The Beat (April 2017) Issue 3

THE BEAT

April 2017/ IIJNM Publication

Saffron Scourge

Coming of Age in a Start-up World

FROM THE

EDITOR’S DESK Hello, Welcome to the third edition of The Beat. As with the last two editions, we have sought to focus on a topical issue and look at what’s shaping the conversation. This time it’s the start-up economy and we ask what makes it work, what’s gone so wrong in recent times, what’s driving investments and where they’re heading.

In the first issue, we tackled the biggest story of 2016, demonestisation and its aftershocks. We asked whether the government would achieve its goal of shutting down India’s ‘black economy’ and concluded that it wouldn’t as it missed the wood for the trees. We also explored the crisis of urbanisation in the context of Bengaluru’s new draft development plan.

In the second issue we looked at the stagnation in the rural economy and asked what could be done to revitalize India’s farms. We approached the problem from both ends of the spectrum—expanding the agricultural economy through corporate investments and contract farming as well as exploring traditional methods to promote diversity, water and soil conservation to promote sustainable agriculture.

This time we turn to the most dynamic part of the economy—start-ups, which have generated so much excitement, changed the way we shop, eat, travel and play, drawn the most enterprising among our young and attracted the smart money. We track the coming of age of the start-up ecosystem, when the initial stumbles and bad calls are finally beginning to pay off.

We talk to investors about the different stages in the evolution of start-ups and strategies to fund them, about when to get in and how to cash out. We look at the vital role of incubators in nurturing innovation and conclude that more than the entrepreneur’s vision, it takes money, management and momentum to create success.

To illustrate this, we profile a range of start-ups serving a variety of consumer markets like travel, home baking, recruitment, food-tech, social enterprises and more. And when we look to the world beyond, we cover disasters in the making like Bengaluru’s inflammable lakes and the rise of demagogues in Uttar Pradesh politics to more affirming tales of medical marvels, Shakespeare’s firm grip on the Indian imagination and refugee art. Beauty and the Beast indeed!

Cherry Agarwal April 7, 2017.

THE BEAT April 2017

CONTENTS 2

Coming of Age The school of hard knocks

the Future 4 Funding Learning to mix and match

6

Like Babes in the Wood The importance of incubators

8

Travellers’ Tales Enabling that last-minute trip

Photo Shopping Instagram promotions

19

Lakes of Fire Bengaluru’s shame

20

Life’s Secret Codes Miracle of stem cells

22

Sustainable Tourism Quality over quantity

23

Saffron Scourge UP’s lurch into the unknown

24

All the World’s a Stage Shakespeare in India

26

The Long Road From refugee to artist

28

Fences Passion play

29

10

Baking It In Home baking is big business

12

Focus on the Farmer No more middlemen

13

Tibetan Entrepreneurs A helping hand

14

Finding Jobs Beyond the CV

15

Recruiterbox Data-driven hiring

16

Lives of Others Skilling communities

Hacksaw Ridge High drama

30

17

A Nudge Up Building life skills

Linking Rivers Untold risks

31

18

Pigging Out The joys of eating in

Beauty and the Beast A myth revisited

32

April 2017 THE BEAT 1

COVER STORY

Coming o

T

After a dizzy free ride, Indian start-ups are learning the value of discipline and sound bus

he Indian start-up ecosystem is proving to be a test bed for risk, innovation and investment. After a giddy few years of fast growth and even faster cash, investors are pausing for breath. But despite the shocks of demonetization, downgrades in valuation and the consequent drop in funding, startups have continued to proliferate, increasing by 10 per cent in 2016.

A start-up is a young enterprise, in the initial stages of operation, which creates a unique business opportunity by fulfilling unmet customer needs.

Flipkart,Swiggy, Ola and so many others alike tapped into the opportunity to provide door-step service to customers.

So, despite the preponderance of shopping malls, restaurants and cabs right around the corner, these upstarts were able to carve a niche for themselves by delivering convenience as a product and thus creating demand for their services. By using technology creatively and extracting value from every available opportunity, start-ups have turned traditional markets on their heads.

“Only start-ups have the capability to disrupt the entire fabric of the entire industry,” says Ojasvi Babber, general manager, Amity Innovation Incubator in Bengaluru.

With seven unicorns—companies with valuations of over $1 billion— and investments worth $4 billion already invested in start-ups, India is home to the world’s third largest startup ecosystem after the US and China. Less than 10 per cent of Indians live in tier 1 cities so India is in fact an amalgam of multiple consumer markets, including poorlypenetrated tier 2 and tier 3 cities. With growing demand for a variety of services across urbanizing India, a huge un-serviced market has given startups an unprecedented opportunity to grow.

“Start-ups can have an enormous influence over the economy,” says Dr. Ritesh Malik, founder of Guerrilla Venture, an angel fund, “provided we focus on creating a sustainable start-up ecosystem than just hyper-valuated companies.” Malik founder of Y Combinator2 THE BEAT April 2017

backed Innov8 was also listed on 2016 Forbes’ 30 under 30 Asian entrepreneurs in financial services.

Malik is alluding to an earlier wave of start-up investors who flushed the system with easy money. In the absence of reliable data, experience and supervision, the rush of new investment pumped up valuations, pushed costs way out of line and wasted a lot of capital. The resulting collapse in valuations closed the few short-term exit possibilities and created a liquidity trap for early stage investors. Their uniformly poor returns and massive write offs soon threatened the viability of the entire startup ecosystem. A corrective was needed, a return to first principles.

As Krishna Srivatsa, secretary, department of IT sums it up, “We need to return [multiplied] capital to the investors in order to create wealth.”

Thus, we are now witnessing a new brigade of seasoned investors, both private equity and venture capitalists (PE-VC) entering the Indian startup ecosystem. While the earlier flock of financiers sought to capitalise on existing businesses, these seasoned investors are setting out to create entirely

new investment opportunities. “The customer is not supposed to know what he needs,” says Vivek Mansingh, general partner at YourNest Angel Fund, provocatively. “You need to create such a value proposition that a need is created.”

While start-ups are being disciplined by the protocols of PE-VC investors asking tough questions, the ecosystem is being challenged to step out and innovate not just seek endless rounds of funding. In the quest to acquire customers, start-ups typically burn cash by offering deep discounts. Seed investors, focused as they are on growth of revenues, support aggressive customer acquisition in the knowledge that this increases the businesses’ viability and valuation allowing their stakes to be bought out at a hefty multiple. But ever so often, when the new investor evaluates the business model, he finds that the projections don’t add up.

Since this shakeout, Indian companies have been able to raise 6.5 times more investment than what corporate India’s initial public offerings generated during the same period, according to the 2017 Private Equity Impact

of Age

siness models from seasoned venture investors, writes CHERRY AGARWAL

Report published by Chennai-based Venture Intelligence, a leading research and data analyst. In the years from 2011-2016, PE-VC firms invested over $72 billion in Indian businesses, and became the driving force behind technology-enabled services, cloud computing, fin-tech, micro-finance and e-commerce.

The shift in approach reflects in the growth rates. While PE-backed companies showed more than double the revenue growth, non-PE backed investments recorded a mere 15 per cent return over five years. This comes from the willingness of the PE investors to take on high market volatility yet provide long term investments when the chips were down. “One reason why startups succeed is that there is no parachute,” YourNest’s Mansingh explains. What distinguishes the PE-VC investors is their ability to add value to the investments beyond just the capital. Thus, several years of cross-sectoral experiences and perspectives is bringing more maturity and informed investment in the Indian start-up ecosystem.

With investors asking hard questions, several start-ups have had to fold while leaving behind a new generation of quality start-ups. Founded in 2006

by Phanindra Sama, redBus, raised an initial capital of Rs. 2.5 crore from Seedfund, a leading early-stage venture capital fund. Subsequently, it became the largest online bus-ticket booking portal within four years. With strategic inputs from the investors, the company leveraged technology to network with over 2,000 bus operators covering over 100,000 routes, something that hadn’t been done before. Further, redBus raised over Rs. 40 crores from Helion Ventures, Inventus Capital and Seedfund, all PE-VC investors. With an impregnable position in the ticketmanagement services sector in India, redBus was acquired by Nasper’s ibibo. com for $100 million dollar in 2013 offering high returns to the investors.

Equitas Holdings, a micro-finance institution is another example of a business done right by the entry of veteran investors. In the depths of the

Industry evangelists point out, for every 9 failures 1 will succeed.

And if that one is the next Amazon.com, it would’ve been well worth the wait.

2008 financial crisis, PE-VC firms not only provided $23.5 million in capital but also gave Equitas access to its contacts in the industry while handholding the business with legal, regulatory and technical help. Thus, they helped build the first publicly listed small-finance bank generating revenue worth Rs. 1,115 crores in 2016. With its presence across 13 states through 500 branches, Equitas not only provided exits to investors

including Aavishkaar, Caspian and MicroVentures, all impact investors, but also delivered returns which were approximately 14 times of their invested capital.

Quess Corp Limited is another start-up that survived the shake out, generating revenues to the tune of Rs. 3,435 crores in 2016. Headquartered in Bengaluru, Ajit Issac’s Quess Corp is an integrated business service provider offering technology solutions, human resource services, integrated facility management and industrial asset management. It serves approximately 1,300 customers across 26 cities with operations in North America, Middle East and south east Asia.

Yet there are so many others that went down the tunnel in 2016 alone.

Getit Infoservices, which was publishing Yellow pages for decades, started askmebazaar.com as an online classifieds portal. In 2013, Getit was bought out by Astro Holdings which also owns Network18’s Infomedia Yellow Pages and AskMe. Despite capital infusion CEO Kiran Murthi had to shut shop in August 2016 due to poor financial management.

Similarly a whole range of start-ups, in the absence of engaged investors, bowed out. From food delivery platforms like Tiny Owl, which laid off 600 people to Flipkart’s logistic’s arm ekart; from grocery delivery platform PepperTap, which closed down in April 2016 due to pressure from rivals to Snapdeal’s ShopO, an online marketplace for handicrafts which shut down earlier this year. Online courier booking platform, Parcelled closed in June 2016 as did three of Peyush Bansal’s e-commerce platforms—Jewelkart, Bagskart and Watchkart; Doormint, a one-stop solution for hyperlocal repair services followed suit.

But, as industry evangelists point out, for every 9 failures 1 will succeed.

And if that one is the next Amazon. com, it would’ve been well worth the wait April 2017 THE BEAT 3

COVER STORY

Funding the Future The start-up model is all about management, markets, money and momentum, says DIVYA R

I

f start-ups are all about adapting technology to serve customer needs, then India is the place to be right now. A large tech industry employing hundreds of thousands, a fast-growing consumer base and savvy investors willing to fund new ideas have combined to create one of the hottest start-up markets in the world.

The momentum comes from the increasing number of funders, deeper technology penetration, an expansion of incubators and accelerators, the youth demographic and the overall sense of optimism that sustained economic growth tends to induce.

Investors are focused on start-ups that are customer-centric. Whether it is micro venture-capital funds, seed stage investors or Series A and B investors, they all want to back companies that can make it big. The investor looks for traction, for companies that have found purchase and are rapidly building on that. They look for an ambitious team, a convincing business model that can capture a fast-moving opportunity.

“For the private-equity backed companies, the CAGR (compound annual growth rate) has been 40 per cent in the last five years,” says Thillai Rajan, professor at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras at an event organized by Venture Intelligence, aleading investmentdata analyst.

“Earlier, startup organizations which attracted the most funding were limited to B2B (business-tobusiness) sectors. Then consumer-side verticals like biomedical, payment gateways, hyper-local services, e-com logistics, healthcare, food tech, cab aggregators, green energy, retail and social media industries rocketed to the forefront, one after the other, riding the fast path to riches.”

Conventionally, funding is spread 4 THE BEAT April 2017

over three phases as early, middle and later-stage investment. Seed, angel or early stage investors are willing to take big risks. They look to rapidly grow the business by building its revenue base but not necessarily its returns. Deep discounting, customer acquisition and “cash burn” characterise this stage.

Seed capital could vary from $500,000 to $2 million. Once a start-up has established a track record, middle-stage investors (Series-A and Series-B) step in. Typically, they could range from $2 million-15 million and look at not just the revenues but the returns the business is generating. Later-stage funding could exceed $50 million.

Investors at each stage take an equity stake in the business in exchange for their investment, which they hope to multiply by selling out to the next round of investors.

