Destination Infinity's Blog, page 72

September 9, 2014

Handloom Cotton Clothes with Vegetable Dyes maybe better?

At the recent Green Bazaar, Chennai, I attended a talk hosted by Bindu Kasinadhuni of Chakra Design Studio & Preethi of Krya. In this talk they asked: Why not use Handloom Cotton clothing made using hank yarn & natural vegetable dyes, instead of the machine made clothes & chemical dyes?

Frankly, I never knew Handloom was an option for me. Second, I didn’t know its advantages. Have a look at some:

Handloom is made using hand, hence doesn’t use electricity. Powerlooms use equivalent of 1.6 Kg of firewood to make 1 Kg of cotton.
Handloom clothes are more suited to Indian climate – they do not lock heat & sweat. They have air pockets and are breathable.
They are softer and more comfortable to wear.
They are long lasting and get better with time.
Handloom clothing integrate cultural and historical elements in their design.
They don’t pollute land/water systems. Synthetic/chemical dyes affect/pollute rivers, land, and people working with them.

It seems, India once clothed the world. Even until our Independence, 90% of our clothes were handloom. Gandhiji’s Chakra is a symbol of our handloom textile industry. Now, almost 80% of the clothes are made using yarn spun in powerlooms that use chemical/synthetic dyes. When I was in Coimbatore, I used to read newspaper reports that mandated closure of textile industries in Tiruppur as their chemical wastes not only polluted the river and made the water unsuitable for irrigation, but also affected agricultural lands around the area.

We are wearing clothes made of the same chemicals!

Handloom cotton clothes have their limitations. They have non-uniform designs and patterns, edges are not straight, have a limited color palette, have a matte finish (not bright), fades faster, etc. They also need some care while washing and cost more.

But, the issue is, in Urban India, we don’t even consider buying handloom clothes! This mindset needs to change, and I think I will also buy and use (at least a few) Handloom shirts soon enough.

We were also introduced to Kalamkari painting and how the artisans work hard for a long time to create interesting paintings and patterns on clothes.

Have a look at this beautiful video that introduces Kalamkari textile making process:

Have a look at this article that introduces the work done by Chakra Design Studio in Handloom cotton clothing (and why it’s important).

So why not consider buying handloom textiles for yourselves?

Destination Infinity

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Published on September 09, 2014 21:44

Composting & Permaculture in Urban Spaces

During the recent Green Bazaar – Chennai, I attended the one-hour introductory session on ‘Composting, Organic Gardening and Permaculture in Urban localities’ hosted by reStore Gardens/Magic Bean, Chennai. Here, present some important points mentioned there along with a slideshow from their blog.

Composting:

I have tried composting in plastic bottles earlier and it worked! Next up is my composting adventure using closed plastic buckets (with a few holes on the sides). Even though I am just an amateur OTG-er, I want to learn more and grow different types of vegetables in my house. If you are new to composting or looking for inspiration, go through the below slideshow (from reStore Gardens blog):

Composting kitchen waste at home from restoregardens

Compost gives nutrients for vegetable plants to grow in Organic Terrace Gardening (OTG). But one also needs other components. They told us that, in a pot/container, we need to first fill up the bottom layer with gravel, river sand, stones or other loose/porous material so that the water can be drained. On the top of this medium, we need to add a mixture of Soil + Compost + Cocopeat (1: 1: 1) where we can grow plants. The medium should be loose enough for seeds to germinate easily, and should not feel heavy.

Permaculture:

Urban Permaculture: Making a raised bed with city resources from pgopalen

Permaculture is a way to grow soil from discarded organic materials around us! We can not only grow plants and veggies, but also the soil that holds them – howz that? You can either do this in a small pot/bucket or do it on a larger scale (few feet) on the terrace. There are four layers to urban permaculture:

Sticks/Branches/Discarded Green coconut shells. (Bottom layer.)
Sugarcane waste, corn husk or banana leaves.
Dry leaves/Green leaves/Flowers. (Soaked in Amrita karasal or Panchakavyam.)
Compost. (Topmost layer.)

That’s it. If you leave this combination for a few days/weeks, your growing medium (soil) will be ready! Of course, soil is available in plenty in nursery, etc. but the idea here is to reduce organic material that will otherwise be wasted and add to our landfills.

Do follow their Facebook page to get regular updates.

I may not do Permaculture immediately, but I intend to grow organic veggies in my terrace, in pots/containers. I have already grown and harvested groundnuts. Here it is:

More to come soon

Destination Infinity

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Published on September 09, 2014 21:34

September 5, 2014

My Novel is Now Available in Flipkart!!

I hope you all remember my first novel – The Archers Revenge, a Crime Fiction set in India. I had published it as an eBook on Amazon.

But there are many readers (esp. in India) who prefer reading a paperback/hard copy book. That’s why I made the novel available on Pothi.com on Print-On-Demand (POD) basis. POD means, copies of the book are made immediately upon order and shipped. The delivery may take 5-7 days, but as an author, I don’t have to buy/stock hundreds of books, just to see my book in print. They print as many books as needed (even if it’s just one), whenever needed.

