRAPHER - HYDERABAD SANTOSH KUMAR

FOR ADVERTISING AND MARKETING queries across South India, Please contact M PRAVEEN KUMAR, Vice President - Marketing

+91 98419 73090 EMAIL: marketing@ritzmagazine.in ALL CORRESPONDENCE SHOULD BE ADDRESSED TO: RITZ, 7th Floor, Sigma Wing, Raheja Towers, 177, Anna Salai, CHENNAI 600 002.

CONTACT: +91 44 4211 3871.

EMAIL: admin@ritzmagazine.in

DESIGN HEAD SANKARAN N

Edited and Published by Aruna R Krishnan from 7th Floor, Sigma Wing, Raheja Towers, 177 Anna Salai, Chennai 600002.

Printed by Rathna offset Printers at 40, Peters Road, Royapettah, Chennai - 600 014 All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is strictly prohibited. RITZ is not responsible for unsolicited material.

RITZ assumes no responsibility for the veracity and authenticity of the advertisements published herein. Readers are requested to make appropriate enquiries before incurring any expenses or acting on medical recommendations or otherwise in relation to any advertisement or article published herein. Also views in articles published herein are those of the respective authors only. RITZ does not necessarily subscribe to these views.

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BEAUTY

G E T T H AT P E R F E C T P O U T

Kiko Milano Creamy Lipstick ` 990

Ever ything you ever wanted to know about lipstick application Lipstick is the go-to makeup for a lot of us. The month of July was celebrated as the Lipstick Month across the world. If you're the one who is trying to master the art of lipstick application, here are some handy tips that will help you achieve that perfect pout.

Text: NAMITA GUPTA

Nykaa Madras Kaapi ` 599

SoulTree Coral Pink ` 650

Clarins Joli Rouge Bright Coral ` 2,200

Sisley Phyto lip twist Nude ` 3,100

Shiseido Lacquer Ink Vinyl Nude ` 2,200 Chambor Extreme Matte Lipstick Axtec Birck ` 845 Masaba

by Nykaa Lipstick Face Palm ` 599

Arden Nude Original ` 2,040

The Body Shop Colour Crush Matte Lipstick Crush on Caramel ` 895

Mini MAC Tropic Tonic ` 1,050

SUGAR Mettle Matte Lipstick ` 1,099

Innisfree Real Fit Lipstick ` 900

YVES ROCHER Colour Nature Grand Rouge Lipstick Sparkling Pink ` 1,050

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Myglamm LIT Creamy Matte Lipstick Rossini ` 595 Paul Penders Natural August 2019 Lipstick Tearose ` 1,350

Lakme Absolute Matte Ultimate Lip Color in Orchid Pink ` 800 Blue Heaven Fashion Lipstick ` 249

Makeup expert Dipthi Aashok shares some simple lipstick application hacks.

It’s important to prep the lips before you apply lipstick. Make sure your lips are not chapped or dry. Gently scrub your lips with some vaseline and sugar to remove the dead skin.

The next step is to apply a little concealer that matches your lip colour to neautralise the darkness. If you have a perfectly even tone, skip this step.

Lip liners help in achieving definition.

Make sure to use one that matches your lipstick. Start by drawing an X on the Cupid’s bow and draw along the lip line.

One of the ways to achieve longevity of your lipstick is to fill the entire lips with the lip liner.

Once you have defined the lips, take an angular brush to fill the lips with the colour. Angular brush helps achieve that perfect application.

Blot your lips with a tissue to remove any excess colour and make sure there’s no colour on your teeth after application.

Creamy highlighter or a little bit of gloss can be dabbed on the centre of the lips to get that perfect pout. Follow these steps the next time you want to dress your pout!

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BEAUTY Innisfree Asia Super Volcanic Pore Clay Mask 2X ` 1,100

GO, GET THAT NATURAL GLOW, GIRL! Harness the potent ingredients from mother nature and make your beauty regime organic and cruelty free

Kiehls Calendula Serum Infused Water Cream ` 3,400

Areev Citrus

Turmeric Face Text: NAMITA GUPTA Quench ` 285 Veganism is a lifestyle that is animal friendly and cruelty free. Vegan products are those that are not tested on animals and do not use animal by products such as wax, beeswax and such. People are getting more environment conscious today and are increasingly wanting to use products that are not tested on animals. Ayurvedic, herbal skin care products are popular for this reason. Many brands are veering towards handmade Nuskay Activated organic skin care products that are mostly vegan and cruelty free.

Charcoal Scrub ` 650

Kama Ayurveda’s Suvarna Haldi Chandan Brightening Face Pack ` 1,595

Disguise Satin Matte Lipstick by Vanity Wagon ` 5,00 The Body Shop Tea Tree Face Wash ` 645 Vaunt Skincare Face Mist by Vanity Wagon ` 575

Paul Penders Marigold Handcream ` 1,435

NUTRINORM Aloe Cucumber Gel ` 199

Soul Tree Toning Mist Fragrant Jasmine ` 395

Ohria Ayurveda Rose Facial Mist ` 590

Dr. Shuba Dharmana, Dermatologist & founder, LeJeune Medspa confirms the benefits of using vegan and cruelty free beauty products.

The carbon footprint left by these brands are much lesser and more environment friendly.

Luckily we have many organic herbal vegan products in the market that are good for those that want to make that conscious shift.

Blossom Kochhar Aroma Magic Insta Radiance Green Tea Pack ` 324

Mud masks made of multanni mitti are great for acne to absorb excessive oil.

For skin lightening creams to remove tan or to reduce pigmentation, look for herbal vegan products that have vitamin C or arbutin, turmeric, bearberry extract or glycolic acid.

Tea tree oil as an astringent or toner or few drops on cotton pad to help dry up acne is vegan.

Aloe vera gel has many healing properties from sunburn, inflammation, irritation. It helps to soothe and cool skin.

Bhumih Ayurveda Sun Protection Beauty Oil by Vanity Wagon ` 1,299

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Global Beauty Secrets Pushpanjali Floral Dew ` 3,100

Organic Harvest Tea Tree ` 450 and Organic Harvest Rosemary oil ` 310

Alpha hydroxyl and beta hydroxyl acids used to exfoliate skin can be vegan too.

You can look out for products such as glycolic acid and salicylic acid that are plant derived and choose to do peels with your dermatologist that uses these products.

PERSONALITY

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CHENNAI

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Kokoro is a Japanese term which, though difficult to translate in English, literally means a unity or synchronisation of the mind, body and spirit! In today's fast moving world, a person needs to be both mentally and physically fit to cope up with the rapid changes we are facing every single day. Education makes a person complete and now it has become a norm to travel to whichever corner of the world required, in search of a person's dream.

It definitely is not an easy task to identify the right country and educational institution to pursue your dreams.

However, when there is a tried and tested companion to help you make your choice, with a wealth of over twenty years of experience, it would be of invaluable help; and that is exactly what Vaasantosh Venkatesan and his company Planet Education bring to the table! Tailoring a fitness routine to suit your individual self, taking into account your personal, lifestyle and career-oriented constraints into consideration and whipping you into shape with that extra care, is fitness coach Haresshvar Sakthivelu - who has an excellent track record in this field. When these two youngsters come together and turn entrepreneurs with a nutrition supplement company named Level Up Nutrition, you can expect it to reach great heights!

Text: Mohan K ​Photography: N i t h i n B a r a t h S Styling: Pa n s y R a j a​ ​Hair and Makeup: Vu r v e S i g n a t u r e S a l o n Location: T h e S av e r a H o t e l , C h e n n a i August 2019

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TA K I N G YO U R E D U C AT I O N P L AC E S !

Vaasantosh Venkatesan, known as Santosh, is the Regional Director of Planet Education, heading the Southern division including Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry and Kerala. This company, is an overseas educational consultant and has been in existance for over 22 years now, providing both on-shore and off-shore assistance to all students who want to pursue their education and career, overseas.

Planet Education was founded by Mr. Sanket Shah and is currently headed by Mr. Gagan Singh.

Check out these excerpts from RITZ Magazine's recent conversation with Vaasantosh Venkatesan.

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DON'T DO ANYTHING FOR THE SAKE OF IT. FOLLOW YOUR PASSION. DO NOT BECOME AN ENGINEER OR A DOCTOR JUST BECAUSE SOMEBODY INSISTS YOU TO BE. I'M PRETTY SURE THAT FOR 99% OF THE PEOPLE, WAKING UP AND GOING TO WORK DOES NOT EXCITE THEM. IF YOUR PASSION IS DANCING, EMBRACE THAT AS LONG AS IT IS HELPING YOU MAKE ENDS MEET AND IS KEEPING YOU HAPPY. STAY HAPPY AND TRY NOT TO DISAPPOINT ANYBODY!

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What made you choose this as your career path?

After my graduation in Australia, I was working in the corporate sector but somehow, was never satisfied with what I was doing. I wanted to try my hand at sales and got into the sales field. That is when I found out that I was always happy being a part of somebody's journey so my idea was to get into the education industry as I wanted to give back to the community that I came from. Considering my experience as an overseas student, who went abroad at the age of 16, I did not have a smooth experience. So, I wanted to give students who are planning to study overseas, a better experience, clearer process and far more support to them.

Which are the best countries for overseas education?

That's a great question. We cannot just randomly take a particular country.

It always depends on the student - what kind of grades they have, what fields of interest they have and every country has a different immigration requirement. A student might want to go to the US but they might not clear the immigration requirements. When they come to us, we make sure that they are given the right advice as to what would suit them, especially the immigration requirements that they would be able to clear as well as the financial and academic requirements, based on the country.

How do you connect with the different educational institutions in various countries?

Planet Education was established

by Mr. Sanket Shah, who is the founder of the company. As we have been in this business for over twenty years, we have established bonds with various universities and currently we are the second generation in the business. We are here to maintain the relationships with these universities, globally.

We also attend events organised by different universities to generate new relationships and connections.

How do you help students aspiring to study overseas?

We help the students through the entire process. Even when a student comes to us with no idea of what to do next or without any plans for their future too, we help by counselling them. When we mention counselling, it is basically getting to know the student and not a psychometric analysis on anything. We try and get to know the student and their requirements better so we would know how to serve them best.

Tell us a little about your biggest success stories so far...

We have been in this industry for over 22 years and nearly two generations.

Most of the students we have helped, come back to us while referring others they know. A number of our students

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have now settled abroad and are living the life they have always dreamed of.

When these people bring their cousins, friends or other relatives to us, stating Planet Education is the place to go to, it makes us proud. Considering that we have sent about 35,000 students overseas in the past 22 years, we look at that as our biggest success.

What are the basic things that a student wanting to go study overseas should look into?

The first thing that they should look into is that, they are not going there just for education. When you step out of your own country, you become a global citizen. Going abroad is an experience and it doesn't stop with education. If somebody goes for a bachelor's degree like I did nine years ago, they're not going to be the same person when they're done with their education just like how I am a different person now. When a person is in India, there are many things that shape you while when someone is abroad, there are a whole lot of other things that would shape you. A person should not look at just the education and the experience but also what kind of a person they are going to be in this society when they are done with their education! Also, in this current day and age where we have access to everything available on the internet and majority of the international universities have an online portal, we as an agency provide better assistance as we have seen quite a few students and we are well versed with the immigration formalities and we would be able to assist you in making this journey smooth.

When did you decide that you wanted to become an entrepreneur?

I have never been a desk-job kind of person. I did that for a year but quit

it almost as soon as I finished a year. I was not motivated enough to do it or to simplify it, every morning I was not excited enough to go and work and the day that I felt least excited was the day I decided to quit and start something on my own. However, I realised that I was way too young and was not gifted naturally with certain talents so I decided to go and learn those talents.

That is when I decided to get into sales and joined a company that was doing door-to-door sales. I began knocking on people's doors, selling different things from cleaning products to raising charity funds. After doing that for a few years, I asked myself - "What next?" I wanted to apply the skills I had learnt on something else, especially to help people.

What are the basic challenges that an upcoming entrepreneur faces?

The first thing is buying into people's trust, including an investor's.

You could have a great idea but without the proper backing or financial support, it would be difficult. I don't come from a business background. My parents supported me in my education but the entrepreneur that I am today and whatever investments I have made today are all from the money that I have earnt and the connections and relationships that I have built with people over these years. Personally, I feel that in India there are not many networking opportunities where young entrepreneurs like us get to go and meet people and share our ideas or vision. I feel that a lot of people give up easily when they don't find the right partner or backing. You might get the money today or at a later stage but as long as people don't give up and have a clear

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AM VERY SURE PEOPLE WHO RECOGNISE ME WOULD HAVE SEEN ME REGULARLY AT A FEW PLACES. I DO PARTY QUITE A BIT AS WELL AS TRAVEL FREQUENTLY. IT IS JUST MY MOTHER AND ME, HERE IN INDIA SO I SPEND QUITE A BIT OF TIME WITH HER. APART FROM THAT, I HAVE QUITE A LOT OF FRIENDS AND SPEND TIME WITH THEM

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vision and work towards it, they will definitely be long-lasting in the market.

What other business ventures have you branched out into?

I've always had this fascination for fitness. I have a very good friend - Haresshvar, with whom I've built a friendship over a period of thirteen years. We decided to get into the field of fitness with a company called Level Up Fitness, which basically provides all types of supplements. We deliver the best quality supplements at the most affordable of prices.

Tell us a little more about Level Up...

Level Up is at its very nascent stages and is less than about four months old.

We came up with the name while sitting and just casually talking. We did not August 2019

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I ACTUALLY DON'T BELIEVE IN IDOLISING ONE SINGLE PERSON. SIMILAR TO MY BUSINESS IDEOLOGY, I BELIEVE IN FOLLOWING DIFFERENT TRAITS OF DIFFERENT PEOPLE. SOME PEOPLE I DO FOLLOW ARE ELON MUSK, STEVE JOBS AND TONY STARK, EVEN THOUGH HE'S A FICTIONAL CHARACTER. I DON'T WANT TO BE TONY STARK BUT THERE ARE SOME THINGS ABOUT THE CHARACTER THAT I WOULD LIKE TO IMBIBE. I WOULD NEVER WANT TO LOSE MY ORIGINALITY AT ANY TIME BUT I WOULD DEFINITELY LIKE TO ADD SOME GOOD CHARACTERISTICS

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actually think too much or research too much to arrive at the name. It has always been Haresshvar's and my vision to get into the field of fitness but we faced the same challenges like financial backing and lack of networking. However, considering Haresshvar's expertise in the fitness field, we decided to try something in this arena and we did not have much to lose. Both of us are just in our mid-20's and there wasn't much to lose apart from a few lakh rupees. We just decided to act upon our idea and took action on it.

What are your immediate plans for Level Up? (Touch Wood!) We are on track for our projected sales for the end of this year. The next plan is to make sure that our supplements reach out to the general public. The main reason we started Level Up is to bring to the knowledge of all the people that supplements are not just for those who are into body building or fitness alone. Even a layman can take supplements. The name itself says it all; they're supplements and not a substitute for your regular meal. We also want to ensure that we're competing with the number one brands in India, by the end of this year.

At a very young age, you are already juggling many hats. What other arenas are you planning to explore?

As a person, I get bored very easily.

I believe that having a 10% stake in ten different businesses will keep you

occupied and your brain thinking.

I believe that when someone stops learning, they don't grow anymore.

I want to own 10% of 10 businesses, which would make up 100% of my income and also keep me occupied in the sense of value that I provide to all the businesses. I could be wrong but this is what I believe in. It is also my belief that people who chase money don't make money but people who chase value, end up making money.

When you put your foot in 10 different businesses, do you think you would be able to give enough of yourself to all of them?

That's another great question.

Obviously an individual cannot be present at 10 different places at the same time but what you can maximise the technological advancements of today and for example, be sitting in Dubai but take part in a meeting in some other part of the world through Skype. In the near future, with the advancements in Hologram technology, we could even be in 10 different places doing 10 different things. Whenever I choose a business, the first thing I look into is what part of it excites me, for I do not want to lose my passion for it even if it is not making money at the initial stages. The other thing that I look at is, what value can I provide to that business. I would look to identify what skill I possess that somebody who is already in that same business doesn't.

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F I R I N G U P YO U R F I T N E S S !

Haresshvar Sakthivelu is a fitness consultant who has been in the industry for over 10 years and has had a very good track record of training over 1200 people. Having had an entrepreneurial streak from his childhood itself, he has now gotten together with his friend Santosh and recently launched a new company called Level Up Nutrition.

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THE SUCCESS OF A GOOD FITNESS COACH LIES IN ADAPTING TO THE PERSON THEY'RE TRAINING AND TAKING INTO ACCOUNT ALL THEIR CONSTRAINTS AND HELPING THEM SUCCEED IN REACHING THEIR GOAL, COME WHAT MAY

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How did you get into the field of fitness?

About 10 years back, I was around 120 Kgs and I used to be a very obese kid even when I was just passing out of school. I had a huge history of facing bullying because of my weight. It was something that I always wanted to do something about but never had the opportunity to.

I got to the gym for the first time during the holidays after completing my 12th standard. As I started working out and losing weight, people started noticing and they started appreciating me for becoming fitter. This became a huge motivation for carrying on and that is when I started thinking of what next! That eventually has led to where I am right now!

What according to you is fitness?

Fitness can be different for a lot of people. Some people might think of mental fitness while some others can think of flexibility as the ultimate fitness or even being able to do any sort of work at any time as being their ultimate fitness goal. For me, fitness doesn't have a single facet to it! It is a combination of different aspects. A person cannot deem themselves to be fit if they match up in only one aspect. A person might have a great physique but if they cannot run fast or bend enough for something, that is not ultimate fitness. Being totally fit includes being physically and mentally fit and also being able to do whatever tasks you want to... It actually means, being in complete control of yourself!

How many people have you trained so far?

I started my coaching, nearly two years ago. In this period, I have trained about 1000-1200 people. I've had a success rate of atleast 50-60%! I wouldn't state that the remaining people were not successful in their transformations. They might have begun their programmes but could not have been able to continue it at that point of time. They could have had a change in their career, switched jobs, changed cities or even gone abroad for studies or work. There might have been some lifestyle change that did not allow them to continue their fitness journey. However, at the end of the day, I have noticed that if the client is consistent and open with their communication, their success is almost always a guarantee!

What has been your most challenging transformation story among the people you have trained?

There was one young man, named Mr. Venkatesh. He had been obese from childhood and people had bullied him and hurt him on a psychological level, which had broken down his self confidence.

As a coach, it doesn't matter how good your client looks when he is even afraid of showing his physique to the world.