Ultimately, the rem ai n ing inve s t o r s get to exit the company when it sells its

equity to the public through an initial public offering (IPO). Investors look for liquidity and possible exit after a viable business is built. An exit is also driven with the understanding of timeframe and space by the entrepreneurs.

“We plan the exit at the very beginning of the deal,” says Ranjith Menon, general partner at IDG ventures. “We fast-forward 10 years and look at them

because we build the company for others to invest once we exit. Exits are tough but it’s not gloom and doom. Sometimes there are non-standard exits like RedBus which was looking for Series C and Naspers pulled it to them,” he adds.“The sectors that could be looked out for investment opportunity in 2017 are business-to-business (B2B), SaaS (software as a service), artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality, fin-tech and health-tech. We are looking at startups using artificial intelligence technology in sectors like BFSI (banking, financial services and insurance).”

“Business-to-consumer (B2C) opportunities like retail and e-commerce are not looked at unless it’s different from (what’s happening) today,” says Menon. Investing in B2C companies is risky because entry barriers are getting lower with easy and cheap reach to the customer with the internet, social media and cloud-based computing. These services are fickle and get dropped by the customers for the next shiny thing in a very limited time. “Initially investors were doubtful about Myntra when its CEO introduced corporate gifting.

But six years down the line the company drove into fashion. So, all early stage investments are people-driven.”

But in the current market where funds seem to be in short supply, these distinct investment strategies based on differing assessments of risk and reward are getting blurred. Even latestage investors like private-equity firms are seed-funding startups, where the opportunity presents itself.

Not all start-ups, however, seek private investments. Some are bootstrapped in their early stage and later seek private investments. Start-ups do not seek all the investments that come their way. Ashok DM, managing director and CEO of Avi Solar Energy says his company was self-funded for 5-10 years. “Prices of solar products were

KICKING THE BUCKET: Only quality start-ups will survive the shakeout in the start-up ecosystem.

expensive at the time when we began.

The prices have now gone down dramatically and I’m seeking a reliable investor for my firm,” he adds.

To the question of how does an angel investor pick start-ups, Venkat Raju, an investor at Indian Angel Network (IAN) replies, “I have my own investment thesis and philosophy. I seek product companies with deep IP and great technology (and products) with the potential to scale globally. I do not look for services. I prefer technology startups that satisfy health-tech or edu-tech, which is the crying need currently. I expect a team to be truly innovative, passionate, and resilient in scaling up its market size,” he adds. “When I look back now, I find investments that I shouldn’t have made. But those mistakes helped me build by thesis and strategy,” he says further.

Some of investments by IAN are SpRobotic works, Adsparx, an Ad Tech startup, Ezetap, a mobile POS platform, and xSi Semiconductors, a power management company. “There is also a huge growth for start-ups in the telemedicine sector if it can be integrated with technology.For instance, the simple process of electrocardiography can be carried out by connecting it with Bluetooth,” adds Raju. “If the secondary market is robust, angel investors can diversify. A VC exit is not the only opportunity. Buyouts can be done too.”

“Our affinity to start-up investment

is in the technology and technologyenabled space,” says Vivek Mansingh, general partner at the YourNest Investment. “It could be anything from SaaS, B2B, Internet of Things (IoT), electronic-system design, AI, advanced robotics and enterprise software. At YourNest the timeline of return of the first fund is within five years and we try for an exit in the 8th or 9th year. We avoid B2C as they are not uniquely characterized,” he explains. This early-stage venture capital firm has invested in companies like Clovenet, a Singapore-based technology company focused on powering IoT, wearables and companies like CRON systems, an IoT startup, SeeDoc, a telemedicine startup and Uniphore, a

The sectors that could be looked out for investment opportunity in 2017 are business-to-business (B2B), SaaS (software as a service), artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality, fin-tech and health-tech. speech- recognition startup.

“Our interest is around content

delivery and healthcare,” says Vineet Chadha, partner at Tata Capital in Bengaluru. “As a seed investor, it is often too early to interpret a start-up. We look for the momentum in the team.”

Although Bengaluru is India’s start-up capital, each city has developed its own sector ecosystem, shaped by the constellation of factors including research institutions, management schools, government support and multinational companies.

Hari Krishnan, fund manager at Astarc Ventures says, “Start-ups in Chennai are based on enterprise software and SaaS (like Freshdesk and Zoho). The start-up cell of IIT-Madras helps in driving science and researchled technology firms. There are a large percentage of experienced founders in Bengaluru and this leads to easy access to capital. Mumbai is the hub of professional start-ups rising with active private investment in banking, retail, etc.

Hyderabad is the best location to start B2B tech-based firms, Coimbatore is rising with nanotech firms, Ahmedabad with fintech firms and Kochi in application development,” he adds. The Indian start-up scene might be in its infancy, but it’s already become a key component of the larger investment story unfolding across the country.

April 2017 THE BEAT 5

COVER STORY

Like Babes in the Wood

A

Incubators are often the difference between life and death for the infant start-up, writes NIVEDITA NAIDU

irbnb, Dropbox and Reddit are household names today. But how did they begin, was it on the strength of an idea or something more? How did they know what to do and when? The questions are endless, but there’s no disputing this one reason for their success.

These start-ups took their baby steps with YCombinator, the best-known incubator in the world.

Business incubators provide essential resources like infrastructure, access to investors, mentorship, accounting support, legal assistance and intellectual-property protection advice to nascent start-ups. Just as premature babies are kept in incubators to protect them from a hostile environment, business incubators take early-stage businesses under their wings. The concept of business incubators first took root in the United States and is still evolving in India. With a survival rate of just one in ten, the role of the incubator is vitally important to the start-up ecosystem.

In the US, universities have often played the role of incubators for budding entrepreneurs. In Israel, the government has been in the incubation business for almost two decades now.

There are several private players in this industry. Microsoft has business-incubation centres around the world. The Indian incubation ecosystem includes private players like Khosla Labs and Jaarvis Incubators as well as universities like the Indian Institute of Technology in Chennai and Mumbai, and Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore. The government’ s NITI Aayog is also active through the Atal Incubation Mission.

Dr. G.S.K. Velu, founder of the Trivitron Group said, “Universities need to think out of the box. It is important that Indian universities strive to bridge the gap between the science researcher and the business student. In Stanford, Boston, seeds for commercialisation of research and tech is done at the university level. It is important that the power of diversity be tapped on university campuses.”

Universities have the potential to 6 THE BEAT April 2017

add value to early stage businesses. Says C.S Murali, chairman of the entrepreneurship cell at IISc, “Institutions like ours generate a lot of research output.

Some of these outputs have the potential to be translated to useful products that can be commercially successful and also impact society. Start-ups are the vehicles that can do this. Therefore, incubators at academic institutions have an important role to nurture such start-ups.”

A lot goes into building a successful business, a whole lot more than receiving funding from investors. Putting together a business model that will survive is the main challenge and

this is where having an experienced incubator helps. Anil Chikkara, former Principal at Jaarvis Incubator, in an interview with The Tech Story, an online publication that covers startups observed, “The entire start-up system is geared towards getting funded rather than building disruptive yet sustainable businesses. Somehow getting funded has become the mark of success, as so many well-funded but failed startups have proven, if it was just investor money that could make a start-up successful then no funded start-up with money still in bank would shut down.”

The government’s Make in India initiative seeks to give a flip to Indian

entrepreneurship and encourage creative destruction. Its mission is to set up 100 Atal Incubation Centres (AICs) and scale up Established Incubation Centres (EICs). The initiative aims to provide training to incubators, knowledge sharing on technology, seed funding and other tools that help them add value to start-ups.

Usually incubators get their returns through their stake in the start-up’s equity, rent for services provided or royalty. There can be multiple business models for incubators, but the principle of ‘higher the risk higher the reward’ works well for most. Regardless of the promoter, this is no social service and the incubator must ensure they get returns even as the start-up gains.

Vineet Chadha, partner, Tata Capital says earning returns from an incubation business is not an easy affair. It involves a lot of sweat. There are multiple risks at the early stage like concept risk, market risk, risk of scaling up and technology-associated risk.

Crowd, a crowd-funding financial

“The entire start-up system is geared towards getting funded rather than building disruptive yet sustainable businesses.” platform has recently ventured into the incubation sector. They have been using Christ College, Bengaluru’s infrastructure to assist four early-stage start-ups, taking a 4-5 per cent stake in the start-up’s equity for their services.

An incubator with an equity stake in the start-up is financially committed to its success as the incubator’s exit strategy crucially depends on it. “We plan to exit after series A or B funding has been received by the start-ups,” says Prateek Goyal of Crowd. Incubators exit from the start-up means they sell their stake to another, later-stage investors and realise their returns.

Universities may get their returns

either through a stake in the venture or through royalty. Gincer, an incubator, collects rent from the start ups for using space and other facilities, says Siva Balakrishnan from Fulltank, a start-up, “We pay rent for a package of services like space, infrastructure and access to investors and mentors.”

Deep Malhotra was in the business of running an incubator in Mumbai two years ago but has now moved on to offering services as a co-working space.

“The returns from incubation were not justified,” he feels. “Also I thought it was better to focus on one project over multiple projects at the same time. With a monthly rent, the returns are fixed unlike the stake, which is contingent on too many things happening.” He mentors the start-ups and also invites other mentors to his co-working space to facilitate networking, but does not take a stake in the start-up. Incubators too must explore diverse business models as they evolve in the start-up ecosystem, if they are to remain profitable.

Just as human beings grow and need different sorts of guidance at various stages in their life time, the same applies to start-ups. Incubators exit from start-ups once they have played their part, which may last a year or even longer depending on the incubator. After a successful incubation, start-ups reach a plateau and from there they need to scale up their operations. Start-ups can turn to business accelerators at this stage. Says SouadTenficheof NUMA Bangalore, a business accelerator, “We are interested in tech start-ups. We need the product to have attained the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) level, and we look for a diverse skill set in the team.”

The market also has independent investors who take a keen interest in mentoring start-ups. Vivek Mansingh, general partner, YourNest Angel Fund emphasises the concept of co-creating, where venture-capital investors handhold and mentor the start-ups through major transformations like mergers and acquisitions, going public or opening up to the global market.

With mentorship roles being played by different sorts of investors at various stages in the evolution of the start-up, incubators face competition from a multiplicity of sources. But the essence of an incubator is in adding value to the start-up by handholding at the initial stage and connecting the enterprise to the entrepreneurial ecosystem. That support is invaluable and irreplaceable.

Ask anyone born prematurely!

April 2017 THE BEAT 7

START-UP

A Rush t

ILONA DAM discovers the untapped

T

he expansion of the travel industry has introduced the Indian traveller to a number of out-of-the-box travel ideas like hiking, backpacking and food tourism. With increase in valuations from $1.5 billion in 2007 to $8 billion in 2011, the Indian travel market is growing at a rapid pace. And it is projected to reach $20 billion by 2020, according to a 2016 Ernst and Young report on start-ups in India.

In such a scenario, travel start-ups would any day be an investor’s jackpot, as more and more people travel to different parts of the world. A YourStory report reveals that Indians travelling overseas for leisure alone is a $5-$ 7 billion market, which is growing by 40 per cent each year.

Headout is an example of one such successful travel start-up. During an unplanned trip to Europe in 2014, Varun Khona, Suren Sultania and Vikramjit Singh, who later founded Headout, faced several hurdles result-

ing in an expensive yet unfulfilling trip.

Their collective annoyance stemmed from the fact that there were no service providers who customised instant trips for adventure-seekers, like themselves, at pocket-friendly prices.With travel agencies like Make My Trip and Thomas Cook, the biggest travel agencies, charging them a fortune, they saw an untapped market opportunity.

Headout, a US-based enterprise, seeks to give a better travel experience to its customers. It is a phone and web-based travel application which helps customers find tours, activities and tickets in cities where it currently operates. Unlike other travel agencies, which charge a fortune for booking a trip at the last minute, Headout provides a range of activities including local experiences to its customers, at affordable prices, even within a day’s notice. Today, Headout has close to 500 last-minute activities listed on its application.

The idea of the app is to provide

travellers with a variety of travel opportunities, ranging from theatre tickets to helicopter tours and dinner cruises with just a few taps on the screen. The app simplifies these activities into various categories for the user’s ease as well as makes recommendations based on collected data.

The start- up prides itself in discovering places which haven’t been commercially exploited yet; thereby, providing unique experiences to its users. “Headout’s on-ground team carries out in-depth surveys including interactions with vendors and identification of potential challenges before expanding into a new city,” Khona says, recalling their Dubai expansion, where vendors weren’t tech-savvy. Therefore, Headout Dubai began accepting bookings through SMS and telephonic conversations as well. “This versatility in functioning has attracted a lot of customers.”

