FWDlife MAY 2012

ISSUE 07 VOL 01 MAY 2012 ` 50 www.fwdlife.in

Lucky Ali BIKINI tReNDS

The Troubadour Of Hope

Madhuri Dixit-Nene

@Madam Tussauds

God's Own

YOUTH HOW A GROUP OF YOUNGSTERS FROM VARIOUS FIELDS ARE BRINGING ABOUT CHANGE IN KERALA

2012 MAY

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Contents

12 GOD'S OWN YOUTH

64

WEDDING IN GOD’S OWN COUNTRY

10 people

20 TALE OF THE APRIL

FOOL PRANK!!

49 START UP VILLAGE 6

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Mover And Shaker 25 OG Sunil, the livewire of Kerala’s social circle

Celebrity

MADHURI @ TUSSAUDS

regulars Waybeo Going Way Beyond

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From T -shirts making to Waybeo inventors

The Fitness Guru In Town

37

Jaison Paulson with a hub for holistic fitness

Preserving Hi‘S’tory In Frame A Peek a boo into antique camera’s of Jaisons Pala

38

Plat (e) onic

52

Taste of Tokyo

Food Myths

54

Food Rules to Break

68

LUCKY ALI

Glitz Flitz 55 A new nook to get that look

KIFW

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Fashion fever back on Cochin with KIFW 2012

The Unusual Love Song

63

What really got Yuvvh Nenjodu Cherthu!

Health

67

Walk your way to a healthy Life

Smart @ work

70

Ways to Fool your Boss

Balance Sheet

71

Tips to save more and spend less

Tere Ghar Ke Samne 73 Kash and her crew make the audience laugh their hearts out

Mercedes –Benz

74

Beautiful

Officially

25

Star Drive Experience

Social Chutney

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It’s time to go social

Gadgets 78 Get to know what are the picks of this month

WTF

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Young Shots v/s Grey Hair, Who should really lead?

Urban Yogi

82

35 46 2012 MAY

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Life

Chief Mentor Padmasree Mammootty Managing Editor Arun Balachandran* Editor Abraham Tharakan V.P Relations Sameer Hamsa Legal Advisor Adv. Aginov Mathappan Features Writer Ashwathy.S Contributors P.K Sreenivasan, Chennai Susheela Nair, Bangalore Vivek N Pillai, Mumbai Manisha Dhingra, New Delhi Photographers Jamesh Kottakal Lalu Thirumittakode Jinson Abraham Nikas Neo Creative Head Sreerag Vinod Circulation Rajesh K. Nair Vipin M.P Mohammed Anfal Business Sreenath S Nath Thanvi Abisha Lobo Rishad P.G Promotions & Stratergy Reshma Nair Administration Rintu Jaison Corporate Office Forward Media 9th Floor Bhageeratha Square Banerji Road, Cochin- 6862018 Zonal Office Forward Media 1006 -Ivory Court 1, Essel Towers, M.G Road, Gurgaon, Haryana-122002 Forward Media Flat No.7, 4th Floor Dhanush Kutti Co- Op Housing Society, 15th Road Bandra West, Mumbai 400050 Printed By S.T Reddiar and Sons For Advertising info@fwdmedia.in +919809010111

Cover Photography Jamesh Kottakal Cover Model Dr. Rajeev Pillai

MAY MUSINGS

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he travails of the tax man in March were replaced by summer and its muggy disposition, heralded with high decibel kids on leave and vacation trip planning nightmares, in April. Those online trip planning sites aren’t really made to handle the whimsical infections that crop up, whenever a great trip is planned. Having finally settled down to finding my space, l going to confess about my latest stress buster. Office to home traffic at Vyttila Junction, watching those camera flashes

deliver justice home in a sealed government registered envelope. These dreaded cameras on the traffic lights are changing road rashness in an unbelievable way.

My suggestion to the transport department and police, enhance it to the extent that the lane jumper, the left side over taker, the pesky auto rickshaws and the private buses which are a law unto themselves, get pulled over.

EDITOR Abraham Tharakan

CELEBS madhuri dixit

MADHURI @ MADAME

TUSSAUDS Supriya Davda was a witness to the unveiling of

Madhuri Dixit-Nene’s wax figure at the Madame Tussauds London Text SUPRIYA DAVDA

With so many awards to her name and a career spanning over 25 years she undoubtedly deserves her place at Madame Tussauds, London

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Photos SHREYA KHONDIYA

adame Tussauds London welcomed award-winning Hindi Film actress Madhuri Dixit-Nene. Madhuri, well-known for impressive dancing skills, her dazzling smile and graceful performances unveiled her stunning new wax figure in front of family, friends and selected members of the Press .

The legendary actress has been recognised for her hit films including Beta, Hum Apke Hai Kaun, Dil To Pagal Hai, Devdas and M.F Hussain's Gaja Gamini. Madhuri is the sixth ‘’Bollywood’’ celebrity to be honoured by Madame Tussauds London and only the second actress following Aishwarya Rai who entered the attraction back in 2004.

On meeting her double for the first time Madhuri was happily posing with her wax figure; she “It is hard to imagine yourself like this and meeting my wax double today is very surreal, it feels like an out of body experience. It’s the closest I have been to myself [laughs].I would like to congratulate the team at Madame Tussauds London as they have done a beautiful job!”

Madhuri was completely involved in the creation of her figure, attending a sitting in Mumbai where sculptors captured a catalogue of reference photographs and hundreds of precise measurements to create this staggering likeness.

Madhuri also donated the exquisite sari her figure is wearing. The figure took four months to make at a cost of £150,000. Liz Edwards, PR

Manager at Madame Tussauds London commented: “We’re delighted to welcome Madhuri (and her family) here today and to be including her figure in our A-list line-up. We know ‘’Bollywood’’ fans will also be delighted; we have been inundated with requests to make Madhuri’s figure and we hope they agree it is a wonderful likeness. With so many awards to her name and a career spanning over 25 years she undoubtedly deserves her place here at Madame Tussauds London.”

The world famous attraction has worked closely with the Indian film industry over the last

decade and the ‘’Bollywood’’ area is one of its most popular, featuring figures of Shah Rukh Khan, Aishwarya Rai, Hrithik Roshan, Salman Khan and Amitabh Bachchan in a colourful, themed set. Since the introduction of the first Bollywood film star, Amitabh Bachchan, in 2000 Asian visitors to the attraction have increased and the ‘’Bollywood’’ factor has spread worldwide. A number of Madame Tussauds around the world feature Indian film stars and a travelling Bollywood exhibition, showcasing five icons from the genre, will be visiting all 12 attractions over the next two years.

Madhuri also donated the exquisite sari her figure is wearing.

The figure took four months to make at a cost of £150,000

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MAIN STORY youth

God's Own

YOUTH A HANDFUL OF YOUNGSTERS ARE BRINGING ABOUT MAJOR CHANGES IN THE SOCIETY, IN VARIOUS FIELDS, HERE IS THE LIST OF THE GROUP WHO IS CHANGING THE OLD IDIOMS FWD Editorial Team

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imes are gone when people believed that expertise, professionalism and proficiency are the offshoot of age and experience. Modern trends witness a rapid metamorphose in every sociocultural layer whether entertainment, politics or business. Whatever be the reasons, youngsters have taken over predominant roles in all aspects of life around the globe, especially in Kerala. A glimpse around is more than sufficient to prove this statement. It’s been a long prevailing custom in India that social roles get handed over by inheritance; thus a politician’s son becomes a politician or an actor’s children become actors. But, today anybody could become anyone, provided adequate talent, passion and hard work is encompassed. Old age, admittedly, deserves and grabs respect from all sects of people, but at the modern outlook, being old just doesn’t mean being fit for a leader or role model.

Even after acquiring the status of the top most literate-region or the hub of most soughtafter IT talents, Kerala has ever been fated to be limited to the antiquated Ideas and lifestyle.

‘White-haired’ men designed and decided how the people of the state of Kerala would think, dream and live. Remember how the old aged politicians protested against the computerization in Kerala. Set aside the old stories, the modern society in Kerala have already flagged off an absolutely different and fast changing lifestyle, thus their choices, ambitions and life goals started exploring new prospects. It is no exaggeration to say that the people in ‘gods own country’ have amassed all their trust on young generation and the old aged leaders in every socio-cultural sect is seen decolorized before the young talents. Let us pass through the profiles of few of the most glittering talents of the time.

It’s been the rule of nature, that the green leaves take over the duties of fallen ones; and human beings are no exception. But how soon; that’s the question! In the post modern Kerala scenario the changeover is happening a bit too early as the sprouting young generation, instead of aspiring to climb step by step, eyes at the top most role in the society at the very beginning.

Thus, accepting a membership card from an organization is considered the immediate step

to the top. But the ‘time’ has its own justification for this and it boasts on a bunch of capable, enthusiastic & responsible young leaders, talents & entrepreneurs.

Should a person wait till the old age to hold important roles in the society? Should he/she restrict the inner impetus to exhibit oneself and explore the wide opportunities and possibilities of the modern world just because he/she is at the so called tender ages? In fact age is no criteria today to consider the worth of a person.

The adages are outdated which proclaimed the affinity of wisdom with white hair. Not who has begun first deserves the prize but it is always who runs fastwins the race.

Science underlines the fact that human race is still in the primitive stages of development when the total age of the universe is considered.

We are a fast changing and rapidly developing race and above all this race is still at the initial stages of this process. It means nothing but the upcoming generations will be more advanced, complicated and adept than the existing one.

Precisely, the younger ones are certainly more intelligent, brighter and highly capable than the aged forerunners. Therefore; it is no wonder if they reach at higher social positions much earlier than it used to be in the old days.

Here are some of the new youth wave to watch out for.

Even after acquiring the status of the top most literate-region or the hub of most sought-after IT talents, Kerala has ever been fated to be limited to the antiquated Ideas and lifestyle

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BRIDES OF INDIA / KARNATAKA / MANGALORE BUNT BRIDE

Sumangalis bid her an auspicious welcome as she takes her first step into a new life, the mangalsutra completing the wife in her. Decked up in auspicious golden jewellery, no one would fail to notice a thousand lamps of hope lighting up in her eyes. An eternal moment in your life, APRIL 10 - JULY 31

made memorable with the Golden touch of Malabar Gold & Diamonds.

‘Brides of India’ Jewellery Festival. A celebration in pure gold. Malabar Gold & Diamonds brings you the sheer vibrancy of varied wedding customs from diverse cultures, spread across the country. Celebrate the most pivotal festival in your life with exquisite ethnic jewellery from our exclusive Brides of India Collection.