When we started training together, he was totally down on confidence. Over a period of four-and-a-half months, we worked not just on his physique but also on driving him to believing that he could lose weight. Making him believe that was

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a huge challenge. He was skeptical as he had already tried a lot of things but hadn't lost weight and I had to first make him believe that I could help him and he could achieve it. Right now, he is a totally different person. In the period of around four and odd months, he has lost 34 Kgs and he feels himself to be a completely new person. He is more confident and far happier; his entire lifestyle has changed.

We are still working together and his goal is to now build more muscle and we are working towards that!

What makes you stand apart from the other fitness trainers?

To be honest, most of the fitness trainers that I see, especially the online trainers, do not understand the basics of coaching. In India, I find that nearly 80% of the online coaches, do not have the basic qualifications to train or be a coach.

It is not restricted to online coaches alone.

Even in the local gyms, people who have participated in just a single competition or those who have just some simple fitness regimes, call themselves trainers.

These people can maybe train a teenage kid who doesn't have much else to do by working out for a number of hours a day or get them to follow some strict diet.

What about somebody who is diabetic or somebody who is working in different shifts or for example a single mother who has to juggle work, her kid and at the same time work-out too? Coaching is not just about writing a diet chart or a workout chart. It is more about understanding the psychology of the person you are training and then making sure that you form a plan that suits their lifestyle and psychology and at the same time keeping them accountable. This is where I belive

I have been successful with my clients.

If you act like a dictator and get worked up with them for taking a cheat meal or straying off the diet chart as they had to go out with their family, they would find it difficult to stick with you. They would not continue following the program for long too and eventually feel that it is their fault for not being able to progress. A good trainer should know the flexibility to give them some slack where possible but keep them strict where needed.

What are the basic things that a person should look at before embarking on a fitness transformation journey?

The first and foremost thing is that, a person should be able to embrace the concept of change. Initially, the idea of change is enticing but when it actually starts happening, people are afraid to come out of their comfort zones. Before somebody begins their journey, the first question I ask is, if they would be able to spend some time on a daily basis to take care of their fitness. It might be having to cook some specific food or some other basic stuff. As long as they're willing to make a change in their lives, they are good to begin their transformation journey!

When and how did you think of turning into an entrepreneur?

I've always had an entrepreneurial streak in me. Even as a kid, I used to put up some small events and games for my apartment children and made some pocket money out of it. Even in college, I used to work as a part-time photographer to make some money out of it. As a person, as a body builder, I have noticed that we Indians spend a lot of money and make a lot of sacrifices to get the dream

I HAVE A LOT OF PEOPLE COMING TO ME, ASKING HOW THEY CAN LOSE WEIGHT DESPITE NOT BEING ABLE TO FOLLOW A WORKOUT PLAN OR A DIET PLAN AND THEY HAVE NO IDEA HOW TO DO IT. PEOPLE DO NOT BUILD THEIR OWN CARS OR CRAFT THEIR OWN BEDS, BECAUSE THEY DO NOT HAVE THE REQUIRED EXPERTISE FOR IT. IN THE SAME WAY, ONCE YOU DECIDE TO MAKE A CHANGE IN YOUR PHYSIQUE OR IMPROVE YOUR FITNESS LEVELS, PEOPLE SHOULD FIRST CONSIDER APPROACHING A TRUSTED COACH OR A QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL IN THIS FIELD

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physique that we want. However, almost all the supplements and other fitness products in the market do not have even half of what they claim to, on their labels.

It is sad that despite putting in a lot of hard work - days and months of training, it is disheartening to find that we are not able to achieve our goals due to the miscalculations of what we see on the supplements' labels. This made me want to bring in a superior quality product and also a variety of other products that are August 2019

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FITNESS COACHING IS SOMETHING THAT HAS A NUMBER OF COMPLEX ASPECTS TO IT AND GETTING THE RIGHT HELP WHEN YOU BEGIN YOUR FITNESS JOURNEY WOULD CREATE A HUGE IMPACT. THIS WILL DETERMINE HOW WELL YOU PROGRESS OR HOW SUCCESSFUL YOU ARE. ANOTHER IMPORTANT THING WOULD BE TO ACTUALLY MAKE A START THAN THINKING OF GETTING EVERYTHING PERFECT WITHOUT EVEN STARTING

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not available in India. I've worked with quite a number of coaches abroad, who take extra care to ensure that the internal health of whoever their client is, doesn't get spoiled.

How has your journey been so far?

It has been quite an exciting journey.

There have been both ups and downs.

There have been many sleepless nights and some days where we have had to put in double the amount of work and also sacrifice a lot of things like time with family and friends. Actually, to be honest, I don't think I have a great social life, at the moment. However, it makes all these worthwhile when we realise that we are bringing about an actual change to the fitness industry in India as a whole. We are creating a positive impact in a lot of people's lives!

What has been the best feedback you have received so far?

I had trained a couple and the lady had PCOD (Poly Cystic Ovarian Disorder), unfortunately. They had been struggling for quite a few years to have a child and had also spent quite a sum of money, on various medications. One of the doctors I knew, referred them to me and the couple worked really hard and they put in a lot of effort without giving up. At the end of six months, they had gotten fit and the couple conceived. It was not just them but even all their family members who were happy and spoke to me over the phone and expressed their happiness. Getting the couple to achieve proper fitness levels and ensure their goal, that too after many doctors had given up on them, is one of the most profound compliments I could have ever gotten.

How did you come up with the name Level Up for your company?

I have always wanted to do something in the field of fitness, especially taking it to the masses. One day, my friend Santosh and me were sitting and having a casual

chat about what to name the company and how to brand it. We were discussing various stuff and that is when we realised we were simply trying to take the lives of people to the next level and enhance it in all aspects. We did not want to restrict our products to just people who went to the gym but make it useful for everybody who wanted to work better, sleep better and enjoy their lives better. It was while thinking of all this that the name Level Up just popped into our heads.

What other products do you plan to bring about through Level Up? Right now, we have one of the best tasting Whey Proteins in India. This has been reviewed by our customers and their honest reviews have been posted on our website too. We have been getting a lot of positive reviews not just on the taste but also on the quality of our product. Apart from the Whey Protein, we also have a pre-workout product, which we call Fired Up. It is a thermogenic fat burning pre-workout product. These are the two main nutritional products we have currently and we also have a protein brownies. We have a whole range of products coming up that are intended to help people who are dieting, enjoy some tasty food. We are bringing out products for people's liver support and kidney support. We are also bringing out a product to help people sleep better or rather help the quality of their sleep to be better. Some people in the IT field are only able to sleep for 3 or 4 hours a day but we are trying to ensure that by using our products, this period of 3-4 hours is as good as getting 6 or 8 hours.

We also have a product that will help people increase the way their body uses all the fuel that they gain from eating a lot of food and reduce their body storing up a lot of fat. Almost all our products are targetted at increasing the wellbeing and health of the users.

Wardrobe Courtesy: RARE RABBIT August 2019

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Spotlight

WHIFF BENGALURU

OF ARAKU VALLEY S KRISHNA CHAITANYA GIVES US AN INSIGHT INTO THE WORLD OF ORGANIC COFFEE AND TELLS US WHAT MAKES THE BEAN TO CUP EXPERIENCE OF DRINKING AN ARAKU AROMA COFFEE SO SPECIAL

B

Text: NAMITA GUPTA

Blended in the Eastern ghats, Araku Aroma coffee is enriched with the goodness of high quality coffee beans. Produced by the local tribes at high elevations that are suitable for coffee growing, these beans are roasted to the highest of industry standards and that's what gives it the rich flavours. Araku Aroma coffee opened its first outlet in New Jersey in 2018, and closer home, it was unveiled at Nagarjuna Circle in Hyderabad by Chaitanya. We caught up with the humble and savvy entrepreneur from Hyderabad S Krishna Chaitanya, who shared his knowledge on organic coffee, cafe culture and more.

What is your family background and how did you get into coffee growing?

We hail from a family run business and we are also into agriculture. I was associated with coffee plantations for many years and from my childhood I was attracted to the tribes and the coffee growing culture. After completing my post graduation in Vizag, I used to visit the Araku valley often. I got into dry land farming and since we had experience in this field, I personally wanted to get into quality coffee making myself. I started Araku

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August 2019

Chaitanya at the Araku Aroma Cafe Aroma Coffee for the cause of tribal welfare under the umbrella of our company Krish Food and Fun India.

What is special about Araku Aroma Coffee?

As of now we are the only company in the entire country and USA who are growing our Araku Valley coffees in Araku Valley itself and are also selling it in our cafes. Our backbone is strong

R&D and we specialise in traditional roasting methods. Even if the bean is good, if the roasting process is not upto the standards, then the coffee that comes out may not be of the best quality. Our roasting adds value to our beans. People have understood that Araku coffees are by default organic, but the yield is low compared to other coffees that are grown in

Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Araku is completely arabica without any robusta. Here the coffee plantations are grown with pepper alongside so the spice notes come in the coffee. In Araku, there are lot of fruits grown alongside the coffee, so those lend an organic sweetish note to the coffee, which is extremely unique. We don't encourage chicory at all. Most of the coffees grown in the South have a lot of chicory, but we make only pure, organic coffee.

What are the Araku Aroma blends and flavours?

Currently instant coffees and premixes are predominating the market. We come in a niche segment of Araku valley grown organic coffee that is mild and smooth and leaves a wonderful and completely refreshing taste on the palate. Arakuccino and Lovelatte are our two exclusive coffees,

What's your opinion on the sad incident that shook not just the coffee industry, but the entire entrepreneurial community globally?

It's unfortunate what happened recently. In my eyes he was a successful man and will always be. He never failed and he will always be known as the entrepreneur who gave employment to thousands of people across the world.

Some tips for budding entrepreneurs in the coffee industry?

The location of the cafe is very crucial. Also keep the manpower of the cafe to minimal possible. Sustaining a lot of employees is not easy.

What are your growth plans?

We are now present in the north, east and south our presence is there and we are planning 100 more cafes in the coming few years. We are looking to open in Bengaluru very soon. We have signed up Sonali Swami, Bengalurubased fitness athlete and coach as our brand ambassador. Sonali believes that black coffee has many benefits and may boost your metabolism and may even aid in fat loss, as long as one is physically active and eating a healthy diet. Next month we are planning to launch in Washington DC, Los Angeles and Dallas and we are already present in New Jersey and the response has been very good.

that we serve and these are also on retail at the Araku Aroma coffee outlets.

Arakuccino is mild yet flavourful, whereas Lovelatte is rich in flavour. We have 15 outlets currently. Our cafes not only serve a perfect hot cuppa coffee, but you can also witness a live roasting set-up with Arabica beans and the friendly staff patiently explaining about the beans and any other questions one might have. The aromas are something that one must experience first hand.

August 2019

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Spotlight

Celebrity KOCHI

bridals

As always it is our pretty Divas who set the fashion wheels rolling. Especially when it comes to celebrity bridals, there is always an extra element of excitement to know what the pretty lady has chosen to wear on her D Day! Ritz gets into a conversation with the Kochi designers who are setting new fashion goals with our beautiful celebrity brides!

Text: RIYA SONNY DATSON It was in 2014 when Mollywood sweetheart, Ann Augustine chose to sport a beautiful wedding gown on her special day. She approached Anu and Reshma of Label M to design the outfit for her. But the designers were reluctant as they had never really worked on a wedding gown; a saree was almost always the preferred choice for bridal wear until then. “‘It is ok even if you haven’t done a wedding gown before, I have full faith in you.

Let mine be the first wedding gown your label undertakes!’ – is what Ann told us,” recalls Reshma of Label M. “We were flabbergasted! We wanted to do it and yet, were not sure how it would turn out. So we did a trial gown first and to our relief, it turned out very well. But when Ann came for the trial dressing, we were not happy with the fitting of the original gown and that got us really worried. But she

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Designed by Label M Photography: Crew 6 projects

Designed by Label M

Designed by T&M and M.O.D signature jewellery

was extremely cool and reassured us saying that we still have an entire day to get it sorted!” Of course, Ann was an epitome of elegance on her D day and the wedding pics went viral. The wedding gowns were here to stay!

“The most important point to keep in mind while designing for a Diva is to avoid repetition of any kind - be it colour, style or work. As their photographs go viral, a lot of care needs to be taken to avoid any kind of replication. We always take into consideration the occasion a celebrity is attending – if it is personal or a professional event and design couture based on the client’s style, likes, body fit and their budgets. With celebrities, there is always a bit more pressure as we are consciously innovating new styles and almost always there is a time constraint,” says Tiya of T&M. Tiya and her mother, Asha Sebastian Mattathil of M.O.D signature jewellery were among the brands who designed bridal couture for actress Bhavana.

Designed by Label M

Actress Bhavana’s wedding couture set the internet on fire with the gorgeous actress sporting different styles for each function. “Designing for Bhavana was an absolute pleasure.

She had a clear idea about the colour for each function. But after giving us a brief, she turned up only for the trial a couple of days before the wedding.

I think she has been the coolest bride we have worked with so far,” laughs Reshma. Label M designed a simple yet elegant amber brown ‘ready to wear saree’ for the actress’s engagement function which was a private ceremony with only family and close friends. Her stunning golden Kanchipuram saree was the star of the

show that had detailing all over, apart from the ‘Radha-Krishna’ themed embellishment done on the blouse sleeves. ‘She was very particular about the colour of the saree, the jewellery she was going to wear and the theme.

So that made it easier for us. For the wedding reception, which was a star studded affair, we designed a golden trail lehenga with a contrasting peach dupatta. She had given us colours to work on and we wanted to ensure that each look was different.

For the reception in Bangalore, we designed a mint green full length gown with delicate pink and silver embellishments,” recalls Reshma.

Celebrity weddings today involve festivities that stretch out over a couple of days with multiple functions.

The most recent celebrity to join the bandwagon was actress Pearle Maaney. The pretty lady got married to the love of her life, Srinish Aravind and they had a traditional Christian wedding and a Hindu wedding. For the marriage fixing ceremony, Pearle wore a beautiful bottle green Dhavani paired with a brocade skirt. “She was very particular that she wanted a traditional Tamil outfit for this function and she looked absolutely beautiful in the Dhavani. For her church wedding, we designed a Victorian style gown that had beautiful French lace and hand embroidery in pastel shades of baby pink and hydrangea blue with pearls and silver detailing to match her diamond jewellery. We were sure that Pearle would be able to pull off the August 2019

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Spotlight Designed by Label M

Milan Design

Designed by Label M

look and she did so beautifully. For the evening reception, we opted for a navy blue velvet lehenga paired with a crop top and a contrasting mint green dupatta. We won a lot of appreciation for each of her styles,” smiles Reshma.

Pearle’s red Kanchipuram Saree that she wore for her Hindu wedding function was another ensemble that caught a lot of attention. ‘Pearle’s only demand was that it should be a red Kanchipuram saree. But I wanted to make it unique and special for her, as she was my daughter’s best friend.

So I decided to weave a photograph of the couple onto the pallu of the saree. There were ten colours in the photograph and the weavers at Kanchipuram mentioned that it would be a difficult task to weave in all the shades and that it would take a lot of time. But I wanted to try it anyway and I decided to take the risk. I had to make several visits to the weavers at each point and yet I wasn’t sure about how the final product was about to turn out. In fact, I was really tensed but finally, when they opened the

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pallu and showed me the end product, I was shocked. I couldn’t believe it, the clarity was so perfect that it seemed as if the picture was coming alive. I hadn’t told Pearle about the weaving, so when she finally arrived at the store to collect the saree, she was stunned and moved to tears. It was a joy and a very satisfying experience working on that saree,” says Shirly Regimon of Milan Designs.

Do the designers also offer suggestions for the accessories to accompany their creations? Yes they do! While T&M works closely with M.O.D Signature Jewellery for their brides, Label M chooses jewellers based on the style of each bride. “Each jeweller has a unique style. Based on the outfit, we guide them with the accessories. We are planning a bridal expo in October 2019 where we will be roping in a jewellery partner, event planners and make-up artists to offer a complete package to the brides,” says Reshma.

Trends to watch out for? “Pastels and minimalism. There is an increasing trend towards subtle styles that maintain a classy touch. Be it a saree or a contemporary outfit, comfort is key! There is a lot of socialisation that happens over functions and events and everyone prefers to wear clothes they are comfortable in. Of course for bridalwear, a heavily embroidered piece is always the choice. But the key is to ensure that the client is involved in the design process as their satisfaction is most important,” says Tiya, who

designed 22 new bridal styles for their bridal show ‘Shaadi by Marriott’, that featured actress Prayaga Martin as the showstopper.

“Hopes and expectations are always high when we are designing couture for celebrities as eventually, their outfit will be the next trend setter. So there is a need to be authentic in your design. Celebrities are more open to experiment and are willing to try out new styles, which makes it more satisfying for us. But no matter what the trend is, we always focus on the bride’s character and her preferences as at the end of the day, she should feel confident about what she wears and the dress should reflect her personality,” says Reshma as she signs off.

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spotlight KOCHI

MeenAviyal magic

She came, she conquered the silver screen but to everyone’s dismay, left abruptly. It didn’t take long for this young, bubbly diva to return; but it was not where she had left off. She was about to experiment with a new medium, one that was fresh and ready to be explored! Her Vlog got everyone’s attention and then came, ‘Talk with Archie’ on YouTube, which was an instant hit! Later, she launched her first web series called ‘Toofan Mail’ that had her entire family donning different roles. It gathered more steam than was expected and soon she was ready with her next big project, ‘MeenAviyal’. The trending web series featured the enterprising young lady behind it all, Archana Kavi along with the dashing young star Arun Kurian and the lovable Vaishnavi Venugopal in lead roles. Ritz catches up with the trio who are setting new trends online.

Text: RIYA SONNY DATSON | Photography: NITHEESH AYYOD You were so young when you debuted in ‘Neelathamara’. Without any background in Cinema, how did you handle it?

Yes, being from Delhi and without having any background or experience in Cinema, everything was completely new for me. I felt as though I was doing a theatre workshop and as a bonus, had the wonderful opportunity to be a part of Cinema. Lal Jose Sir had warned me that things would be very different after the movie’s release but I didn’t really understand and wasn’t prepared for it either.

I thought to myself, ‘What changes can it possibly bring?’ I just enjoyed working and exploring acting with a wonderful team. I didn’t even realise that there were so many elements to celebrate ‘Neelathamara’ especially since it was the very first ‘remake’ of a Malayalam classic.

Your first couple of movies were instant hits but things started to change after that, what went wrong?

Acting is just a part of a career in Cinema. A lot depends on networking, your knowledge of the industry, the language and understanding of Malayalam Cinema’s rich history. That is my understanding and I could be wrong. But honestly, I just took up roles that were given to me. I didn’t have any strategy and one must have it, if you are in this field. I just enjoyed acting and didn’t really pay attention to any of the other aspects. I was young and on my own. So I had my own fears about stepping out and networking as things were very different back then. We were literally stuck in the transition period of Malayalam Cinema when people were still very conservative and yet there were others who were willing to experiment. I think I couldn’t wrap myself around everything as it was all very overwhelming for me. Being an actor, you were expected to look a certain way, talk a certain way and all that was very unreal and confusing as I couldn’t be myself!