Any start-up needs a strong team to rely on and hiring right is the big-

SOURCE: The Spruce

8 THE BEAT April 2017

to the Gate

opportunity incatering to the last-minute traveller

ON THE RUN: Last minute travel plans made easier with technology

gest challenge. “Start-ups have the tendency to hire in quantity and not ensure quantity,” Sultania says. “We have a small but quality workforce.” The startup grew from a team of five to 30 in 1.5 years Maintaining effective communication channels is the second problem faced by a start-up that has clients across 65 countries. “To manage such a distributed workforce, a conference call takes place every Monday,” says Sultania.

Since its launch last July, Headout has served 10,000 customers approximately. Their target audience is the tech-savvy youth between 22 to 35 age group, who doesn’t believe in preplanned trips either. “Our business has been doubling every month and we expect to grow ten times this year,” says

Khona. The company has a 20 per cent margin on its ticket sales.

The enterprise is backed by Version

With the biggest travel agencies charging the founders a fortune for their trip to Europe, they saw an untapped market opportunity.

One Ventures, an early-stage fund, which has investments in technologyenabled services and mobile businesses. Snapdeal, WhatsApp and Facebook

have invested in Headout as well. Headout has raised a total of $12.2 millions from investors including 500 Startups, Arena Ventures, Nexus Venture Partners and Version One Ventures.

The start-up claims to have grown 16 times in revenue, since its expansion to New York, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Hawaii, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, Orlando, Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Headout aims to refine its services by better understanding patterns in user preferences and personalisingtravel plans based on user history. “At the end of the day, you can look at it as a matchmaking process, where we need to understand the users emotions to recommend appropriate experiences,” Khona says.

April 2017 THE BEAT 9

START-UP

Hearth and Home A skill-driven business model makes home-baking start-ups unique, writes KARISHMA JAYAPAUL

Source: Baking Express

S

etting up a home-baking business is quite unlike the drill given in how-to tutorials available online. Despite the lack of a conducive ecosystem, home bakers are steadily carving out a space for themselves. A home-bakers community on Facebook, The Home Bakers Guild, which brings bakers together on one platform has about 1.3 lakh members,who share achievements, quick fixes, consumer outreach strategies and more.

With over 200 home bakers in Bangalore alone, home-baking start ups have to constantly up their game or be outwitted by pubescent contenders.

Sumiran Chaudhry, a pioneering home baker based in Indiranagar, Bangalore, took a nine-month baking course at Lavonne Academy of Baking Science and Pastry Art before setting up Fin, her startup. “Home baking is a meticu10 THE BEAT April 2017

lous business,” says Chaudhary, dusting her apron. Chaudhary, a former

“The bakery model allows you to grow irrespective of an investor.

You make a bagel, sell the bagel, buy ingredients to make more bagels, sell those bagels and on and on you go.” advertising professional had no inkling towards baking; nevertheless, she conducted a year-long market research to study her target audience before be-

coming an entrepreneur. Chaudhry’s research included talking to potential consumers—parents and children alike—to understand variations in tastes and preferences.

“Each start-up has associated financial risks,” Chaudhry says, but businesses can’t grow without investment.

Quiting her corporate job to jump on the start-up bandwagon was risky but it has paid off, says Chaudhry. With Fin turning a year old this January, Chaudhary has been able to build a loyal clientele through her innovative bakes and use of fresh ingredients. “I don’t use colour, fondant and butter cream in my cakes,” she says. “They leave stains on the skin for days and are also unhealthy for kids.” This approach to baking has made her bakes unique, thus, creating a name for Fin in the startup space.

Chaudhary is often amused with

customers trying to negotiate for cheaper deals. “I am putting in my time, energy, a carefully developed skill-set and a host of fresh ingredients to deliver a unique product. Yet consumers don’t appreciate it,” she adds.

Chaudhary and home bakers like her face several challenges in the absence of a demand-driven market. The perishable nature of baked products only increases their trouble.Yet the biggest hurdle faced by home bakers is also their biggest asset, says Zeev Farbman, a guest writer at Entrepenuer India and founder and CEO of Lightricks, Jerusalem. “The bakery model allows you to grow irrespective of an investor,” he says. “You make a bagel, sell the bagel, buy ingredients to make more bagels, sell those bagels and on and on you go,” Farbman adds.

Nevertheless, since each product is customized to match customer needs, it becomes harder to scale such a business. This is to say that unlike bakeries, which roll out bulk products and therefore are easier to scale, home bakers do not enjoy the same luxury.

“People want a three-tiered chocolate cake for less than a thousand bucks. It doesn’t work like that,” says Chaudhry.

Not just scaling, the home baking model has other limitations as well.

Nazia Ali has founded Baking Express three years ago. She began with delicious fresh cream cakes and later expanded into fondant-based novelty cakes. She has had cake-transport aggregators contact her but the lack of active investors has halted her dreams of scaling up. “I am a cake artist, so opening a franchise is not my interest.

My customers like the quality of my cakes which will be diluted if I build a business chain,” says Ali. This trend among home bakers, to personally oversee the production of their bakes, discourages investors.

Pooja Agrawal, the founder of Flavorsome Cakes began her business in order to be something more than a next-door-mom. Recognising the high demand for designer cakes, Agarwal put her Polka Dots Cake Academy, Mumbai skills to use. Eighteen months down the line, Agrawal has managed to build herself a clientele, who appreciate her Swiss meringue,

buttercream cakes as much as her distinctive work with fondants.With minimal indulgence in online marketing, Agrawal believes her work will ensure customer loyalty. “It all depends on the kind of product you deliver,” she says.

Word of mouth is the biggest communicator when it comes to home baking.

Most bakers begin with friends and families, who become their advertisers thereafter.

Pricing plays a vital role in any home baking business. While over pricing can drive the customers away, poor returns can wipe out the business. A common practice is charging three times the cost of the ingredients.

But what makes handcrafted more expensive than bakery products? It’s the same thing after all! Apart from microcustomisation of products, home bakers purchase their ingredients after an order is placed.

While striving for minimum collateral damage and maximum output,

home bakers can’t afford to hoard ingredients due to limited capital and infrastructure. “People don’t understand why home baked products are more expensive because they don’t know what goes on behind the scenes,” Fin’s Chaudhary says. She doesn’t stack up flour, chocolates or baking powder.

She doesn’t have a cold storage unlike the mainstream bakeries. “I ask my customers to place their orders atleast 24 hours prior to delivery so that I can get the ingredients together,” adds Chaudhry. Agrawal also takes orders at least a day in advance. “I don’t have the space,” she says.

The wide variety that home bakers can offer makes them even more popular. “We don’t have a fixed menu to choose from. It all depends on what the customer wants,” says Ali. This results in an inconsistent revenue cycle, another reason for investors to stay away.

CAKING IT: A two-tiered fondant cake

by Nazia Ali

April 2017 THE BEAT 11

START-UP

Focus on the Farmer AISHWARYA IYER speaks to the founders of a start-up that’s reinventing the agricultural supply chain FARM TO FORK: Fresh produce being collected and sorted at a local centre in the village.

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visit to a sabzi mandi—where tonnes of vegetables and fruits are rolled out, some smashed under people’s feet, some rotting and others sitting fresh on the vendor’s cart—is a monthly affair across all households.

However, this scene was an epiphany to Sharath Loganathan and Thirukumaran Nagarajan, IIM-Kozhikode alumniand founders of Ninjacart, the hyper-local grocery enterprise that helps source farmers’ produce to local kirana stores, retailers and supermarkets. Thus, eliminating the chain of middle-men involved in the cycle.

After taking off with their pilot project, which followed a business to consumer model, the teamincluding co-founders Kartheeswaran K K, Ashutosh Vikram, an IIM-Kozhikode alumnus, Vasudevan Chinnathambi, a SOIL (School of Inspired Leadership) alumnus and Sachin Jose realised their inefficiency in back-end supply chain and hence, developed the company in a full-fledged business to business organisation.

“Lot of middlemen get involved in sourcing the produce from farmers to markets because of marginal farming, 12 THE BEAT April 2017

poor logistics and zero market information, causing farmers to gain just a quarter of what the customer pays,” said Nagarajan.

Last year in March, in a series led by Accel Partners, Ninjacart raised Rs. 20 crores. The series also saw participation in funding from Qualcomm Ventures, Singapore-based M&S Partners and ZopSmart, the parent of online grocery store ZopNow. Within two months of its inception, the now-two-year-old enterprise had supplied more than 15 tonnes of vegetables and fruits daily to over 120 retailers. 98 per cent of the retailers order on a daily basis. Their revenue is now growing at 30 per cent every week with a monthly revenue of Rs.1.2 crores.

“To gain the farmers’ trust is a major challenge, says Nagarajan. “In order to connect with the rural audience, we conduct farmer development and community building programs in collaboration with the village panchayats.

“As of December 2016, we have a customer base of over 400 retail stores and restaurants in the city. We generate a monthly revenue of around Rs.4 crores, with 1700 tonnes of average produce,” says Nagarajan.

They have a local collection centre in every village, where thepulses, cereals, fruits, vegetables are collected and shipped off from.

The farmers, who are the suppliers in this scene, are able to sell their produce at a better price without being exploited by the middleman through.

The farmers are paid through bank transfers and are spared uncertainty and negotiations with middlemen.

The start-up has two distribution centres, one in Annekal and Hoskote, taluks located in South Bangalore.

They operate in several parts of Bengaluru including Marathahalli, Whitefield, BTM Lay, HAL, Bellandur, Kormangala, HSR and Bannerghata road.

They study data and reports pertaining to issues like farmer suicides, water shortage as well as weather-related uncertainties. Subsequently,they address the problems by engaging experts of the respective fields. Every month, they hold ‘Farmer of the month’ contest, where farmers are judged on the basis of sowing technology, irrigation methods, natural cultivation, amount of traditional knowledge in the profession and so on. Also, whenever a farmer needs guidance on subjects like pricing, soil fertility, pesticides, the organisation connects them with experts.

In an interview with Yourstory.com, Subrata Mitra, Partner at Accel Partners said, “B2B fresh and staples is a multibillion dollar category. It’s highly unorganised and inefficient. The founding team at Ninjacart has the right balance of technology and operations expertise to drive efficiencies in this unstructured marketplace.”

While the team frequently gets threatening calls from middle-men unions telling the company to shut down, they continue their work with perseverance and dedication.

START-UP

Business in their Blood CATHLINE CHEN writes about an incubation programme for Tibetan entrepreneurs

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Tenzin Rigthen, a designer who opened a fusion fashion clothing line is one of TED’s success stories. Rigthen, majored in fashion and worked at the Federation of Tibetan Cooperatives in India Ltd, a Tibetan Refugee organisation that promotes and exports Tibetan carpets and Handicrafts. Her clothing line called Mountain Girl design is a rich blend of traditional Tibetan designs and modern patterns and she has prospects of opening a boutique of her own.

“At JSiE, we formulate businesses and ideas intoreal start-ups that will not only earn them profits but also create an impact in their society,” says Wade. Yet some fail as well. One of the trainees from their 2016 batch , Tenzin Tselake who had a vision for a dairy farm in Odisha, had to recently shut shop due to cash crunch.

Tsetan Dolkar, a 29-year-old Dharamshala-based web developer, who founded Tibetan I-tech is another of JSieE’s successes. Tsetan was one of the 11 entrepreneurs who were trained in 2014, while she went on to win several accolades as well as funding from TED. “One of the major obstacles that the start-ups face is funding. The absence of funding is a major drawback

for start-ups,” Wade adds.

Dolkar, who started off as a sole proprietor, now has a team of six and clients in the US, Tibet and India. “We focus on providing employment opportunities and helping the local community enter the global stage,”Dolkar says.

Rigdol, who runs a small food startup called BreakFast Wala, was sponsored by the Tibetan administration as well.The absence of affordable food joints for students was his start-up opportunity.

Rigdol started his food delivery joint in South Delhi, where there were about 150 Tibetan people settled to preserve his culture. Many of them were nurses and full-time workers without enough time to cook, so his business flourished.

Recently, the Tibetan administration sponsored his stall at the Kalachakra Festival organised at Bodhgaya, Bihar, which is an opportunity for many Tibetan entrepreneurs to showcase their talents. Rigdol plans to expand his business and open up a shop cum food-delivery service in the bustling Tibetan hangout spot in Delhi, Majnu Ka Tilla.