Book jewellery in advance and grab more privileges. Exciting gifts with every purchase. 1500 Lucky couples also win honeymoon trips to exotic holiday-spots like Singapore, Malaysia, Ooty, Kodaikanal, Munnar, Thekkady, Kumarakom, and more!

CELEBRATE THE BEAUTY OF LIFE 6 6 S H O W R O O M S A C R O S S K E R A L A , K A R N ATA K A , TA M I L N A D U , A N D H R A P R A D E S H , D E L H I & G C C .

MAIN STORY youth

ENTERTAINMENT People have been endlessly complaining about their ill-fate to watch actors at dotage romancing actresses of teenage on big screen. Putting an end to all such grievances the ‘mollywood’ has blossomed out with a handful of professional and successful young talents.

Actor, playback singer, lyricist, director and screenwriter Vineeth Sreenivasan, director Aashiqu Abu, actress Rima Kallingal, actor Fahad Fazil etc… are few of them to be named.

Vineeth Sreenivasan

Aashiqu Abu

Rima Kallingal

Fahad Fazil

Within the few years in the industry, Vineeth Sreenivasan could bag quite a lot of box office hits on his account. Though introduced as a playback singer into the industry, Vineeth, following the footsteps of his celebrity father, soon proved his talents in acting, direction and screen writing. Today he is a hot pick and a minimum guarantee actor and director in the ‘mollywood’. Vineeth as a director has already disclosed his ardor for less imaginary stories and real life themes.

Just one movie, Salt N’ Pepper is more than enough to prove the metal of the young director Aashiqu Abu. More than just a box office hit, the movie became a trend setter. His debut movie Daddy Cool was well accepted by the people and acclaimed as a brave experiment in the industry.

The success story of Aashiqu Abu explicitly shows how different ideas get accepted by the movie lovers in Kerala.

His latest movie 22 F Kottayam followd suit.

Wide beautiful eyes, libidinous lips, curly hair, bold voice, rough outlook and above all seamless talent and unmatched professionalism; this is the concise of the profile of the young actress Rima Kallingal. Being awarded the First Runner Up in Miss Kerala Contest 2008, Rima began to pursue her acting career. She made the first appearance on the big screen through the film Ritu in 2009 which followed a number of great roles and several mollywood hits.

The absolute flop of the debut movie Kaiyethum Doorath, which was directed by his father Fazil, was not ample enough to blow of the ambitions and acting talent of the young star Fahad Fazil.

Returned with megahits again and again, today Fahad Fazil is a name the Malayalam movie industry can no way neglect.

Fahad became a key factor in movies like Cocktail, Chappa Kurishu and the Latest 22F Kottayam.

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POLITICS Though we have always proclaimed the saying that today’s children are tomorrow’s leaders, the people of India especially Kerala have always been ruled by people at the dusk of life.

As if to compensate this today we have handful of young leaders in Kerala. Anoop Jacob, Hibi Eden, Shafi Parambil etc… are few among the recently emerged young leaders.

Anoop Jacob

Shafi Parambil

Hibi Eden

It is not just the love and sympathy for his Late father T.M Jacob but modern generation’s aspirations for young leaders that helped Anoop Jacob to come out with flying colors in the a by-election at Piravom constituency. A law graduate from Piravom College Anoop is a practicing lawyer at the high court prior to which he also holds a bachelors degree in English Literature from Mar Ivanios College in Trivandrum.

Anoop Jacob is the food & civil supplies minister of Kerala.

From the constituency of Palakkad, Shafi Parambil is a vibrant young leader. He has very vivid dream for Palakkad where he has plans ahead for utilization of every bit of resources. Be it the land utilization for a balanced urbanization or promotion of tourism to take up the Palakkad stand in Kerala tourism’s scale. He holds several significant roles within the Congress Party.

Hibi Eden is rightly the symbol of the youth in Kerala.

It is true to say that leaders like Rahul Gandhi, Hibi Eden etc… play a great role in today’s politics and by being young leaders of the time they remain significant in boosting the hope and ambitions of people, young and old alike.

Hibi Eden represents the Ernakulam constituency in the Legislative Assembly of Kerala.

People have got a very corrupted perception about Politics. They think everyone associated with it is corrupted.

Instead of being an active critic, why don’t we do our bit of serving the society by merging in?

I won’t promote an assembly with 90% of young politicians. It should be a blend of both the youngsters and experienced.

Youngsters to know and feel more intimately what are the problems of today’s youth and experienced to find a tactic to solve it in the light of their experience.

Hibi Eden

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MAIN STORY youth

BUSINESS It is an old adage now that business success is rooted only on experience. In fact, majority of successful businesses around the world is steered by young entrepreneurs.

The main reason behind this fact is that business today is not what it used to be. Let us see few of the most successful young business entrepreneurs in Kerala.

Rajesh & Ramesh Kalyanaraman

Mithun & Arun Chitilapally

Alex K. Babu

The young businessmen Rajesh Kalyanaraman and Ramesh Kalyanaraman are by all the means the heart and soul of the business group, Kalyan Jewelers one of the leading jewelers in Kerala .

Sons of T.K Kalyanaraman who is a great entrepreneur and businessman, Rajesh and Ramesh today lead the group with a primary aim of doing business for common social good through fair and ethical business practices.

Mr.Kochouseph Chitilapally is a prominent personality in the business world and also well known for his humanitarian activities. Mithun Chitilapally and Arun Chitilapally lead the V-Guards Industries Limited and Wonder La Amusement Parks, respectively. Adhering to the policy of quality service, uncompromised safety and value for money, they remain among the most promising businessmen in Kerala.

Share market was ever been a dream world for all the people who wished to multiply money in expeditious ways.

The doors of share market always remained closed before the illiterate or rural people in Kerala. It is Hedge Equities that executed easy ways of making money from the share market and also Hedge helped the rural people by opening large number of outlets in and around the state. All these success goes to a single person, Alex K. Babu.

Innovation, Passion and Persistence would be my secret mantras for all the young entrepreneurs. Are you passionate or infatuated can be figured out only over a period of time by the persistence in our actions. In metros like Bombay and Delhi youngsters coming out with business ventures are more visible but as it comes to Kerala they are more into Quick Buck techniques which can’t be categorized into business. With new innovation arise ample of options which in a country like our’s should not be left unexplored. So today’s youth should definitely realize the need of innovation which is the key to Growth and come forth.

Alex K. Babu

Inspired by the changes brought about, new ways of thinking and doing, FWD Life is launching a campaign to promote, attract and inspire more youngsters to come forte and enhance every aspect of life in Kerala has we know it.

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PEOPLE lucky ali

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He’s the Johnny Cash of Indian pop music, a thinking actor, a devout Muslim, a loving husband and a doting father. Let’s throw in carpet-seller, oil rigger, organic farmer and horse breeder – can a man play any more roles in one lifetime? These identities are just a fragment of the enigma that is Lucky Ali. FWD life meets him at Dream Hotel, Kochi during his All India tour

TROUBADOUR OF HOPE Text TINA GEORGE

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Photos JINSON ABRAHAM

ehind his soulful music, dreamy hazel eyes and rugged good looks, lies a personality with a very philosophical view of life. The world can pass him by, but Lucky plays by his rules and works at his own pace.

Lucky’s wanderlust has taken him places and made him dabble with professions you wouldn’t associate with passionate musicians. He embarked on a journey that was strikingly similar to western pop legend/actor Johnny Cash. If Johnny Cash showed the western world what happens when rural sensibilities and values mix musically with the urban environment, then Lucky Ali would be his Indian counterpart.

So, what makes Lucky Ali tick? Delve deeper and the mystery unravels…

He was born Maqsood Mehmood Ali to Bollywood comedian Mehmood Ali and Mahelaka.

The name ‘Lucky’ was his father’s tribute to him,

celebrating the first big break he got, the day his son was born. “But I was not lucky for myself. I think luck is just a misnomer, and success solely depends on hard work and how you present it in cinema,” says Lucky.

Lucky went to boarding school at a very tender age, and this resulted in a big disconnect with his family. During his childhood, the faces of his family members were all a blur, especially his father’s. On one occasion, he recognised the popular comedian Mehmood, before realising it was his own father! Definitely not a compliment to the role Mehmood played as a father, and the impact it had on his son.

But, despite Mehmood’s hectic work schedule and the time he spent away from his family, he managed to inculcate some lasting values that Lucky cherishes even today. “My dad was strict – just like the coconuts you have in Kerala, tender within, but hard on the outside. He taught

On one occasion, he recognised the popular comedian Mehmood, before realising it was his own father!

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PEOPLE lucky ali

His strikingly simple, yet soulful ballads brought him immeasurable fame only because he played music that was true to his heart

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me to keep things simple and express things genuinely, without beating around the bush,” says Lucky.

Lucky was fortunate enough to be born into a respectable family, but found it difficult to keep pace with expectations that were larger than life.

Being a free spirit, he was a little hazy about his goals, and ambiguity pervaded his mind when it came to making a distinctive career choice. “I had no idea whether I wanted to be an actor, a singer or a merchant naval officer. I had a tough time convincing my dad that I was not a loser and that I could put in the hard work necessary to achieve my goals.”

His strikingly simple, yet soulful ballads brought him immeasurable fame only because he played music that was true to his heart. “My success came as a big surprise to my dad, and that’s when I realised that I actually did it for him,” says Lucky, reflecting on what he achieved to please his father.

He chanced upon love early in life and wasted no time in tying the knot, knowing full well he was not a one-woman man. Today, he is a husband to three wives, a father to four children with the fifth on the way. This works for him

because he treats all his wives and children equally, with the love and respect they deserve.

Always the non-conformist, Lucky did not want to be shackled by the music industry. The till of the land and breeding of horses held as much appeal to him as the performing arts. “I want to pick up things and do some work, not just go to an office and sit there,” says Lucky.

He has a new project in the offing in Bangalore, which is neither a song nor a movie – it’s a way of life. It is a holistic experience that promotes a symbiosis of organic agriculture, good health and good food, coupled with spa treatments. Lucky sees this as an opportunity to meet different people, connect with them and learn from them.

Lucky lives by the principle that ‘there’s so much to do in life, and so little time to do them’.

He has greatly enjoyed the rollercoaster that has taken him places, given him new experiences and brought him home to a loving family. He has lived life to the fullest and stands by the intriguing life he has led. “I’m just passing by; you never know if there’ll be another tomorrow,” says the philosopher in Lucky.