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ARCHANA KAVI Do you think things changed post marriage?

Yes, things definitely change. I think it is because our seniors set the precedence. They never got back to Cinema post marriage and so, it has become like an unspoken norm that married women don’t return to work unless there is a family issue. Even if you choose to, you would be given roles that might be uncomfortable. The gender bias is really unfair. Things are changing now and industry is more open to change but it would still take time.

pitched the idea to Eastern, they got on board immediately as they were aware of the popularity of Toofan Mail. I had wanted MeenAviyal to be a project inspired by a sibling love - hate bond. I also wanted to add in more elements, just in case we decided to take it to the second season.

The response has been awesome and people are already asking for a Season 2.

It was a pleasant surprise to see the new avatar of Arun Kurian in the series.

This is the real RAPID FIRE: avatar of Arun (laughs). I wasn’t sure about getting Arun on board Archana is: initially, as he is a very shy guy Shy, confident and creative Life is: A rollercoaster who doesn’t talk much and I had Success is: Sweet and Bitter seen him doing only serious roles.

In My Bag: Though my friends suggested Do you have any regrets about your career in Cinema?

Phone and a Red lipstick him, I wasn’t convinced as the No, I genuinely enjoyed it. The best part is Quick Makeup: character in MeenAviyal is that people haven’t forgotten me and the success Red lipstick and Mascara so open and blatant. But they of my online projects is proof of the same. Post Fitness Regime: asked me to wait it out and on marriage, I was offered roles that I felt didn’t do Love and Hate relationship the third day, the cat was out of justice to the actor in me. It was literally a full stop.

My go to person: the bag. We knew he fit the bill But I am not someone who can sit at home and My cousin, Deepak Sabin perfectly! We also had a casting not be creative. I wanted to create my own work, Favourite Meal: company called Launchpad that on my own terms, without being worried about I love food, can’t choose!! did a wonderful job and it was the audience. Yes, initially people discouraged Rejuvenation is: pleasure seeing everyone come me saying being an actor, I was downplaying Creating my own content together on screen.

Favourite Holiday myself. But having the power to have the product What was the main challenge in destination: Gokarna in your hand, the complete freedom to handle MeenAviyal?

Dream Holiday: Amsterdam all aspects of my work was what I enjoyed the Getting a producer for a web One thing I would change most. Surprisingly, the response I got was very series, especially in Malayalam about myself: overwhelming and I have grown as a creative Would like to be more diplomatic! was not easy. We had our own person – from writing to creating content limitations when it came to Favourite Web series: to working as team, it has been an enriching F.R.I.E.N.D.S setting up the team. It was just experience.

On My bucket list: a team of 20 people figuring out Your dad was the star in Toofan mail, how did it work My wish is to write a feature! everything from costumes to out? makeup to food to every little Toofan Mail was like a home production in detail. The entire team believed terms of its cast as it featured my dad along with my cousins in the project whole heartedly, which was just amazing. playing different roles. I didn’t have to work too hard to rope There were absolutely no star tantrums on the sets. them in as they were all game for it instantly. In fact I felt like Your take away from the project? a spoilt child. It was a pleasant surprise to discover the actor The belief that I still have it in me to entertain people. in my dad as we never expected him to act the way he did.

I learnt patience, switching roles - Getting people on He completely transforms in front of the camera. We were board, team work, working on budgets, being an actor thrilled with the response we got. and just staying motivated. I discovered various aspects of Tell us about MeenAviyal, your latest web series that has hit the film making and more importantly, I made good friends. jackpot! How did it happen?

The success of MeenAviyal proves that people love good I was going through a difficult phase in my life and I content no matter what the medium. felt being creative was the best way to get over it. When we August 2019

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spotlight

ARUN KURIAN

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The audience adored him as the angry young man in Aanandam. He was seen next alongside Megastar Mohanlal in Velipadinte Pusthakam and then after a break with Mollywood’s youth icon, Dulquer Salman in Oru Yemandan Premakatha. But his humorous avatar in the webseries, Meen Aviyal, is what surprised everyone. Ritz catches up with one of the most promising young talents of Mollywood today, Arun Kurian!

How did you start your journey in Cinema?

I was working in Mumbai as an Assistant director when I heard that cameraman Anend C Chandran was making a movie. I contacted him hoping to assist him in direction as I wanted to try my luck in Malayalam Cinema. Little did I know that he was handling the cinematography for a film that is to be directed by Ganesh

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Raj, who was Vineeth Sreenivasan’s assistant. To my pleasant surprise, he asked me if I would like to act and asked me to send my pictures as they were looking for a college boy in the age group of 19 -22. Acting was always my ultimate dream and I can’t tell you how happy I was to have got the opportunity. I sent my pictures, auditioned and eventually, I bagged the role in Anandam.

Aanandam had a set of completely new actors and it went on to become a hit. Did you expect such a positive response?

No, of course not. In fact, we didn’t realise it was a hit until almost after a year. It continues to be a movie that is screened on television atleast twice a month and people continue to message me, Roshan and Vishakh after watching it. It is still very popular. Since it was my first movie as an actor, I was very camera conscious and I had to work really hard. But it is very heartening to know that even now, people continue to recognise me as ‘Varun’ of ‘Aanandam’.

It will always be very special to me.

Without any background in Cinema, is it challenging to survive in the industry?

Over a period of 3 years, I have done only five movies in all. I know it was a huge risk but I have had my reservations about blindly taking up roles because I wanted to be a part of good movies; movies that I would want to watch as an audience. Having a background or a Godfather in Cinema definitely helps as you have better chances of getting noticed by a film maker. When you are new to the industry, networking is extremely important but being an introvert, it has not always been easy for me to take that plunge. Though it was a struggle for me to get a break initially, I personally feel that after ‘Aanandam’ and ‘Angamaly Diaries’, the industry is more open to trying out projects with

RAPID FIRE: Arun in 3 words: Funny, Romantic, Sensible I can’t do without: Friends I love: Football, Cinema Relationship Status: Single If not Cinema: ‘GELF’!

My idol: My father I crave for: Work with my favourite film makers Interests: Football A Dream role: Sid from ‘Wake up Sid’ and ‘Lalu’ from Second show Dream holiday: Sweden!

new actors. But today, even if you have a lot of opportunities to get into the industry, surviving is not easy as there is a lot of competition. The fact that my first movie did well also built a lot of pressure. Unless you reach a point where you are a super star, I don’t think an actor ever feels secure about his or her future.

You have had the opportunity to work with a legend like Mohanlal and a youth icon like DQ, how was the experience working with each of them?

I am a crazy fan of Lalettan and I never ever dreamt that I would have an opportunity to act, let alone with him. I think I am very blessed and that the world has been very nice to me. I was extremely happy to have had the opportunity to work with

him. The fact that he knows me now is like a dream come true. He has such a positive aura around him that its almost magical. Working with DQ was equally a blessing but it was a very different experience. He is really very sweet and is like a brother to me, always ready to help. I share a very personal bond with him. During our shoot, when I casually showed him the poster of our play, ‘A very normal family’, I was taken aback when he offered to share it. He launched the ‘Meen Aviyal’ trailer for us. It was awesome to have had the opportunity to work with both of them and I really hope to work with DQ again.

Your avatar in MeenAviyal was a pleasant surprise. The audience got to see a completely new version of you and it has been received so well.

Yes, I remember telling Ganesh that ‘I don’t know how the output is going to turnout but I am extremely happy and confident about my role in Meen Aviyal’. I am usually very tensed when I am working for a feature but this was like a breeze. I really got to lot to play around a lot with the character and do a lot of spot improvisations. We never expected that it would get such a good response and we are overwhelmed by the way it has been accepted. It was great to play a light hearted comedy.

I have been waiting to do such a role for a very long time. The fact that each episode was simple and short really gave it an edge.

One thing you like most about the webseries.

The team! It was a great working with Arun Dominic, Abhishek Nair, Archana Kavi and the entire group as each of them were really talented and passionate. It was very comfortable and there was no pressure at all. We worked on a trial and error basis as there was a lot of scope for performance. We made a lot of new friends and I would really like to do a feature film with the team.

There is a lot of competition in the film industry today, amidst the pressure, what keeps you ticking?

I think as Paulo Coelho said, ‘when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it’.

When I see a good film or my favourite actors perform, it gives me a lot of hope and belief that things will work out eventually. I feel that hope is all that you need to keep going.

What is in the pipeline?

I am currently working on a film with Santy Balachandran, Vinay Fort and Tini Tom called ‘Paapam cheyythavar kalleriyatte’. Talks are on for other projects but I can’t reveal any further details right now.

Can we expect a Meen Aviyal Season 2 ?

I am really looking forward to it!

August 2019

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spotlight

S

VAISHNAVI VENUGOPAL

She is the new kid on the block who has been making her mark in Mollywood with her subtle yet significant performances. Being the niece of National award winning director Jayaraj, it comes as no surprise that she has a fondness for Cinema. She made her acting debut with Jayaraj’s ‘Bhayanakam’, which had Renji Panicker and Asha Sarath doing the lead roles. Her performance in the hit movie, June won her much critical acclaim and with the web series, MeenAviyal crossing 1 million views, there is no looking back!

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With a journalism and mass communication background, how did films happen?

It was never planned though there were talks and discussions about Cinema all along. After my studies, I moved to Mumbai for work but I realised that a desk job is not what I want to do. My family, especially my parents have been very supportive of my joining films from the beginning.

So when my uncle asked me to make a debut in his project, Bhayanakam, I decided to give it a shot.

Did you have any fears while facing the camera for the first time?

Yes, I had my fears throughout the shoot of Bhayanakam and June.

I need some time to get in sync with the character but thankfully, I was lucky that I always got a crew who would try to make me feel comfortable.

Ahammed Kabeer, the director of June was especially confident that he would get me to do it right.

The blockbuster hit ‘June’ was a nostalgic film, how was the experience working with a younger crew?

I was most tensed on the sets of Bhayanakam as I was working with such a seasoned crew. Though it was a brief role, it was a great start and an amazing learning experience. My next project was the short film which was completed in a single day. It was during the shoot of that project that I met Ahammed Kabeer. In fact, quite a few from that project eventually became a part of June’s crew, so it was comfortable working with a familiar team. We had an acting workshop with Siddharth Shiva that helped to break the ice and reduce our stress levels. Rajeesha Vijayan was also very supportive all along encouraging us and giving us tips. One of the best parts about doing June was that it felt like we were going back to school. I was sporting short hair just like how I was in school, we would wear our uniform every morning and a vehicle would come to pick us up. It felt as if I was going back to my childhood days. Throughout the movie, we were not given the script, so it was a

RAPID FIRE: In My Bag Always: Chocolate & Lipstick Crazy About: Shopping & Travel Can’t do without: My Phone Vaishnavi in three words: Fun loving, Talkative and Lazy I love: Food!!

Nickname: Vaishu Relationship status: Single Crave for: Doughnuts Dream Holiday: Exploring Mauritius all by myself!

Dream role: Action oriented role

spontaneous kind of acting, which was a fun experience all together.

Tell us about the trending webseries, MeenAviyal.

For MeenAviyal, we shot for around ten to eleven days but it didn’t feel like a shoot at all. We were staying at the apartment where we were shooting, so we would just wake up in the morning, change and get ready for shoot. In the evening, we would call it a wrap and just relax. It was extremely comfortable to work with Archana and Arun too.

We would make spot improvisations and everyone would just tune in accordingly. We were like family and

we became so close that it didn’t feel like work. We didn’t want the shoot to wrap up. My most memorable moment was when the crew threw a surprise birthday party for me one night. It was a lot of fun. I made new friends and we continue to keep in touch.

One thing you like most about MeenAviyal...

I think the Sibling love-hate bond was very well conveyed through this series. It had the connect with the youngsters, which I think is what made it so popular.

What are your interests outside of movies?

I studied dance while in school and was always active in extra-curricular activities. But as I grew up, I was more inclined to cinematic dance. Whenever there is a wedding or a function, I am the first one to take the lead and form a troupe. I got my team from MeenAviyal to perform for our friend’s wedding and it was loads of fun. I love music too. Though am not trained singer, singing on stage is my fascination and so, whenever I get a chance to sing with karaoke, I always make use of the opportunity.

What is next?

I am listening to scripts but haven’t committed to anything yet as I would like to focus on doing good roles now.

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Trending Now BENGALURU

PRECIOUS

PAWSOME PA R A D I S E

These pet owners wouldn’t trade their cuddling-with-your-canine time with anything else in the world. NAMITA GUPTA finds out more on the plush world of pets and the infinite furry pawssibilties and love they bring to your life.

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August 2019

YOUR PET’S FULL NAME AND BREED AND HOW OLD:

I have two Persian cats, both are female, one is a chestnut ginger called Sugar Sait (Shona), she is now 9 years old and my life line. The younger named, Cashmere Sait (cash) is speckled pepper grey In colour and a riotous devil and is now 15 month old.

WHAT DO YOU LIKE ABOUT YOUR PETS: Sugar is a calm, sage by character and nature, she and I seem to be two entwined souls. She is so oriented to my moods and has such a calming effect on me, while Cash (cashmere) is so opposite, she is demanding, love seeking and always the cherubic playful thingy and always brings a smile to my face, even during the worst of trying times.

WHAT MADE YOU CHOOSE YOUR PET? Sugar came into my life as a divine hap chance. I had gone to a friends place for a coffee and her cat had a litter. I was chatting with my friend when a four month old kitten waddles her little body from her litter and comes and snuggles into my lap.

It was love at first sight for us both and from that day till today nine years later, we are inseparable and we discuss everything. She is my counselor and my guide. While Cash was a much latter addition that, my older daughter Arzoo got home as she herself is a crazy pet lover and one of her friends cat had littered and she needed pet friendly homes for the kitten. Cash has just added so much camaraderie and bonhomie to my home.

How has life changed after you got them? My entire time post my work and anytime I get in between is spent with having such meaningful, sometimes nonsensical conversations with these two. I can’t imagine a life without them, cuddling them and they

HUSNA SAIT,

a bridal couturier by profession, a fashion addict and a brand connoisseur.

cuddling their small furry bodies into you is the most satisfying feeling ever.

FUN ROUTINE WITH THEM? Sugar has this habit of pulling my rubber bands from weird spaces she seems to find them wherever I hide them and keeps playing with them. Cash seems to have this amazing cache of energy.

She watches TV like an adult and keeps pawing at the screen when the characters move.

ANNOYING HABIT? Sugar has this annoying habit of eating plants and leaves so I have stopped having plants around. I request friends not to give me flowers as she nibbles on leaves and stems and whenever she does that she throws up, while Cash has this flirting with danger feel which worries me as she keeps hiding and I have to keep looking for her and find her at surprisingly small places after ransacking the entire house.

ADVICE TO THOSE WHO WANT PETS? I have never seen such

selfless loving caring compassionate companions like pets. They are just such bundles of giving. Having pets just brings so much joy and makes a happy stressfree home. Love is what we always seek and with my two pets my quest ended when I found them.

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Trending Now

JAIDEEP GANDHI, an entrepreneur who builds businesses.

A N I T H A K H O L AY,

i nternational Rally Driver and Owner of the race track Aruani Grid and Founder of Anitha Kholay Motorsports Academy.

YOUR PET’S FULL NAME AND BREED AND HOW OLD: Husky - Blizzard -9 months. Teddy - Shih Tzu - 9 months.

WHAT DO YOU LIKE ABOUT YOUR PET: The best things about my pets (any pet) is that they are children. I love Blizzard’s blue eyes and Teddy’s poofy hair. My blizzard has the best wolffish good looks and has a great walking style. He is fierce looking but very friendly. Teddy is tiny but actually the vicious one. I love his tri-color coating.

WHAT MADE YOU CHOOSE YOUR PET? My kids Aryan & Aanya chose their own pets and they're now a part of our family.

HOW HAS LIFE CHANGED AFTER YOU GOT THEM? They are children and I do invest a lot of time planning their meal, exercises etc and my routine is hindered. But as pet owners we are prepared for that. But irrespective of the breed they are all adorable and love you unconditionally and they do radiate positive energy.

FUN ROUTINE WITH THEM? Blizzard loves rain and walking him in the rain is the best thing I have done.

ANNOYING HABIT? As little puppies they chewed and ruined most of my footwear.

ADVICE TO THOSE WHO WANT PETS? Please provide pets with the right kind of quality food. They love and are born to chew on bones. They can’t be deprived of that.

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August 2019

PET'S FULL NAME, AGE, BREED: DOG:

Chuppy Gandhi, 11 years old, Indie.

CATS: Momo Gandhi and Dimsum Gandhi, 2 years old, Ginger Cats.

WHAT MADE YOU CHOOSE YOUR PET: The day I found her, I knew that very instance that she belonged to us. Since we always had pets, we knew that they shower us with unconditional love. However now that I live alone, they are pretty much my family. I was supposed to be a foster father to all three of them. Life had other ideas.

WHAT DO YOU LIKE ABOUT YOUR PETS: They are my biggest stress-busters and my greatest source of love.

WHAT IS UNIQUE ABOUT YOUR PETS: Each of them has a distinct personality and a unique way of showing how much they love you.

Fun Routine: For Chuppy: Morning walks, running after pigeons, playing fetch.

For Momo/DImsum: Playing with feathers and other toys Annoying habit: Chuppy: Greedy for treats all the time.

Momo: Always eating.

Dimsum: Comes to me only when she feels like it Advice: 1. Adopt don't shop. Indies are best suited for our conditions and they are low maintenance.

2. Keeping a pet is a full-time responsibility and if you cannot accept that then don't keep it.

3. The greatest injustice you can do to your pet is to treat them like a pet. They are family.

NEER A SOOD,

SAP Consulting Manager & Varun Rao, Automotive Manager Product Development.

YOUR PET’S FULL NAME AND BREED AND HOW OLD: Shayley, Indian Tabby, 5 years old WHAT DO YOU LIKE ABOUT YOUR PET: We love how she greets us with cute meows and demands to be petted when we come back home from a long day, how she runs around the house when in a playful mood, the sound of her purr and her meow and how beautiful she looks when she is sitting/ standing/running or even sleeping(pretty much anything she does, she looks like a decorative piece). She sleeps in crazy angles with her legs up in the air and her body twisted in the opposite direction which don't look comfortable.. but she is absolutely comfortable and fast asleep in those angles.

WHAT MADE YOU CHOOSE YOUR PET: We are cat lovers. We were considering having a pet cat when we moved to this house and Shayley happened to come into our lives around the same time as she was not getting along with the cats in her previous home and that's when we adopted her.