Source: Business Wire

espite the Buddhist influence from India and Nepal and political influence from China, Tibetans have always struggled to preserve and develop their culture. Today, the rich Tibetan identity and culture faces mass threat from Chinese immigration as much as the threat of becoming obsolete under oppressive control. “The Chinese government wants me to say that for many centuries Tibet has been a part of China,” says Dalai Lama talking to the Free Tibet, an association that mobilises active support for the Tibetan cause.

“Even if I make that statement, many people would just laugh. And my statement will not change the past. History is history.”

Many young people are seeking new ways to preserve the Tibetan culture.

The Tibetan Entrepreneurship Development (TED) is an initiative of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) located in Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh. The TED has a special development program which plays an important part of an effort to reinvigorate and empower the Tibetan community in India. It aims to be the change agent in helping potential Tibetan entrepreneurs and businesses towards becoming competitive, sustainable and impact-oriented.

TED hosts a pre-incubation program, that is customised to provide first-hand entrepreneurship development training to entrepreneurs with a business idea or a less-than-a-year-old start-up.The program teaches basics of entrepreneurship and business development.Also, incubatees are encouraged to leverage the centre’s network while a few entrepreneurs are selected for five-week external incubation at Jindal Centre for Social Innovation & Entrepreneurship (JSiE), which is led by Jeremy Wade. The 2015 JSiE collaboration has had two successful batches so far.

April 2017 THE BEAT 13

START-UP

Critical Connection Jobspire brings recruiters and jobseekers together, writes MANASVINI PAUL Churning up a winner

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taffing is the most important organisational function. To get quality work, you need effective human resources. “If you pick the right people and give them the opportunity to spread their wings and put compensation as a carrier behind it, you almost don’t have to manage them,” says Jack Welsch, former CEO of General Electric.

So the next question is where do recruiters look for in order to find the right match while investing minimal resources in the process. Bangalorebased Jobspire, which has taken the onus of catering to the recruiters and job seekers, is providing a solution to this conundrum.

It does so by enabling start-ups and small and medium scale companies to visually describe their workspaces and chart out their growth plans to attract the best talent. They have gone beyond the basic resume-sifting approach.

Instead the job seekers have to take a short test to prove their skills, thus, giving a snapshot of their abilities to the recruiter.

Jobspire was founded in August 2014 by Varun Mayya, Kartik Luke Singh and Sandesh Kini, alumni of Manipal Institute of Technology. In the second year of their graduation, Mayya 14 THE BEAT April 2017

and Luke began working on creating a service-based company, Sizr, which made t-shirts as well as websites.

Within a year, they reached an average billing of $100 per hour. In his blog, Mayya expresses his desire to fix existing issues in the human services and management space, thus, creating a vision: “At Jobspire,we believe that every human being should find a job they truly love.”

The journey to create Jobspire began from building the perfect team.

While the rest of the college was busy looking for placements, this team had begun working on their start-up. While few members reached out to the talent acquisition departments, others identified the problems they faced and the rest worked on writing codes.

In the mean time, they realised they needed the services of an incubator.

They applied to Microsoft Accelerators but were rejected. They did not give up and applied to Start Up Tunnel, an incubator in Delhi. They were accepted there and the team moved to Delhi while they were in the last semester of college. According to the college policy, the last semester could be spent doing an internship and hence, it worked out for them. All this while they were boot-

strapped and needed funding to scale the operations. Angel Investors did not invest as they were not convinced with the model. Finally, Nikunj Jain, an angel investor, interviewed Mayya and became one of the first investors.

The team then moved to Bangalore where they set up shop. In 2015, they secured $262,000 in seed funding from Purvi Capital LLC. Moving on to how they function, the candidates are classified into three segments – declined, verified and premium. These classifications are based on recruiters’ feedback.

Recruiters are charged every time they make a successful hire. Jobspire currently is providing services to hundreds of companies.

They are also looking at the ‘referral only’ recruiting aspect of recruiting.

In 2016, Jobspire was taken over by an American company in which each of the founders earned around $ 1.2 million last year. The founders continue to work here and hope to scale up operations, aiming to reach out to a million job seekers. In an interview with YourStory, one of the founders said, “It all pays off when someone gets hired though. We’re placing people 10 years older than us and making their lives for the next few years.”

START-UP

Data-driven Hiring Recruiterbox is changing the face of employment, writes ASHIMA CHOWDHARY

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f you have found your way, clamouring through traffic hour, to a humble office space nested away in a quiet area with a modern twostorey building buzzing with energy, then you are at RecruiterBox. After a quick stand up with your co-coders, you quickly start up your engines and get those pistons firing.

From working in their living rooms, using their home resources, to now, owning a company with 44 employees, Raj Sheth, Raghuveer Kancherla and Girish Redekar have come a long way.

“My co-founder, Raghuveerand I used to work together. During our jobs, we often got roped into hiring related activities for our employers. That triggered a lot of discussions where we used to wonder how hiring could be better. Then one day, we just decided to try doing it ourselves,” shares Redekar, getting nostalgic.

Recruiter box is the first recruiting software designed for small and medium size companies. Fortune 500 and other large companies often use softwares to manage thousands of potential candidates who apply to them. But smaller companies often do not have a very structured hiring processes. Most recruiting softwares become too rigid and cumbersome to cater to their customised needs. “It’s not cost-efficient either,” says Redekar. “Recruiterbox is better because it’s simpler, flexible and does not get in your way. It actually saves time and effort without requiring additional mind space.”

As a company, we were incubated at the I-Accelerator program at IIM Ahmedabad. Our first client was Levis Strauss India, and they agreed to purchase Recruiterbox at a very early stage.

The sale happened through a mutual contact between the person heading recruitments at Levis and at our end.

The product was fairly new then yet they made a bet on us. From there on, we developed the product based on the experiences of our early customers.

Recruiterbox is a subscriptiondriven business. Our prices start from

USD 250 per month and their services are used by over 2500 companies across 30 countries, today. Innovative use of technology and a closely-knit team has improved their ability to scale. “We intend to become the defacto-hiring software for SMBs,” says Redekar.

Fortune 500 and other large companies often use software to manage thousands of potential candidates who apply to them. But smaller companies often do not have a very structured hiring processes.

Going down the memory lane, he adds,”Raj joined us as a 3rd co-founder early on. For some time until then, all three of us weren’t drawing any salaries because the business wasn’t making much. Raj promised that we would get

there within another year, and it did happen.”

Recruiterbox is completely bootstrapped. They were and are only funded by the revenue generated by the business itself. When asked if they were looking forward to getting investors, Girish replied, “It depends. We don’t look at investment as a required step. Every certain period, we simply come up with our next goals and then decide if external investments will help us get there.We haven’t raised money so far but that needn’t necessarily stay the same, depending on our upcoming goals.”

“We consider knowing our customer base and their needs really well as one of our unique strengths and we are immensely proud of it,” adds Sheth. “We wanted to come up with intuitive software paired with impeccable service to address the hiring challenges companies face today,” adds Vishwarath Reddy, product manager at Recruiter box.

“Beauty isn’t skin deep, under the hood matters. We care about code.”

Thus, the team’s passion and sheer determination to stick it out has made this startup a success.

April 2017 THE BEAT 15

START-UP

The Lives of Others MAHAK DUTTA talks to an entrepreneur who is empowering rural communities in Haryana

GIRLS UNINTERRUPTED: Girls at NRINAM are proud of what they have achieved against all odds.

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RINAM is a company run by 17 teenagers of the Haryanabased Luhar community.

Aishwarya Tandon, a former researcher at the India Policy Foundation, founded the centre in May 2016.

Tandon first came up with the idea of selling handcrafted products to empower communities in Wazirabad, Gurugram.

Through an in-depth community research she concluded that imparting transferable skills to 14-18 year old females was the best step forward, as these skills would not only prepare them to become financially independent but also build their self-esteem.

The NRINAM women come from all walks of life. While some of them sought alms for a living others were engaged in other menial jobs or household chores. At the centre, Tandon trains them in stitching, embroidery, jewellery designing, baking and cooking. “These skills would prepare them for life,” Tandon says.

The intricately woven scarf, the bed side lamp, which are handcrafted at NRINAM makes these products stand out. “Our products are completely eco-friendly, organic and vegan. We use recycled cloth for stitching, which 16 THE BEAT April 2017

is provided to us by the local tailors,” adds Tandon.

NRINAM is a one-woman initiative and it was started with Tandon’s savings. While she bootstrapped with Rs. 2.5 lakh, NRINAM’s products found a market, thus, generating revenue for the centre. “We are now able to recruit teachers to not only train our girl’s but also teach them basic literacy and numeracy,” she adds. “We showcase our products in exhibitions and flea markets of Delhi-NCR.” With impact investment as one side of the coin, NRINAM has a business side too. The clothes and homedécor items are sold in bulk with a 75 per cent margin. “We believe that this organization totally belongs to the girl.

Our motto is to generate employment through skill development to ensure that none of them have to return begging,” says Karan Sarin, sales and marketing manager of NRINAM. Yet the company is still to break even.

“When NRINAM started, I didn’t believe in its concept,” says Kajal, a 17year-old NRINAM worker. “Our lives have changed completely. With my salary, I am not only able to give additional support to my family but also save some money.”

“Not knowing how to make the best use of time, earlier I used to sit idle at home, but now I just can’t thank Aishwarya didi enough for what she has done for our community,” says the 16-year-old Neetu, another NRINAM worker.

With its products ranging from sarees, stoles and scarves to skirts and earrings, NRINAM largely caters to a female audience. “Apart from our onground sales, we market through our social media platform as well. In addition, April onwards, our customers will be able to purchase our products via Amazon and Limeroad,” Tandon says.

NRINAM girls hosted a vegan food tasting event early this year, which was well received with 150 attendees.

“All dishes were an instant hit; Indian dishes were the most sought after. We were sold out by the end of the day,” saysTandon.

NRINAM women have been recognised by the larger community. They were felicitated by Indian Oil Corporation for their efforts in developing sustainable communities. Says Tandon, “It was an overwhelming experience for us.”

With the positive response from corporatesas much as the Luhar community itself, Tandon plans expand to other communities as well. “The ultimate goal is to reach out as many girls as possible. The immediate focus is to make them independent. If we can do this then that itself would be a milestone,” Tandon says.

START-UP

A Crucial Nudge Poverty eradication is possible through life-skills coaching, finds ROMITA MAJUMDAR

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here are 40 crore people living in mobilizing sponsors initially. Since in extreme poverty in India. then the leadership council has been They seldom get well-paying guiding the team. permanent jobs, largely, due The candidates for the program are to lack of required skills. Further, sick- selected through extensive research ness and debt keeps them trapped in a and community engagement as well cycle of poverty. In order to empower as a mandatory ‘aspiration check’ of those who are socio-economically dis- the candidates themselves. So far they advantaged, Atul Satija, who was for- have been reaching out to deserving merly with Google and InMobi, started candidates through NGOs across Uttar The/Nudge Foundation in Bangalore.

Kannada and are seeking to diversify The idea is simple.

Gather youngsters from impoverished backgrounds for a 100-day residential program and empower them with transferable skills instead of just getting them employed. Their motto is poverty alleviation through scalable and sustainable means.

“We came up with a model that could be easily copy- Source: The/Nudge Foundation pasted across the country. Such a model can’t possibly into other states. Recently, Economic sustain if it’s not reaching out to maxi- Times projected a seven times increase mum people,” says Sayi Pavithrasagar, in The/Nudge Foundation’s growth in marketing lead at The/Nudge.

2016-17.

Since, The/Nudge Foundation Currently, the social enterprise is doesn’t work for profit it depends on imparting skills required for running sponsors like the Tata Trust and part- beauty parlors, managing sales operaners like Mphasis and Cisco among tions and driving light motor vehicles many others to fund its operations. A through its programs. “There’s a huge formidable leadership council includ- demand for these skills in urban areas ing Mekin Maheshwari, former Flipkart and the supply is weak hence the bias Chief People Officer and Nishi Vasude- towards urban skills,” says Pavithrasava help out with scaling, networking gar. Despite the current urban focus, and fundraising initiatives. An equally Satija and his team plan to reach out to sound board of advisors comprising rural sector soon. of Arun Seth, Devi Shetty and Kiran Despite a phenomenal 120 per cent Karnik draw out strategic directional placement record for every candidate plan for the organization. Satija’s back- who successfully completed the course, ground in the industry helped greatly the organisation struggles with student

retention, one month into the job.