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YOUNG INITIATIVE waybeo

Their initial venture was T-shirt making and its success made the group think doing something more daring with the fraternity

Waybeo: Going Way Beyond (From left to right) Nithun K V Director Wireless Communication BounzD • Shiv Shankar M S Chief Marketing Officer• Krishnan R V Iyer Chief Operating Officer Manu Dev HRM & Business Development • Bushairusalam A P Chief Executive Officer • Bijoy B S Chief Financial Officer

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hanks to the hostel facility, SCT College of Engineering Trivandrum, saw an informal group, about 13, from various batches gathering together to fool around mostly but then once in a while, for discussions about money making. Their initial venture was T-shirt making and its success made the group think doing something more daring with the fraternity. Around 2009 there came up an idea to conceive an Indian product with global deployment possibility. Remember this is a product company and not the successfully tested global services model. Since most of the members were into communications, the product naturally was focused in the communications domain.

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Maybe for the first time in their life, after passing feelers to a larger group of interested students, a concrete decision was struck.

Three of the initial 13 and three from outside the group to make up the 6 founding members, creating Waybeo Technologhy Solutions.

The rest was not history.

The core group obviously had to make major sacrifices. When fellow batch mates we flaunting their salaries, these entrepreneurs had to cut back and stick to just needs to keep the company floating. Then BounzD was born.

How BounzD was born BounzD was ideated out of our own need and life experiences.

Two incidents made us think of a solution that would help

common men at the same time, business also in a big way. The first experience was from a German web hosting company who had displayed Toll free in their website and we called them for technical support. It was not Toll free…

We understood the limitations of Toll free in geographical and operator perspective. Second incident was while booking hotel in Delhi. Again the Toll free trap occurred and we lost money in both the incident.

These 2 incidents made us think of a platform in online world, for public to communicate with business all over the world without worrying about cost, geography and operator limitations.

Team Unity Our vision of a global product

company from God’s India, our dream of developed India and patriotism unite us in every decision making and thoughts.

Moreover, we 6 co-founders have a common set of values, even though our thoughts and approach to a problem is different.

Motivation During the initial days, when we used to starve to pay the salaries of our employees, the smiling face of our employees motivated and inspired us to keep going. We loved their happiness when they make their living out of the money they earned from Waybeo. When the business started getting traction, another segment was added into this. More than anything, we love the smiling face of our customers too.

LAUNCH Startup Village

FOR THE ENTREPRENEUR IN YOU Startup Village inaugurated by Infosys Co-founder Kris Gopalakrishnan India’s first incubator on public-private partnership mode which aims to inspire next generation entrepreneurs Text FWD BUSINESS DESK

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Photos JINSON ABRAHAM

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hri Kris Gopalakrishnan, who cofounded Infosys as a start up years back to trigger an IT revolution in the country, today hailed India’s first telecom incubator Startup Village as a major turning point in the development sector of Kerala.

Shri Kris, who is also the chief mentor of Startup Village, was speaking after inaugurating India’s first incubator on public-private partnership mode, at Kinfra Hi-Tech Park near here. He unveiled the Startup Village wall that recalled his early days as a startup and sent an inspiring call to the next generation of entrepreneurs to take their turn now.

By planting the sapling of a banyan tree, he also launched the green initiative called Entrepreneurs Garden which aims to nurture more than 1000 number of trees in the hi-tech park that will groom 1000 startup firms over the next 10 years.

Terming the establishment of Startup Village as a milestone, he said many were yet to take note of the transformation happening in Kerala. ``Many refused to change their perception about the State even after Kerala made a successful model through its Technopark in Thiruvanthapuram. What a startup venture requires is a very conducive atmosphere that will improve confidence and drive in new ideas,’’ he said.

``Education, innovation and entrepreneurship will create a favourable situation. Nobody has a ready formula to success. But there are plenty of successful models before us to emulate. These are very significant as they became successful when many others failed. We should be able to create such successful models that will inspire hopes. That is the goal of this Startup Village ,’’ Shri Kris said.

Lacking of funding is another hassle on the way of entrepreneurship. This incubator has a solution on this count, he said, affirming that it would mark a beginning of a transformation in Kerala.

Kerala IT Secretary Shri P H Kurian assured full support of the State Government to the project and said no bureaucratic hassles will trouble the startups. Affirming that Kerala has a favourable atmosphere to make fast strides, he said the momentum will further pick up if the circumstances are made better.

Kerala Industries Secretary and the KSIDC Managing Director Shri Alkesh Kumar pointed out that no man-days were lost due to any reasons in the last one year in the State. However, many have not realized this factor and the Government is planning the global investors meet, Emerging Kerala, in September to highlight these changes in the investment sector.

Cochin University of Science and Technology

Many refused to change their perception about the State even after Kerala made a successful model through its Technopark in Thiruvanthapuram

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LAUNCH Startup Village

(CUSAT) Vice-Chancellor Dr Ramachandran Thekkedath, leading NRI entrepreneur Dr Ravi Pillai, Dr B K Shukla from the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India, TIE Kerala chapter president Shri John Paul, and Shri Sanjay Vijaykumar, the chairman of the Governing Board of Startup Village spoke on the occasion.

Kinfra Managing Director Shri Ramanadan, its General Manager Shri K Sudhakaran, leading entrepreneurs Freeman Maray, Shri Nandakumar and Smt Annie were among those to attend the function.

The guests also planted saplings at the Entrepreneurs Garden coming up at the one-acre land where fruit orchids, evergreen trees and banyan trees will grow to give a green cover to Startup Village.

Nobody has a ready formula to success. But there are plenty of successful models before us to emulate. These are very significant as they became STARTUP VILLAGE Village is being set up jointly by up by successful when Startup the National Science and Technology Entrepremany others failed. neurship Development Board (NSTEDB) under We should be able the DST Government of India, and the Kerala to create such Government-run Technopark, in collaboration MobME Wireless. successful withStartup Village is being projected by both models that will the DST, Govt of India and the State Governinspire hopes ment as the largest national attempt to scale up 32

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innovation in the country through incubators in collaboration with the private sector, tap huge potentials unfolding in the telecom sector and transform students as successful job-creators instead of job-seekers.

India’s telecom and information technology industry is supporting this bold initiative in different capacities. Former NASSCOM chief Shri. Kiran Karnik; Cellular Operator Association Director General Rajan Mathews, UrbanTouch.com CEO Shri. Abhishek Goyal; former Yahoo India R& D CEO Shri. Sharad Sharma; Dell India MD Shri. Ganesh Lakshminarayan; Shri. KK Natarajan, CEO of Mindtree; and Shri. Arun Kumar, Global Board Member of KPMG, Dr. Ravi Pillai, the biggest employer of Indians in the Middle East; and major local IT entrepreneurs like Shri. Nandakumar of SunTec are among those joining the project as mentors and investors.

To be equipped with full 4G network, telecom labs, innovation zones, legal and intellectual property services, fully furnished offices spaces and video conference rooms, Startup Village will give a host of perks from three-year service tax holiday to funding opportunities for tech startups to build, break and innovate to start the search for a billion dollar campus startup from India.

PEOPLE og sunil

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Sunil OG is an indispensable presence in Kerala’s social circles. OG, as he is popularly known, is the livewire behind many interesting ventures in Kerala.

His latest venture, Film Brewery, a production company produced 22 F K, directed by Aashiq Abu. As always there he was in high spirits when FWD Life met him at his apartments on Marine Drive, Kochi, which is now part of the Kerala real estate legend. Standing tall at 6 feet 2, with an imperial moustache OG is has the perfect looks of a typical villain, but he charms you off your feet in seconds

Mover &

Shaker text AVEBANE Photos SREERAG VINOD

S Under the banner of Gopinatha Menon educational trust, he runs a school for underprivileged children. the school, Gopinath Vidhya Mandir, started by his forefathers is one of the oldest educational institutions in the state

unil O.G has all the reasons to be in high spirit, his movie 22 F K looks like it’s going to be the biggest hit in the Malayalam industry this year. More over the appreciation for movie has been far and wide. “During a noon Show in Shridar (a theater in Cochin) a woman runs up and hugs me saying thanks, I always wanted someone to make a strong response movie on the issues women face” this was really touching says O.G O.G has always managed to surprises everyone, every time he enters into hitherto unexplored business ventures. His rights of today turn to be the rights of the society tomorrow. He has been a pioneer in introducing a host of activities till then unknown and unapproachable to Keralites. His list of initiatives is truly breath taking include bringing Coco Cola to Kerala, His involvement in starting the newspaper Janmabhoomi, Managing Committee member of Cochin Chamber of Commerce, Trustee of Cochin Port Trust, OG has many feathers on his cap. OG launched Link Horizon apartments, the most expensive residential apartments in the state at Marine Drive, Cochin in 2005. It started off an avalanche of residential projects in marine drive.

Cashing in on the fact that tourism is the fastest

growing industry in the world, OG opened a beach Bungalow in the backwaters of Marari, Alappuzha.

His idea of creating a vacation house revolutionized the tourism scene in Kerala, with numerous resorts following his path. OG also owns a private island in Arookkutty where one can rediscover nature. Under the banner of Gopinatha Menon educational trust, he runs a school for underprivileged children. The school, Gopinath Vidhya Mandir, started by his forefathers is one of the oldest educational institutions in the state.

Wifinity tech an IT company in Bangalore is yet another brain child of OG. His motto in creating a responsible, human-centered IT company resulted in Wifinity tech. In 1998, OG started Southern chips and circuits, an electronics company that delivers top quality solutions to its niche clientele.

Kerala’s Fashion scene saw the beginning of a new era with OG setting the path for the first fashion show in Kochi in 2009. Fashion Federation Kerala. A lot many projects that would propel Kerala to the top fashion arena are in the pipeline.

Kerala has a rich but endangered weaving culture.

Muslin clothes are weaved only in Kerala. All of this made OG start programs to revive the lost art of weaving.

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PEOPLE og sunil

OG's Tharavaad, Panangad Photography Jamesh Kottackal

Race Crazy

the house located in the banks of the backwaters of Cochin is the perfect blend of old world charm and modern amenities. It is here that the movie 22 F KtM was born

“ My real passion has always been speed” says the rally enthusiast. He walks across the room to point out the trophy presented to him by the Indian President Venkataraman, in 1979. The photograph next to the trophy shows a thickly bearded young man, receiving the trophy from the President. His passion for speed took him to London. In 1991, OG underwent professional training from Silverstone, London, with Bill Gwyne and his pro rally driving school. O.G was one of the initial members of India’s first racing team, the Scissors Action rally team. Later he joined Indian rally circuit winning in many races he participated. The Telsa Rally Australia and the Kenyan Safari are among the international races that he officiated. Sunil also started the Kerala Auto Sports Club which spearheaded motorsports in Kerala and is the member of Federation Motor Sports Club India, along with Vijay Mallaya.