HOW HAS LIFE CHANGED: Shayley is a beautiful and calming presence in our lives. She helps us de-stress and is a calming presence in our lives. Watching her do just about anything - sleep, run, stretch out in funny angles, groom herself, sit on a high cupboard or shelf brings us a lot of joy and happiness.

FUN ROUTINE WITH HER: She meows in reply to 'Good Morning' and follows Neera around every morning. She shakes her tail lazily in reply to her name if she is sleepy. She

is very cuddly with Varun whenever she gets a chance and loves to playfully bite and paw at his hands.

ANNOYING HABIT: She sometimes starts meowing loudly like an alarm clock in the early hours of the morning or late night and does not stop until someone gets up and pays attention to her. Sometimes she is aloof and won't let us pet her.

ADVICE TO THOSE WHO WANT PETS: Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened' - very true and experienced first hand. A pet can be a great companion and a calming presence in your life. Providing a pet with a happy and healthy environment at home will give them a better, loving and safer life, and will give you a kind of peace and happiness which you may never have known without having one.

August 2019

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PAV I T H R A N ATA R A JA N , w r i t e r

YOUR PET’S FULL NAME, BREED AND HOW OLD: Chester Natarajan,

Indian breed and he's about 3 years old.

WHAT DO YOU LIKE ABOUT YOUR PET: His timid yet loving nature.

Chester has the cutest yet weirdest way of showing affection. When I'm away from home, he will sneak into my room, take something that belongs to me and keep it on his bed. It's adorable and I would like to think that it's his way of showing affection.

WHAT MADE YOU CHOOSE YOUR PET: That's a funny story. My mother was completely against having dogs at home, the fact that she will choose Chester over me now is a whole different story. One rainy night. wee hours of the morning, I heard a puppy whining. The minute I heard that, I prayed "Please don't be a puppy in the rain." Unfortunately, there he was. His mother didn't know what to do as her litter had gone in different directions and she was running helterskelter, helpless. I obviously got up and ran onto the streets. My mum and dad figured that I had heard the pup and dad followed me as well. After a while 4 pups ended up on our small compound where we parked the bikes.

They still were't allowed inside the house, it was the compound for now.

Soon, two pups found a home and we were left with Chester, and his brother. His brother found a home up the road from ours and then we were left with him. Chester, now being the only one left was allowed inside and before we knew it he was part of the house. My mum realised she couldn't give him up and 3 years, later he's the son they never had.

HOW HAS LIFE CHANGED: To start with... birthdays. On my dad's birthday my dad cut the, cake fed my mother and then gave Chester a slice.

Me, their very own daughter, sat there, jaw dropped. My father who said he

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August 2019

would never allow me to cook chicken at home, boils chicken for Chester everyday. I'd say life for them has changed, more than it has for me.

FUN ROUTINE WITH HIM: Chester's idea of fun is lying in bed chewing on his stick. That's about that.

ANNOYING HABIT: According to mum "He's perfect and can do no wrong."

ADVICE TO THOSE WHO WANT PETS: Adopt don't shop. These indies are smart and amazing dogs. We are Indian ourselves, yet we always look for "pure breed". Indies are pure breed as well. They are pure Indian, like you and me.

Trending Now

KOCHI

Pet Diaries!

Raising a pet today, means a lot more than just owning a fancy animal or keeping a canine to replace security guards. Pets are family, they are our companion, if we love them, spend quality time with them, they become our best friend! Ritz catches up with pet lovers across Kochi city who share their stories about the special bond they share with their pets!

Text: RIYA SONNY DATSON Photography: BINU AVARACHAN

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August 2019

WHAT WAS THE TRIGGER TO CHOOSE CHOCO?

I happened to see a photo of this puppy busy chewing his brother’s ear and I wanted to meet him, just on a whim. The minute I reached my friend’s place, the puppy detached himself from his family and headed straight for me as if he knew I'd come for him. So I picked him up and played with him a bit and then put him down to pick up another puppy to cuddle. And this tiny chocolate fellow turned around and gave a single tiniest indignant bark. I'm sure it was the first bark of his life, all of 21 days!

He then forced his way between us (me and the other puppy) and settled down on my lap. He was the runt of the litter, thin and scrawny…but he had a lot of spirit and energy- Not a moment did he want to sit still. But what really got me was his intelligence, personality and resourcefulness and how he was ready to explore. When I left, I couldn't stop thinking about him. All the time I was there, he was right beside me - unlike any of the other puppies. So I concluded that this was love, and this was meant to be. He's the dog I've always wanted.

The dog that I've dreamt of ever since I was a child.

HOW HAS CHOCO CHANGED YOUR LIFE? Having him in my life, opened up a deep part of me - a portal to a deeper connect with things around me, a greater sense of awareness and mindfulness which was key to my actively involving myself in animal welfare and also turning vegan. I started wondering, about how the freedom of another living being is completely in my hands. I feel Choco is extremely intuitive, intelligent, sensitive and loving. It might be a Labrador trait as they are used as sniffer dogs and therapy dogs, but whether it is a bad dream, a difficult day or an unpleasant emotion - there's something about him that drives it all away and it seems like everything is right in the world. Often the best moments of my day are when

S U DAK S HINA THA MPI , Yo ga C o ac h

Pet: Choco - A CHOCOLATE LABRADOR he silently expresses his love with a full body cuddle or that special way he puts his head on me. Choco also loves to travel and go places. So I take him with me whenever I can. We go to the beach, visit friends and go on short holidays together.

ONE ANNOYING YET LOVABLE HABIT OF YOUR PET? He falls asleep on me when I am doing Yin Yoga!

A FUN ROUTINE YOU ENJOY WITH YOUR PET? Our early morning walks that are non-negotiable! We have a group of friends who join us, so it’s a fun time. I let him off the leash sometimes as he is very obedient and loves to explore. It is my ‘Me’ time with him!

WHAT IS THE BEST ADVICE YOU WOULD GIVE TO PEOPLE WHO WANT TO KEEP PETS? If you don’t plan to treat your pet as family, please don’t get a pet. Especially

dogs, they are individuals, who are loving, intelligent and sensitive. It is almost as if we are raising a child, it involves a lot of commitment and responsibility. So if you are not upto it, please don’t get one. It is really unfair to lock them up and leave them outdoor in the night. To them, you are their whole life. They have so much life in them, they have feelings just like us, they love, they have social relations and they are intelligent.

August 2019

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JAYA LAKSHMI DEEPAK,

Founde r of Sugar c raft and Hooch a n d B a i l e y’s B a r k e r y Pets: HOOCH AND BAILEY - BOXERS WHAT WAS THE TRIGGER TO CHOOSE YOUR PET(S)?

All of us in our family love dogs including my daughter but she is allergic. So we decided to keep non furry dogs indoors so that we can ensure that they are clean. That’s how we chose to have a boxer. Initially we had only Hooch and later, my family got me Bailey as a gift.

HOW HAVE THEY CHANGED YOUR LIFE? I give my pets only home cooked meals and avoid giving them processed food as they are very sensitive. But to train them, I needed treats and I couldn’t find any natural treats at any of the pet stores. So I decided to bake them myself. To my relief, they loved it and I realised that there are a lot of others who would love to give their dogs natural treats. That’s how I started Hooch and Bailey’s Barkery.

My daughter is happier and healthier now and I feel kids learn to be more responsible when they have pets to take care of.

ONE ANNOYING YET LOVABLE HABIT OF YOUR PET? When we have guests at home, we leave our pets in the balcony and Hooch hates it. He immediately starts to jump like a spring almost 6 feet high which can get a bit annoying and hard to control. It is a trait of boxer breeds.

A FUN ROUTINE YOU ENJOY WITH YOUR PET? As they are indoors with us, we spend every moment with them. They follow me around throughout the day and understand our routines very well.

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August 2019

WHAT IS THE BEST ADVICE YOU WOULD GIVE TO PEOPLE WHO WANT TO KEEP PETS?

Keep them only if you can give them attention and love them. Dogs shouldn’t be kept for security and I personally feel they should not be caged. They should be treated like family.

WHAT WAS THE TRIGGER TO CHOOSE YOUR PET?

We have always had a lot of pets at home but I have always wanted to have a talking parrot. Since keeping a native green parrot is not legal anymore, I decided to try keeping a Conure.

HOW HAS YOUR PET CHANGED YOUR LIFE? We have named him Sunny Anna Eden and he is a part of our family now.

Since we got him as a baby, I had to hand feed him periodically, giving him the right type and amount of feed at the right temperature in the right way. It was almost like raising a child. He is very attached to us, especially me as I take care of him. If I have to step out, when I return home, Sunny is waiting to greet me. He will fly straight to me and I end up talking to him and cajoling him even before I talk to my husband or daughter.

ONE ANNOYING YET LOVABLE HABIT OF YOUR PET? Sunny can be very loud at times.

He is very intelligent and understands whatever I say. When the phone starts to ring, if I don’t pick it up, he will keep calling out to me till I pick it up. He is very possessive too and gets very noisy when I feed other pets.

A FUN ROUTINE YOU ENJOY WITH YOUR PET? During my training sessions with him, Sunny gives me a kiss and I reward him with sunflower seeds but at times, I refuse to give it to him just to tease him and he makes loud protests. Also, when I call out to him, he comes flying to perch on my shoulder but sometimes, I playfully duck and he misses his spot.

Those are some of the fun games we play we each other.

WHAT IS THE BEST ADVICE YOU WOULD GIVE TO PEOPLE WHO WANT TO KEEP PETS? Get a pet only if you have time to spend with them. Birds like Sunny are very active and intelligent. When taken

ANNA LINDA E DE N ,

Law student, home baker & wife of Honourable MP, Hibi Ede n Pet: PINEAPPLE CONURE NAMED SUNNY ANNA EDEN

as a fledgling, they get attached to the family and the family becomes its flock.

They get very depressed when we ignore them or if we have to be away from them for long periods as they have very strong behavioural traits.

August 2019

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Trending Now DR. NITHU DINA SALI AND MARCO WHAT WAS THE TRIGGER TO GET MARCO?

I was wanting to adopt a dog and was surfing through webpages when I came across a facebook post that said they had a Lhasa-apso for adoption. I decided to pay a visit to the place with my fiancé. When we went there, I saw this little guy sitting on top of a cat and tormenting it. As soon as it saw me, it came crawling and lay sideways for a belly rub. He was too cute to resist.

HOW HAS YOUR PET CHANGED YOUR LIFE? My entire day is focussed around him. I feel great that we have someone to come home to if either of us are traveling. He is a fast learner and good company. He loves to cuddle and stick around and so when we travel, we take him with us whenever possible. He has a separation anxiety, so we always ensure that someone is always with him if we are away.

ONE ANNOYING YET LOVABLE HABIT OF YOUR PET? He digs a lot of graves in my garden.

I keep him indoors but whenever he is out, he loves to dig deep holes.

A FUN ROUTINE YOU ENJOY WITH YOUR PET?

Our walks together. Although he is small, he is a territorial dog and tries to scare away other dogs who are bigger than him. He seems unaware of his size.

WHAT IS THE BEST ADVICE YOU WOULD GIVE TO PEOPLE WHO WANT TO KEEP PETS? Keep a pet only if you are really committed, have the time, the space and the love to invest in them. If you do, they are really worth it.

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Trending Now CHENNAI

THE

RISE OF

S E I D O O F I A N N # C H E Instagram, especially Instagram IGTV is packed with food bloggers and vloggers. Until a few years back, television was the only medium to telecast cookery shows and those were mostly watched by housewives. Today, Instagram is most popular among youngsters who are creative, passionate and up to date when it comes to culinary skills. The evolution of culinary interest among teenagers is absolutely surprising and the social media plays a very important role here. Instagram has taken cookery skills, photography, videography and content writing to the next level and unlocked doors for many food bloggers.

You may or may not know cooking but watching the method of cooking is always gratifying. It’s always a pleasure to watch the vibrant hues of the vegetables, the popping mustard seeds, the blend of exotic spices and the rise of papad as it surges in the hot oil. Even if you are an expert cook, you can still follow these Insta food bloggers to learn the new way of preparing and presenting the same old Sambar and Idly. Also these millennial bloggers showcase the best cuisines from various hotels and restaurants. Meet top five Instagram food bloggers from Chennai to know more about their gourmet world.

Text: VINITHA VENKATESHA 54

August 2019

How long have you been operating this handle?

I will complete five years in November. I started very small and at that time, I was not even aware of what I was doing but now I just love it. My passion has become my profession.

What is the inspiration for a shoot?

Food was my interest and initially I used to post my travel adventure, food experiences on my personal blog.

One of my friends suggested that I start a food blog on Instagram and Facebook and that is how it all started. Something that always bothered me were the comments from people outside Chennai.

They kept asking me ‘Apart from Idly, what else is there in Chennai?’

Being a Chennaiite and a vegetarian I wanted to tell people that there is so much variety when it comes to food in Chennai and my anger became my inspiration. What keeps me going is the love from my followers and when people really try out food from the places I have mentioned, it really thrills me. Now many hotels and restaurants invite me for collaboration and I just love it.

Why food?

Blogging about food came naturally to me. Photography was also one of my interests and combined effort was this food blog.

Are you able to monetize your account? What are your client requirements?

Yes, I have collaboration with brands, products and events. Chennai has event happenings every day and I post stories about them during particular timeline as per my client’s requirements.

FOOD TALK C HENNAI

Ekta Kothari

Blogger: Ekta Kothari Insta page: https://www.instagram.com/foodtalk_chennai/

How do you plan the shoot?

Do you shoot? Or do you have a photographer and a team? Tell us about some interesting experiences while shooting pictures I always go with the flow. I don’t do a lot of research about the restaurant.

If the restaurant wants a professional photographer I hire otherwise my clients are happy with my IPhone clicks. I do the edits on my laptop and I always believe sunlight is the key ingredient for good photography.

How receptive are brands and restaurants to your ideas now as opposed to when you started?

They really welcome us and our suggestions. Restaurants are very

receptive to our ideas and they work around that which really makes me feel happy.

Micro bloggers in other cities vs.

Chennai - what are the opportunities and what do you miss?

Chennai is lacking opportunities when it comes to food blogging because nobody knows what Chennai has to offer. Through my blog few of the Delhi food bloggers found out that Chennai has Murukku sandwich. But there are so many delicacies available exclusively in Chennai but not many know.

Approx. revenue you earn through your handle?

There is no fixed amount but it depends on each month, sometimes I get 10k sometimes 30k. Money is a secondary thing when it comes to food blogging. So if you want to make revenue out of blogging, I would say don’t try it.

Who is your role model?

I used to watch this food series on television called “Highway on My Plate” and the show host are Rocky & Mayur inspired me to do such kind of job.

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Trending Now

C HENNAI FOOD TR AILS

How long have you been operating this handle?

We started this handle on January 2018.

What is the inspiration for a shot?

Initially, we never had any inspiration to start food blogging. We just started it as a hobby and it has been a continuous learning process after that.

Why food?

Because it's FOOD! Food is the only thing that will make me happy at the end of the day.

Are you able to monetize your account? What are your client requirements?

Yes. Honestly we don't prefer monetizing our content because we believe in honest reviewing rather

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than advertisements. But we do a few paid contents periodically. Our clients generally have deliverables like a few posts and stories to engage their brand through our handle.

How do you plan the shot?

Do you shoot? Or do you have a photographer and a team? Tell us about some interesting experiences while shooting pictures All pictures are shot by us just with our mobile phones. We use OnePlus mobiles which gives great quality to the pictures we post. Shooting pictures is always interesting and being a photographer we take a lot of efforts to shoot every picture from finding the perfect light to make it visually appealing.

How receptive are brands and restaurants to your ideas now as opposed to when you started?

Brands always welcome our ideas and there is a steep inclination on the reception as our followers number increased as we grew.

Saran Avinash

Sandeep Sekar

Bloggers: Saran Avinash & Sandeep Sekar Insta page: https://www.instagram.com/chennaifoodtrails/

Micro bloggers in other cities vs.

Chennai - what are the opportunities and what do you miss?

I don't think there is anything that we miss out on. Chennai restaurant market is something which is growing every day and there is so much scope in future. Food is ideal for everyone and it'll never get out of trend.

Approx. revenue you earn through your handle?

We don't monetize our content much. But I would say somewhere between 2k to 5k on a monthly basis.

Who is your role model?

My role model is Chef Vikas Khanna and his work towards the food industry and how he evolved as a chef in his career inspires me.

How long have you been operating this handle?

Initially I used to post food reviews through Zomato app and that just went on to Instagram. I have been using this “CHENNAI FOOD REVIEWS” account for almost two years.

What is the inspiration for a shot?

Honestly there is no inspiration as such. I just started this blog to share my experience about my culinary journey.

What keeps me going is the love I receive from my followers through text message like, “your page is great, I’m visiting places after coming across your page” and that is what inspires me to keep going.

Why food?

I don’t think there is anyone who says, “I don’t love food.” Every person likes to try new food and one can’t just settle with one variety of food. The advantage of food blogging is you can start with just five rupees to progress to five star hotels. There is no budget when it comes to food blogging and it makes things easier.

Are you able to monetize your account? What are your client requirements?

Revenue out of food blogging is not enough for survival but it would probably work as a part time job.

Most of the restaurants have PRO and through PRO we get a chance to visit many hotels. Making money out of blogging completely depends on how you maintain the account.

How do you plan the shoot?

Do you shoot? Or do you have a photographer and a team? Tell us about some interesting experiences while shooting pictures It’s not necessary that you should own a DSLR. You just need a mobile

C HENNAI FOOD RE VIE WS

Praful siddharth

Bloggers: Praful Siddhartha Insta page: https://www.instagram.com/chennai_foodreviews/

phone with good camera, basic photography skills and a good post editing. My personal opinion is you don’t have to invest so much on camera to start blogging. There are moments while capturing the food at restaurant when people come and ask why I am putting in so much effort just to post it on social media. I agree that a good photo needs a lot of effort. I explain it to them and mention about my food blogging interest and the reason for putting so much effort.

How receptive are brands and restaurants to your ideas now as opposed to when you started?

The reality about Chennai food bloggers market - two years back there

were not many food bloggers but now there are 40 to 50 food bloggers in Chennai. Basically restaurants are happy to give freedom to the bloggers because they believe in our content.

Hoteliers also don’t impose us to post content in their favor even it is monetized.

Micro bloggers in other cities vs.

Chennai - what are the opportunities and what do you miss?

Compared to other city food bloggers like Mumbai, Delhi or Pune, restaurants accept food blogging as a profession and they are ready to monetize the bloggers efforts but in Chennai it’s just vise-versa. In Chennai most of the restaurants don’t understand the impact we create in every post and food blogging is just blooming here, it will take time. Maybe in the next two or three years food blogging will be a dynamic industry in Chennai.