“You have to understand that many of our students come from really tough backgrounds and don’t really know how to communicate,” says Pavithrasagar.

“We give them a small capital to set up experimental businesses and let them experiment without the fear of failure.”

The/Nudge team consists of a large number of people from business backgrounds. It wasn’t a deliberate choice.

But more because, in the early days, Satija hired internally through personal contacts and hence the team came to be of people with whom he had worked prior to laying The/ Nudge’s foundations.

The most important role in the program is that of the Life Coach, who counsels each candidate. The coach facilitates conversation about everything from career choices, personal problems, finance management and more.

The idea is to ensure that candidates never fall back into poverty.

While The/Nudge Foundation focuses on poverty alleviation programs, it has launched a new initiative as well.

The group now aims to incubate more non-profit start-ups through its incubation initiative, Ncore. An independent program started by Foundation, Ncore, is based on the belief that the social sector has limited access to funder, angel investors and accelerator s unlike their profitable counterparts. It is this gap that The/Nudge Foundation is trying to fill through this.

April 2017 THE BEAT 17

START-UP

Eating In, Pigging Out

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Food-delivery start-ups are bringing restaurant-quality dining experience home, says AYUSHEE CHAUDHARY

one are the days, when one had to wait for Sanjeev Kapoor’s cookery show or the bi-weekly Grihshobha’s publication to learn about scrumptious dishes. Locating a restaurant that could deliver such a dish was even more maddening. But the entry of food start-ups have changed the producer-delivererconsumer dynamic.

According to Tracxn, a start-up focussed, research firm 431 food-tech start-ups in India raised about $229 million in 2016, which was quadruple of the investments as well as the number of start-ups in 2013.

With the food delivery market growing at the annual rate of 20 per cent, facilitated by faster broadband speed, the 2020 valuation of the country’s in-ternet commerce market was revised from $119 billion from $102 billion by Morgan Stanley Research.

Zomato, a restaurant research and discovery platform is India’s first food-tech unicorn, with valuation over a $1 billion. Despite being fresh meat in food delivery and table booking space, Zomato has healthy financials because of its low customer acquisition costs. While Zomato spends as low as $0.07 per customer, its contemporaries like Rocket Internet’s Foodpanda and Accel Partners-backed Swiggy, spend as much as $15 per customer, according to Forbes. Despite investors asking tough questions and HSBC Securities 18 THE BEAT April 2017

and Capital Markets, India slashing Zomato’s valuation by half early this year, the restaurant database has broken even in six markets including India, UAE and Indonesia.

The company, which spends only about $50,000 a month on marketing its online food ordering service, takes an average commission rate of about 8.5 per cent, according to The Economic Times. In March alone, Zomato, backed by Sequoia Capital, Singapore

government’s Temasek Holdings and Indian e-commerce player, Info Edge, processed two million online food orders, representing a 23 per cent monthon-month growth.

Nevertheless, Zomato has had to pay the price of the shakeout in the food-tech space as well. Despite its 1.4 million restaurant listings across 23 countries, the company had to scale back its operations in four Indian cities—Lucknow, Koch, Indore and

Coimbatore.

Another start-up which has created a dominating position in the market is Swiggy a food ordering app, run by Bundl Technologies Pvt. Ltd. After massive shut downs across the foodtech sector like TinyOwl, which will now be run as part of Runnr, a leading internet-based service provider, Bessemer Ventures’ $15 million investment in Swiggy looks promising.

While data aggregators like Zomato are providing reliable reviews and a whole range of restaurants to customers, bridging the gap between users and restaurants are start-ups like Swiggy that have created a service and revenue opportunity for themselves. Yet that’s not all, there are new players entering the ecosystem.

Food Vista India Pvt. Ltd’s FreshMenu operates with a cloud kitchen model, where it makes as well as delivers food. It has been largely, because its model allowed quality assurance as well as kept cost win check. Despite food start-ups going out of business because of overcrowding in the market space, FreshMenu, with its best of chefs and high quality ingredients, has created a wide customer base.

With seasoned investors extracting more out of every deal, food start-ups have to face the music as well. The food start-ups have two choices either shut shop and lay low or deliver best food as much as revenue to the investors.

MARKETING

Photo Shopping

SOURCE: PageLines

Instagram, a photo-sharing platform, is fast becoming a marketing platform, writes KARISHMA JAYAPAUL

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nstagram is a growing community of more than 600 million individuals and 8 million businesses.

Brands and retailers on social media are one of the biggest influencers impacting the buyers, a report by Hubspot, a developer of software products for inbound sales and marketing, states.

With growing competition among early-stage entrepreneurs, marketing becomes an essential part of building a brand value. The photo-sharing platform, Instagram, has been enabling entrepreneurs to create a sophisticated business profile through its services.

Currently, Instagram has 8 million businesses who are using the platform to engage a wider audience. This feature which allows users to get in direct touch, through mail or call, has made it easier for users to know the brand closely.

Instagram allows people to market easily as the application allows users to follow pages that interest them, ranging from travel, food, wines, memes, fashion, entertainment and many others. Businesses use photos, videos and

the story feature on the app to build a personal connect with the users. The app boasts of one million active advertisers and over 120 million Instagrammers who have visited business websites, called, emailed or got directions to know more about a business enterprise through a business profile.

With 95 million photos and videos being shared and uploaded every single day, Instagram has a higher brand engagement than Facebook and Twitter. A study conducted by Forrester, an American market research company which surveyed interactions of 300 million Instagram users across 2,500 brands, found brands on Instagram enjoy a four per cent higher engagement with their followers as compared to Facebook.

Despite 70 per cent Instagram users brand-website engagement, only 36 per cent marketers use Instagram, a selfstartr.com report reveals.

Amrita Giriraj from Chennai started Alankaraa India in 2015. She believes that ‘Insta Stores’ is now gaining pace across the world, specially since Instagram has become more business

friendly. Alankaraa India is a preservation project, where flowers are fossilised to make jewellery. “Photos engage people better and our business definitely got better after we joined Instagram,” says Giriraj.

A Nobel and Fine Jewellery’s brand, Sparsak Jewels, headed by Mumbaibased Abhimanyu Surana started marketing their products on Instagram rather than Facebook. “We get 90 per cent of our business through direct messaging on Instagram,” says Mr. Surana. Mr. Surana, who is also working on a website for his brand, has more than 33 thousand followers on Instagram. Despite being a Facebook patron, Mr. Surana agrees that Instagram has given his brand a lot more visibility than Facebook. “One of the challenges with posting on Facebook and Twitter is that your posts are likely to be hidden under a clutter of other posts,” he says. “Instagram doesn’t have too much going on because of being a niche picture-video sharing platform, making it easier for users to navigate through a page thereby increasing brand visibility.”

Pooja Rajput began Chidiyaa, a merchandise line in 2015. She sells traditional Indian clothing focussing on purity of fabrics and traditional Indian print. “Instagram allows you to cater to a curated user base because not everyone will join Instagram unlike Facebook,” says Rajput. She believes Instagram allows you to get in touch with users who will become potential customers.

This is very different from the social media giant, Facebook, where a couple of thousand likes might not translate into tangible sales. With increasing competition there is diversification in business strategy and Instagram is giving the entrepreneurs just what they need—reach and engagement.

April 2017 THE BEAT 19

ECOLOGY

Lakes of Fire Bangalore’s filthy lakes aren’t merely a civic disgrace, they’re a public-health hazard, says RISHIRAJ BHAGAWATI

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week after Cyclone Vardah hit the shores of Chennai last December, newspapers in Bangalore reported that the delayed effects of the cyclone had set Varthur Lake on fire. These reports have now become common as the toxic froth and hyacinth in Bellandur and Varthur lakes, often called the problem children of the residents living in their vicinity, catch fire at least once a year.

Bangalore development minister KJ George had announced the setting up of an expert committee to find a solution to the problems dogging Bellandur and Varthur lakes in May 2016. While the committee is trying to regulate the work of eight separate government departments handling the lakes, and the froth spilling out of the Varthur lake onto the roads is continuing to cause problems for the public, scientists at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, led by TV Ramachandra, Durga Madhab Mahapatra, Ahalya N, Mandy Payne and H N Chyanakya have studied the problem. The findings have been presented in Status of Varthur Lake: Opportunities for Restoration and Sustainable Management and Assessment of Treatment Capabilities of Varthur Lake.

Varthur Lake, situated in the south taluk of Bangalore district, occupies an area of 1,478,000 sq metres with a mean depth of 1.05 metre, making it a rather shallow lake given its surface area. It has played a significant role as a source of irrigation since its construction dur20 THE BEAT April 2017

ing the Ganga Empire over a thousand years ago, according to Karnataka State Gazetteer, 1990. Today, the land irrigated by the lake totals 1,537 acres and supports a variety of crops including paddy, areca nut, bananas and coconuts. Over the centuries, the lake has developed into a complex ecosystem, providing a habitat for a variety of plant and animal species, including resident and migratory waterfowl.

The lake had been constructed as part of a system of interconnected tanks and canals that receive essentially all the surface runoff, wastewater and sewage from the Bangalore’s south taluk and other nearby areas. Rapid urbanisation and expansion of population in the surrounding rural and urban areas around the lake has now taken a heavy toll on its health, as the pollution load on the lake has exceeded the lake’s assimilative capacity, leading to degradation of its water quality and threatening life dependent on it.

As sediment and silt‐laden water enters Varthur Lake from the Bellandur Canal, the velocity and turbidity of the water decreases considerably; here the water does not have the energy to displace or carry large suspended particles. These particles are deposited on the lake bed near the inlet, forming a kind of delta, whereas the smaller particles are deposited much further. This forms a gradual downward slope along the length of the reservoir. According to government data, the Varthur Lake has a catchment area of 1.8 sq km, the

second largest in the south taluk. This catchment area contains a substantial human population engaged in agriculture and various industries and, hence, the potential for accelerated sedimentation due to human activities is high.

The lake’s lack of depth makes it highly vulnerable to increase in sediment loading caused by human development within the catchment area.

This loss of depth and volume due to sedimentation reduces the water supply available to local farmers who continue to use the lake as a primary water source. It also adversely affects the quality of water in the reservoir and degrades the habitat for fisheries and wildlife. The lake’s ability to moderate the local climate and allow rainwater to percolate into aquifers below is also compromised with the accumulation of silt. Varthur Lake also represents a major local reservoir of rainwater and a reduction in the permeability of its layers would decrease the water resources available from local open and bore wells, which are the primary sources of domestic, potable and agricultural wa-

Bellandur Burns: The neighbours aren’t impressed. Photo: Deccan Chronicle

ter for locals.

A study of the water quality of the Varthur Lake revealed that the lake is nutrient rich with very high concentration of phosphorous and organic matter. The bacterium Escherica coli, indigenous to the intestines of animals, is abundantly present in the lake, indicating that faecal matter contaminates the water. Faecal contamination is often associated with other types of pathogenic bacteria and viruses found in untreated sewage. The turbidity of the water, along with its warm temperature, mildly alkaline pH and low oxygen levels, could lead to prolonged survival of pathogenic bacteria. Along with heavy faecal contamination, the lake also revealed other parameters, such as nitrate, chloride, ammonia and potassium levels, as above the prescribed limits for surface water bodies.

Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) is the amount of dissolved oxygen needed by organisms to break down organic material present in a given water sample at certain temperature. The high BOD of the water samples from

the lake indicates that decomposition of organic matter is one of the main factors leading to the low dissolved oxygen concentrations observed in the lake. This low dissolved oxygen content of Varthur limits diversity of animal life that can survive in the lake as such conditions also affect many other chemical processes within the lake that can be detrimental to organisms, such as the conversion of organic nitrate to toxic ammonia.

A socio-economic survey of the people dependent on the lake said that over 1,200 farmers used the lake’s water for irrigation. 86 per cent of the population surveyed had indicated that they had noticed deterioration in the quality of the lake, although estimates of when this deterioration began varied

widely. The damaging effect of polluted lake water on crop production could very well be detrimental due to factors such as pathogens contained in the water, the study says, which may also be the reason behind the collapse of aquaculture. Other residents who rely on water from bore wells or open wells, a trend which is seen to be rising in many parts of Bangalore, also have reasons to worry as pollutants in the lake water makes them more susceptible to potential contamination of groundwater supplies.

Contaminated water in Varthur Lake, aided by consistently warm water temperatures and large populations of water hyacinth, has led to the increase in mosquito population, giving rise to a public health risk in the area. Moreover, the froth arising out of the pollution in the lake has been reported to spill over to nearby roads, causing great trouble for motorists and at other times for fire-fighters.

