Monthly Archives: May 2016

IHB tag for 10 products of AP

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Records, All
Uppada sari is among the products that obtained the prestigious tag. —File photo: C.V. Subrahmanyam
Uppada sari is among the products that obtained the prestigious tag. —File photo: C.V. Subrahmanyam

The brand is a direct way to penetrate the national market, says Vishesh Nautiyal, South India Director, Weavers’ Service Centre.

Ten handloom products of the State have obtained the India Handloom Brand (IHB) tag of the Ministry of Textiles, which will help promote them in the global market.

According to the Weavers’ Service Centre (WSC) in Vijayawada, prominent among them include Dharmavaram silk sari and Pavada of Anantapur district; Madavaram cotton sari of Kadapa district; Venkatagiri cotton sari of Nellore district; Polavaram cotton sari of Krishna district; Mangalagiri sari of Guntur district; and Uppada sari of East Godavari district.

“We are doing research for identifying eligible handloom products in Andhra Pradesh to recommend them for the IHB tag,” WSC Deputy Director K. Ravindra told The Hindu .

Mr. Ravindra said that the recent buyer-seller meeting held in Hyderabad yielded the expected result as the branded handloom products witnessed great demand.

Speaking over phone from Chennai, Weavers Service Centre’s South India Director Vishesh Nautiyal said that the work of the weaver or manufacturer would go beyond the borders through the IHB tag.

“The IHB speaks about the quality and standards of the respective product. The branded products are being sold by renowned retail malls in Indian cities. The brand is a direct way to penetrate the national market,” said Mr. Nautiyal.

The Ministry of Textiles has identified eligible individual manufactures/cooperative societies for production of IHB products.

The brand is a direct way to penetrate the national market –Vishesh Nautiyal ,South India Director, Weavers’ Service Centre

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Andhra Pradesh / by T. Appala Naidu / Machilipatnam – April 30th, 2016

Chandrababu Naidu grants Rs. 2 lakh to chess player Nuttaki Priyanka

Sports

The amount was granted to enable her to take part in a series of international tournaments to be held in different cities of the U.S. in May and June.

Former World under-10 and National under-13 girls chess champion Nuttaki Priyanka was granted Rs. 2 lakh by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and the cheque was handed over the player on his behalf by Central MLA Bonda Uma Maheswara Rao here on Saturday.

The amount was granted to enable her to take part in a series of international tournaments to be held in different cities of the U.S. in May and June.

“First she will take part in the Chicago Open from May 26 to 30, and later she will vie for honours at the World Open in Philadelphia from June 30 to July 4. She will take part in World Open women championship at the same city from July 5 to 7,” said Ratna Rao Bobba, president of Mustabada Sports and Educational Academy.

Ms. Priyanka, as a pass time, started learning chess during summer vacations after her second class exams. She learned the nuances quickly to win district-level honours.

However she honed skills in a methodical manner after joining Mustabada academy.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Vijayawada / by Special Correspondent  / Vijayawada – May 01st, 2016

Babai Hotel to keep intact its traditional flavour

Arts, Culture & Entertainment
ICONIC LANDMARK:Visitors enjoy traditional idli, dosa tiffins at the Babai Hotel at Gandhinagar in Vijayawada.— Photo: Ch. Vijaya Bhaskar
ICONIC LANDMARK:Visitors enjoy traditional idli, dosa tiffins at the Babai Hotel at Gandhinagar in Vijayawada.— Photo: Ch. Vijaya Bhaskar

The eatery had become so famous that super stars like ANR, NTR used to visit it

The eatery had become so famous that super stars like ANR, NTR used to visit it

Seven-decade-old popular restaurant and no change in menu? That may come as a big surprise for the epicureans but Babai hotel, a city landmark, which has turned 73, does not believe in change for the sake of it.

“We will continue the same tradition to serve the hungry stomachs and fill up the yearning hearts with great taste with our stock menu – idli, masala-dosa, godhuma ravva upma, podi-dosa and pongal – maintaining the quality and taste. We will not add any new recipe to our menu that brought us all round recognition”, said Babai Hotel proprietor Valveti Lakshmi Narisimiha Rao.

Among the best

“Our hotel has made it again. The world’s largest travel website, Trip Advisor accredited it as fifth best hotel out of around 116 restaurants in the city. The hotel got good reviews by many people in the site applauding the taste of the tiffins specially the ghee-soaked idlis and hot pongal.”

Mr. Narasimha Rao said that the hotel became a brand name in many five-star hotels as their menu-card read ‘Babai hotel idli’. Going into the history, the inspiration behind the name, Babai Hotel was established in 1942 by Patruni Samba Murthi. He became popular as ‘Babai’ to one and all. In turn, he used to greet rank and file affectionately with the same salutation – ‘Babai’. Former President Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy also expressed his gratitude for the services of the hotel.

Babai passed away in 1985, leaving name and fame of the hotel to his adopted nephew, Chanti (Valiveti Lakshmi Narasimha Rao) who is the current proprietor of the hotel. The bigwigs from the Telugu film industry like Nandamuri Taraka Ramarao (NTR), Akkineni Nageswara Rao (ANR), Savitri, Chandra Mohan and a host of top politicians were frequent visitors to relish the tiffins at the Babai Hotel.

This despite the fact that the eatery was small for celebrities to come by, they took great liking to the food here as compared to what was served by many five-star hotels.

In the hands of heirs, the hotel was renovated into a two-storey building in October 2007. “It was great pleasure to have breakfast here at any time, the taste is awesome. Signature recipes unchanged despite passing of years; there is absolutely no change in the recipes including the mouth-watering chutneys of coconut and ginger with chilli powder, along with butter and ghee. The Idlis are literally soaked in ghee and topped with dollops of white butter for good measure”, said Syed Nadir Basha, a daily customer of this hotel since 1981. Basha is a native of Kurnool and settled in Vijayawada.

“Though the culture and structure of the city has changed, the unchanged part is the ongoing flocking of customers at the door in the early hours for the dishes of inexplicable taste. The breakfast is as sumptuous as it was in Babai’s times”, Mr. Rao said.

The eatery had become so famous that super stars like ANR, NTR used to visit it.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Vijayawada / by Sk. Rizwana / Vijayawada – May 02nd, 2016