Approx. revenue you earn through your handle?

In the past two years I would have earned 15K to 20K and I am expecting to do better in the next two years.

Who is your role model?

None.

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Trending Now Blogger: Govardhan Insta page: https://instagram.com/searchingsamayal_foodie?igshid=6ivkhiutybwy YouTube: https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCgs4fzwPRGHT3X6O18GaFJg

Govarthan

SEARCHING SAMAYAL

How long have you been operating this handle?

It’s been two years since I started this food blog in Instagram & YouTube simultaneously but the primary reason to start Insta account was to get more followers in YouTube.

What is the inspiration for a shot?

My father was a textile agent who used to travel all over India and he was my inspiration. I decided to travel and explore various cuisines across India.

Why food?

I wanted to tell my followers about every new variety of food cuisines and how I explore them. This is the main reason why I started this blog. I just travel for food and I have been doing this for the past 15 years before even blogging.

Are you able to monetize your account? What are your client requirements?

No. I do it for my passion and definitely not for money as otherwise the reviews will not be honest. I usually don’t make money out of blogging.

How do you plan the shot?

Do you shoot? Or do you have a photographer and a team? Tell us about some interesting experiences while shooting pictures

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August 2019

I don’t have any team for photography or videography but I learnt more about photography. Food is what I love most so I have put in all my efforts to give my best.

I don’t edit my photos in so that it doesn’t lose the originality and that’s my personal goal. Whenever I receive an invite from the restaurant I research about the place quality, kind of food available (menu) and I avoid the regular dishes and always look for unique and new dishes. I use POCO F1 to do my shoot.

How receptive are brands and restaurants to your ideas now as opposed to when you started?

There are both advantages and disadvantages in food blogging.

Some restaurants invite us to taste the food and blog about them while some vendors like street food stalls don’t understand the concept of food blogging and say no to photos or videos and some also get scared that we may charge money for reviewing their place. In such situations we explain the concept of food blogging in order to get what we want.

Micro bloggers in other cities vs.

Chennai - what are the opportunities and what do you miss?

Other cities have fewer restaurants compared to Chennai and the monetary opportunities are high when it comes to blogging. Cities like Madurai, Pondicherry and Coimbatore have more of street food vendors and making a revenue out of blogging is a little hard. Fortunately food blogging is a passion for me and I tie up my revenue goals with YouTube page and not with Insta.

Approximate revenue you earn through your handle?

Till date I have got 20 dollars through YouTube.

Who is your role model?

No one in particular.

Bloggers: Anichan Parthasarathi Insta page: https://www.instagram.com/madras__foodie/

How long have you been operating this handle?

I have been handling this account for the past six months.

What is the inspiration for a shot?

I’m not inspired by people but by food itself. My foodie friends Preeti, Balaji and my brother Nanghuran inspired me initially. I love food and I wanted to share my experiences with others.

Why food?

We humans live for food and work for food, so I chose food! I wanted to share food zones that were affordable for everyone. Basically good food should be recognized and everybody should taste it.

Are you able to monetize your account? What are your client requirements?

Till date I haven’t done any paid stories, maybe in future.

How do you plan the shoot?

Do you shoot? Or do you have a photographer and a team? Tell us about some interesting experiences while shooting pictures I don’t plan my shoot. I do it on the go while travelling, wherever I see good food I blog it. I’m an individual blogger & I don’t have any team.

Anichan Parthasarathi

MADR AS FOODIE

How receptive are brands and restaurants to your ideas now as opposed to when you started?

Initially there was no support from restaurants but when I reached 5K followers I got many invites from the restaurants for promotion. I never faced any bad experience in food blogging till date. I post Insta story only if I like the food.

Micro bloggers in other cities vs.

Chennai - what are the opportunities and what do you miss?

Chennai is still in its nascent stage when compared to other cities. Due to this lack of awareness, many restaurants are still not known.

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G N I T A CRE A NEW E P A C S D O FO BENGALURU

ways to ating new v o n in e r ie a and pubs camarader e ts n th a r to u g ta s in e visual most r t. Add tation and elcome twis ir robust content and e. n w e s a e r s p il d ta n the r is king a nd cock ith the clearly on e art of coo g the classic dishes a who have emerged w is th d o in fo ce h n r eyes. it e bsession w great rever ouvelle cuisine, givin ers and influencers, at with you o e a 's u y is o y it e c r of w e e o h h h T meets some te with n sh in on utreach. T food blog g o la ca e A a r e p T g to a u e P s s h e y th U a in ir e w e s G is plea ITA with th ious cu out for enticing ow. NA M t foodies on the look tion of var r and wide ger br igade is using ll a r fa fo b s le r ly e e ce r v e d lo m n a od log arden ngues n, lur ing fo xper ience and the b and our to read the word to the y a w e e presentatio th y r d a sp so at. a multi-sen t it is our eyes that le 're doing their bit to o and lounge Eating is a h th in w e s ts r s in e ce g d n g e u to u rch s d infl tspots Even resea blog gers an ing new ho k d o n a fo p s p to 's Bengaluru

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Name of your blog?

I run a blog called She Knows Grub. I had my friends pitching in and suggesting – and that’s how the name came about as it sums up the whole idea quite well. I write about food and whisky, because it is something I know, understand and connect well with. And most importantly I love writing about it so that it is an experience everyone can enjoy.

DE BO LI NA R AY One thing you love about cooking and eating?

About cooking I love making things I crave for – like a Kosha Mangsho, or Calcutta style Chili Chicken.

Eating food, and good food is like a conversation without speaking. There’s culture, technique, art, history – so much that can be come across from the chef over a meal. So I love embracing those experiences, some as a gourmand and some as a gastronome.

How important are photographs and knowledge of food for food bloggers?

When I started writing, knowledge of food was essential as well as the ability to articulate and write. Photography, videos, social media were secondary, you could almost getaway with not caring about pictures. But things changed very fast as the social media wave caught on where visualisation is far more important than words. I wouldn’t think for a food blogger; the knowledge of food is ever optional. But other skills are very important too.

One fun / interesting experience as a food blogger?

When we go out to eat with friends, and even colleagues – they don’t start

eating until I take photos, I mean I am almost expected to always click before I eat! And when I don’t, they take up the responsibility of ensuring the world sees what we ate.

What else do you do other than food blogging? How lucrative is it being a food blogger / influencer?

I write about food mainly because I love food and love telling people where to eat and what to eat! I work as a Product Manager in a tech firm in the city. In Bangalore, a lot of the bloggers and influencers do this part time. So, it’s driven by the passion to explore and create content. The folks who develop recipes and menus, it’s quite a good market out there, especially around the health and clean food segment. There are also events and product launches that happen, which work on barter.

With growing number of food startups and tech food platforms, there is a lot to get around.

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Name of your blog?

My blog is titled AriGami and is derived from my pet name Ari. I was always keen on writing about everything that mattered to me. We are all unique in our own ways and in a greater sense of the word-Special! It was this need to feel special which got me into creating a word infusing my name into it – AriGami=Everything about Ari. However, it was impossible to find a blog URL with the same, and I settled for worldofari.com

ARIJIT CHOUDHURY One thing you love about cooking and eating?

I was always excited to create new flavours using different ingredients and how their respective proportion changed the taste and look of the dish. I used to be unhappy with the spice levels in my mom’s cooking and tried to modify them, adding my own flavours and spices to it. This was how my knack towards cooking developed at pre-adolescence, and soon after, I was cooking all sorts of dishes, sometimes looking at recipes or creating my personal version otherwise.

I have always had a thing for extremesand hence, bland and spicy foods are my absolute turn-ons. I love French cuisine with its somber appeal and basic flavours, whereas the spicy notes of Indian and Asian cuisines intrigue me equally. I love the various options food offers strikingly different in taste, flavour and presentation.

How important are photographs and knowledge of food?

Photographs are the primary specimen of what a blogger is trying to showcase. The responsibility of a blogger goes beyond simply a decent picture of a dish. A food blogger needs to visualise the dish and present it to their audience in the best way possible.

Good knowledge about photography including focus, natural light, aperture and lighting conditions go a fairly long way to a good shot, but without a clear vision, the picture will lose its relevance.

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It is important to recreate the story of the dish as envisioned by the chef, only then can a picture speak a thousand words.

Knowledge about food is imperative for someone to call themselves a food blogger. It is not always possible to know about various types of cuisines in the world, but one should always have a genre and area of expertise and try to work from there upwards. Knowledge is never-ending and to be able to write about and illustrate cuisines successfully, basic to intermediate knowledge is essential. It is not possible to know everything, but an effort to listen, absorb, and research goes a long way in making a blogger produce quality content.

An interesting experience as a food blogger?

I get to experience a variety of cuisines. Recently, I was chosen to be one of the Chief Tasting Officers of Havmor Ice Creams to be selected among thousands of applicants from all over India and was flown in to Ahmedabad at the Havmor Factory to have a first-hand feel of how ice creams are made. We also created our very own signature flavours as part of our 3-day workshop in there and tasted each flavour.

What else do you do? How lucrative is it being a food blogger?

The world of food Blogging is not hunky- dory from a career perspective.

It takes time and a lot of hard work to finally establish yourself where one can expect decent earnings. It is important to

find your niche within food blogging and work up towards setting up a successful brand around the primary skillset. The world of food blogging is vivid-in order to start earning you have to identify your genre and start from there. Be it a food critique, recipe developer, home chef, event curator, coordinator, or food stylistevery niche is unique and has a unique career graph. Hard work, dedication, and resilience are the only keys to success.

It is lucrative only when you are able to identify your niche and present it to your audience that your efforts are appreciated and well- compensated. I'm a Creative Content Writer by profession. I decided to walk away from an IT Technical Writer’s job to follow my passion via blogging and started with food blogging and now cater to various categories of lifestyle. I'm also a speaker and volunteer for mental health awareness and intend to spread my views on the same via my audience.

It is our duty and mission to show the right path and lead by example. As an influencer, you should always speak the truth-whether you get paid for it or not.

Name of your blog?

For a food blogger, the name is everything. Stashing up little precious things that's close to my heart has been my habit.

"The Crumb Stash" means stashing up precious food experiences and preserving every morsel of exquisite food I come across wherever I travel.

Hence "The Crumb Stash".

D E E PA S H R I R A J A N Photo Courtesy: Frame Me Photography Location courtesy: Big Pitcher

One thing you love about cooking and eating?

There is nothing more amazing than the love one has for food. Cooking to me is like meditation. I find myself being one with food and creating an gastronomical experience that others appreciate is something I love about cooking. There are few things in life which would truly make or break a person. Eating and serving delicious food at the end of a hectic day can even awake a broken to a fully inspired soul.

How important are photographs and knowledge of food for food bloggers?

It’s always important to have a distinct personality for your Blog/ Instagram feed and the best food photographs can help showcase it in a meaningful way. Absolutely lipsmacking and drool worthy food pics that makes people double tap a pic in your Instagram feed or adding a punch of glam to your content makes it a delectable looking blog that’s a welcome sight for any of your readers. Creating content on food experiences is certainly not a cake walk. Your knowledge about food portrays the confidence you create on your content, So, before

posting a pic that whips up the desires in your followers to go grab it, doing a research on that cuisine whatever you are exploring is important. Interview the brands, understand the core theme, some on-ground trends and develop the content along with your research to create quality content. This makes you grow as a reliable food blogger with a good reach and that knowledge will inspire people to break their shells, come out and explore various delicacies around them.

An interesting experience as a food blogger?

Winning a prize from Celebrity Chef Ranveer Brar for the second time at the World On A Plate, 2018 for winning the quiz. It means a lot and I would cherish it forever.

What do you do other than food blogging? How lucrative is it being a food blogger / influencer?

I'm a hospitality consultant apart from being a food blogger. Food blogging is lucrative but getting there is quite a long term process. Keep following your passion, keep writing good content, be consistent and keep posting the best. Brands with similar values will definitely connect.

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Name of your blog?

BUTTERTHEORY. I just love butter a lot, so I was thinking of blog names with butter. Butter theory is when we toss a slice of bread in the air, it always falls with the buttered side down.

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One thing you love about cooking and eating?

I enjoy cooking seafood at home. I just love eating Mexican food and my favourite restaurant is Sanchez.

How important are photographs and knowledge of food for food bloggers?

I spend a lot of time clicking and editing pictures to post on my blog. I believe people now have time only to scroll past images and only stop at good images to read the content around it.

Instagram is here to stay! Knowledge of food is very important for bloggers as they interact with chefs and are usually the first set of neutral critics that could help restaurants tweak their dishes.

An interesting experience as a food blogger?

I’ve always wanted to understand how a restaurant dishes out tens of orders to their guests without making mistakes. So, I always enjoy the privilege of a kitchen tour by the chef to get a firsthand experience!

What else do you do? How lucrative is it being a food blogger / influencer?

I'm a software engineering manager at a leading startup called Postman. If you have the right mix of contacts and stellar engagement rates, you could go a long way in becoming one of the trusted influencers for brands to pay you a great fee for collaboration! I’d say one could make anywhere between 7-15K INR per engagement, depending on your reach.

Name of your blog?

My food blog is called Grubitizer. It is a combination of ‘Grub’ and ‘Appetizer’. I wanted a unique and catchy blog name that had some significance towards food, hence the word ‘Grub’ and Appetizer/Starters is my favourite course of a meal.

P R AT H E E K P O N N A P PA One thing you love about cooking and eating?

I generally, eat out a lot and have experienced different styles of cooking.

On that context, cooking to me is picking the best dish I’ve had outside and replicating it at home in a very toned down and healthy manner.

How important are photographs and knowledge of food for food bloggers?

In my opinion, understanding food requires three primary things to be in place – visualise the presentation, aroma of ingredients and taste of the overall product. The first aspect (visual) is fulfilled by taking good pictures and the other two aspects, aroma and taste can be conveyed only if the blogger is knowledgeable about food and is aware of the history/origin of a particular dish. Every story a blogger conveys has to have a balanced approach between these aspects of understanding food.

An interesting experience as a food blogger?

I was part of a media table at an Italian restaurant covering a food festival menu. The chef bought a dish and a started explaining about it, a part of his explanation we heard

the term ‘Chicken Caviar’. There was awkward silence on the table after the chef left and finally someone popped the question asking what he actually meant by Chicken Caviar. None of us knew and even Google didn't give out any search results, we eventually had to call the chef who clarified it was Sago soaked in Chicken broth! We all had a good laugh at it.

What else do you do? How lucrative is it being a food blogger/ influencer?

I'm part of an analytics product team at Capgemini Being a food blogger is not mere clicking pictures and posting it on various social media platforms. One has to have a website or a magazine where the commercial aspects of the writing can be materialized. Lately, YouTube has been the go-to media platform as it pays much more than having an AdSense enabled website. Travelling to different territories and understanding the culinary secrets of that place is one of the many things that makes blogging a lucrative profile.

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Name of your blog?

My blog is called Sin-AMon Tales, it’s a play on my name and my favourite spice Cinnamon bringing in a bit of sin too.

MONIK A MANCHANDA

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One thing you love about cooking and eating?

Creating memories and feeding people. Cooking is a way of showing love & care for me, whether it is for myself, friends or family.

How important are photographs and knowledge of food for food bloggers?

Knowledge of food shouldn’t even be a question, if you are a food blogger you have to know your food.

And if you don’t you should be ready to learn about it. The hunger to learn about your primary subject is essential to everyone! Photographs have decent importance too, we all eat through eyes before we taste it especially on social media. But it is critical to match those pretty pictures with substance. Only overtly styled pictures where I don’t get to know anything about it is no good!

An interesting experience as a food blogger?

Too many to list but the funnest part has to be engaging with readers online and offline in workshops and events!

What do you do other than food blogging? How lucrative is it being a food blogger / influencer?

I'm an ex-IT professional turned food blogger, consultant, home baker and I also conduct culinary workshops.

I can’t comment on direct earrings from the blog alone, but with a career built around and from food blogging as a base I earn a decent take home every month. One with which I can sustain my life.

Name of your blog?

It's called PlatedThoughts.

As a content writer, I wanted something that connected with that aspect as well as my writing on restaurants in Bengaluru and wherever else I travel/visit.

Mine is purely about reviews and experiences, I don't post recipes.

NATAS HA ALI

One thing you love about cooking and eating?

Cooking for me is about experimenting with flavours and also a way to connect with the various food cultures I have grown up with.

Hyderabadi Muslim cooking, Tam Brahm cooking - these were day in and day out at home, alongside my mom's Indo-Chinese and Tamil nonveg dishes. As a teen, I moved to the US, and got exposed to a whole slew of cuisines there. What I love about eating - well aside from the satisfaction of a delicious meal, it is about discovery, and I plan my trips whether to Ahmedabad or Florence or Kuala Lumpur, around explorations of that place's food culture.

How important are photographs and knowledge of food for food bloggers?

I write for a living, and I'm more convinced than ever that long form content is not something people engage with as much. So today, I think it is the pictures that get more attention and so being able to take a good pic is essential for food bloggers. That said, I often I'm cringing when it comes to the posts people put up in the name of blogging and talking about food. Having at least some knowledge of cuisines and flavours and food culture should be a requisite, not to mention the ability to write a sentence clearly. But I'm well aware that I'm in the minority here these days it seems like anyone with a camera and blog /instagram handle becomes a food blogger.

An interesting experience as a food blogger?

One of the most memorable was being at a dinner where Chef Gary Mehigan, of Masterchef Australia, conceptualised, cooked and served up a meal for an exclusive group of diners. Aside from his love for food and cooking and his great storytelling, he interacted with those seated at all the different tables. I was one of three bloggers there - one of those times when I felt rather privileged to be part of the scene.

What else do you do? How lucrative is it being a food blogger / influencer?

I do food writing and influencing purely out of love - for food, for trying new places, for spending time with the food fam and because I want to share my experiences with food. I'm not in it for money, and have stayed away from turning it from passion and hobby into a paid gig. However it does seem like it is lucrative, seeing that quite a few folks I know gave up full time jobs to pursue blogging. I work for Wipro currently, for their inhouse magazine and also a part of the marketing team.

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Name of your blog?

The Foodie Tales and it's for any foodie who loves good food and wine, travel and lifestyle.

NITIN HAJELA

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One thing you love about cooking and eating?

As a trained chef from IHM Lucknow, I love to do lot of experimental cooking along with the usual ones. Cooking for me is like yoga, as I find it very relaxing.

I love to plate my dishes as I feel it is an expression about my personality on the plate.

How important are photographs and knowledge of food for food bloggers?

Photography always makea a dish look more appetising and desirable.

Therefore it's always good to have good photography skills especially for social media platforms. But as a food writer, knowledge of food is paramount and it is a continuous learning process. These days most bloggers focus more on clicking good photos and in that process forget to relish the food at the right serving temperature.