The price of the book is slightly higher than the cost of mass printed book, but at least the book is now available as a hard copy, and that matters. And Flipkart is currently offering free delivery for all books sold by their WS Retail. Of course, there is always the option of buying the cheaper eBook.

Have a look at the author’s copy that I ordered for myself from Pothi.com:

Isn’t POD wonderful? For two hundred and fifty rupees, I made my book available for anyone to buy, and bought a copy for myself as well!

Since my novel is a self-published book, I didn’t have much hopes of displaying/selling it in any bookshop in India. But then, I came across the Online Extended Distribution option in Pothi.com where we can make the hard-copy of our novel available on Flipkart (and Amazon) for Rs. 1500 a year. I am not sure if I’ll extend it after one year, but for now -

My book has been listed and is available to buy from the Largest (Online) Book Shop in India – Flipkart!! WoOoOo HoOoOoOoOo

Here’s the Flipkart product page, once again.

Don’t you think that’s cool? Thanks to Pothi.com

Destination Infinity

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Published on September 05, 2014 06:21

September 2, 2014

Does Development Mean More Work?

Think about it: Development gives us more equipment, comfort, and recreational options. But, to attain those things, we need to work more/harder. There’s no free lunch in life.

Don’t you think this a vicious cycle?

Is there a difference between development and non-development?

On an average, consider how much time our grandfathers and generations before them spent on work (as in making money). Wasn’t it lesser than the time spent by our fathers? Isn’t the amount of time our fathers worked, lesser than time spent by us (for office work) now? Work has invaded our nights and weekends, thanks to the ever pervasive technology, Internet, and work-from-home “options”.

So, doesn’t that mean whatever equipment we discover to reduce work (in one front) will result in increase of work (in another front), in order to be able to afford those equipment in the first place?

Even if we end up discovering robots that will do all the work we order it to do, we will still have to work much more in order to be able to afford robots in the first place, and also to be able to power them, maintain them, replace them with newer models, etc. So, the work that gets reduced on the home-front, increases on the office (money making) front.

Computers were supposed to simplify work, but our human greed has ensured that companies extract as much work as possible out of us, using the same computers, irrespective of where we are. Heck, there are Wi-Fi enabled buses operated by a few IT companies, which, you might be tempted to think will enable employees to check WhatsApp/Facebook status, but will actually be used for extracting work out of them even while they are traveling!!

If you look at the entire thing more carefully, the result might still be the same. Earlier, they didn’t work much and they didn’t have the many benefits of technology either. Now we work more, but we have the benefits offered by technology. In the future, we will have to work even more to get whatever technology might bring, then. Don’t you think we are moving towards an unsustainable lifestyle?

Does development come with strings attached? (read: more work?). Feel free to give your opinion in the comments.

Destination Infinity

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Published on September 02, 2014 09:07

Buying Mobiles In Store Vs Online (Univercell Sync)

Disclaimer: I will get a Philips external speaker for visiting and writing about the Univercell Sync showroom experience.

In this post, I also want to discuss about buying mobiles in store vs. online, based on my recent experience. Frankly, I bought my current cell phone from an online retailer. I researched for one month before identifying the model that matched my requirements. Even though I am fine with the mobile, there are two crucial aspects I am not satisfied: The external speaker is poor, and the camera is average in full-light/poor in dull light.

For some reason, it never occurred to me that I should see/check the phone before buying. I thought it was OK to take a risk, as the cell phone is less than 10k rupees. But the mobile I bought is not good enough for applications that were important to me. In my case, I have already got an external speaker, and I don’t use it for photography much, even as a backup. But if I had known this earlier, maybe, I could have considered buying an alternate model.

I am sure all of us would have undergone similar experiences while shopping online, especially for mobiles. There are reviews and popularity ratings, but all those are subjective. A good quality speaker for one person may not be good enough for another. Same with camera. We do buy blindly without verifying crucial aspects of the mobile, don’t we?

A question that the Univercell executive asked us was: How do you buy a mobile without seeing/feeling it? Even if the mobile is just 5k, it’s still our money. And if we are buying a higher priced mobile, I think it is important to check and feel the actual mobile (and alternate models) before buying.

That’s why the Univercell Sync showrooms, available in select locations in a few cities, offers a unique concept: They have divided the store into different sections, with live display of phones optimized for following functions – Music, Camera, Work & Play, Popular & Bazaar. They say that although people want to do everything in a mobile, everyone wants a mobile optimized for one/two functions that matter most to them. This setup will help us touch, feel and select the right mobile for our application, from the selected mobiles displayed in each category.

In my case, had I visited the showroom, I would have most probably zeroed in on the above shown mobile: Nokia Lumia 630. You should use this phone to feel how smooth and wonderful the touch experience is. Besides, I am a fan of Nokia and Windows OS on mobile (I had a HTC phone with Win 6 earlier, and I loved it). The Windows tiles are just awesome. The camera is very good. I guess the music will also be better than my current phone.