Problems in the lake arising out of siltation and chemical concentration leading to consequences ranging from habitat degradation to health risks have encouraged several efforts at rejuvenation of the lake in the past, most of them not yielding any positive outcome. However, the IISc studies show that through concerted efforts involving pollution alleviation, harvesting of macrophytes, desiltation, rainwater harvesting, watershed management and other such practices, the lake and the rich heritage and biodiversity associated with it can still be revived.

Bangalore development minister KJ George had announced the setting up of an expert committee to find a solution to the problems dogging Bellandur and Varthur lakes in May 2016.

April 2017 THE BEAT 21

ECOLOGY

Cry Me a River

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The long-term environmental costs of river-linking projects are poorly understood, writes SMRITI SURI

iver linking is a large-scale civil engineering project, which is undertaken for equal distribution of water through a network of reservoirs and canals. Though interlinking rivers allow management of persistent floods as much as water shortages; nevertheless, it has consequences.

The National River Linking Project (NRLP), also known as the National Perspective Plan, was first mentioned by the former Indian President APJ Abdul Kalam during a 2002 speech as a solution to India’s water woes. Later, the now in power NDA government allocated Rs. 100 crores in the 2014-15 budget for linking of 37 Indian rivers.

The project, which envisages water transfer from water ‘surplus’ basins to deficit basins through a series of interbasin water transfer projects, is limited by design. While it considers irrigation, domestic consumption and industrial requirement while determining water surplus in a basin, it fails to estimate water needs for the river itself. Thus, the Rs. 5.6 lakh project not only puts the river at risk but also endangers the larger ecosystem for assumed irrigation

and power-generation gains.“The idea that the Ken river has more water than the Betwa river is prejudiced,” says Himanshu Thakkar, convenor, South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP), an informal group working for water resource development, in a public meeting.

While proper planning and management of resources is critical to avoid flooding in the Ganga, Bramhaputra basins, yet there are other alternatives, says Prineeta Dandekar of SANDRP. “There are a number of cheaper, socially and environmentally-benign options available to us, which can result in even larger benefits than a grand project.

These include increasing irrigation and project-specific efficiency, rational cropping patterns, putting to use our existing mega infrastructure which is under-performing, using water equitably, harvesting rainwater and managing demand better, among others.”

While the project aims to generate 34 GW of hydroelectricity, it will also displace more than 100,000 people, according to the indiawaterportal.com.

“Big dams, which create water imbalances, have never been India’s main

water source. Groundwater, instead, is more important,” adds Thakkar.

There are several examples of similar initiatives across India. Maharashtra, which has the highest concentration of large dams, has the least irrigation potential. In a country like India where each hectare of land is covered with unimaginable quantities of native species, flooding large hectares of will destabilise the local ecosystem. Environmentalists fear Madhya Pradesh’s Panna Tiger Reserve’s future, due to the Ken-Betwa linking project.

The project that was proposed by the 2004 Vajpayee government was cleared by the National Wildlife Board in September 2016, according to the Scroll. in. Despite being undertaken to provide water to the drought-hit areas in Bundelkhand; nevertheless, it includes flooding more than 8450 sq. km of the reserve leading to an alteration in the natural food system.

Man-made changes, like the ambitious river-liking project, alter natural ecosystems for human ease, leaving massive changes to the terrain, unnoticed. Many activists have opposed these as they pose considerable threat to India’s rare flora and fauna, approximately 8 per cent of the world’s biodiversity. Also, many rivers evolve and change their course, brining the feasibility of the project under the scanner. Says Thakkar, “The project’s negatives far outweigh its proposed benefits.”

Instead of implementing destructive river linking projects in the India terrain, local water conservation projects should be given more importance. Successful projects which are already in practice should be replicated as much as construction of wetlands, which environmentally and economically feasible alternatives to linking of rivers.

BETTER DAYS: Historical chhatris along the banks of Betwa.

Source: Wikimedia Commons

22 THE BEAT April 2017

TOURISM

Discounting India Is Indian tourism ready to look at quality instead of quantity asks ROMITA MAJUMDAR

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he Travel and Tourism Com- STCI compliance. Emails and calls to Park and Kaziranga National Park are petitiveness Index released in the authorities listed on the website, among the few reserves in the wildlife April 2017, rated India 4oth went unanswered. While India wel- tourism sector that have shown excelamongst 136 nations, up from comed 8.89 million foreign tourists in lent community engagement.

52nd spot in 2016. The development is 2016, the sector itself is incompetent to The National Tourism awards, 2016 credited to huge gains in the business cash in on the UNGA’s declaration of had 31 categories for the best tour openvironment and human resource de- 2017 as the International Year of Sus- erator and 16 for hotels but only four velopment scores. tainable Tourism for Development, awards for responsible and eco-tourism World Travel and Tourism Council 2017, which raises awareness about the sector. In fact, the STCI handbook lists (WTTC) forecasts India to be among contribution of sustainable tourism to medical, film-making, golf, polo, cruise the top ten leisure travel destinaand exhibitions among the tions, in the next decade. Howareas covered under susever, India has actually slipped tainable tourism in India. in natural resources, price comDespite the immediate petitiveness and tourist service concerns that need redresinfrastructure categories with sal, sustainable tourism has little or no improvement in enviseen successes as well. Snig ronment sustainability, and hyBhaumik’s Born2c is an orgiene and technology readiness. ganisation that promotes India ranks lower than Nigeria, Indian culture and heritage Congo, China and Pakistan in through interactive events environment sustainability rankacross northern India. UN’s ings, finishing at the bottom.

World Tourism OrganisaWith seven per cent contrition, an agency which probution to India’s GDP and nine motes responsible tourism, per cent employment generahas also lauded Born2c’s extion, tourism sector is growing SOUL OF INDIA: Experts agree that Kerala is the most environment ceptional efforts to promote rapidly. Yet, apart from routinely friendly and “responsible” tourism destination in India. responsible tourism. announcing the increased tourNiranjan Khatri-led ITC ist inflow, visa generation and hotels; a travel company foreign exchange earnings through development. called Blue Yonder; a Kerala-based tourism, there is little data available “Stringent measurement criteria women’s self help group, Kudumabout the industry’s quality control would make people accountable for bashree; CGH Earth hotels and remeasures. their actions,” says Prem Subramani- sorts; Kabani tours run by Sumesh “Sustainability is integral to grow- am, renowned tourism adviser who has Magalassery and Magic Tours led by ing the tourism economy and creating worked with IDFC and British Tourism Deepa Krishnan have been pioneers meaningful jobs while preserving cul- Authority among others. To quantify in social and ecological change, who ture, heritage, nature and natural re- the sector’s development, it is critical have leveraged sustainable tourism in sources for the long term. There can be that one measures the resultant growth India. no short cut to embrace sustainability; in economy generated by the inflow, “The sustainable tourism sector in education and training is the path that Subramanium adds.

India is still in a nascent stage. Unlike has to be taken for shaping the right With no infrastructural impetus, foreign tourists, Indian tourists who mindsets,” says Mallika Naguran, pub- the 2017 Budget has a single mention travel in groups are not ready to rough lisher of Gaia Discovery, a Singapore- of the sector. The Draft Tourism Policy it out,” says Arijit Purkayastha, CEO of based online publication highlighting (2015) stresses on increasing the footKoyeli Tours & Travels, a travel agency responsible tourism across Asia Pa- fall through promotional activities, cific. but does not give a strong regulatory in the North-eastern states. Escorted tours to remote areas still require guides The Sustainable Tourism Crite- framework to stakeholders. ria for India (STCI) was launched in “Tourism is sustainable not only to carry clean bedding and hot water.

August, 2014 by Shripad Naik, Union when it conserves the ecosystem but “It is only through effective trainings Minister of Tourism. However, till date also when locals benefit,” says Kedar that they will see the value addition to no study is available on the Ministry Gore, Director of Corbett Foundation. the economy from tourism and start of Tourism’s website, which measures Periyar Tiger Reserve, Kanha National adopting change,” adds Purkayastha.

April 2017 THE BEAT 23

POLITICS

Saffron

Does the appointment of Yogi Adityanath mark Hindu Rashtra, asks

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he recent election to the Uttar Pradesh assembly, in which the Bharatiya Janata Party won a staggering 312 out of 403 seats, threw up two of the biggest surprises in contemporary political history. The sheer margin of the BJP’S victory and their choice of chief minister caught almost everyone off guard. One question being asked over the past two weeks is how did the head priest of the Gorakhnath Math in Gorakhpur, infamous for his hate speeches and politics of terror, come to occupy such an important constitutional office?

Speaking at a public function in New Delhi, Fali Nariman, one of India’s most celebrated jurists, expressed his fears in no uncertain terms. “This is the beginning of the Hindu State. The UP election proved that our constitution is under threat and how a majoritarian government can subvert the basic principles enshrined in our constitution. These are times which remind me of months preceding the Emergency.”

These powerful words captured the deep sense of unease among liberals across the country.

Providing an answer to this question is not straightforward as it involves multiple strands of analysis. There is a pattern in the BJP’s choice of chief ministerial candidates. Manohar Lal Khattar, Raghubar Das, Devendra Fadnavis and Vijay Rupani, all belong to small though dominant communities in their respective states. These chief ministers, picked by PM Modi and his chanakya Amit Shah, were virtual non-entities

and continue to remain subservient to the central leadership in New Delhi.

Yogi Adityanath does not exactly fit the bill and, by this logic, should not be occupying the office of chief minister.

One school of opinion is of the view that the Modi-Shah duo has primarily chosen Adityanath to lead this crucial state as he carries the authority to implement some of the BJP’s important electoral promises. A strong local leader is considered an absolute necessity if the party is to repeat the same performance in the general elections of 2019. Uttar Pradesh is considered the fulcrum on which the entire political

edifice of the country rests. Adityanath enjoys huge popular support, particularly in eastern UP, and that was a reality that Modi could ignore only at his own peril. So he probably calculated that it would be wise to respect “public opinion’ after such a resounding vote for the BJP. At the same time, the prime minister’s office intends to keep a close eye on him. He will be remotely controlled by Modi and will be constantly reminded, in case of any transgression, that he owes his position to Modi and to him alone. The BJP campaigned on Modi’s charisma, refusing to name a

“The UP election proved that our constitution is under threat and how a majoritarian government can subvert the basic principles enshrined in our constitution.”

24 THE BEAT April 2017

Scourge

k a decisive turn in the BJP’s campaign to turn India into a SIDDHARTH CHAKRABORTY SECOND THOUGHTS? Modi with Adityanath Photo: india.com

chief minister till after the results were announced. In style, Modi’s tight control over state governments is akin to the “high-command culture” perfected by the Congress leadership at 10 Janpath. It can be seen as a stratagem to keep a known rabble-rouser like Yogi Adityanath under check even as Modi signals his Hindu credentials to the party faithful. Modi’s hand-picked chief ministers serve to promote the idea of a second line of party leadership in the states, but one that is dependent on him and who pose no threat, singly or collectively, to his complete domination at the national level.

Another view sees the selection of Yogi Adityanath through the prism of the RSS and its larger agenda. The RSS feels that if its majoritarian agenda isn’t pushed through even after such a massive victory, then it will never be rea-

lised. Adityanath is the torch bearer of the Hindutva agenda in Uttar Pradesh and for 15 years after its vandals destroyed Babri Masjid, the state had remained out of its reach. RSS thinks by appointing Yogi Adityanath they have their best chance at securing a national mandate in 2019 through majoritarian assertions. A majority verdict has conveniently been taken as support for a majoritarian agenda.Irrespective of his performance, and what Modi might make of him, the RSS see Adityanath as the mascot for consolidating the

Hindu vote.

The minorities and the secular opposition parties have been deeply distressed by his appointment. The BJP’s development agenda has paled into insignificance as their communal intentions became increasing apparent.

The opposition has always said the BJP has a hidden agenda and the inclusive, development plank proffered in the elections was nothing but a sham. Appointing Yogi Adityanath chief minister of Uttar Pradesh is proof, if any were needed, that the BJP no longer feel constrained to hide its true colour.