An interesting experience as a food blogger?

There are plenty of unforgettable moments, meeting top chefs and food personalities from across the globe and trying some exotic foods, all have constituted my journey as a food blogger and influencer.

How lucrative is it being a food blogger? What else do you do?

Around 10 years ago, I started writing about food as a passion without any monetary motives. But now times have changed, it has become quite lucrative for many in the scene. Apart from this, I run a boutique hospitality consulting company and I'm also into independent IT consulting with a US based firm.

Name of your blog?

I am the editor for G2K (Good to Know) an online F&B an online media platform that is into F & B consultancy, restaurant launches and is also a media and news portal on Facebook.

RUPA BALACHANDAR

One thing you love about cooking and eating?

I made a decision a long time ago to turn vegetarian and since I travelled and lived in many countries, I enjoyed learning about native foods, herbs, spices and techniques that I acquired along the way. I have a fascinating collection of stories related to food, art and history from around the globe. I love making vegetarian versions of world cuisines that retain authentic flavours of the different regions I’ve had the opportunity to live in.

How important are photographs and knowledge of food?

Like with any industry, food writers have to be outstanding in their field, many fail helplessly for a lack of understanding on how to photograph a subject! With such a vibrant social media, it is saturated with persons claiming to be experts, but they don’t really have the necessary skills/benchmark to do so. For example if you have never eaten Pasta in Italy or Sushi in Japan, then it’s a bit tough and does not put you in a position to write or critique it!

An interesting experience as a food writer?

I lived in Malaysia for a brief while and sadly I fractured my foot as soon as I got there. So on my first week of being able to walk I slowly made my way to the “Pasar” (market) at the end of the street I lived in, on my crutches and a kind elderly Malay gentleman helped me figure the different vegetable prices and carried my bag back home! On our way back, he insisted we stop at the Chinese bone setter across the street to buy TCM (traditional Chinese medicine) and healing herbs. When we got to my home, he showed me how to make an herbal soup... and the thing is he did not speak English and I did not speak Malay... we communicated as caring humans and understood each other perfectly well despite our major handicap because of our love for food!

How lucrative is it being a food business?

I never intended for my passion about food to have a financial benefit, however I was offered to do a TV cooking show for Eenadu TV (Etv) that

was dubbed in several languages! I canned (taped) over 550 episodes and it was quite a thrill to see my passion turn out to have monetary gains, and a very lucrative one at it! My mentor Suresh Hinduja believed in my ability to write insightful articles and offered me the editorship at G2K that is involved in F & B consultancy, restaurant launches and digital marketing for many restaurants pan India.

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BIG CHEESE! KOCHI

Food is an invincible part of our life. For a foodie, if there is anything more satisfying than relishing an appetizing meal, it is curating one. And today, to every foodie’s delight, social media offers a platform to share your love for food, your unique curations, restaurant reviews, recipes, tips and tricks in cooking, baking, sugarcraft and much more. Read on to know how popular Keralite food bloggers across the globe started out with their blogs and what it takes to have a successful blog!

Text: RIYA SONNY DATSON

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M AYA A K H I L Blog: Yummy O Yummy Insta page: http://instagram.com/maya_yummyoyummy

Mango pannacotta

How did you start food blogging?

I was passionate about food from a very young age. I loved being around my mother whenever she was making delicious dishes to catch the aroma and to taste the food. My mother never let me cook so once I got a kitchen of my own I just dived into cooking. Only then did I realize that I was excited about not just eating, but the cooking part as well.

The blog happened in 2010 because my husband thought it was a good idea to have a place for all my recipes since I wanted to share them with friends.

Most of our family recipes are passed down to the next generation by word of mouth. My blog is also a humble attempt to document these before they are lost forever.

What is the one thing you like about blogging?

It would be the response from my readers. It gives me immense gratification to know that people are trying and enjoying my recipes.

What do you think are the key elements to a successful blog?

Passion, good content and consistency. When you start, you might have very few readers which is very disheartening but keep on posting.

People will ultimately discover your blog.

Blogging requires a lot of time and the

financial returns are not great at least during the initial years, so you need to be devoted if you are looking to succeed.

Does your blog tie up with food brands for reviews?

I have been getting requests but I have never tried so far.

Most memorable food experience: It would be from our Europe trip.

Most memorable would be the breakfast from a local French bakery in Paris with Fresh croissants, hot chocolate and freshly squeezed orange juice. Though it was very simple, we loved the experience.

We stayed in a non-touristy place and got to enjoy the Parisian way of life.

A Chef you follow like an Idol: I don't have a Chef Idol but I do enjoy Gordon Ramsay's cooking style.

A food show you never miss: I used to love watching Antony Bourdain travel around the world, tasting different cuisines on the travel and living channel. And then later I watched a lot of MasterChef series.

One dish or meal that you enjoy cooking and why?

I love the whole process of making a biriyani. Cooking the aromatic rice, masala, frying the onion, cashews and raisins, the chopped herbs, and then the layering - I just love all the steps involved in making a biriyani. Such an intricate blend of ingredients and technique resulting in this fragrant, mouth-watering dish!

One dish or meal that you relish having and why?

It would be nadan food - Kerala rice with fish curry, thoran and moru curry.

I can have it every day but still never get bored.

Your philosophy on food: I believe in the power of food to bring people together. My food philosophy is all about balance - eating what you love but still be responsible to oneself. Having unrealistic food goals will not lead to a healthy, sustainable lifestyle instead I suggest having everything in moderation.

Food is not just physical nourishment, but it nourishes the mind and soul as well.

Lets make our mealtimes the happiest of all.

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Trending Now R I A M AT H E W Blog: Ria's Collection Insta page: Ria's Collection (http://instagram.com/riascollection)

How did you start food blogging?

I started my food blog as an extension to my recipe diary, Ria's Collection. It was just a humble attempt to save and share recipes that I have been collecting from family & cookbooks. Food blogging was unheard of at that time, so I didn’t know what I was getting into when I started in 2010. When my little brother saw me emailing a couple of recipes to my cousin, he suggested that I start a blog to save time and effort. It was only when I received the first comment on my post did I realize that the whole World could see what I was sharing! I couldn’t understand how it all worked.

It was a very hard-to-describe exciting moment for me.

What is the one thing you like about blogging?

Being a food blogger opened up various opportunities that I wouldn't have had if not for my page, ‘Ria's Collection’. I am truly grateful for that.

Now, after 10 years, I would say that the best thing about food blogging is that my children can one day read it all and cook the recipes that I have shared. Ian, my 7 year old son always asks me if I have shared all his favourite recipes on my blog & YouTube channel, just so that he can look at it and remake them when he is bigger. It makes me want to share more because my food blog is like my journal and to see that my children appreciate it is a very heart-warming experience.

What do you think are the key elements to a successful blog?

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Quality & consistency in what you do! I personally feel that you need to find your own voice and write using that. It's perfectly OK to get inspired by another blogger but try not to copy their style. It will not last long.

If you are using someone else's work, give credit where it's due. Since I run a food blog per se, my readers come back because they feel my recipes are accurate & quick.

Does your blog tie up with food brands for reviews?

I have worked for brands as a recipe developer & content creator.

Most memorable food experience: I can’t pick one because I love to cook, eat and entertain! I have so many amazing memories - all of them are around our family tables and that also includes all the loud happy voices around that table. But one thing is for sure, it was never at a restaurant!

A Chef you follow like an Idol: I love Zoe Francois! She is an amazing Pastry Chef, author and friend. Her food is incredibly tasty and is like a piece of art every single time!

A food show you never miss: I grew up without having a cable connection at home so I rarely watch TV now. When I do, it's almost always a cooking show! I can never get tired of watching Ina Garten and Nigella Lawson.

One dish or meal that you enjoy cooking and why?

I truly believe that there's a grandmother living inside me. I love to cook age old recipes as much as the latest trends. The satisfaction that I get when I nail down an old generation recipe is like none other.

So on any given day, I would love to cook our good old Meen Vevichathu /Pork Vindaloo with utmost care and attention in getting the colour right along with finding the perfect balance between 'uppum puliyum'.

Honey Chili Potatoes

One dish or meal that you relish having and why?

It will hands down be a home cooked meal complete with 'Chorum, Kachimorum, Urulakkizhangu Mezhukkupurattiyum'. I have very vague yet fond memories of Amma feeding me, a 4 year old, little balls of rice that was mashed along with kachiyamoru and urulakkizhangu mezhukkupuratti while I sat on the edge of our Jeep's trailer in our Estate Bungalow porch. Some memories stay with you for a lifetime and almost all of mine are associated with food.

Your philosophy on food: I personally believe that quality is more important than quantity. It makes a lot of difference to not just the taste but also about how you feel after you eat it. Practicing good food hygiene and safety can prevent most food borne illnesses. I think food is one of the main things that connects generations.

When it comes to my family, I try to preserve our age old family recipes and continue to cook them irrespective of how involved a recipe can be.

Luckily, my husband and kids are very appreciative of my efforts in doing so and enjoy everything I make. So even if it means that I have to make an extra long trip to our Oriental store to buy frozen banana leaves, I will still make our nadan Ela Ada for tea on a rotation because it's like a warm big hug from home especially during the subzero Minnesota winters!

TEENU TERRENCE Blog: Letsstalkfood Insta page: www.instagram.com/letsstalkfood

Iris Cakes

How did you start food blogging?

I’ve always loved food and I’ve loved writing. I believe there is so much all of us can take home from the concept of food and culture and keeping that in mind, three years ago, I combined two of my biggest interests to form Letsstalkfood and there has been no looking back.

What is the one thing you like about blogging?

Learning something new about food every single day.

What do you think are the key elements to a successful blog?

Every blog has its own success mantra. A formula that works for one blog need not work for another because follower interests vary. The bottom line, however is that the content is exciting, interesting and unique.

Does your blog tie up with food brands for reviews?

Yes. Most memorable food experience: The sheer energy at Lau Pa Sat Hawker centre Singapore. I could visit that brilliant food market every single day and never be bored.

A Chef you follow like an Idol: Oh wow! Too many to mention really. I love Nigella Lawson’s writing, Chef Vinesh’s innovative desserts, Massimo Bottura’s sheer genius, Heston Blumenthal’a creativity, Kylie Kwong for her bright and brilliant

flavours, Sanjeev Kapoor because I grew up watching that charming face on TV... the list goes on.

A food show you never miss: Master Chef Australia without a doubt but off late, it has been the celebrated Netflix show Chef’s Table.

One dish or meal that you enjoy cooking and why?

Chicken curry and rice- it’s warm, comforting and one of the first dishes I watched my mother cook.

One dish or meal that you relish having and why?

No matter which restaurant I frequent, my tastebuds always hone in to my mother’s delicious cooking every single day. If I were to have a last meal on earth, it would be a plate of rice, fish curry, curds, pappad, prawns ularthu and cabbage thoran. All cooked by my mother.

Your philosophy on food: I think food is a living, breathing entity around which amazing people and unique cultures thrive. We need to be open to the food experiences

Cream Craft of other cultures, only then will be we open to accepting knowledge and understanding that we have a long road to travel when it comes to truly understanding food concepts and the talented people behind them.

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Trending Now MARIA JOSE Blog: MariasMenu Insta page: @mariasmenu

How did you start food blogging?

I was a newlywed at the time and was new to cooking. Surprisingly, I found it fascinating. I started writing down the recipes I’ve tried in a notebook, and Jose, my husband, suggested to document it online, and that’s how MariasMenu got started! It started as my personal online recipe diary, and well, it still is, but it has just become more organized and elaborate.

What is one thing you like about blogging?

There are many things I like about blogging, but if I’ve to pick just one, it’s sharing the recipes with my readers.

Whenever I try a new recipe successfully, I am eager to share it with my readers and to see their reactions and response.

After 13 years of blogging, I think the “excitement” of sharing the recipes with my readers is one constant that keeps me going.

What do you think are the key elements of a successful blog?

For a blog to be successful, first and foremost, you need readers for the blog.

The “connection” between the reader and the blogger is a significant factor for a successful blog. When it comes to a food blog, the readers should feel a connection to the kind of recipes that you share and also the stories that you share with them.

Apart from that, I think frequent posting, responsiveness, and genuineness.

Does your blog tie up with food brands for reviews?

We haven't yet associated with any

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brands. Though we have nothing against such practices, we’d like to keep it as it is for the time being.

Most memorable food experience: I always connect food with the memories associated with it, and that’s what makes it unique to me. In that sense, the most memorable food experience is having Pesaha Appam and Paal on Maundy Thursday during my childhood. The entire family coming together and my grandfather cutting the Appam and distributing it from the eldest to the youngest member in the family, spanning four generations, is something that I always cherish and hold close to my heart.

A Chef you follow like an Idol: I’m a home cook who is into pretty basic everyday cooking with occasional baking. Since my style of cooking is simple and nothing fancy, I don't follow any particular chef as such. However, I do enjoy watching series like Chef’s Table and similar shows.

A food show you never miss: I do watch tons of cookery shows and cooking related documentaries. But then again, there is no particular show or series that I’m addicted to. My current

fave is the “Great British Bake Off” series on Netflix.

One dish or meal that you enjoy cooking and why?

I love baking, especially simple cakes and cookies. I have a soft spot for homemade bakes, and one of my fav cakes to bake is White Chocolate Mud Cake. It’s a simple cake, but it’s very rich in flavor with a crusty top and soft, tender crumbs. It’s always a hit with our friends and family.

One dish or meal that you relish having and why?

Palappam and Stew! It’s more than food to me, it’s the taste of home, the smell of home, the feel of home, it is home! Rich and creamy, mildly spiced coconut milk gravy on top of the crispy rentha of the Palappam, in one bite, makes my body and soul happy and content!

Your philosophy on food: Food has to be real! I’m not a fan of pretentiousness where food is concerned. I’m kinda traditional when it comes to food. I feel the home-cooked meal should look like a home-cooked meal, and I like it when the classic food combinations and tastes are given due respect.

A PA R N A BA L A S U B R A M A N I A N Blog: My Diverse Kitchen (www.mydiversekitchen.com) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aparna.balasubramanian

Masala Vada

How did you start food blogging?

I started blogging in 2007. My original plan was to consolidate in one place and easily share recipes from my traditional Palakkad Iyer cuisine. My blog is also a collection of food that I cook and bake in my kitchen which is vegetarian food from India and across the world, hence the name of my blog – My Diverse Kitchen.

What is the one thing you like about blogging?

There are a few things but if I must mention just one then it is that I love how the love of good food can connect people beyond religious, geographical and social boundaries. It makes the world a smaller place.

What do you think are the key elements to a successful blog?

For a food blog, one of the key elements would be a true love of good food and the ability to connect with and convey that passion to one’s readers. Beyond this, finding and

filling a niche that readers will come back to, and blogging regularly and honestly...Depending on the definition of success, in today’s world, it might include being very visible on social media with a huge following.

Does your blog tie up with food brands for reviews?

Sometimes, though not on a regular basis.

Most memorable food experience: One of my favourite childhood memories is one supper time when my cousins and I decided that we weren’t hungry. At our grandmother’s insistence we agreed to eat a couple of mouthfuls of a mixture of rice, yogurt and rasam. We sat cross-legged on the floor with our palms stretched out waiting for our turns for a ball of the rice mixture. Given we weren’t hungry, and that I dislike rasam, we ended up eating a whole lot!

A Chef you follow like an Idol: I have no idols amongst chefs, Indian or otherwise, though I do like

watching some of them on television on and off.

A food show you never miss: I must confess to missing a lot of them, but I have watched Masterchef Australia the most.

One dish or meal that you enjoy cooking and why?

Mysorepak, the way my mother and maternal grandmother made them because it connects me with them. It also helps that it is one of my favourite things to eat.

One dish or meal that you relish having and why?

This a is a tough one because it is difficult to pick one. A simple meal of warm rice, fresh yogurt and spicy baby mango pickle is the ultimate comfort food for me.

Your philosophy on food: I don’t know who said ‘we are what we eat’ but it is true in a way. Food is our identity and says a lot about us from in terms of who we are, how we live and our journey through life. It is at the centre of our home, our families, our memories and our connect with the rest of the world.

Gulit Free Chivda August 2019

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True ESSENCE food

BENGALURU

&FLAVOURS

OF ASIAN CUISINE

Head to Sriracha - Robata & Contemporary Pan-Asian Dining for culinary delights that look as good as they taste

Text: NAMITA GUPTA Asian flavours are all the rage currently in Bengaluru. When you meet a chef who has travelled across Asia to present the best of its flavours back in your city, then you know you're in good hands.

Ambience: As you step into Sriracha, you notice the balance between sophistication and restraint, in sync with the food served. A vibrant mural painted on the concrete wall offers a striking contrast to the simplicity surrounding it with a burst of colours.

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The Robata Grill housed in the restaurant is the focal point with the rest of the interiors settling around it. It's a Saturday afternoon and the restaurant is already buzzing with diners. Chef Vikas Seth brings a cart to whip up a delicious and crunchy Som tam - green papaya salad live in front of us. He pounds together an irresistible combination of green papaya, chillies, green beans, cherry tomatoes, house sauce, lime and peanuts

SRIRACHA KHMER BARBEQUE August 2019

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food and garnishes it with some grapefruit and malta. The salad is not just healthy but lends a burst of flavours that linger on. There's a Robata grill live in front of us dishing out Robatayaki grills with a quintessential Sriracha twist. I'm already in love with the upbeat mood all around as I settle down for an Asian culinary sojourn.

Food & Drinks: It's food that does the talking here. DIY experiences of the Robatayaki Grill, Khmer barbeque grill and Som tam salad live mixing are winners hands down. The Khmer Bbq Table is a traditional Cambodian way to barbeque meats and vegetables.

The Round Metal Grill is placed on a live charcoal “Phnom Plung” or “Fire Mountain” and the outside is filled with a broth. The grilling is done on the dome in the center of the Khmer Barbeque and once the meats are cooked on the grill and veggies steamed in the broth, they're all placed in a bowl. It makes for a wholesome and flavourful meal.

Also try their grills like the Fresh Turmeric & Red Chili King Prawns with plum and pineapple salsa, Tamarind & Lemon Grass Chicken, Pork Belly Char Siu, the Shitake Mushroom in garlic soy butter, Charred Broccoli and Fresh Spring Rolls that are basically thin Rice Paper Wrap filled with Fresh Red Chili, Lettuce, Garlic, Scallion, Carrot, Basil, Cucumber, Glass Noodles and Bean Sprouts. A must-have dish is the Pandan

Leaf Wrapped Cottage Cheese that oozes of interesting flavours and freshness and simply melts in the mouth. I also loved all the dim sums not just for the play of bright colours, but for its subtle flavours.

The Charcoal Seafood dumpling was innovative and delightful. All the sauces and dips that are served with each of the dishes are zesty and flavourful.