OG’s Tharavadu

OG converted his Tharavadu, Ollaril in Panangad into a hub for all emerging artists. The house located in the banks of the backwaters of Cochin is the perfect blend of old world charm and modern 36

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amenities. It is here that the movie 22 F KTM was born. OG has plans to make this 5 acre property an ayurveda destination, where one can relax and refresh.

Film brewery

“Youngsters are deciding the fate of Malayalam movie industry. Aashiq Abu, Anwar Rasheed, Lijo Pellissery, Vineeth Sreenivasan… all these youngsters will define Malayalam cinema. Film brewery is all for creative people to give them a platform.

I’m planning to do about 6 movies in 2012 alone.

Among which the three movies signed are “Amen”, “Ka…sshh” and 3 dots ( …)” he emphasizes On asked why he thought of this ventures – “It is about promoting movies that do not have superstars. In Malayalam movies, the trend was the monopoly of one person be it the director or the hero.

But the scene is changing slowly. It is the combined effort of a group that makes a movie work. I was impressed with Salt and Pepper. With no big names to boast about it would have easily been left unnoticed. The entire team behind it worked in sync to make it a phenomenal success. Aashiq Abu the director was just the captain of a ship full of emerging talent. “ he concludes

FWD HEALTH

The Fitness Guru in Town

F

or a young man from Thrissur, who began as a fitness trainer in a small way in Chalakudy and then at the Rajagiri School in Kalamassery, it was the beginning of a big dream.Mr. Jaison soon became the fitness manager at Lexus and began acquiring degrees in physical fitness. As word spread, he got unique offers from all over Middle East, London, Singapore and Hong Kong.

Designing innovative fitness regimes to make people happy of their healthy bodies the fitness guru has gained much applause in a very short span of time. Mr. Paulson holds a Bachelor's Degree in Science, a Bachelor's Degree in Physical Education, Fitness and Nutrition Degree (USA), Courses from C.H.E.K Institute (USA) and also an MBA (UK).Apart from all these courses he also holds an experience which is backed up by technical qualifications that adds scientific and a bonafide value to his fitness programs.

Apart from all these he has also undergone extensive training in Advanced Stability Ball Training, Yoga, Pilates, Box exercise, Aqua, etc which ultimately makes him the most credible and authentic person to rely on for your fitness concerns

and querries.

Jaison’s Body Perfect System gives results that are far beyond one’s imagination. When it comes to staying in shape or getting back into shape,the flat stomach and a well-toned body, Jaison is the first name that springs to many a celebrity's mind.By producing this Body Perfect System, Jaison has brought the secret of a perfect body to you.

Jaisons fitness centre has about more than 150 pieces of modern equipment spread over four floors apart from physios and dieticians.It also comprises of yoga and meditation zones, salsa and kick-boxing classes, a ‘spinning' class t burn of the excess calories, a holistic food centre and a business zone, apart from special zones for kids, women and senior citizens.

With his big plan of opening up a thousand fitness centres some work in progress projects are likely to be soon seen at areas - like the Choice School, Marine drive area and Panampilly Nagar etc. Located at an easily accessible point this health hub has every reason for a health conscious person to drop by and get their flabs and tyres toned.

Your body is a temple, but only if you treat it as one!!Realizing the importance behind the saying MR. Jaison Paulson, the renowned celebrity trainer opened up a humungous project under the name of “Jaisons Fitness First”

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ANTIQUE CAMERAS jaison pazhettu

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Be it Lights! “Camera” Action or Say CHeeSe, this man behind the scene can capture you in your worst, still show you in your best and make you stand out from the rest

Preserving Hi‘S’tory in Frames text ASHWATHY S Photos JINSON ABRAHAM

the whole episode of collecting antique cameras was triggered by the hunt behind the search of my first gifted camera

J

aison Pazhettu renowned as Jaisons Pala is an ardent lens lover, who was born and brought up in a family that laid ample significance to tradition and culture. Born to PP George, a school headmaster and Thankamma George, Mr. Jaison says he can recollect more of his childhood time spent at his maternal home than his own family that being the then trend.

“Having grown up in a family that gave importance to tradition’s essence, my interests inclined more towards history and traditions” says Mr.Jaison. Members in my maternal family have had this interest for antiques and that has been a major driving force in carving my passion too.

The cameras fall into the sect of antique, classic or vintage cams one would wonder, but with a peek

into this jaw dropping collections, one is surely to find the traces of lessons from history that have escaped from our minds over a period of time.

Having learned a lot in the past years here’s what he had to share with us, about his thick and thins, mantras and unending thread of passion for lenses and frames .Here’s a preview and gist of his long journey. “The whole episode of collecting antique cameras was triggered by the hunt behind the search of my first gifted camera (Aqua Click 3)” says Mr. Jaison.

The rich and vast collection that he has today is the result of a long effort of 25- 30 years. Being a member of AKPA(All Kerala Photographers Association) and having build up a good rapport with the other cinema and photography associations in

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ANTIQUE CAMERAS jaison pazhettu

Market was then revolutionized by the new genre of Kodak cams and soon later by tLR and SLR cameras and then Polaroid versions and finally the digital cameras

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India, Jaison says his source for these cameras are varied.

The commercial side of the profession being gelled with his passions gives him a tough time as taking all the pain and collecting these priceless cameras and then handing it over for money to someone does prick conscience. However, unable to properly beam balance his profession and passion in business, the profit earned from the commercial side is again invested in enriching the collection.

Having no clear idea of how many antique cameras complete his collection Mr.Jaison provides a rough estimate that his has over thousands of cameras. And his passion of collecting antiques includes stamps, coins, currencies, old radio’s etc.

Every piece is of great value for an antiquarian but some hold a special significance and Mr.Jaison tagged out Glass negatives, Crown Graphic, Kodak Box Cameras and Field Cameras as his priceless possessions.

He described the various shift in trends with the evolution of the camera. Initial initiative in the field of photography was by the use of photographic

cameras when chemicals and dry plates started being used extensively. It was followed by the use of photographic films and it further lead to invention of electronic photography. Market was then revolutionized by the new genre of Kodak cams and soon later by TLR and SLR cameras and then Polaroid versions and finally the digital cameras.

Hoping to hand over his collection to someone who is equally passionate about and values these collections like him remains his concern ,so that these traces of history don’t cease away and are kept as a token of legacy. Speaking about his future plans Mr.Jaison says he intends to arrange a free workshop for all the camera lover’s and initiate a conglomerating venture with the leading photographers, cinematographers to publish a book of Photography with A-Z facts and notes for reference for it.

With many lessons learned and many still forth in the alley Jaison says he wishes to learn and share much more in the times to come and hopes that philanthropist be generous enough to join hands for propagating and promoting the real talents amidst us.

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MADE IN HEAVEN destination wedding

Wedding in

God’s Own Country tying knots in God’s own country, sailing in a house boat, a decorated elephant for the groom’s procession and percussion ensembles to accompany- yes this is becoming an increasingly preferred style for many across the globe text V CREATE MEDIA Photos PARINAYA WEDDING PLANNERS

Many resorts and hoteliers have recently stepped in aggressively for the promotion of highend weddings

N

uala and Graham from Ireland are getting ready for their wedding ceremony in Kovalam along with their family and friends. The excited Irish bunch is turning out in all their finery in merriment at Vivanta by Taj, enjoying every bit of Kerala warmth.

Not because either of them is in Kerala, but these Irelanders in their effort to be more diverse and exotic, decided to conduct the most important event in their life in “God’s Own Country”.

With destination weddings becoming the hottest trend, Kerala, along with Goa and Rajasthan

is turning out to be a much demanded destination for the affluent non Keralites as well as foriegners.

Many resorts and hoteliers have recently stepped in aggressively for the promotion of high-end weddings.

“We do an average 15-16 weddings a year, of domestic and international tourists alone”, says Ankur of The Leela Kovalam. They are equipped to cater to every need of wedding parties like options of sea side venue, choice of cuisine, candle light dinners, cruising dinners and thematic set ups.

"From flight tickets and bridal makeup to honey-

Profiled in the pic- Nuala and Graham, Ireland Location- Vivanta by Taj, Kovalam 42

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moon packages, we deal with everything," he says.

Kerala is preferred when beach or backwater becomes the theme of the wedding. The backwaters of Kerala are an exclusive backdrop which is "new and different" to the Northern Indians who cannot have this option in their state. And another reason for this increased interest is affordability compared to other preferred foreign destinations like Bali or Phuket.

Le-Meridien Kochi reveals that they conduct an average of 40-50 weddings a year, while Vivanta by Taj conducts 15-20. Most clients of the two are from the North and the NRI’s whose roots are in North.

Both the hoteliers get the weddings planned and arranged through wedding planners.

“Celebration may vary according to one’s tradition, beliefs or liking says Harish Babu, Managing Director, Parinaya Wedding Planners, who had arranged 10 weddings last year in Kochi alone.

“There are typical North Indian weddings with three days of celebrations including sangeet and mehendi, to purely personal functions with few guests who would love to soak in complete merrymaking” he continues.

“For those who wish to get it arranged in Kerala style, there will be elephants and percussions while in North Indian weddings, artists as per themes, dancers and mehendi designers, all arranged through Kochi based vendors. “A pure western style of wedding can be squeezed between stretches of silver beach sands with customerised theme like gorgeous white wedding, red wedding or any other” he continues.

Romantic island dinners or candle light dinners in backwaters along with the wedding night on a luxury houseboat is what you could find in Kerala alone. The couples can also enjoy floral baths and spa treatments. Kerala also offers immense opportunities to honeymooners. Backwater, hill station and beach tours are arranged as separate packages to attract the newly-weds. A trend popular in Goa is taking a yacht on rent to tie the knot in the waters.

The state needs to capture its immense potentials.

“Instead of yachts, luxury house boat for tying knots is pitching in” says Baburaj of Le-meridien.

Whether it is through in house wedding planners of hoteliers or through outside wedding planners, all needs of the guests are well taken care to

Kerala also offers immense opportunities to honeymooners.

Backwater, hill station and beach tours are arranged as separate packages to attract the newlyweds

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MADE IN HEAVEN destination wedding

give them a complete stress free experience, and no wonder many enquiries are through word of mouth publicity. Harish recalls the last wedding they had hosted for a couple from UK. "They were so impressed and promised to come back to host their first wedding anniversary and to take the initiative in promoting us in the UK market”.

