Going places with greeting cards

April 18, 2014Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Education, World Opinionadmin

Techies for tomorrow: Keep it Simple Silly (KISS) team members Jharna H.Makhija and Chaitra Salimeeti. — PHOTO: V. RAJU / The Hindu

Undergraduate girls turn entrepreneurs, export cards to UK and USA. They have just shipped an order by post to California. Jharna H. Makhija and Chaitra Salimeeti doing their third year in Computer Science Engineering in Velagapudi Ramakrishna Siddhartha Engineering College (VRSEC).

They have still a year to complete their engineering. But that has not stopped them from making a success of a business that most people consider unviable or impossible. Making and selling greeting cards abroad in the age of whatsapp and email is a small achievement for the young entrepreneurs.

Making customised greeting cards is their USP. They have just shipped an order by post to California. Jharna H. Makhija and Chaitra Salimeeti doing their third year in Computer Science Engineering in Velagapudi Ramakrishna Siddhartha Engineering College (VRSEC) have successful bagged and executed nearly 200 orders in less than a year.

Starting with regular greeting cards they diversified to a variety of customised cards including the ‘explosion’ box greeting cards, invitations for a wide range of occasions and more recently flyers and tickets for commercial programmes. The brand name they have given for all these products is the highly catchy phrase, Keep It Simple Silly (KISS).

Customised fare

The big attraction in the customised cards, which often have photographs of both the senders and receivers, is that they are permanent. “Whatsapp messages, emails are temporary, but our cards remain forever. They are mementoes which can be collected to remember all the important occasions,” said Ms. Makhija.

The book “How I Braved Anu Aunty and Co-Founded a Million Dollar Company” inspired the girls to start the business. The college E-Cell gave them a little nudge by permitting them to have a stall on the campus for a couple of days.

With their creativity and computer knowledge they design the customised cards, which often have many pages, using graphic design software like CorelDRAW, Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator.

The cost of the cards ranges from Rs. 15 for a regular card to Rs. 600 for an explosion box greeting card (explode into several pages of photos and text when the lid is removed).

It is not that the two-girl team had no competition.

A few months after they began the business in July 2013, a few boys from another engineering college started a similar enterprise. But having a head-start gave KISS an advantage, Ms. Salimeeti said. The real advantage is the wonderfully maintained Facebook page that attracted customers from as far as UK and USA.

Wedding season is hectic time for KISS. In the beginning the parents resisted, but extended logistic support when the orders began flowing in.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities / by G. Venkataramana Rao / Vijayawada – April 17th, 2014

A political yarn

April 18, 2014Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economyadmin

Hand spun or power loom, Sangeetha Devi Dundoo finds that the freedom fabric is enjoying its space in the sun this summer.

Summer normally spells good business for khadi sellers and this summer is turning out to be even better. The stores that dot Lakdi-ka-pul and Khairatabad have stocked both handloom and powerloom khadi yardage, along with linen and cotton to meet the demand from political campaigners. The stores placed orders for fresh stock two to three months ago to ensure they have enough supply.

There’s khadi to meet every budget. The hand-spun and hand-woven variety from Ponduru comes at a premium. “Very few families weave khadi in Ponduru and most weavers are in the 60-plus age group. It takes them at least two months to weave a ‘taan’ (roll),” explains Dasari Chandra Shekhar of Khadi Bhandar, Khairatabad.

Dealers emphasise the need to stock cheaper alternatives like powerloom khadi from Erode, Tirupur, Salem and Mumbai. “Not everyone is particular about using hand-spun, hand-woven khadi especially when they need at least 15 to 20 sets of garments. We’ve seen corporators and others buy powerloom fabrics while the established politicians go for premium handloom khadi. They choose between muslin, coarse or fine khadi,” adds Shekhar.

Khadi from Ponduru finds more takers, says Vinay of Andhra Khadi Bhandar, Lakdi-ka-pul. “The handloom varieties come from Srikakulam and Ponduru, priced between Rs. 200 and 2,000 per metre, depending on the yarn used. As an alternative, there’s the lesser-known hand-woven khadi from West Bengal priced at Rs. 500 to 800 per metre,” he says.

White is the preferred colour cutting across party lines. The difference in colour is marked by the shawl/stole worn on the shirt. A bulk of the sales remains skewed towards men as most women in politics remain comfortable in cottons and silks.

A few stores also have in-house tailors who can stitch shirts and trousers within a week. Ready-to-wear garments are available for those unwilling to wait. Besides shirts, trousers and fabrics, the stores also have special hand-made or non-detergent soaps to wash these garments with. They assert the importance of using home-made starch over the retail variety for the longevity of the fabric.