Minorities view Yogi Adityanath as a dangerous and polarising demagogue, who through his provocative speeches stirs up controversies and creates circumstances that will not allow them live in peace. His infamous speech

where he exhorted his supporters to kill 100 Muslims for every Hindu who is killed is etched in the collective memory of the Muslim community. Minorities recall his presence at a Yuva Vahini event, where a speaker was heard saying that dead Muslim women should be dug out of their graves and raped. More than anything else, the minorities fear that his appointment will send a signal to BJP cadre that the needlessly divisive issues of cow slaughter and building the Ram Temple will be revived and, even worse, the state government will lend its tacit support to the vigilantism that has driven these campaigns.

Within a week of assuming office, Yogi Adityanath was in the news for a clutch of controversial decisions, some populist, other suspiciously partisan.

His crackdown on illegal abattoirs precipitated a series of attacks on Muslimowned meat shops and the ensuing strike paralysed the state’s Rs. 15,00o crore meat industry that employs an estimated 25 lakh people; the formation of ‘anti-Romeo’ squads allowed police to harass and arbitrarily arrest young men in the name of protecting women; the ban on chewing tobacco and betel leaf in government offices and asking his ministers to declare their assets were telling samples of the new chief minister’s priorities in governing one of India’s poorest states.

Says professor Zoya Hasan, a leading political scientist, “Secularism is a central idiom in India’s political life. But its meaning has become increasingly contested. Secularism as an ideological formation and a set of cultural and political practices has been under attack even more today with the appointment of a polarising figure like Yogi Adityanath, though it has been a defining characteristic of modern democratic societies.”

April 2017 THE BEAT 25

PERFORMANCE

All the World’s a Stage SHANNON RIDGE COURT recounts Shakespeare’s centuries-long journey across the Indian subcontinent

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ome 23rd April 2017, the world will be celebrating the Bard of Avon’s 453rd birth anniversary. Ask people to name a playwright they admire and William Shakespeare would feature on lists of even those who have no association with theatre and dramaturgy. As George Bernard Shaw famously remarked, “Hamlet’s experience simply could not have happened to a plumber.” Yet, four and a half centuries later, his works have spread all across the world, been adapted, translated and performed in more than 80 languages. Shakespeare influenced and continues to inspire cultures around the world, especially in India.

Shakespeare’s plays entered India through the British colonials who introduced it as entertainment. They were performed in English for the European traders in Calcutta and Bombay around 1775. Shakespeare’s works were introduced in schools and colleges by British administrators with the implicit understanding they would enlighten Indians on the Christian faith, British jurisprudence, world view and culture. His plays spread across India and began to be translated and adapted to different languages. A 1964 survey of Shakespeare translations and adaptations by the Indian National Library, Calcutta revealed 128 plays in Bengali, 97 in Marathi, 70 in Hindi and 66 in Kannada. The earliest dramatization of Shakespeare by Indians were scenes performed in schools and colleges. For the first time in 1822, the Hindu College in Calcutta had an English performance of Shakespeare by Indians, a tradition which continues to this day.

One of the memorable performances in the Sans Souci theatre in Calcutta in 1775 was of a Bengali youth named Baishnav Charan Adya who performed as Othello in an English production of the play catering to English audience. The 26 THE BEAT April 2017

Parsi theatres of Bombay were among the first in India to translate and adapt Shakespearean plays in the Indian context. This includes Khun-e-nahaq or ‘Unjustified Murder’ in 1898, from Hamlet, Shahid-e-wafa or ‘Martyr to Constancy’ in 1898 from Othello, and Dilfarosh i.e. ‘Merchant of Hearts’ in 1900, from Merchant of Venice, Safed khun i.e. ‘White Blood’ in 1906, from King Lear, and Betab’s Gorakhdhanda i.e. ‘Labyrinth’ in 1909, from The Comedy of Errors. In adapting Shakespeare to India, the dramatists of the Parsi theatre recreated his pathos, wit and intrigue in Urdu.

With increased exposure, Indians began to try to locate themselves and Shakespeare in a world other than the Elizabethan identity created by the British. Arundhati Raja, an artistic director and founder of Jagriti Theatre in Bengaluru says, “In order to de-colonize one’s mind, it became necessary to use the regional, vernacular space to validate understanding of Shakespeare.” She further adds it is important to remember our ethnic roots before adapting and performing Shakespeare in another language.

Through a period of faithful translation and performance during 1890s to the 1930s, Shakespeare began to hold new ground in Indian theatre where dramatists took liberty with Bard’s works and changed plot lines to explore different angles. They included Vasundhara, an adaptation of Macbeth from 1910 that retold Shakespeare’s story not from the hero’s perspective, but from Lady Macbeth’s, after whom it was renamed. There was also Bazm-e-Fani (Mortal Gathering), an Urdu version of Romeo and Juliet in which the balcony scene was completely rewritten. There were regional adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays in India as early as 1876 when A.V. Vasudeva translated Julius Caesar into Telugu.

TRAGICOMEDY: Rajat Kapoor’s Hamlet - The Clown Prince Photo: musingsfromtheglobe/WordPress.com

Other translations and performances cropped up in languages like Marathi, Bengali, Gujarati, Assamese, Kannada and Telugu. In 1892, R. Krishnamachari published Vasantikasvapnam, a translation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream into Sanskrit. The translator’s objective, according to his introduction, was to introduce Sanskrit scholars to the great poetry of Shakespeare, to show India’s educated elite that Shakespeare wrote as well (at least) as Kalidasa. Translation always involves some transformation, since languages operate in different ways. But Krishnamachari’s version of Midsummer makes radical changes to the characters, the setting, and the structure of Shakespeare’s play.

Among the south Indian languages, Malayalam has been a hotbed of thriving experimentation and adaptation especially with Shakespearean works. Anupama Nayar, a theatre studies and English literature professor at Christ University, Bengaluru, gives the example of Jayaraj’s 1997 Shakespearean adaptation of Othello into a movie called Kalliyatam which is specifically set within the community of Thayam artistes, a marginalized group in Malayalee society.

The story is of Perumalyan (Othello), a Theyyam artiste, who belongs to a lower caste and whose specialty of walking through fire. He is pock marked and reserved but glorious in his Theyyam avatar. Tamara (Desdemona), the daughter of a higher caste, Nayar chieftan, falls for him and elopes with him. But Paniyan (Iago) is jealous of Perumalyan as he liked Tamara. He plants the seed of doubt of her fidelity in Perumalyan’s mind to end his happy marriage. Out of grief, Perumalyan (Othello) kills Tamara (Desdemona) with a pillow. “Through the adaptation, we also get to see the caste, class issues, understanding of the human mind

and its workings, political and patriarchal issues and the travails of marginalized performers. The story is very faithful to the original Othello,” says Anupama Nayar. The director Jayaraj’s next adaptation Kannaki reinterprets Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra set in the borderland between Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka. The movie explores the question of affiliation and rigidity of tradition in modern times.

Shakespeare’s plays are remarkable for their fluidity and can be adapted to any medium, including cinema. He crops up in surprising places in Bollywood, as when the gangster Amitabh Bachchan is told by his mother in the 1990 film Agneepath that “all the water of Mumbai will not wash his hands clean” of the taint of bloodshed. The transnational success of Vishal Bharadwaj’s trilogy of Hindi films,Maqbool (Macbeth, 2003), Omkara (Othello, 2006), and Haider (Hamlet, 2014) provide a good context to how Shakespearean drama is perceived in India. Successful in digging up what is buried under the surface of Shakespeare’s words and stories, all three films highlight concealed but known political flashpoints in his narrative.

Modern adaptations of Shakespeare’s works bring in a fresh resonance of emotion and understanding. Rajat Kapoor has directed and produced unconventional versions of Hamlet, King Lear and Macbeth at The Shakespeare Theatre Festival which returned to Bengaluru in March this year. Aswin Sasi Varrier, an actor and theatre student watched Kapoor’s version of Macbeth, ‘What’s Done Is Done.’ He says, “Their take on the play was quite hilarious and cheeky, set in a more relatable world, with modern references like Google maps and the likes. The importance of adapting Shakespeare to a familiar setting is for it to be able to reach a much wider audience and even to explore the creativity of the artists involved in it.”

Another instance where Shakespeare’s works have been put to unconventional use in India has been as a part of rehabilitation therapy in prisons. Actor and director Katti-mani from the Rangayana group in Mysore, successfully used translations of the tragedies – Macbeth, King Lear, Hamlet and Julius Caesar – to teach prisoners imprisoned for violent crimes to act. The prisoners were so absorbed by the plays and their performance that they gained new perspective on their former lives and began to worry who would play their parts once they were released on parole! Shakespeare would have been delighted.

April 2017 THE BEAT 27

SCIENCE

Life Codes

Stem-cell therapies have proven critical in the treatment of a range of life-threatening ailments and injuries, writes MRIGAKSHI DIXIT

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tem cells that revitalise old and dying cells are a warehouse of nano sized cells. Stem cells are those cells that give rise to other cells of varying types. Inadvertently, they have two unique properties: they have the potential to divide, regenerate, and replicate for a long period and they are unspecialized cells that can potentially give rise to specialized cells. This means that while regular cell divisions result in news cells of the same type, stem cell division has the potential to generate specialised cells as well. With these properties, stem cells have been used to cure more than 80 disorders.

Animal cells, which make up a human body, contain a type of genetic material called deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) within the cell’s nucleus, which is the centre of biochemical and molecular activity. Stem cells, which have the ability to replicate this DNA, have thus become vital to longevity and evolution of human life.

In India, stem cells are widely used for the treatment of cancers, blood disorder, hearing loss, hair loss, cirrhosis, liver ailments, type II diabetes, autism, immune diseases, spinal cord injuries, motor neuron disorder, cerebral palsy, 28 THE BEAT April 2017

brain injuries, osteoarthritis and even birth defects, which were considered incurable until now.

Stem cells have two classifications: non-embryonic stem cells also known as adult or somatic cell, which are found in the brain, bone marrow, blood vessels, skin, teeth, heart, liver, etc. While the embryonic stem cells, whose use is illegal in India, are found in three to five day old embryos.

Explaining the treatment process, Sumantra Chattarji, a professor at the Institute of Stem Cell biology and Regenerative Medicine(InStem), Bengaluru, says,“There are two types of treatment, one is autologous stem cell treatment and the other is allogeneic.”

While in the autologous treatment, a patient’s own blood-forming stem cells are collected for re-administration before high-dose chemo or radiation treatment, allogeneic transplantation involves transfer of stem cells from a healthy person, the donor, after highintensity chemotherapy. Since chemo kills cancerous as well as blood-forming cells, donor cells are vital for the patient’s survival, says Chattarji, faculty, Centre for Brain Development and Research.

Now, advanced technology allows adult stem cell treatment artificially, as well. “Doctors have been able to artificially cultivate stem cells to cure particular diseases that ail the human body,” Chattarji adds. “The artificial provides further insights into the disease, thus, allowing creation of effective drugs.”

At the Institute of Kidney Disease and Research Centre (IKDRC), stem cells are being used to cure Nephritis, in patients who have developed resistance to traditional treatments. This involves extraction of stem cells from the fat and bone marrow of patients.

While stem cells have given hope to patients and their families they also have associated risks. These include unpredictable immune responses, trader of human pathogenic bacteria from the source as much as unapproved and illegal practices arising from the scope of treatment that stem cell research allows. Says Polani B. Sheshagiri, Head, Stem Cell and Transgenic Research Lab, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, “While quacks have claimed to treat disorders like hair loss, brain ailmentsand bone disorders; nevertheless, patients should be wary of the flip side too.

ARTS & CULTURE

Such a Long Journey From a refugee camp in Pakistan to a sea-front studio in Los Angeles, Afghan artist Meena Saifi shares her fascinating story with ROMITA MAJUMDAR

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he camera blinks to life as soft Turkish music plays in the background. The camera faces a painting on the floor, a portrait of a young girl. A pair of naked feet treads across the carpet dodging sheets and paintbrushes. It stops near a wall and the camera slowly pans over the window-sill to reveal the churning of a bright azure sea. Meena Saifi shares such stories on Instagram, at least, twice a day.

Saifi is among a new crop of millennial artists who engage with their followers beyond the rare exhibitions at galleries.

Her videos cover evening walks, long drives and boat rides.

Solo exhibitions and sea-facing LA condo is not a small feat for someone who was always expected to grow up to be a submissive wife in one of Pakistan’s remote town. Meena Saifi discusses her phenomenal journey from refugee ghettoes to the present.

27-year-old Saifi says her art is inspired from her tumultuous childhood. At the age of five, when life in Afghanistan worsened and her family had to leave behind a comfortable life in Kabul for a ‘safer’ one in Pakistan. “As a child, I used to watch my neighbour, an Afghan woman, being beat up by her husband every day. She never spoke up.