While the average wedding cost is double in big cities, destination weddings can be relatively cheaper. The theory goes that only those who really love you will travel for you and the guest list is often considerably smaller. A complete package including food and rooms for about 150-175 guests 44

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would comes between Rs 30 lakh to Rs 50 lakh.

Destination weddings also make a lot of sense for families whose members are scattered across various places. After all, if the guests have to travel anyway to join the celebrations, then why not it can be to a place where everyone can have a good vacationnot worrying about the fusses of planning and coordination. Another added advantage of a destination wedding is that you can combine your honeymoon vacation with the ceremony itself.

So when these glitzy weddings excel in colours and being innovative, should we rephrase the good old saying as ‘Marriages are made in God’s own Country’???

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Team Photography Anson Antony Model grooming Sameer Khan Styling tenzin Cherl makeup and hair styling Kiara Chakpram Event Management Maxxo Fashion events

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Model Suzanne Roque

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Model ely Doras 48

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Model Jovita M estibeiro

ADVERTORIAL

Artique

Jewellers & Clothing First Jewellery in India which come with boutique concept showroom giving importance to personalized services and made designs on order

A Gold has been part of tradition for thousands of years as jewellery. every bride in India is ordained with gold which symbolizing prosperity. Not only that, it given financial security as well

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rtique Jewellers caters to the customer needs by offering purity certified branded jewellery.Artique is the first Jewellery in INDIA which come with a boutique concept showroom giving importance to personalized services and made designs on order.

We sell 22K, 916 hallmarked gold ornaments & SGL Certied 100% money back guaranteed diamond ornaments. We offer our customers free service for jewellery maintenance/polishing/ repairing apart from attractive exchange offer.

ARTIQUE will be in history books for coming generation as pioneer in changing dull looking jewellery showrooms to beautifully colored counters, Purity testing machine facility in our jewellery is open to all customers.

Gold has been part of tradition for thousands of years as jewellery. Every bride in India is ordained with gold which symbolizes prosperity.

Not only that, it given financial security as well.

We have a separate wing to Care the needs of customers called –ACS~ Caring Customers From 26 years experience in Family business of Food Processing, Manufacturing & Marketing, We had learned the Important of “ Focusing Goals“.Please bless our vision of Artique menor, Artique jewellers , Artique vibgyor & Artique clothing -50 Boutiques /Showrooms by 2020 & 150 by 2030.

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By 2025 We want to contribute 1 lakh direct & indirect job opportunities. As told our dream, brands of Artique which caters different products are :

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ARTIQUE Jewellery compactly designed in an area between 400 to 1000 sq. ft.

Jewellery will be adorned with Quality certified Diamond Ear Drops, Nose Pins, Finger Rings, Pendants & 925 Silver Ornaments.

ARTIQUE menor – 250 to 350 Sq. ft, is designed to cater to specific LOCALISED Taste, Needs & Trends of Clothing & Gem Stones. With the presence of 925 Sterling trendy Silver Jewellery (including Boys special) will be an added attraction with a buy back/exchanged guarantee on prevailing metal (Silver) price.

In BIS 916 Gold, Artique menor will be focusing in latest stylish designs of Nose Pins & Ear Studs & Drops. Diamond collections in Artique menor will be Certified trendy & stylish Nose Pin collections.

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PLAT(E)ONIC sushi

Taste of Tokyo Beef Suteiki Teishoku Combines Yasai Salad Miso soup Beef Steak

Recipe Courtesy Chef - Akinori Nishioka Tokyo Bay 7th Floor, Hotel Presidency Ernakulam Tel:0484 4034472

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Preparation (Beef steak)

Pieces of succulent beef are put together and steaks are marinated on both sides in a skillet with a little shortening for about 7 to 10 minutes.

Pour off drippings.

Then on each steak put: A little salt 1 1/2 tsp. onion 1 tsp. green pepper 1 tbsp.

Cover and cook over low heat for 2 to 3 minutes and it’s all ready to be served with a Japanese Stick sauce.

Sushi Platter Combines Inari Sushi Maki Sushi Nigri Sushi Ika Sushi Dashimaki Nori wrap

Preparation (Nigri Sushi)

Gather 2 tbs. of sushi rice in right hand and squeeze gently into a ball. With the left hand, pick up a piece of fresh fish, place a small dab of wasabi on the fish and put the fish on top of the rice.

Shape and form the morsel of rice and fish attractively. Place on serving plate.

To eat, dip only the fish in soy sauce.

Do not dip rice in soy sauce.

Noriwrap

A sea weed wrap used to wrap the Sushis that are highly rich in anti oxidants.

Shrimp and Vegatable Tempura Combines 10 Large or jumbo shrimp (if frozen need to thaw, the bigger the shrimp the better) Corn starch to dust Oil for deep frying

Tempura Batter

100 g (little bit more than ¾ cup) flour ½ tsp. baking powder ¼ tsp. salt 1 egg yolk 200 ml ice water

Preparation

You can start heating the oil when you are almost done with cleaning shrimp. You want to bring the oil to 170C (338F). You can check the temperature with chopsticks or with a thermometer. When you see small bubbles around chopsticks, it’s pretty much ready for deep frying. Sift flour,baking powder in a bowl and Beat egg yolk gently and add iced water and 2 ice cubes. It’s important to keep the batter icy cold at all time. The crispiness of Tempura comes from the temperature difference between oil and batter.

Pour the egg mixture into flour mixture. Using chopsticks, mix but only circulate

around the bowl 10 times. You want to leave some of the flour unmixed and clunky. The key here is not to produce gluten in order to have crispy tempura.Now Sift some corn starch on top of shrimps and as oil is ready dip shrimp in batter several times, making sure shrimp is completely covered by the batter and start deep frying.Deep fry for about 2-3 minutes or so (depending on how many shrimps you deep fry at the same time and oil temperature), and after it’s cooked, place the shrimp on a wire rack (paper towel is okay but try to place it vertically) to get rid of extra oil.

2012 MAY 53 Life

Food Myths

Food rules to break Let science enlighten you, so you know about these food fallacies.

M

yths, or even half-truths, get in the way of a fitter, healthier you; because misinformation on nutrition fools men into becoming confused and frustrated, even if they're achieving results. Let science enlighten you, so you know about these food fallacies.

if you're 60kg and want to be 80kg, then have 180gm of Red meat causes cancer protein a day The origin: In a 1986 study, Japanese researchers

discovered cancer developing in rats that were fed 'heterocyclic amines', compounds that are generated from overcooking meat under high heat. Since then, some studies of large populations have suggested a potential link between meat and cancer.

What science really shows: There's no direct cause-and-effect relationship between red-meat consumption and cancer.

The bottom line: Meat lovers worried about the supposed risks of grilled meat don't need to avoid it; rather, they should just trim off the burned or overcooked sections of the meat before eating.

Sweet potatoes are better for you than white potatoes

The origin: Most of us eat the highly processed version of the white potato. So consumption of this root vegetable has been linked to obesity and an increased diabetes risk. Meanwhile, sweet potatoes, which are typically eaten whole, have been celebrated for being rich in nutrients and also having a lower glycaemic index.

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What science really shows: White potatoes and sweet potatoes have complementary nutritional differences; one isn't necessarily better than the other. Sweet potatoes have more fibre and vitamin A, but white potatoes are higher in essential minerals.

The bottom line: The form in which you consume a potato-for instance, a whole baked potato versus a processed potato that's used to make chips-is more important than the type of potato.

High protein intake is harmful to your kidneys

The origin: Back in 1983, researchers first discovered that eating more protein increases your 'glomerular filtration rate' (GFR). Think of it as the amount of blood your kidneys filter per minute.

From this, scientists made the leap that a higher GFR places kidneys under greater stress.

What science really shows: Nearly two decades ago, Dutch researchers found that while a protein-rich meal did boost GFR, it didn't have an adverse effect on overall kidney function. "Though when you exceed protein intake kidneys have to do more work. But there's no damage," says New Delhi-based nutritionist Dr Sonia Kakar. There's no published research showing that downing large amounts of protein damages healthy kidneys.

The bottom line: Eat your target body weight in grams of protein daily. For example, if you're 60kg and want to be 80kg, then have 180gm of protein a day.

ADVERTORIAL

Glitz Flitz

Planning to tie knots soon and have no idea of what and where to start off your beauty treatments from???

H

Glitz Hair Beauty and Spa S.A Road Manorama Junction Ernakulam Tel: 0484 6450457/3000414

ere’s a ray of hope with “Glitz Hair Beauty and Spa” in Cochin. For all the muddled “brides to bes” who wish to engage in pre beauty treatments can drop in and get beautifully pampered and be called the “Perfect Bride” on your Big Day. The Bridal package is inclusive of different treatments consisting of Glowing Facial, a hair spa, Fruit Wax, Body Wax, Spa Pedicure, Spa Manicure a trial make up as well as a Bridal Make up to complete it. The pre treatment bridal package is a course that begins a few months before which can get you the time that you would need before the onset of the stressful and long journey to your Big Day. It not just a bride who gets to enjoy the beauty treatments but it’s an umbrella space for all the ladies to get a makeover done from tip to toe. Be it a day out or a party night to go wild, the saloon promises to provide the best ever service in the industry using international products with no compromises in hygiene. From sheets to bands to slippers to masks, everything used is disposable.

It offers beauty conscious people with reasons fair enough to loosen their wallets to be the charming and admired one in the crowd and that too at affordable prices.

You may choose from the various organic facials and also have a professional feel of the home care beauty products. Also bringing forth

options for a more fruitful way to wax, one can pick from flavors like Green Apple, Banana, and Orange depending on your skin types.

For the poor souls who have a chill run down their spine with the mere thought of waxing, Glitz brings forth “Painless waxing”. Best for first timers and it’s on the list of must try beauty treatment at Glitz. The body polishing treatment will help get your skin feel exfoliated and hydrated. Gel Nail Polishing is again a USP of this place, which can get you an impeccable nail manicure .Nails are exposed to UV lights in this procedure and it is advisable if you are off for a vacation or are getting married soon.

Hot stone and Deep tissue massage is also the one of the stand out’s of this saloon. It also offers an indoor and outdoor make up facility and varied hairstyle options for you to flaunt your locks and strands.

The venture is an initiative by Ms.Julie George who has 3 Glitz showrooms in Dubai under the same brand name. The showroom at Cochin is opened to induce international standards to the services rendered to Kochiites. The gift vouchers of various denominations being given away at this saloon is yet another reason to drop in and explore the services and surprises they have for their customers.

So drop and in and feel the change you have always wished to see in you.