In the mean time, linen has emerged as an alternative to khadi, offering a wider range of fabrics, priced between Rs. 500 and 4000 a metre. “Linen is lustrous and is equally comfortable for summer. We’ve had quite a few political clients asking for linen,” says Chandra Shekhar.

Aravind Joshua works extensively with khadi weavers and uses the fabric for his creations. / Photo: K. Ramesh Babu / The Hindu

De-constructing an image

Designer Aravind Joshua who works extensively with khadi weavers and uses the fabric for his creations, feels clothing is a key to understand leaders and the image they project in public space.

“On close analysis, one would find what leaders wear is not by accident. Behind the crisp khadis and handlooms that Indira Gandhi wore, there were image consultants, stylists and designers. When Sonia Gandhi entered politics, she carefully imitated both the body language of Indira and her wardrobe. From Mahatma Gandhi to Narendra Modi, our leaders know that even when they are not talking, their clothing is. It’s a visual communication,” he says.

Aravind’s suggestions to five politicians who could do with a change of style

Most women ministers: It’s surprising how even women in influential positions can get carried away. D.K. Aruna and Geeta Reddy can take a cue from Sonia Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, Kumari Selja or Sushma Swaraj.

Kalvakuntla Kavitha: Kavitha, to stay in tune with the cultural wing of her party which she represents, is never seen wearing handloom or khadi woven in this region. She could have more Pochampally ikats and Narayanpet saris in her wardrobe.

Jaganmohan Reddy: Jagan’s corporate look continues while meeting people. Instead of wearing high-end brands while speaking about the plight of the weavers or farmers, he can opt for a well-constructed kora or a striped khadi shirt and pant. Since he is targeting youth, it is not necessary for him to sport a dhoti like his father.

Nara Lokesh: Like his father, Lokesh is projecting himself as a thinker so we see him in formal shirts and pants. But if he is going to be active in politics, he can try matkha khadi silk (available in shades of yellow to gold, befitting his party flag) shirt, crisply ironed with white coated khadi pants.

D. Sridhar Babu: He sports a waist coat over white kurta and pants. To connect strongly with his constituency, Karimnagar, he can try Metpally khadi tie and dyed waist coat with white double thread khadi.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus / by Sangeetha Devi Dundoo / Hyderabad – April 04th, 2014

VSP employee for All-England tourney

April 16, 2014Science & Technology, Sports, World Opinionadmin

An employee of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant B.V.S.K. Lingeswara Rao is participating in another international badminton tournament.

He will be representing India in the 98 All-England Seniors Badminton Championship to be held at Hatfield from April 11 to 13.

Commissioner of GVMC and president of the Visakhapatnam District Badminton Association M.V. Satyanarayana, secretary of the district association and vice-president of the AP Badminton Association R. Srinivas, and other office-bearers congratulated Lingeswara Rao on his selection and wished him success in the tournament.

Lingeswara Rao will play the plus-45 years men’s singles and doubles events. He will partner with A.V. Raju of Hyderabad in the doubles event. Players from nearly 25 countries are participating in different age groups, plus-35 years to 70 years.

Foreman in VSP, Lingeswara Rao secured a bronze medal in the men’s singles and doubles category in the sixth BWF senior World championship-2013 held in Ankara (Turkey) recently.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Visakhapatnam / by Special Correspondent / Visakhapatnam – April 03rd, 2014

An old institution craves for attention

April 16, 2014Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Historical Links, Pre-Independenceadmin

Call for national status to Gowthami Regional Library

Sri Gowthami Regional Library (SGRL) has the oldest and rarest collection of books between the 1805 and 1898. It also boasts unpublished manuscripts.

The government took over the library in 1979 and renamed it as Sri Gowthami Regional Library.

The name Sri Gowthami Regional Library, popularly known s ‘Gowthami’, adjoins the Palm leaf manuscripts since its inception. At present, the library has more than 400 manuscripts of ‘Colonel McKenzie’ describing East and West Godavari Districts. These manuscripts are in three volumes. ‘Tamara Sasanalu’, meaning copper plates (from the 13th and 14th centuries), are also available in the library. An interesting facet of the library is its possession of the first Britannica Encyclopedia of the year 1771.

As of now, the library has more than 1,500 rare books published before 1900 and around 8,115 books published prior to 1923 and 5,000 published up to 1950. In all, more than 15,000 rare books find place in the collections. Magazines and periodicals like Bharathi, Chintamani, Vivekavardhini, Andhri and Krishna Patrika are oldest periodicals that are housed in the library.