Another dish that is bang on in terms of flavours is the Amok Trey. I had the fish version (there's also Chicken and Tofu Amok), as I had tasted the same traditional Cambodian Fish Dish on my trip to Cambodia. Sriracha's Fish Amok Trey is authentic and comes coated in a thick Coconut Milk, Egg And Kroeung Batter, steamed in a banana leaf cup and served with Jasmine Rice. I'm definitely going back for more of the Fish Amok. For desserts, try the Salted Date Caramel, Almond Crisp, Shredded Tender Coconut and the Sumatra Dark Chocolate Mousse with Coconut Cream and Crushed Peanut Tuile. The Signature Sesame Honey Mini Cones with Organic Honey is also a must-have.

Men behind the making: Director Siddharth Mankani says, “While Sriracha in UB City captures the essence of Asian cuisine, the idea for the new restaurant is to present live and interactive cooking techniques and make relatively unexplored culinary traditions of the East accessible.” Director Karan Virwani says, “Our aim with the second chapter

of Sriracha in Indiranagar is to innovate and bring new and progressive culinary experiences to the table.” Save a trip and just drive down to Indiranagar as Chef Vikas Seth traverses a path across the Orient, making stops at Thailand, Malaysia, Japan, Indonesia, Vietnam, China the relatively gastronomically unexplored Cambodia and the culinary world’s hot-spot, Singapore to present his creations that blend the age-old East Asian traditions with the new seamlessly.

Chef Vikas Seth, Culinary Director who has scoured recipes from across East Asia while creating the menu explains, “During our travels we encountered several dishes and meals, both authentic and modern and our menu is a fascinating melange between the two. Each dish has been carefully chosen and draws its unique character from our exclusive Sriracha touch to it.”

Sriracha is where you can get an immersive experience on this side of the Silk Route!

Where: Sriracha Robata & Contemporary Pan - Asian Dining, 608, 1st Floor, 12th Main Rd, 7th Cross, HAL 2nd Stage, Indiranagar, Bengaluru.

Call: 080 4220 0082.

Som Tam Salad at Sriracha

Fresh Spring Rolls at Sriracha

Sriracha Indiranagar

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spotlight

STYLING THE MILLENNIALS

"I WANTED TO CREATE THE ENTIRE LOOK, NOT JUST THE OUTFIT" Suresh Menon

Text: ANCY DONAL MADONNA An apparel brand owner, a fashion designer, a MAC make-up artist, a celebrity stylist, all rolled into one, Suresh Menon is the jack of all trades. He has been fascinated with the world of beauty and glamour from a young age and has always had a creative streak. He was sketching away by the time he was in school. "I was always good at sketches and illustrations and loved playing, draping with mom's

saree and even stitching them to create my own pattern," he says.

At 18, young and ambitious, Suresh started by assisting the leading designers in Chennai back then and also with top clothing brands. Later MAC Cosmetics came in and he took it full time as a makeup artist and sooner he was loaded with ad campaigns and shoots. Over the years, his skills and workmanship have become a blockbuster hit with his client. Though he has worked on several campaigns and runway shows, bridal makeup has always been the high point of his work. The love for design, made him step into styling and makeup too. To fulfill his passion he created a one-stop-shop for people’s bridal needs, clothes, styling, hair and make-up, recently in Nungambakkam.

Suresh Menon is a force to reckon with in the world of glitz and glamour.

The multi-faced individual is very much in demand by brides and celebrities.

He's been dolling up stars like Akshara

Haasan, Shraddha Srinath, Anupama Parameswaran, Manjima Mohan, Aishwarya Rajesh and leading ladies in South.

Talking about fashion trends, Suresh says, "I don't believe in one particular trend every year and I would always bring in a small element of mine to be unique to give an experience of how a Suresh Menon outfit would be." He likes to incorporate and experiment with contemporary patterns and motifs that add a subtle yet classy touch to his work. His designs speak for themselves as he creates emotions and keeps it dramatic and classic as well.

Over the years, Suresh’s work has bagged him immense recognition like the Youngest Fashion Designer Award 2016, Rising fashion stylist-Chennai besides others. Freelancing, his own line and styling for shoots keeps him hopping from one project to another and he is all excited for his upcoming events. "I am right now working on our upcoming fashion show which is not just for clothes but for art as well, and I'm excited to unveil the fashion trend," he shares.

Talking about his recent works, Suresh says, "I've recently done a bunch of projects like an Ad campaign for Prince Jewelers, Akshara Haasan for a movie trailer launch, GayathrieShankar for the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne." He is currently focused on bringing back the magic of Avant-garde, experimental work with respect to art, in an effortless and glamorous way. Suresh has recently launched summer collections and it received an overwhelming response from his clients and followers.

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fashion

CHENNAI

Show Stealer!

Be it as a child artiste or as a grown up star on the small screens or in playing character roles on the silver screens; Neelima Esai has been there and done that! An actor and producer, Neelima is a well known face across almost all the households of Tamil Nadu, for she has played many memorable characters and earned an indelible name for herself! Check out what she has to say about the ongoing Bigg Boss Tamil Season 3 and quite a few other things...

Navy Blue Lotus Block Printed Maxi Price on Request Red And Blue Kalamkari Design Jhumka Price on Request

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Wardrobe and Styling: @shopthat1too Location Courtesy: Somerset Make up: Vijiknr (BronzerMakeover) Hair: Jayashree

Blue Floral Block Print Crop Top Skirt Jacket Set - Price on Request Afghan Kuchi Oxidised Kada - Price on Request

DO YOU WATCH BIGG BOSS? I don't have a TV at home (laughs), but I have a Hotstar account on my phone, so I follow the show.

As for the members of the house, I know two: I have met Madhumitha at shooting spots and I personally know Cheran uncle well. Sometimes I feel bad that he is in a place where he has to behave in a certain way but it is also exciting to watch him run around with youngsters like Tharshan and Mugen, collecting points. It shows how much of energy he still has in him. I'm waiting to see how much more he is going to achieve.

WHO IS YOUR FAVOURITE CONTESTANT? I don't have a favourite yet.

Nobody can judge a person within 50 days. The members of the house themselves are right now changing the initial opinions they had about each other. I think we should wait before making a decision.

IS THERE A CONTESTANT YOU DON'T LIKE? To be honest, I see them all as real people. Deep down, they aren't playing a game, they are living 100 days of their lives under our scrutiny.

Whatever their habits, I just take to be a part of their character. I cannot comment on somebody else's character.

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fashion RAPID FIRE Vintage Rahman or Modern Rahman?

Vintage! Because I've lived with the old songs for a longer period of time! My daughter might prefer the modern songs...

-Postcard or WhatsApp? WhatsApp. In those days, even telegrams would reach late. But today WhatsApp cuts back on the time lapse.

-Have you received any greeting cards or letters or any such communications?

(Laughs) not really..

-Era of Sridevi-Simran or the Nayanthara-Trisha era It is always Simran for me. Be it her dressing or her figure.. she just has to come onscreen and we would be engrossed. Back then there used to be only 3-4 top ladies like Jyothika, Simran and Sneha. Today, we have many more options. It is like there are about 50-60 actresses who are among the top heroines.

-Rajinikanth's Padaiyappa era or Petta era?

Basha, Annamalai, Padaiyappa, Muthu! The scripts back then, were wonderful. Now, the newer films are also really interesting.

--

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Red Block Printed Gharara Kurta Dupatta Set - Price on Request Orange Multi Stone Oxidised Silver Ring - Price on Request

Red Vintage Afghan Kuchi Oxidised Neckpiece - Price on Request

Alaipayuthe or Ok Kanmani?

Alaipayuthe. I was in school when that movie released. So it has a nostalgic value for me.

-Vijay Deverakonda or Madhavan?

Madhavan! I have acted as his sister in a movie. Maddy bro treats everybody so well on the sets. He is the one who taught me that there is no such word as "wanted" - what we should be saying is "intentional".

-90s lover-boy Vijay or the mass hero of today?

He is still that good old lover-boy and his movies still have that aspect.

I prefer the younger Vijay!

-How about Ajith?

Vaali and Poovellam Un Vaasam! those movies are forever etched in one's memory!

--

WHO DO YOU THINK WILL WIN THIS SEASON? You know, both the audience and the inmates are bound to say Tharshan. He is honest and physically strong. He is straightforward with people. But we don't know for sure - there are factors like wildcard entry. New people, who are more capable, may come in.

YOU DEBUTED WITH VIJAY SETHUPATHI, BOBBY SIMHA, KARTHIK SUBBURAJ... ARE YOU STILL IN TOUCH WITH THEM AND HOW DO YOU VIEW THEIR GROWTH? Yes we are still in touch. I spoke to Nalan and Sethu only 4 or 5 days ago. I'm so happy at their growth, because they deserve it.

Even during our short film days, we used to feel that they would one day make it big. Now it is gratifying to see that intuition turning out to be true. And they have not changed, as people. The fact that I can still get in touch with them and expect their advice while in need, is heartening.

SO, COULD WE EXPECT A COLLABORATION OF THE OLD TEAM? (laughing) But, I have to grow in my career to deserve that.

Royal Blue Kurta Gharara Dupatta Set - Price on Request Antique Afghan Kuchi Oxidised Leg Kada - Price on Request

August 2019

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TRANSFORMERS

A

VISIONARY

FOR ALL TO SEE

BY SANJAY PINTO

(Sanjay Pinto is an Advocate practising at the Madras High Court, Columnist, Author, TV Political Analyst, Public Speaking Mentor & Former Resident Editor – NDTV 24x7)

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When a young ophthalmologist did not see eye to eye with his father, a veteran in the field, on continuing in government service, a promise was made. In the early nineties, Dr.N.Rajan had retired as the Deputy Superintendent of the Government Ophthalamic Hospital in Chennai, the second oldest institution of its kind in the world. Hailing from the old school and strong government mindset, he had agreed to gift his son land in T.Nagar to set up a

private eye hospital on the strict condition that about 35 per cent of patients should be treated free of cost. Dr.Mohan Rajan, who started Chennai's Rajan Eye Care, now a city landmark that will celebrate its Silver Jubilee next year, has more than kept his word. A lakh and a half free cataract surgeries and seven thousand five hundred corneal transplants, along with the distribution of three and a half lakh spectacles would make the senior Rajan smile and look down from heaven

with pride.

The seeds of altruism were sown in Mohan's Primary school. When he was in the sixth standard at PSBB, the legendary founder Mrs.YGP had introduced an 'Each One, Teach One' scheme. So under Mohan's tutelage was a first standard boy Palani from a Corporation school.

“I noticed that he used to place his books very close to his face, indicating an eye problem. I took him to my father who diagnosed a minus 22 power issue. We treated him and gave him free Vitamin A tonic. I am still in touch with Palani who is now married with 2 kids and works in the government co-operative society. Having developed detachment of the retina, we performed a surgery to help his vision.”

The land aside, there was a bigger inheritance. A mantra – to 'treat every patient as your parents' has been religiously followed at Rajan Eye Care. “My father used to often tell me: 'Don't bother about money. God will take care.” Even during his short initial two and a half year stint as a government doctor in Acharapakkam, where he would travel 15 kilometres on a TVS 50 moped everyday, Dr.Mohan Rajan started eye units in Primary Health Centres with money from his pocket.

God has funded the hospital's multi pronged charitable programmes.

Like its Nethra Vahana – a sophisticated van built at a whopping three crore rupees sponsored by Cognizant Foundation and the Vijay Amritharaj Foundation.

“For the first time in India, we have taken tertiary eye

care to villages. One and a half million patients have been screened across seven districts in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.” The van is a full fledged mobile eye hospital. “We treat the patients inside the van itself.

We do angiograms of the eye and surgeries for cataract, glaucoma and so on.”

This massive exercise ties in with Dr.Mohan Rajan's goal of a 'Blind Free India' “We conduct comprehensive eye check ups for the rural poor. Cataracts, corneal injuries and refractive errors are regularly screened.”

By roping in Celebrity Sight Ambassadors, Rajan Eye Care has endeavoured to shatter myths about eye donation. From star cricketers like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Adam Gillchrist, Muthiah Muralitharan, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kris Srikanth and Kapil Dev to actors like Surya, Karthi, Jayam Ravi, Sneha, Prasanna, Prashanth and Vijay, not to forget the inimitable Vijay Amritharaj himself, these celebrities have pledged what they preach.

“No patient should ever be refused treatment because they cannot afford it. That has been our philosophy all along. We trust patients. If someone says they cannot afford the fees, we don't ask for income proof. While there are separate operation theatres for free patients and those who pay, the facilities in both these places are the same. There is zero discrimination.”

Blessed with a great team, with the likes of Dr.Ravi Shankar, every doctor in the hospital displays immense patience

Dr. MOHAN RAJAN & Dr. SUJATHA MOHAN, Rajan Eye Care and professionalism, often beyond the call of duty. The hospital is bound to produce quite a few Padma awardees.

Eye care clearly runs in the family. When Dr. Mohan Rajan was working at Sankara Nethralaya, under Dr.Badrinath, his mentor, it was love at first sight with Dr.Sujatha! An accomplished ophthalmologist herself, she developed expertise in treatment of the cornea and glaucoma with lasik.

An award winning eye surgeon, Dr.Sujatha is the recipient of the Nari Shakthi Puraskar, presented to her by the President of India on International Womens Day, last year. The Rajans have

two daughters – Sashwanthi and Madhuvanthi who have walked in their footsteps.

When he isn't examining patients, Dr.Mohan Rajan plays golf. A former cricketer who represented Loyola College, captained the Madras Medical College team and played for TNCA in the 3rd division, he has a keen eye for detail. A quality that has put Rajan Eye Care on a strong wicket. Its success story is more than an eye opener for other hospitals. Here, Corporate Social Responsibility is not an eyewash and returns are reflected in smiles not balance sheets.

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corridors of power

A

GIVING ADMINISTRATION A HEALING TOUCH

By SANJAY PINTO

Dr.ALBY JOHN, IAS, Deputy Commissioner (South) Corporation of Chennai.

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A farmer in Piravom town in Kerala's Ernakulam district sowed the seeds of sacrifice decades ago.

And the harvest reaped has been more than bountiful. Circumstances had forced a bright John Varghese to discontinue his education after Class X to shoulder the responsibility of the family. Neither his humble earnings from his grocery shop, nor that of his wife Salomy Varghese, a Lab Assistant in the Health Department ever came in the way of giving their children the best possible education. As the couple scrimped and saved every rupee earned, their two sons – Alby and Athul would get more books than toys. Vacations were more in the form of travelling together for inter-school quiz competitions and debates.

Alby went on to study medicine at the Jubilee Mission Medical College, Thrissur and Athul completed a BTech degree from NIT, Calicut. But the Johns were not doubting Thomases. Their dreams were bigger than joining a hospital or opening a clinic or working in an industry.

Alby John was enamoured by the IAS. But having studied in small town schools, he didn't quite have the confidence to take on the rigours of this fiercely competitive examination. “During my internship, a senior friend had cleared the exam.

That boosted my morale and right after my internship, I wrote it and by God's grace and my parents blessing, cleared it in the first attempt.” By 'cleared', Alby meant getting the All India 4th Rank! Preparation over eight months was in between his part time job in a hospital.

Alby picked Medical Science and Malayalam Literature as his optional subjects. “Many small things I did in school and college helped me.

Like I was a quizzer and also into public speaking and creative writing.

I did not join any institute but many senior friends from the quizzing community who cleared the exam gave me useful tips.” In keeping with one of the Ten Commandments to 'honour thy father and mother', Alby turns emotional. “Whatever I have achieved in my life, I owe entirely to my parents and the many sacrifices they made.”

With a 'Dr' prefix and the magical 3 letters 'IAS' after his name, Alby hit the road in Devakottai running.

A tough revenue sub division in the state, maintaining law and order, stopping illegal mining and land grabbing and demolishing encroachments were the challenges for the new Sub Collector. “I worked on an integrated rehabilitation project for transgenders in the division. Being one of the arid districts in the state, I also took interest in renovating the tanks in the region. I had my first lessons on Municipal Solid Waste Management in Devakottai and Karaikudi Municipalities in my division.”

Baptism by fire in Devakottai placed him in fine form to head the Corporation of Tuticorin as its Commissioner. “With Swatch Bharat Mission funds, we were able to make a turnaround in waste management and ensure 100 percent door to door collection and segregation of waste in one year. Today, 15 Micro Composting facilities across the city process the wet waste while most of the dry waste fraction is being sold to recyclers in the city.

We also decided that the proceeds of the sale of the recyclable waste can be distributed among the sanitary workers themselves and as on date Thoothukudi Corporation has disbursed a whopping 1.5 crore rupees to sanitary workers. In fact,

we were able to reduce the volume of waste that’s going to the landfill from 220 metric tonnes to 130 metric tonnes. Our ultimate dream was to close down the landfill and convert that space into a Biodiversity Park. I believe the city is in the right direction and it will be able to make it one day.”

That was not all. The Tuticorin Corporation emerged as the first local body in the country to invoke the 'Extended Producer Responsibility' principle. “We sent around 2.5 lakhs plastic wrappers back to manufacturers. We took a lot of initiatives to get the town rid of single use plastic and promoted alternative products. In fact, we took the retail vendors in to confidence and through the retailer’s association, Thoothukudi started a Plastic buy-

back scheme in all the shops in the city.”

Car free Sundays on a 2 km stretch on the Beach Road in Tuticorin were started to give a fillip to “public engagement.”A Kayaking Club and a Bicycle sharing system was started in the backwaters of Tuticorin and a water sports facility was initiated along the Muthu Nagar Beach.

Twenty five thousand new water supply connections were provided, obviating procedural delays with House Service Connection Melas, roping in banks to give EMI facilities for the one-time deposit.

As news of Alby's environmental crusade and proactive administrative measures spread, he was placed in the hot seat as the Regional Deputy Commissioner – South, Chennai Corporation. Under his

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corridors of power sway are 5 zones in the civic body.

The wide turf was not the only challenge. “There were elections right after I joined here and I was the Returning Officer for Chennai South parliamentary constituency and we completed the elections in a fair, free and transparent manner.”

Given his avid interest in Solid Waste Management, Alby noted that being one of the largest cities in the country, Chennai's garbage footprint is also huge, pegged at around 5000 tonnes on a daily basis. “On instructions from the Commissioner, we are trying to decentralise the waste management process with Micro Compost Centres and Material Recovery Facilities. We have identified the Bulk Waste generators in the city and have given them an ultimatum to take responsibility for their garbage and to process it themselves. However, the end result is only possible with public engagement and participation and we are regularly interacting with Residential Welfare Associations and are organising regular awareness drives.” The Chennai Plogging Challenge with citizens as volunteers to clean the city is his brainchild. As is a project for the holistic welfare of sanitary workers.