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KIFW 2012IKIFW 2012IKIFW 2012IKIFW 2012IKIFW 2012IKIFW 2012IKIFW 2012IKIFW 2012IKIFW 2012IKIFW

KOCHIN INTERNATIONAL FASHION WEEK

2012

Prabath Samarasooriya Collections

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ike the joke that is going around in the airline circle, the now (in) famous title sponsor bird that fails to take off, the KIFW version 2 was a total squib. If version 3 doesn’t step up to its claims , KIFW won’t find any takers. The major flaw- coming back to Casino.

No offence to the colonial charm of the hotel, but it simply cannot accommodate the crowd. The hall where the show happens turns into a tropical, humid, human jungle.

The heat from the lights and too many bodies cramped into a confided space , is so intense that the makeup peels away as sweat. Unlike the last edition there were no major show stopper or celebrity consistently for all the shows. Last time the Mollywood stars walked the ramp, so was expecting at least something similar if not a scale up to who’s who of celebrity India.

Thankfully there was Parvathy Omanakuttan, brand ambassador and all round graceful lady.

Amala Paul, delightfully urban –cute keeping up with her rising star status.

A word about the crowd. If last time if the cochin glitterazi was decked up in their best, this time around it was more of t-shirt and open sandals ( they remember the heat). The after party were nothing to write home about and the overall hosting, especially the bouncers created a lot of complain from the media and the audience. But then Mr. T B Venugopal, the P.R require special mention for pacifying tempers.

Photos Jinson Abraham, Nikas Neo & Sreerag Vinod

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ART & CULTURE murals

Murals Making a Come Back they are no longer restricted to temple walls. Kerala Murals etches a strong and new come back with diverse appeals. the new generation is slowly realising its richness as an art form and are discovering its diverse potentials, in the changing art scenario

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text V-CREATE MEDIA

urals today are not just the ancient elaborate wall paintings in temples and palaces. They are making a strong and liberal revival, replicating modern tastes. Mural painting are fast catching the imagination of city-based amateur artists and homemakers. Fashion designers create new statements with mural designed fabrics where as interior designers and Vastu consultants redefine interior concepts through them.

A journey tracing the new mural expressions:

Mural painting are fast catching the imagination of city-based amateur artists and As a Hobby homemakers There is an increasing number of ‘mural art

exhibitions' which are being held in the state and across the country. “The new generation is slowly realising its richness as an art form and are discovering its diverse potentials, in the changing art scenario” says Prince Thonnackal, a renowned mural artist, who conducted an elaborate

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exhibition- ‘Mural Ramayana’ depicting 37 episodes of Ramayana, with his 17 home maker students.

Prince has been teaching mural paintings to many housewives travelling the length and breadth of the state as well as in metros like Bangalore and Chennai. His students include Malayalam actress Menaka Sureshkumar who participated in the making of Mural Ramayana. “It was a one year long process and the pains took by the ladies were amazing” says Prince. On its success, he started working on his next project- Mahabharatha Series, which involves 38 amateurs.

“It is heartening that the traditional art form of Kerala has an increased number of takers these days,” says Saju Thuruthil, who practices the art since two decades.

The Fashion Pulse

“The elaborate and intricate style of murals has

Image Courtesy-Rana Divakaran, Hasthakala Creations, Calicut immense possibilities in fashion designing,” says Asha, an expert in fabric painting. Asha’s Mural Textile Designing Studio in Guruvayoor, has created ripples in the state as well as outside, with its innovative blend of ‘contemporary’ and ‘classic’. “It reflect the spirit of contemporary women without divorcing the roots of where they are from” says Asha who had designed exquisite pieces for many celebrities including megastars.

Wedding drapes and party wears are designed with murals, rich metallics, swarovski encrusted or smothered in zardoi. Muralled dupattas can add a subtle ethnic touch to your everyday wardrobe. Rich earthy colours, spicy flavours and memories of India fuse together into pictures against contrasting shades. “Adherence to the tradition as well as maintaining the awe of the mythological characters needs much effort and patience”, says Asha, who even have orders from boutiques in hotels like The Leela.

Ethnic Interiors

Murals that greets you when you enter the living room bestows an ethnic effect, more than being decorative. Interior designer Susheela Nair, who is known for her incorporation of Kerala murals into her designs, says “they complement both the contemporary and traditions”.

“The colours of the murals are vivid so one needs to choose the right colours for furnishings otherwise it can look incongruous,” says Susheela.

“The subject and the positioning should be given importance” she continues.

Many articles and accessories like pots, flower vase, paper weights, bags, lampshades and musical instruments come adorned with murals. Rana Divakaran, an art collector who conducts shows of murals painted on rare articles, says that they are well received by art lovers, especially in big cities.

“In a way it helps to popularise the art form,” says Divakaran. According to Divakaran, the artists

Adherence to the tradition as well as maintaining the awe of the mythological characters needs much effort and patience

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ART & CULTURE murals

Image Courtesy-Rana Divakaran, Hasthakala Creations, Calicut who work for him have tried painting murals even on huge wooden boats, which are fabulous to be displayed at the lobby of restaurants.

Individuals and businesses are increasingly buying murals. Big hotels and resorts prefer massive murals on their walls nowadays, which has shot up the market of mural painting,” says Prince.

Beyond Tradition

Departing from traditional norms, today all colours are used to improve the effect of depictions,” says Rana. “There have also been diversions from the prescribed themes with emphasis on the art forms like Kathakali. “I see it as artistic liberty” he

continues.

Modern murals also enroll aspects of both painting and sculpture to conceptualise a powerful world.

While earlier mural artists relied on just natural pigments and textures, today artists go a whole lot further and use materials from mud to gleaming metals and the material palette like colourful chipped tiles, terracotta, ceramics, bricks, stone, granite, acrylic, resin, suede or leather-like materials.Inspired by the themes and design style of the original murals, today a contemporary aesthetics and tastes are incorporated, preserving their integrity and authenticity. And these endeavours ofcourse is keeping the art still alive.

Murals Facts

Saree- Courtesy Asha's Murals, Guruvayur 62

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Traditional murals of Kerala (chuvarchithrams) dates back to 16th century and are a continuation of the painting in the pre-historic period.

Typical Kerala murals can be seen in palaces like Mattancherry Palace, Padmanabhapuram and Krishnapouram and in temples like Vadakkumnathan temple, Thrissur, Chemmanitta temple as well as in the cave paintings of Thirunandikkara, Kanyakumari district.

Originally, murals colours were made of natural and vegetable colours and fruit juices.

Brushes for painting were made of blades of certain grass, sharpened bamboo pieces and roots of trees.

Cost of mural paintings ranges between Rs.1500 to Rs.5000per square feet.

Kerala Murals are very much related to Dravidian art of Kalamezhuthu and also echoes the Ajanta and the Ellora tradition. The expressions and gestures of the deities are said to have influenced the aspects of Koodiyattam and Kathakali.

The unusual love song two lakh + hits within four days of release speaks for this incredible work !!!

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ony Music releases its first ever Malayalam music album Yuvvh. The music album that has created quite some talks around the town. The first video song Nenjodu Cherthu featuring Nivin Pauly & Nazriya got a massive response in you tube within two days of release on April 6th 2012. With four lakh plus hits for the song, it has been given a thumbs up by the audience.

The ironical lover boy image presented by Nivin Pauly has gelled very well for the mood, the song implies. Presenting the same old 'brand new love story' in an unusual mood with a pair that had at least a decade between their respective ageswas one of the major challenge. But this experment has really gone well .

The very vibrant crew consisted of all young people who had a sincere dedication from their part to make it better than the best. This attitude has itself been the driving factor for bringing out the specail result. The close emotional bonding build up amidst the crew member within the short span of two days of shoot for Nenjodu Cherthu was a

fact that every one seemed to cherish in this Yuvvh Team. The lyric of the songs has been written by Naveen Maraar and the very thrill of being a part of Alphonse's workmade the actors commit to the venture. “The personal mood of the song and the cinematography is perhaps one of the reasons that it has seeped into the best list of the audience� says Nivin Pauly.The concept has been developed

by Prasanth and Alphonse Putharen and the music album comprises of 8 songs sung by Ouseppachan, Anjali Muralidharan, Aalaap Raju, Job Kurian, Swapna Abraham and Priya Hemesh. George C Williams , who did the cinematography for Nenjodu cherthu,has been an immense support for the great execution of the song.

The onset mood was a more of a fun experience and the outcome is a sole result of the crew.

Having proven successfully that age is not a matter of sheer concern when talent stands a step ahead the song remains high in block buster charts. Yuvvh thus presents a whole package of a young crew which can be looked up ahead for many great hits.

the very vibrant crew consisted of all young people who had a sincere dedication from their part to make it better

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HIDE OUT our native village resort

OUR NATIVE VILLAGE RESORT As we celebrate World earth Day on April 22nd and World Health Day on April , Susheela Nair meets CB Ram Kumar, an eco warrior and holistic health therapist You can unwind yourself in this glorious outdoors by indulging in rural games like kite-ying, hop-scotch, gilli danda and catapulting

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ur Native Village Resort, on the outskirts of the Garden City comes as a breath of fresh air for city weary citizens and tourists. Conceived and started by C.B.Ram Kumar, an ex- ad professional, eco warrior, holistic health therapist and practitioner, it exudes real ambience of rural India and signifies the true spirit of India like nothing else can.

The rural architecture featuring a mix of red oxide, terracotta tiles, granite and stone pillars, mud brick edifices, quaint thatched roofs and ethnic paintings

text & Photos SUSHEELA NAIR from various states dotting the rough hewn walls of the rooms captures the essence and flavour of a typical traditional Indian village. The rooms evoke memories of structures on villages.

The landscape is punctuated with replicas of Veerakallu (Hero Stones) which tell tales of the glories of yesteryears. The best way to savour the tranquillity of the place is to amble around leisurely, or drive up to the monuments and temples or go on long invigorating walks on the expansive meadows dotted with groves of various species

of trees. Our Native Village Resort is the ultimate in the rural Indian experience. You can unwind yourself in this glorious outdoors by indulging in rural games like kite-flying, hop-scotch, gilli danda and catapulting in a shooting range at the resort.

Milking a cow, organic farming, ploughing a field, bicycle rides through the countryside and bullock cart rides are other activities one can savour here.

For those who are artistically inclined, can try their hand at pottery making, basket weaving, rangoli or garland making.

What makes Our Native Village Resort so exclusive and unique is that it is India’s 100% first eco resort. It has bagged two covetous awardsResponsible Tourism Award in London in 2008 and SKAL Global Award for sustainability.Almost completely self-sustaining, it boasts of generating its own eco friendly power, harvested rain water process and reuse of waste generator at the resort.