Though Union Minister for Human Resources Development M.M. Pallam Raju hails from the district, the library is yet to get national status. “We got national status for the Telugu language after making tireless efforts. For getting the same status for this library also, we have to struggle in residual state of Andhra Pradesh,” says Sannidhanam Narasimha Sarma, who worked as librarian.

V.S. Suryanarayana Murthy, the current gazetted librarian, modernised the only big government library in coastal region in keeping with the advancement in Information Technology. It has now around 16 computers with scanner and Printers.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Andhra Pradesh / by B.V.S. Bhaskar / Rajkahmundry – April 04th, 2014

RTC does it again

April 16, 2014Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Inspiration /Positive News and Features, Records, Alladmin

Chittoor depot provides water cans in buses for commuters. Some of the Express and long route buses are already providing water during journey.

The Chittoor Depot-II of the APSRTC, which had hit the headlines for its humanitarian gesture of providing water cans in all its depot buses last year, is going to do it again this summer.

It all happened mid-summer last year when a passenger begged for water while breathing his last due to sunstroke in an RTC bus in Karimnagar . This tragic episode moved the Chittoor Depot-II manager, P. Gajalakshmi, who initiated immediate steps to arrange water cans in all the buses of the depot.

Starting with a few buses initially, the official quickly mustered the support of business and public groups in Chittoor, who came forward to sponsor the water cans in the buses. Soon, all the buses carried mineral water cans, much to the relief of passengers, particularly the aged and children on long distance journeys. The exercise continued till the summer ended. Ms. Gajalakshmi’s Samaritan gesture inspired many of her colleagues in the corporation elsewhere in the State, and they all followed suit.

Speaking to The Hindu, Ms Gajalakshmi said that this year, water cans would be made available in all the 103 buses of the depot. Some of the Express and long route buses are already providing water during journey . “A business establishment has come forward to sponsor the cans. However, we are having a mineral water plant in our depot, which has a 12,000 litre capacity tank. All the crew on the buses have been instructed to provide the water cans without fail,” she said.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Andhra Pradesh / by Staff Reporter / Chittoor – April 03rd, 2014

‘Padmashri’ Kolakaluri felicitated

April 16, 2014Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, Alladmin

Former SVU Vice-Chancellor and litterateur Kolakaluri Enoch being felicitated at Sri Venkateswara University in Tirupati on Thursday. / Photo: K.V.POORNACHANDRA KUMAR / The Hindu

Kolakaluri Enoch, renowned litterateur and former Vice-Chancellor of Sri Venkateswara University (SVU), was felicitated at the varsity’s Srinivasa Auditorium here on Thursday, for being conferred with the prestigious Padmashri Award.

Addressing the gathering, SVU Vice Chancellor W. Rajendra heaped encomiums on the writing style of Prof. Enoch and recalled that he was the first Vice-Chancellor of the varsity to be honoured with a ‘Padma’ award. “The prestigious distinction is not only an honour to him, but to the entire varsity,” he added.

Relating his childhood experiences and theme behind his works, Prof. Enoch said that his writings were based on the idea of strengthening the downtrodden sections of the society. “I wanted to change some inherent traits in the society, which can be found in my writing. A normal person, a weak person or a poor person should reach the other side of the spectrum and that was my only idea,” he said.

Dravidian University V-C K. Ratnaiah, Former SVU VC R. Ramamurthy and other eminent personalities hailed Prof. Enoch for doing his wee bit for the uplift of the oppressed sections through his writings.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Andhra Pradesh / by Staff Reporter / Tirupati – April 03rd, 2014

Accendo Tech lines up 8 enterprise apps for launch

April 16, 2014Business & Economy, Science & Technologyadmin

Company has so far developed 15 mobile apps for sectors including healthcare, education, retail, and media and entertainment

Accendo Technologies Private Limited, a Hyderabad-based startup predominantly focused on building mobile applications for enterprises, is lining up eight apps for various clients across the globe, said Diwakar Singh, vice-president (sales).

The company, floated in early 2012, has so far developed 15 mobile applications for sectors including healthcare , education, retail, and media and entertainment .

“We are currently working on apps for events industry (registration management), one for the logistics industry, and one gym app for a Singapore client, which will provide virtual physical training sessions, tips after keying in weight and body mass index, and eventually creates curiosity to actually go and join a gym. We expect to deliver these apps to our clients within six months from now,” Singh told Business Standard on the sidelines of Nasscom Product Conclave 2014 in Hyderabad on Thursday.