I couldn’t understand why she or others like her did not believe in themselves,” Saifi says.

Thus liberation from domestic violence, harassment and subjugation of women are themes that often reflect in her work.

Saifi grew up listening to old Urdu ghazals and qawwalis from India apart from a lot of classical poetry. But that wasn’t her destiny. “I could not go to school because refugees didn’t have the right or means to afford education in Pakistan. So my father, Asadullah Saifi, decided to start a school,” she says. Being a graphic artist, her father would often ask her to illustrate her work, initiating her into the world of colors. “My mother wanted me to learn to cook pulav and be a good wife but Father always insisted

on strengthening my skills,” she smiles, glad that she decided to follow his advice.

Saifi reminisces wanting Barbie dolls but since they couldn’t afford any, she began painting them. That was when she fell in love with the idea of perfecting faces. Saifiwas a teenager when her father, her biggest support, passed away.

Yet she did not stop dreaming.

An opportunity to exhibit her paintings brought her to USA, six years ago. “I did not know anyone here and I did not even speak English. The family I lived with didn’t even let me paint while I stayed with them. I worked 16 hour shifts at a restaurant just to make ends meet. But I never stopped learning,” she recalls. She got her first major break, in 2013, during the annual Whitney Museum party in New York and hasn’t looked back since.

Saifi wants to reopen Sufi Ashqary, her father’s school, one day. “He would go around identifying kids like the rag pickers.

He would bring them back to school and educate them for free.”

In a country where education is controlled by Islamist doctrines, Asadullah Saifi taught music, art, drama and poetry. “I think, I miss the person that he was even more than I miss my father,” she says in a choked voice.

She hopes to continue the good work.

Her paintings as well as her posts on social media always ring of joy and cheer. “As an artist, I try to bring the flavor of Afghanistan in my work. And I really don’t like painting sorrow. There’s enough of it in the world without me adding to it,” she laughs.

To the woman who thrives on the verses of Mirza Ghalib, Omar Khayyam, Rumi and Mirza Bidil life is a work of art and she plans to live like one.

FOLK TALES: “Reborn” by Meena Saifi

March 2017 THE BEAT 29

ARTS & CULTURE

Drama Central Hacksaw Ridge explores new heights of fear and brutality, writes PHALGUNI VITTAL RAO

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acksaw Ridge is a war drama directed by Mel Gibson starring Andrew Garfield and is based on the true story of Desmond Doss, a young SeventhDay Adventist, who refused to touch a gun or bear arms on religious grounds, but wanted to serve as a medic in the Battle of Okinawa. Also, he had won acongressional Medal of Honour for saving 75 lives on the Hacksaw ridge.

The film begins with a flashback, which explains Doss’ views on violence to the audience. Doss finds himself labelled a coward and struggles to find his place in the army because of his belief in non-violence. Doss fights for the respect of his causticdrill sergeant, Vince Vaughan, who spontaneously throws out one-liners in quick succession. Making use of emotive storytelling, the battle of Okinawa is depicted through unfiltered carnage that keeps audiences on the edge of their seats. Against the bloodbath, the audience witness the triumph of values and faith. Thus, establishing the central motive of the story—where a man’s heroism is judged by the lives he saves.

The Oscar-nominated Andrew Garfield plays Doss with a boyish charm. His endearing and thoughtful performance ensures Doss’ legacy is protected as a man of unwavering principles. The strongest chords are struck whenDoss realizes that he has a capacity for violence, which humanizes his character.

The first half of Hacksaw Ridge is over-ridden with mushy pleasantries forcing viewers to understand that Desmond‘s beliefs have been a result of a childhood accident, where he nearly killed his brother. From then on, the film takes on a mellow approach and lends focus to Doss’ sweet and charming relationship with Teresa Palmer, who plays a pretty nurse and Doss’ future wife Dorothy.

Supporting actor, Hugo Weaving as Desmond’s father, is fantastic in the film. Weaving delivers an emotionally powerful performance of an alcoholic, troubled with the idea of 30 THE BEAT April 2017

both of his sons wanting to serve in the army.

Hacksaw Ridge takes its audience through ahellish experience with its battleground depictions, which belong more in a horror movie than a combat film. Spurting blood, splintering bones, burning flesh and general agony is captured in a slow-motion tableau, while a jarringkey score, composed by Rupert Greyson-William plays in the background.

The bold and visceral filmmaking has close-up shots of bloody bodies as much as lives ones on fire—Gibson sugarcoats nothing.In scenes where the men first climb towards their enemy, passing over their fallen comrades, some of whom have maggots crawling out of them, the rawness is apparent. Gibson takes a no-hold barred approach and showcases a suddenness and an unfathomable randomness which with death arrives in combat as bravado crumbles into fear. Hacksaw Ridge’s violent imagery goes so far and goes on so long that it’s numbing.

The film has no intention of glorifying violence, rather it strives to highlight fear and brutality that illustrates Doss’ decisionto abstain from arms.

Gibson shows how the horror of battle also depends on a sense of humanity, especially in the quieter moments of the film that are as telling as the explosions and shattered body parts. One of the film’s best scenes is a night of conversation between Doss and Smitty, played by Luke Bracy.

In the final scene when the Japanese, who are depicted as savages, who end up bowing down to the American assault, is the result that comes as an answer to a prayer, probably meaning to say that God may not have wanted Doss to carry a gun, but the Americans with guns had his blessing in the end. Hacksaw Ridge is about men embracing different forms of power and powerfully makes the case that there should be room in this world for people like Desmond Doss, and for movies like this.

ARTS & CULTURE

Barricaded Minds Fences dives deep into the evolution of race relations in 20th century America, writes PHALGUNI VITTAL RAO

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ences is a movie adaptation directed by Denzel Washington, based on a stage production by American playwright August Wilson written in 1983 which premiered on Broadway in 1987. It is one of the tenpart Pittsburgh cycle plays written decade-by-decade by Wilson, allowing audiences to chronicle and explore the African-American experience of the 20th century. Fences dives deep into the evolution of race relations, with plenty of fury and passion.

Denzel Washington plays Troy Maxson, a tough man to like and much less to love. Once a professional baseball player, he never found fame and success in the major Negro leagues of baseball, and now dwells on the misfortunes and racism prevalent in the days before which forces him to dispense harsh advice to his sons through baseball metaphors.

He is nothing more than a waste collector now but Maxson is intent on not letting his son, Cory, taste success even if the opportunity presents itself. He systematically nips it in the bud reflecting the disillusionment of achieving the American dream.

Fences cuts right to the heart of the matter through the literal fence Troy builds in his backyard, which serves as a metaphor for how he was fenced-out of his dreams of becoming a baseball player and how he erects the same barriers between him and his sons.

Interestingly, the audience finds itself puzzled with the thought they are indeed fascinated with the character of Troy because of how he digs up some dramatically competing emotions: the viewers sympathize with him for missing out on his shot at destiny, with him unwilling to believe in his failed potential, dismissing the Negro leagues every chance he gets.

He is as restless and unpredictable as a baseball player,

embodying a kind of self-reliance and sense of strength, to stretch his arms further and crawl towards the ‘American Dream’. However, the next moment he is seen doing the exact opposite, ferociously and cruelly beating down the ambitions of his teenage son Cory, played by Jovan Adepo who has the talent and desires to play football for his high school team. Troy interferes insisting: “The white man ain’t gonna let you get nowhere with that football, no way.”

His relationship with Cory starts hitting rock bottom, leading him to recall his difficulties with his own parents.

Marginalized and slowly slipping into a black hole, Troy is forced to confess his infidelity that resulted in an unplanned pregnancy to his wife Rose, played by Viola Davis in a scene that is emotionally potent and cathartic.

Viola Davis pulls off a magical act on screen, unleashing the savagery and affliction of a broken woman suffering her husband’s heartbreak, repressing her own feelings in the process. Davis has a bubbly and endearing spirit as a dutiful wife and mother. The audience cares for her gentle, affectionate demeanour and feels equally protected and shielded as she faces the whip of Troy’s volatility. When he turns charmingly lovable the very next second, it feels as if she is pushing viewers forward to enjoy the pleasure of his company.

The dialogues in Fences are beautifully written and capture the mood of the period, the attitudes of the principals and explore the minds and tensions of the characters as they clash with each other and their community. As one might reasonably expect from a play adapted to the screen, it looks very stage-like with a strong focus on the bleak, drab setting coupled with dialogues to reflect the intense tension between the characters at all times during their day.

March 2017 THE BEAT 31

ARTS & CULTURE

Beauty and the Beast Bill Condon’s live-action remake breathes new life into the Disney classic, writes YOGITA CHAINANI

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eauty and the Beast, the much awaited 3D musicalfantasy by Walt Disney Pictures, which stars Emma Watson as Belle and Dan Stevens as Beast, is now in theatres. The movie, which brings Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve’s classic to life, has garnered much appreciation from the audiences and critics alike for its portrayal of a traditional fairy tale using contemporary filmmaking practices. Shot with a budget of $160 million, Beauty and the Beast has generated $693.5million at the box office.

The romantic movie is a fantasy for its audience.

When the news spread that it was all set to become a live-action musical, the audience was taken aback by disbelief. The expectations were a lot more higher due to previous live-action releases like Cinderella and The Jungle Book. More so, the language and costumes were used to draw larger than life pictures, to captivate its viewers’ attention and to take them into a whole new world.

However, the biggest challenge the makers faced was to get the objects talking. According to Quartz. com, the team struggled for a long period of time to get the character of Mrs. Potts, a talking tea pot, right. As she has a calming influence over Belle, it was vital for her to radiate warmth and empathy which was really challenging to produce on a porcelain surface.

Disney has made an ingenious use of its magnificent sets.

Director Bill Condon and his crew scanned 27 massive sets in 31 THE BEAT April 2017

3D digital imagery to show the maximum effect of lighting and camera. The scene where Gaston gives flowers to Belle was shot in a swift transition where everything was focussed upon making the audience laugh. The film is an amalgamation of humor and satire brought out very well through onpoint dialogue delivery and moving background score.

Disney’s animated version of the film shot in 1991 was a massive hit and so was the 1994 Broadway musical adaptation. Both these versions have set high standards high in the cinema world. The movie has lived up to the expectation levels and has reproduced the same magic, this time in 3D, through special effects, sound, costumes and voice-overs.

The cinematography of the movie, by Tobias Schliessler, conquered alltechnological challenges brought forth by the film’s ambitious vision. Using every bit of the camera kitfrom techno dolly to drone, Schliessler was able to get appealing shots which were impossible otherwise.

The exclusive element about the film was the fact that though it was crafted as a fairy tale, it had its own drama element as well. The unique camera techniques gave the story another edge.

The shooting and design techniques used in the production of the movie were so remarkable that they outmatched the actors’ performances as well.Perfect combination of live-action technology and 3D effects gave the film its muchneeded attention. Since it was a remarkable remake of the original animated version, it has got the audience’s going for it across theatres.

The use of realistic sets and innovative special effects and different tones of a variety of colors has mad the movie deeper and more fascinating than ever before.

TEAM

Editor: Cherry Agarwal Layout Editor: Ilona Dam Copy Editors: Nivedita Naidu and Aishwarya Iyer Shannon Ridge Court Romita Majumdar Manasvini Paul Karishma Jayapaul Phalguni Vittal Rao Ashima Chowdhary Cathline Chen Mahak Dutta Follow us on twitter@iijnmbangalore

Gear up for the 10th edition of the IPL (April 5, 2017 to May 21, 2017) Here’s who made it to the IPL Hall of Fame:

TOP RUN SCORER

Virat Kohli (RCB) Runs: 4110 Strike Rate: 130.43 Average: 38.05

Art by Phalguni Vittal Rao & Shannon Ridge Court.

TOP WICKET TAKER

Lasith Malinga (MI) Wickets: 143 Strike Rate: 16.00 Best: 5/13

MOST SIXES

Chris Gayle (RCB) Sixes: 251 Strike Rate: 153.28 Average: 43.36

BEST ECONOMY RATE

Sunil Narine (KKR) Economy: 6.17 Strike Rate: 18.49 Best: 5/19

THE BEAT April 2017

HIGHEST SCORE

Chris Gayle (RCB) Score: 175* vs Pune Warriors Fours hit: 13 Sixes hit: 17

MOST EXPENSIVE PLAYER

Yuvraj Singh Bought by: Delhi Daredevils Worth: Rs. 16 crores Total IPL Runs: 1032

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