Even the bricks used for construction of the entire resort are ‘stabilised mud bricks’ made from mud excavated for the foundation of the resort and from the construction site. Most of the roofs are arched panels using oven baked mud tiles with minimal use of steel. Coconut leaves have also been used in places. Even the soaps and shampoos used in the resort are organic. Organic vegetables are grown

on-site as well.

Native Village generates 80% of its own electricity, using solar panels, windmills and biogas plants. Taking us on a guided tour of the resort, Ram Kumar the Managing Director of the resort explained, “We have tried our level best to ensure that we make maximum use of natural and recyclable resources to meet our power and water requirements. We generate our own eco-friendly power, harvest rainwater and recycle waste water to meet most of our needs and grow our own organic vegetables.

"We use a combination of solar, windmill and biogas generated energy to meet most of our energy requirements. The bio gas plant uses bio degradable wastes generated from our kitchens (along with deoiled cakes) which solves the problem of hygienic waste disposal as well. Besides helping in conservation, this also enables us to provide uninterrupted power without the use of back up power supply systems like diesel fuelled generators,” he added.

Recycle and wherever possible reuse, that’s the mantra. All waste generated is treated on site and reused where possible. Vegetable food waste goes into the bio gas plant and non vegetarian food waste ( mainly bones ) is used as plant food to har-

Most of the roofs are arched panels using oven baked mud tiles with minimal use of steel. Coconut leaves have also been used in places. even the soaps and shampoos used in the resort are organic.

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HIDE OUT our native village resort

Replica of Veerakallu

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ness their rich calcium content. All ‘grey’ water from the kitchens and wash basins from the rooms is sent through a reed water bed for purification and then used for gardening to feed the water bodies that are part of our landscape. All the waste generated is treated using leach pits, reed water pits and recycling processes using a biogas digester.

The piece de resistance of the resort is the natural pool, a combination of a swimming pool and a pond. Aquatic weeds that surround the pool keep it clean. Water is removed from the pool every day and reused in the farm adjoining the resort. The two areas (swimming pool and a regeneration area) are separated from each other by a barrier that ends just below the water level. No chemicals are used for water purification. The regeneration zone serves to keep the water clean by growing a variety of aquatic plants and reeds. The plants need the nutrients that is released through this decomposition process and hence they digest and biologically cleanse the water. The purification levels conform to world standards and make the pool fit for one to swim and enjoy the benefits of a fully natural swimming pool.

From being a sustainable eco resort, Our Native Village has moved on to become a holistic health eco retreat which now offers a number of programs

targeting the mind and the body such as programs to prevent diabetes and, prevent and reverse heart diseases. Ram Kumar is also a Past Life Regreesion therapist. This has led to the pioneering a new concept with its Soul Spa which massages your soul using the new age techniques like Past Life Regression, Rebirthing breath work, musical massages, binaural beats, along with ayurvedic massages, meditation and yoga,etc.

Ram Kumar says, ‘Our USP is being truly in the holistic health segment where evidence based traditional health systems are applied for solving modern day medical problems.Chirayau is one of our unique, long term program akin to time share whereby one invests a certain amount of money and comes to our resort for one week every year for the next 10 years to go through about 35 different therapies- all centred around relieving stress, detoxifying, rejuvenating and improving the immunity system of our guests, thereby ensuring they do not contract any major non communicable diseases.”

The resort has also started a programme for corporates called the Key People Personal Health (KEYPPH) programme which takes a holistic approach to health with the functional integration of various traditional health systems such as ayurveda, naturopathy, yoga, meditation, and acupuncture.

HEALTH walking

‘Walk’

your way to a healthy life!

W You’ll never know the benefits until you experience them. So, leave your sedentary life behind and become a walker today

alking is a gentle, low-impact exercise that will help you burn calories and fine-tune your cardiovascular system. And what’s more, ‘walking’ is accessible to just about everyone and fits into just about any schedule. You can do it alone or with company – the choice is yours.

Regular brisk walks propel you into a higher level of fitness and health, playing the role of a proverbial life-saver. For such a simple exercise that does not require any practice, the health benefits are numerous! Let’s take a look at how walking can improve your quality of life…

Walking increases physical activity and decreases stress, thus reducing the risk of heart or cardiovascular disease.

If you suffer from hypertension, then regular walking is the best way to maintain normal blood pressure.

As a diabetic, brisk walks can keep your affliction in check as it increases the number of insulin receptors on your cells. It also minimises the chance of developing type-2 diabetes.

Walking is the optimum exercise for overweight people as it works wonders on belly fat and progressively reduces overall weight. Obese people are at higher risk of diabetes, and the onset of the disease can be prevented with regular walks.

Walking burns excess calories and body fats and helps you maintain a healthy body weight.

Walking is known to release mood-boosting hormones that can take your mind off everyday stressors. It encourages good mental health, reduces symptoms of depression and stress, and helps you get a good night’s sleep.

Walking enhances blood circulation, which in turn improves the strength and flexibility of muscles and joints.

Walking improves your stamina and puts the ‘zing’ back in your stride. It gives you relief from fatigue, arthritis pain and backache.

So, don’t think twice about starting and sustaining a walking regimen. Begin with a 20-minute brisk walk, three times a week. Wear good walking shoes, take long, smooth strides and walk as briskly as you can. Swing your arms back and forth and make sure you breathe deeply, but normally.

After a few weeks, increase your walking time to 30 minutes. The rush of energy you feel will incite you to increase your sessions to five times a week.

You can then increase your time to 45 minutes and sustain it the year round. You will notice abdominal fat simply melting away, and along with it all the diseases caused by abdominal fat.

You’ll never know the benefits until you experience them. So, leave your sedentary life behind and become a walker today!

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ARCHITECHTURE modern offices

Beautiful-‘Officially’ Modern offices are not only operationally efficient, but also aesthetically created to look into the future

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echnology and operational efficiency along with aesthetic appeal and ecofriendliness, this is the mantra of modern office spaces” says Sebstian Jose. His concept of ‘modern office architecture’ is depicted through the simple yet stylish office space designed for Bhavani Consultancy, at Vytilla.

Designed with a concept of openness, it bagged second position for commercial buildings this year for IIA Award for Excellence in Architecture (Kerala Chapter).

the main focus in an office space design should be an attempt to come out with the most functional solutions Design Concept It is seen that we Keralites give much importance while being in designing our home spaces, but we design complimentary to office spaces without much planning. This has to changed and many new commercial spaces in the authentic and be the cities started showing signs that a new trend is environmental setting in.

The main focus in an office space design should be an attempt to come out with the most functional solutions while being complimentary to the authentic and environmental. Functionality means strict adherence to structural simplicity, cost effectiveness,

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as well as total answering to the clients' brief.

Any workspace design begins with a space planning. This being the skeleton of an office design, how to utilize the existing space best and thereby creating a better work environment has to be stressed complementing both look and feel.

The first impression is always the lasting one and so offices should make their statement at the doorstep. It is important to remember that the entire employees and visitors move from this space, hence using maintenance-free materials is important for a long run. All office space has three main areas - the reception, transition spaces like corridors, and workspace. The transition spaces or corridors are often the most ignored spaces. But in our perception, they are equally important. Another important aspect of operations is the modularity of designs and simplicity of elements making it easy to run and cost effective.

About the project

The site was only 4.8 cents and being in the middle of the city, densely packed amidst high rises. So, in order to avoid a feeling of congestion, we insisted

to create a sense of openness with minimum partitions, split levels, use of glass partitions wherever required, railing and lot of natural light. As this reduces the use of artificial light, power consumption will be less. At the same time a sense of privacy is maintained with the use of louvers and blinds.

Louvers as well as the eastern side courtyard functions as sun protectors, thereby reduces the burden of air conditioners. Louvers are designed in a way that natural light and view is not obstructed.

Plants within louvers create a feeling of greenness and environment friendliness, beyond the boring concretes all around.

The use of glass on corridors has a double advantage. It deletes the visual barrier between corridor and office spaces and also provides ample natural lighting inside. A simple layout well-lit by natural light and not blocked by cabins and conference rooms can give the feeling of space.

Being a small plot, there is no basement parking, so parking is confined to the ground level and entrance to the corner to define movement. The terrace floor is covered with aluminium roof to

reduce heat. Cross ventilation provided ensures air circulation inside while the blank wall on the south reduces thermal heat gain.

As the building is enveloped by structures on all sides, corner view looks of the building is enhanced. Outdoor space courtyard in the eastern side and landscaping on the southern side give a sense of space to the road.

Overview

Each project is an opportunity to implement new ideas, to try out new materials and new construction techniques. Fine mixing of aesthetics, functionality and eco-friendliness along with cost-effectiveness is just like juggling four balls in the air.

Even though it sounds simple to create an environment to be operatively efficient, it is a challenge to accomplish it at the end. In this age where an organisation’s corporate identity is very important, more and more offices are turning to smart office designs to augment this identity. This also works well in an economic environment which calls to be prudent about costs.

Project profiled

Bhavani Consultants Group, Vytilla

Site

4.8 cents,

Area

4000 sqft.

Time of completion 6 months

Total Cost 60 lakhs

Achitect

Sebastian Jose,Principal Architect, Silpi Architects, Thevara, Kochi.

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Ways To Fool Your Boss

Are you like most people? Do you want to aimlessly float through life collecting your paycheck and living for the weekend?

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f you have no desire to become a linchpin, but you still want to fool your boss into thinking you’re working hard so you can obtain that elusive raise and/or promotion then these 10 tips will set you in the right direction.

Send E-mails at Ridiculous Hours

Right before you go to bed send out one of those e-mails where all you did was casually look over a document and announce that “It’s good to go.”

Make sure you CC someone else so they know how late you’re working too. If your office uses Outlook you can use the delay delivery feature to send stuff at 5:30am and on Sunday afternoons.

keep leveraging these tactics at your own discretion, but I hope you don’t find yourself in a Turn Your Desk into a War Zone high-profile position It is a clear indication that you’re working on multiwhere you have to ple projects if you have stuff scattered all over your Printouts, binders, folders, notebooks. Stack step up your game desk. it all high. Put some excel spreadsheets on top.

Everyone knows poring over excel is intense.

Outsource Everything to Co-Workers

This is a key one because at some point something has to actually get done. Get a candy bowl, buy them lunch/drinks — basically do whatever you need to do to get them to like you and then persuade them to “help” you with your work. Most

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of the time you should take all the credit, but throw them a bone sometimes and they’ll feel appreciated enough to help you next time you need it.