The self-funded company currently employs 46 professional across its Hyderabad and Sydney offices.

source: http://www.business-standard.com / Business Standard / Home> Technology> Personal Technology> Mobile / by K Rajani Kanth / Hyderabad – April 03rd, 2014

Utthishta Yekum Fund to invest in 20 tech startups

April 16, 2014Business & Economy, Science & Technologyadmin

The fund, which is a partner to Nasscom’s ’10, 000 Startups’ initiative, has so far received 1, 470 applications from various technology startups

Uttishta Yekum Fund , the debut seed fund from Hyderabad-based Utthishta Management Advisors LLP, is targeting to invest in at least 20 Indian technology startup companies every year, according to Mohsin Khan, general partner of the fund.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi)-registered alternative investment fund, with a fund size of Rs 70 crore, has so far invested in seven companies. These include New Delhi-based GreatWideOpen, an adventure travel company, and Claimback, which takes care of customer grievances against brands, and Hyderabad-based happyweddings.com.

Utthishta Yekum, which writes the ‘first cheque’ of between Rs 10 lakh and Rs 20 lakh for very very early-stage startups, has M Prabhakara Rao as its anchor investor with an already committed Rs 31-crore infusion into the fund. Rao is the chairman of Hyderabad-based Rs 5, 600-crore Nuziveedu Seeds Limited (NSL group), which has interests in agriculture, textiles, sugar and renewable energy.

“Our focus going forward will be on startups that are into mobility, software, analytics and cloud computing. And, we intend to invest in at least 20 such companies each year,” Khan told Business Standard on the sidelines of Nasscom Product Conclave 2014 here recently.

The fund, which is a partner to Nasscom’s ‘10, 000 Startups’ initiative, has so far received 1, 470 applications from various technology startups on its website.

According to P Rama Krishna, another general partner at Utthishta Yekum Fund, they typically pick up 10-15 per cent stake in very very early-stage startups in exchange of their investments.

“Since we invest at a very very early-stage, we hold on to them for at least five years for an exit. Of course, we do expect 18-19 per cent return on investment from them,” Krishna said, agreeing that purely product-focused companies in India where very less now.

source: http://www.business-standard.com / Business Standard / Home> Companies> News / by K Rajani Kanth / Hyderabad – April 07th, 2014

Odias celebrate Utkal Divas

April 13, 2014Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links, Pre-Independenceadmin

Visakhapatnam :

The Utkal Sanskrutika Samaj, a socio-cultural organization of people from Odisha, organized Utkal Divas celebrations here on Tuesday on the occasion of the 79th formation day of Odisha.

Portraits of freedom fighters Utkalmani Gopabandhu Dash and Utkal Gauraba Madhusudan Dash were garlanded. Both Gopabandhu and Madhusudan fought against the British to achieve freedom, said vice- president of the samaj Arun Das. Odisha was the first state to be carved out in India on the basis of language, according to a press release issued by the samaj.

As part of the celebrations, an Odia food festival was inaugurated by J K Nayak, president of the samaj. Exclusive Odia delicacies like sijha manda, chana manda, karkara, gulgula, poda pitha, chhena poda and others were on offer for the foodies. A cultural programme was also arranged in which dance and drama shows were performed by Mamini Kala Parishad from Cuttack.

Commissioner of customs, Visakhapatnam, C Rajendiran and chairman and managing director of the Dredging Corporation of India Limited Captain D K Mohanty were present on the occasion.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Visakhapatnam / April 02nd, 2014

French ‘Burrakatha’ exponent feted

April 13, 2014Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Records, All, World Opinionadmin

French National Institute of Oriental Languages, Civilisations assistant professor and an international authority on the folk art form of ‘Burrakatha’ Daniel Negers was felicitated for his contribution to Telugu by the Telugu Association of Netherlands (TANE) at its Ugadi celebrations.

The Telugus living in Netherlands met in the city of Eindhoven on Ugadi and felicitated Prof. Negers for his contribution to Telugu, according to a press release here by TANE team.

It was following his recommendation that Telugu was made one of the 90-odd languages taught at the Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales (INALCO), a national institute of France.

Prof. Negers speaks Telugu fluently and flawlessly like a person from Coastal Andhra Pradesh.

He lived in Peddapuram of East Godavari district for several years to study Burrakatha under various gurus.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Vijayawada / by Special Correspondent / Vijayawada – April 13th, 2014

Andhra Pradesh First

a Celebration. Positive News, Facts & Achievements about Seemandhra, Coastal Andhra, Telugu People and all the People of Andhra Pradesh – here at Home and Overseas