The task of “identifying the small waterbodies in the city and trying to restore them to their original capacity” is underway. “We cleaned the Porur lake last week and I am also in the process of initiating Rain Water Harvesting in at least a thousand houses in each ward.”

And if you have often lamented how we launch satellites into space but persist with manual scavenging, Alby's robot 'Bandicoot' is the antidote to clogged manholes.

An essential quality in a good public speaker is the art of listening.

Alby is not the typical pen pusher.

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“I give people a patient hearing. I always respond to calls and messages and try to take feedback from all levels. In fact, most of the initiatives in solid waste management in my earlier tenure were based on suggestions, feedback and criticism received from the sanitary workers.!”

An officer with a few years under his belt may be viewed as a green horn.

Here's a green warrior on a mission.

Listening also promotes thinking out of the box. In Tuticorin, for instance, Alby rolled out a project named 'Water Stand Posts' to give water supply connections to slums in the city. Since slum dwellers did not have their property assessed, often due to the lack of land titles, the administration was unable to give house service water connections to them. Long queues in front of public fountains was a regular sight. “Speculation that giving water connections would mean that these houses were getting regularised, making it impossible to do future eviction drives was rife.

We took a leaf out of the Bombay Municipal Corporation's initiative in Dharavi and introduced a concept of water stand posts where we give community house service connections to the doorstep of the slum tenement. The connection is metered and a self-help group, formed by 2 or 3 houses, would foot the bill. From the doorstep the plumbing and distribution of water is the responsibility of the Selfhelp group. This ensured potable drinking water supply to the slums without compromising on the policy of “no water supply connections without property assessment.”

The term 'subordinates' doesn't seem to exist in Alby's lexicon. They are viewed as partners. That streak perhaps led to the successful wooing of his Medical College junior

Gopika Rajeev! The bridal march ensued after a few years. Gopika is now pursuing a Post Graduation in Radiation Oncology at the Adyar Cancer Institute.

When he isn't playing with his cute toddler son - Siddarth Rene, Alby loves to mentor underprivileged students for the Civil Services Exam. Even after moving from Tuticorin where he had started a free Coaching Centre, he is in touch with many students.

His face lights up everytime he gets a message from them. “Six of them have cleared the Group 1 prelims and I am sure some of them will make to the final list.”

The rough and tumble of administration leaves Alby John with little time for his hobby of writing short stories in Malayalam. Action is more meaningful than fiction!

(Sanjay Pinto is an Advocate practising at the Madras High Court, Columnist, Author, TV Political Analyst, Public Speaking Mentor & Former Resident Editor – NDTV 24x7)

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Spotlight

Mrs YGP

- A torchbearer who lit a flame in many hearts

By VIDYA PINTO

I

I was fortunate that I have lived during her time and was lucky enough to take her blessings. Mrs YGP was like a giant pizza. Name your favourite topping and you would find a generous portion of it in her and you get to have a memorable slice to relish and cherish.

While feminism today is whittled down to mere freedom of choice...."I'll wear what I want to I'll drink and party as I wish", she was a true embodiment of feminism. Her life was a saga of empowerment.

The scores of lives she had touched and transformed, the countless awards and achievements under her belt are further reaffirmation of that.

If I look up for couple goals it would be Mr and Mrs YGP. What a partnership it was! When she once saw me working behind the scene during the first convocation of our public speaking course at PSBB, she called me on stage and was all praise for my work and remarked that Sanjay and I make a great team and that I was "Sanjay's life support". To say that those words 90 August 2019

were an honour would be such an understatement.

The 'Research Science Intitative' - a month long annual summer camp for select school students at IIT Madras, to understand and explore what science has in store for them, was her brainchild. To lessen the academic rigour during those days, she introduced extra mural lectures in the evenings. I was privileged to be invited to address the students for the last five years.

And she has attended three out of the five without fail....once even during inclement weather when I was wondering if I should venture out. Listening to what I had to share with childlike enthusiasm and appreciating my lecture from the bottom of her heart would be my intangible prized possession.

Have you heard of schools running Movie Appreciation courses? Another novel idea of hers that I was lucky to be part of at PSBB. With her younger son Mr YG Rajendraa steering the course, the students got to watch classics during school hours and were encouraged to write reviews

after each movie that was screened.

In her nineties, she would read all the reviews and send back her admiration for the students' understanding of the film. When I read those handwritten notings from her I used to wonder if she had more than 24 hours in a day.

Last year my twins were part of a programme for the 1st and 2nd standard students. Dressed as Russians, my kids were looking forward to perform before their beloved Dean. When people give lame excuses to ration their public appearances and choose to attend only absolutely important events, Mrs YGP not just came there on time but stayed for the entire show, addressed the kids, jocularly asked them if they knew who she was and happily posed for selfies and a group photo after the programme.

The kids were lucky to have had their slice of her too.

Spotlight

T H E A Q U A - C A LY P S E

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By SIDDHARTH AIYAR

The water levels in Chennai for the last few years have a pattern that strongly resembles certain political parties! Both of them are deteriorating, and fast. But, as much as we would like to blame the rain gods for the failed monsoon, we must remember an age old quote; God helps those who help themselves.

What this suggests in today's context is that - instead of moaning about the lack of rain, let us pull up our socks and work towards saving water, which is more than what we can say about certain elected bodies that were supposed to make Tamil Nadu great again. Before coming up with my special range of oh-so-obvious type of solutions, let us move our eyes to the diamond of the continent of Africa South Africa.

Decades of misuse of fresh water, a drastically increasing population and consistently deteriorating annual rainfall levels wreaked havoc in this country, and slowly, but steadily, dependence on the water table and freshwater sources, like lakes increased. As usage of this increased, the government gave vague warnings to the residents to stop excessive water usage. These requests, however, were ignored by the general public, which has resulted in extreme levels of water table deterioration.

Recently, in 2018, South African authorities had announced that Cape Town, a major city, had reached a point from where there was no turning back.

The 'Day-Zero', where piped water would cease to exist, was looming upon them. For some reason, the Capetonians panicked.

Water in the Cape Town market became

something of a novelty. Prices of water suddenly soared, and water conservation measures were implemented on a massive scale. To the credit of the Capetonians, they did manage to postpone Day Zero by a whole year.

Many cynics, myself included, believe that the entire Day Zero announcement was a bunch of bilge that the authorities used to make the Capetonians work to conserve water. Well, if this was indeed the case, it worked.

Down south, in the Gateway of South India, authorities have acquired 2.75 MLD of freshwater from Vellore, and have asked for 10 MLD more. We, as citizens, however, cannot merely rely on this, and have to come up with conservation measures as well.

While allowing the authorities to handle the politics, here are a few things that we can do, to prevent Chennai from becoming a water critical city: 1. Drips take away those drops: I'm sure a lot of you have heard those 'dripping-taps-waste-1000 liters' facts a billion times already. However, this cannot be limited to a mere facts. It means ACT. We cannot remain indifferent to the fact that these facts are what's going to matter after a point. It is a fairly simple process.

Check whether your taps are dripping, check whether your house has water harvesting measures that work. This will help in recharging groundwater levels, and, eventually, ensure that water scarcity steadily reduces. Remember, for every

drop of water you waste, somewhere on earth someone is desperately looking for a drop of water!

2. Economize, economize, e c o n o m i z e : Limit the usage of water.

The amount of water that we use is really excessive. I mean, let’s face it, we aren’t really thinking about water scarcity when we’re bathing. What I’m saying, however, is that we should. The more we think, the more we can save. Instead of using 15 minutes in the shower’s equivalent of water, use half a bucket of water. This will give you that extra bit of exercise as well!

On a serious not, however, this can save up to 50 liters of water a day. You need not be an economist or a mathematician to work out the benefits of this.

3. Innovation and you: The tagline of Koninklijke Philips N.V. perfectly captures the essence of what Chennai needs. Innovation. New thoughts, new ideas, new tools. There is, for instance, the sink-cum-flush. Here, there is a glass partition above the urinals, which acts as a sink. The water used for washing hands is used to flush the urinal. Such innovations can help infinitely.

4. Knowledge is power: As citizens, we have a certain obligation to the region where we live. This means that spreading awareness regarding the water crisis, and solutions to the problem. This will ensure that the problem reaches the ears of an audience that would not normally have access to this awareness. A wider target audience means that water-saving measures are implemented on a larger scale.

Thousands have lived without love, but not one has lived without water. Let’s not be the first generation to prove it right.

Nisi Aquam; Nisi Terrae.

Amen.

(Siddharth Aiyar completed a Creative Writing Course conducted by the Silver Tongue Academy Resource) August 2019

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Travel

ISLAND OF

ODS

THE G

Text: NAMITA GUPTA

EXPLORE THE DENSE FORESTS, TAKE A DIP IN THE WATERFALLS, GO BEACH BUMMING, DIVE IN THE DEEP BLUE OCEAN WATERS OR GET ENCHANTED WITH THE ANCIENT TEMPLES AS YOU IMMERSE YOURSELF IN THE SURREAL BEAUTY THAT NATURE HAS GIVEN IN ABUNDANCE TO THE BEAUTIFUL BALI. It's very hard not to fall in love with the picture perfect beauty of Bali. My previous trip to DREAM BED Bali when I was much younger, was about AND COCOON indulging in its night life, exploring the AT WESTIN many wild pubs and bars and living it up to RESORT NUSA the fullest. But, this time I saw this stunning DUA island of Indonesia through different eyes, as it handed me gems and marvels at every stretch and I immersed myself in the treasure trove that the bounty of nature has to offer. As I got my visa on arrival stamped for free and emerged out of the Ngurah Rai International Airport, I was welcomed by the sight of the 75-metre tall statue of Garuda atop a hill, overlooking the airport and I promised myself a visit.

Just about 500 metres away from the airport, MAIN POOL you'll spot a celestial scene of Ghatotkacha AT WESTIN Karna war at the Patung Satria Ghatotkacha RESORT statue, stationed at a busy junction, giving you a stunning visual of the Mahabharata.

Bali is filled with references and inspirations from the Ramayana and Mahabharata. Culture is a big thing for the Balinese and the statues and installations all over speak volumes about its dominant Hindu population, representing the religion of the country for the past centuries. It won't be wrong to say that religion is everywhere in Bali.

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GARUDA WISNU KENCANA CULTURAL PARK

After checking in at The Westin Resort Nusa Dua, my home for three nights in Bali, I visited the 120 metres high, second tallest statue in the world, that took over 25 years and around $100 million to build.

The enormous copper and brass sculpture of the Hindu God Wisnu astride the mythical bird Garuda called the Garuda Wisnu Kencana Cultural Park has newly opened and can be called as the mascot of Bali and is a must-visit. The story goes that Garuda agreed to be ridden by Vishnu in return for the right to use the elixir to liberate his enslaved mother. Garuda mythology is linked to that of Aruna – who runs the chariot of Surya, the Hindu Sun God. It's a sight to behold and evenings here come alive with the Kecak dancers showcasing a captivating performance. Besides being a form of entertainment and an expression of devotion to the Gods, dance here is a way of carrying on the legacy of instilling cultural values. These vibrant dancers perform the Kecak, a form of Balinese Hindu dance, based on the story of the Ramayana, at the Garuda Wisnu Kencana Cultural Park every evening. This lively and engrossing show is traditionally performed in temples and villages across Bali.

Bali is teeming with Instagrammable spots all around. It is an utopia. Next up on my itinerary that I chalked on my TANAH own, was a visit to Tanah Lot, meaning LOT Land in the Sea and was built to worship Bhatara Segara or the sea God. This mostphotographed temple in Tabanan dating back to the 16th century is best visited at sunset time. If you want to witness some rituals with Balinese women carrying offerings on their head to pray here, then plan a trip during Odalan, which is celebrated every 210 days.

Bali's scenic sea temple Tanah Lot Back after an entire day of sight-seeing BALI'S entering The Westin Resort Nusa Dua located in an exclusive enclave on Bali's SCENIC SEA southern peninsula, overlooking the TEMPLE Indian Ocean, is almost like entering TANAH LOT the gateway to heaven. Spread across a sprawling lush green property, it has 433 modern luxury rooms and suites with pool, garden and ocean views, designed with touches of nature and Balinese accents reflecting in its tropical surroundings. There's never a dull moment at this upbeat resort - there's plenty of recreational facilties like spacious pools, waterfalls on one side and the beachfront on the other side, where you can get your adrenaline rush by trying some water sports. I rented a bike and cycled my way around the quiet flat roads flanking the seductive beaches in the most spacious and tranquil part of southern Bali.

A rejuvenation sanctuary, the award-winning Heavenly Spa by Westin reinforces the sensory experience of indulgence. Some of its healing and beauty rituals are a must-try, if you're looking for complete bliss and relaxation. When in Bali, indulging in a spa treatment is a given. The resort is clearly committed towards making families feel at home. No wonder then that it has repeatedly been awarded as the premier resort for family holidays in Bali.

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And that's not it. Dining at The Westin Resort Nusa Dua takes the hospitality metre a few notches SUNSET VIEW higher with its exciting options. Prego is the OF WESTIN perfect stop, if it's authentic Italian fare you're RESORT craving for. From freshly baked bread and pizzas, to home-made pastas cooked in classic lip-smacking sauces, the entire menu is inviting and will leave every gourmand satiated. I was very impressed with my most flavourful Italian meal at Prego. Velada Tapas Bar & Kitchen is where you can sip on some cocktails and tuck in some tapas. Hamabe is their Japanese restaurant famous for its teppanyaki counter. My favourite was the sushi and sashimi counter. Those with refined tastes can also enjoy the robata grills too. Seasonal Tastes, resort's signature dining venue with live interactive kitchens is where I indulged at the lavish breakfast buffet in a neat market style selection of Western, Asian, Mediterranean and Indian dishes, besides superfoods with nutritious ingredients. Indonesian restaurant named Ikan, on the white sandy beach of Nusa Dua offers a panoramic view of the ocean, where I gorged on fresh seafood, Balinese as well as international cuisine served in a carnival-like atmosphere.

One cannot leave Bali without a customary photograph at one of the many swings. Swing 7 NUSA DUA away all your worries as you leisurely sway over BEACH an entire forest with cascading waterfalls below. I chose the Bahama Swing and it did not disappoint.

There cannot be a better way of experiencing a more unique view of the lush Balinese jungles. Another romantic and picturesque location is the central foothills with its lush green rice fields. Drive to one of the famous attractions in Ubud - the Tegallalang Rice Terraces for endless views of the paddy fields, where you'll see no other colour but green. This natural paradise where Gods live also boasts of warm and welcoming inhabitants. Yes, the Balinese, who are extremely humble, warm and polite and leave you with a sense of calm.

Some of the other nearby Nusa Dua attractions from The Westin include the Bali Collection Shopping Gallery, Pasifika Museum, Devdan Show at Bali Nusa Dua Theatre and the Peninsula Island. If you have more time to spare, don't miss a visit to a few more famous temples, that Bali is famous for.

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August 2019

RICE FIELDS OF BALI

RSVP

CHENNAI’S STREET FOOD HAWKERS GET RECOGNITION “THE SAVERA FOODIE BOSS AWARDS 2019- Inspiring to Innovate” has been instituted by Savera Group in the memory of late Mr. Vijaykumar Reddy on his 62nd birth anniversary at Mylapore.

The managing director of Savera Group Mr. Ravikumar Reddy and JMD Ms. Nina Reddy recognised and awarded Chennai’s top ten famous street food vendors like Sundari akka Kadai, Chatwala, Podi Idli, BhaiKadai, Seenabhai Kadai, Kasim Kadai, Alsa Mall Sandwich Shop, Atho Burmese, Jannal Kadai and Thattu Idli Kadai based on their food taste, quality, presentation, hygiene, reviews in social media, popularity and innovation by a special jury from Savera. Ms. Nina Reddy shared, “This is our first year of Foodie Boss award and we only improve with every year.”

August 2019

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travel

PR E S E RVE LI FE O N TH I S PLAN E T

"UNPRECEDENTED" Loss of Biodiversity Threatens Humanity

T

The U.N.’s Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services released a summary of far-reaching research on the threats to biodiversity.

The findings are dire, indicating that around 1 million species of plants and animals face extinction.

The full 1,500-page report, to be released later this year, raises concerns about the impacts of collapsing biodiversity on human well-being.

Life on this planet, in all its wide diversity, is disappearing more quickly now than it has at any time in human history, and some 1 million species of plants and animals face extinction, new research from the United Nations

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August 2019

has found. The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem PBES, released a summary of the report in Paris.

“The overwhelming evidence of the IPBES Global Assessment, from a wide range of different fields of knowledge, presents an ominous picture,” Robert Watson, a chemist who chairs the IPBES, said in a statement from the platform. “We are eroding the very foundations of our economies, livelihoods, food security, health and quality of life worldwide.”

The IPBES, which includes representatives from more than 130 countries, plans to publish the report — the most far-reaching on the decline of biodiversity and how it relates to human survival to date — later this year. The outlook for the range of species that we share the planet

with — and on which we depend — is dire, according to the authors.

On land, the number of species has dwindled by an average of 20 percent, mostly in the last 120 years.

Sensitive groups of animals have been particularly hard hit, with 40 percent of amphibians and about a third each of corals and marine mammals facing possible extinction.

“This loss is a direct result of human activity and constitutes a direct threat to human well-being in all regions of the world,” Josef Settele, an agro-ecologist and cochair of the report, said in the IPBES statement. With a population of 7.6 billion, humans have played a major role in these declines, from the way in which we use the land and oceans, such as farming and fishing, to logging, mining and other attempts to pluck natural resources from sensitive ecosystems.

Warmer global temperatures have

V PRAKASH Sustainable Luxury Advocate This piece of article is inspired by the positive case study of some positive work done by Dicaprio Foundation.

squeezed some species from their traditional habitats; the chemicals we use pollute the air and water; and invasive species outcompete and wipe out native wildlife, all of which have left their mark on Earth’s biodiversity.

“Of monumental note is that, collectively, significant destructive forces arise from the actions of impoverished peoples living at the edges of society, working to eke out an existence often with little choice but to have minimal concern for environmental impact,” Thomas Lovejoy, a biologist at George Mason University and the “godfather of biodiversity,” wrote in the journal Scientific Advances. But in shaping the world to our will, humans have paradoxically weakened the very foundation on which our own existence rests.

“Ecosystems, species, wild populations, local varieties and breeds of domesticated plants and animals are shrinking, deteriorating or vanishing,” Settele said. “The essential, interconnected web of life on Earth is getting

Curated by V PRAKASH, Sustainable Luxury Advocate

smaller and increasingly frayed.”

While we need to search for more sustainable energy and food sources, Norton also pointed to the role that indigenous groups could play in shoring up biodiversity.

The above article is inspired by the article by John Cannon.

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