Schedule Tons of Meetings

Most people think that if you’re in meetings you’re working and progress is being made. Peter Drucker says meetings are a concession to deficient organization. We either meet or work. We can’t do both at the same time. Until your boss realizes that most meetings are worthless keep your calendar full of them.

Act Really Stressed and Make Sure Everyone Knows

Audible sighs, massaging your own temples and announcing you have no more capacity to anyone who will listen are fool-proof tactics. Also, make sure you drink lots of caffeine, act frazzled and occasionally toss a few sheets of paper or yell at the printer. Work creates stress so the the more stressed you are, the harder you’re working. It’s a proven theorem.

So keep leveraging these tactics at your own discretion, but I hope you don’t find yourself in a highprofile position where you have to step up your game. Rest assured I’ll be rooting for you to fail.

BALANCE SHEET save more

Tips to save more

& spend less..

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et’s keep this one simple and clean - just a bunch of relatively easy ways to save money. As you incorporate more and more of these tips into your life, the savings add up and it wouldn’t surprise me if you could save thousands over the course of a year.It will take a little work on your part but those thousands of dollars in savings are what helped us get out of debt earlier, kept us out of debt for several years and will hopefully help us pay off our recent auto loan soon as well.

As you incorporate more and more of these tips into your life, the savings add up and you could save Cook at home often thousands over the If both the husband and wife work, this is likely to be very difficult. Start out with the habit of cookcourse of a year. ing at home once a week and slowly increase the

frequency until you find a balance between saving money and getting stressed out.

Make your own coffee

Everyone seems to have heard of the latte factor.

Even though the author may have overestimated the savings from skipping a latte at Starbucks, don’t underestimate the ding it puts in your pocket in the long run.

Brown bag lunch at least a few days a week

Lunch times are great opportunities to network and make connections that could improve your career growth. So unless there is a common eating area for brown baggers, you may choose to limit brown bagging lunch to three days each week. Find a bal-

ance between saving some money and making the connection.

Make a list before going shopping

They call it impulse buying for a reason. Humans simply have a very tough time resisting the temptation to purchase extras while shopping. Without a list you will buy items that you simply do not need.

Even worse is when your forget to purchase the actual item you came to the store for in the first place.

If you plan on cooking at home, pre-plan a rough menu and make a list before you go grocery shopping. Getting all that you need in one trip can help avoid another unnecessary trip and temptation.

Go grocery shopping while you are in a hurry

Maybe you need to go out in a couple of hours.

Or your favorite show is going to be on TV after a couple of hours. Try to squeeze in the grocery trip in that intermediate time. Armed with your grocery list, you should be in-and-out very quickly with little time for meandering and getting tempted to buy things you don’t need.

Buy in bulk whenever possible

When it comes to non-perishable items, buy in bulk whenever you find something on sale. The items I usually stock up on are, cereals, tinned goods, rice, beans, pasta, coke, toothpaste, body wash, shampoo, toilet paper etc. For such items, shopping at warehouse stores like Costco, Sam’s Club etc can save you quite a bit of money.

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EVENTS Jt Pac

TERE GHAR KE SAMNE Direction - Sunil Harishchandra Cast & Crew - Kashmira Shah, Rajesh Puri, Sagar Karande, Vinod Gaikar

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E-Class CoupĂŠ with Panoramic Sliding Sunroof

E-Class Cabriolet with fully electro hydraulic operated soft top

Mercedes-Benz

STAR DRIVE experience GL-350 with its 4-MATIC suspension on a 30 degree incline using its low-range transfer case, which ensures that the necessary grip is there

GL-350 Equipped with its standard - specification Off-Road Pro Engineering package showing its prowess with differential lock system maintaining traction

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GL-350 climbing down a 40 degree parcour with its unique Downhill Speed Regulation (DSR) feature, which can be used to select different maximum speeds on steep downhill stretches

PRE-SAFE Demonstration Activity E-Class and C-Class in action at about 80 kmph

The next level of Social Media: Owned media/platforms Building your own community/platform is now lot easier and some brands have already gone in this direction. the concept of owned media has always been there, it’s just an extension of the same in digital domain

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o brands and organisations are all rushing up to get the numbers on their Facebook page, which is good! But marketers are also concerned that at some point their stunts on these social media sites might become irrelevant or users might get fatigue.(though that’s a long story ahead) and there are others who think this is just a fad and it will get over in some time. But trust us,when we say this! Social media is here to stay and leading that band wagon Facebook has ensured introducing ways to ensure this.

Most of the leading websites now has a Facebook log in or comment using Facebook login,be that the leading newspaper of your area or an e - commerce website. This itself is a proof that Facebook has already surpassed the tag of just being a website. In its last developers summit Mr.Zuckerburg launched this "open graph" which

in all proportions is re writing how internet works. Now, we are not going into technicality here! Let’s make this simple, what Facebook is telling is that it wants brands organisations to build platforms/ websites and while doing this leverage the numbers that Facebook has ! And that's a game changer!

News websites have seen a rise in traffic to their sites through Facebook, the social reader which the Guardian, Washington post and Yahoo has built, has helped them leverage the social media to a great extent. So, building your own community/platform is now lot easier and some brands have already gone in this direction.

The concept of owned media has always been there, it’s just an extension of the same in digital domain.So it’s high time we see brands in India follow this but we for sure know they are working on some.

$1 Billion for a company with zero revenue For Facebook which is all about user experience and sharing, they cannot afford to see a startup like Instagram coming up as even nearly an alternative

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nstagram was launched in October 2010 as an iOS app and it became available for Android since April 2012. Instagram now has around 30 million users and this is the first time Facebook is buying a company or product with huge number of users.

But one wonders why Zuckerburg had to buy a company with no revenue for $1 billion? He and his engineering team could have made something similar or better in no time! Well, we can say,"well played Zuck" he just bought Instagram, else Google or someone else would’ve done that part. For Facebook which is all about user experience and sharing, they cannot afford to see a startup like Instagram coming up as even nearly an alternative!

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Salt Mango Tree is on expansion mode Getting set to launch Middle east operations, a lucrative and bold move for a one year old company

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e are aggressive and we wanna play big ! That's the mood at Saltmangotree camp as we are getting set to launch our Middle East operations. The route is not something practised by our peers but now that we are servicing clients from Kochi, Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore,adding Dubai, seemed a lucrative and bold move for a one year old company.

Kairos Online Expo is all set to change the way admissions happen in Kerala An initiative by edFactors, KairosOnline Education Expo, provides all the information about various colleges from which the candidates can choose their place of interest

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e all have been to educational expos and exhibitions but having been there, i think we all agree how getting bunch loads of leaflets and brochures are no help. That's where Kairos online expo comes i ! An initiative by EdFactors, KairosOnline Education Expo is one of its kind, providing all the information about various colleges from which the candidates can choose their place of interest. The experience is quite unique as they have tried to give you the same feeling of walking down to different college booths except for the part where you get a lot of toilet paper part! Ah, so then if you are in the mood to call this an eco-friendly thing, do check out www.edfactors.org .

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Pebble Watch

Contour GPS

We had featured the inPulse smartwatch in an earlier issue.

The Allerta Pebble is its new younger avatar. The Pebble is an e-paper watch with strikingly good looks. It comes in 3 colours and has a 1.26 inch 144 x 168 display. The pebble integrates completely with iOS and Android devices and can recieve call, SMS and email notifications from them. The company claims a battery life of nearly 7 days on 1 full charge.

The pebble watch supports 'watchapps' customized for several activities including cycling, jogging, music, travel and even golf! The Pebble features a backlight, Bluetooth, vibration system and 3-axis accelerometer. What's also interesting is that Pebble was launched via the crowdfunding website Kickstarter.com and launched on the website in mid-April with a price tag of $99.

The Contour GPS is a hands free camera perfect for all your adventure trips. It can mount to your helmet or goggles and take videos at high resolution (1920x1080) and has an inbuilt GPS. The GPS enables you to overlay your video with maps, speed, routes and orientation. It can shoot at high frame rates, upto 60 FPS. The camera also comes with a companion app for iPhone and Android which lets you use your phone as a viewfinder via Bluetooth.

X-Mini v1.1 Capsule Speaker

Antec LanBoard

X-Mini v1.1 is a power packed speaker in pocket size. Despite its small size it provides good sound quality at high volume. This is definitely one of the best designed mini-speakers available out in the market.

It is even possible to daisy chain multiple X-Minis together for times when you need that extra bit of scream.

The X-Mini charges via USB and can last for 6 hours on one charge.

Features: - Small footprint - USB charging - 6 hours battery life Price: Rs 975 78

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Features: - 1080P at 30 FPS and 720P at 60 FPS - In-built GPS and map overlay - Guiding lasers - 32 GB SD cards supported - Goggle mount and helmet mount options.

Price : $320

Moving around a bulky PC is always cumbersome and the folks at Antec have a very ingenious and cheap solution to this problem.

The Lanboard is a plastic skateboard with two lockable wheels and two adjustable straps which can accommodate your PC, be it of any size.

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Features: - Adjustable straps - Easy to move wheel base - Comes at a bargain Cost Rs 1,000

WTF Politics

What the

f***k

Youth should come forward in Politics too because I believe that “Youth with CONFIDENCE can work smarter”. The older generation should bore on the responsibility of mentoring the younger generation and guiding them to help and create a progressive society Shamna Wahab An HR Professional

Young shots V/S Grey hairs Who should really lead? Who are the true path leaders and to be relied on? Here’s what our public pole revealed.

My vote would definitely go for the young politicians.

Definitely they are less experienced but in corruption, as compared to the experienced one’s standing in the row. By bringing them forth we can definitely look ahead for some corrupt free leaders.

Vividh Santhakumar Marketing Manager

Being a very large and complex Coalition government with more than 40% youth population, we need at-least 40:60 youth ratio in our government. The mixture of experience & new make things great .

Davis D Parakal An Engineering Professional

My preference would be definitely to promote the young breed like M.K Muneer, Hibi Eden, Sachin Pilot and Rahul Pilot. They are more educated and have a better picture of the society. So my vote goes definitely for younger sect.

Chris Jossey A Banking Professional Don’t appreciate the idea of demarcating a political sect on basis of age.But a healthy mixture of both the young and the experienced people in politics is imporatant for having a closer approach to current problems and to tackle them wisely in light of the experience.

M.A Baby Former Education Minister

A blend of both is what’s ideal because it’s not just talent and the energy that we need for resolving problems in a society but experience and ideas that come in hand with the experienced are equally needed.

Soumya S Assistant director

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RNI Reg. No. KERENGO 2336/11/1/2011 TC