There maybe a small difference between the showroom price and the Online price, but I think, I would have paid a (small) premium for enabling me to select the right model. Of course, they should try and get closer to the Online pricing as much as possible. Besides, Univercell Sync offers other services like loading the best apps once the mobile is bought, coming to your house and explaining how to use/installing apps (for a price), sending their person to collect (and give back) your mobile in the service center (for a price), etc. In this era, where time is money, these services could be useful to many.

Destination Infinity

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Published on September 02, 2014 08:59

60 Minutes: A Corporate Thriller (Book Review)

’60 Minutes’ by Upendra Namburi is a corporate thriller/business fiction. It’s an excellently conceptualized and well written book. If you are interested to know what happens at the top echelons of FMCG companies, this book is a must read. The story that the author has weaved around the corporate setting, and the pace with which the events unfold, is very good. Except for the last two chapters and the small font size, I loved this book.

From the cover: “Rival chief marketing officers and their running feud, a romance gone sour, an addiction to the adrenaline rush of the stock markets . . .” These three aspects reach their pinnacle and torment the protagonist, Agastya, for 60 minutes. His decisions and actions during that one hour will determine almost everything in his life.

The book has a solid story. I loved the way each aspect of the story was introduced, as we read and where ever required. This is one of the best corporate thrillers set in India that I have read in recent times, and the pace picks up quite early.

I loved the characterization – there are no black and white characters (read: good/bad people). Everyone, including the protagonist, is shown as they actually are in real-life: greedy and scheming. They end up playing a deadly game with huge rewards, but equally huge risks. Now include rivalry and (personal) revenge – you get a lot of drama and masala.

The last two chapters were a big disappointment for me. (Note: Spoilers ahead.) How can someone, who lost 14.9 crores to extortion, and lost the secret (for which the money was extracted), still be “friendly” with the extortioner? How can someone, who is mad about taking revenge on his rival (because he slept with his wife), ask – “Did you enjoy my wife?” suddenly, in the end? Characters don’t change platonically in an instant! What was the need for the character of Priyanka, and why did she do what she did?

The lead character, Agastya, though excellently characterized, doesn’t draw the empathy of the readers. We are not able to root for him (or anyone else) in this novel. People are as absurd as they get, but I guess that’s how it is in real life, and hence (maybe) the characters work. You should read this novel to understand what nonsensical levels people go to achieve their selfish ends. Also, this novel doesn’t move us emotionally, but in this genre, I was not expecting it to.

This is the side of corporate life that needs to be exposed to people and I appreciate the author for doing that. Altogether, an excellent book buy the author could/should have presented a better (more believable) climax.

Destination Infinity

This review is a part of the biggest Book Review Program for Indian Bloggers. Participate now to get free books!

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Published on September 02, 2014 08:45

August 25, 2014

My Name has been Mentioned in The Hindu!!

Some are famous. Some are rich. Some are powerful. Some are hardworking. Some are good/evil. But some, who get mentioned in the newspaper, are just plain lucky. Like me

When I went to the Perambur Heritage walk recently, I was casually talking to a reporter from The Hindu. That’s all I did. Guess what – My name has been mentioned in the 3rd page of the Main paper of The Hindu!! Here’s the online edition link, if the above photo of the printed paper is not clear.

Wooohoooo

Destination Infinity

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Published on August 25, 2014 23:00

Fort St. George, Chennai (Madras Day Heritage Walk)

Fort St. George, Chennai is the first structure that the British built in Chennai/Madras in 1644 CE, and the city eventually evolved around it. Even though Mylapore, Triplicane, etc. were present for thousands of years, they were separate villages.

I went to a heritage walk around Fort St. George, Chennai, led by Mr. Vincent D’Souza, one of the convener of Madras Day events. In this post, I will present some photos and info gathered from our walk.

Fort St. George was a large fort that contained a mini town inside it (formerly called as George Town or White Town), and a 6-meter high wall/moat was built all around it. Now, this fort is partially occupied by the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly/IAS officers buildings and the Army. The above photo shows the army parade ground and canteen building. Most of the buildings in this complex are more than 100 years old.

This photo shows the St. Mary’s Church, which is the oldest Anglician Church in India, built around 1680AD. It seems Robert Clive and Elihu Yale (Yale University) were married here and they still have those documents that solemnized the marriage! Some of the earliest tombstones of British citizens in India can also be found here.

This luxurious villa is where Robert Clive (and many more Englishmen after him) once lived. It seems, there are more than 40 rooms in this “house”. When we went, a small photo exhibition showing old/rare photos and drawings connected with this fort was hosted. Here’s one more photo of the old staircase that I took from inside:

This is another old building – Arthur Wesley’s Building. It is now almost in ruins, but it is an important heritage building that needs to be conserved, at least in its current form. The ASI board notifying the status of this building is in the front.

I guess this is one of the fort walls, inside the fort. It seems, the High Court complex adjacent to this fort initially contained the settlement of Indians (and Armenians) but since enemies of the British were able to hide in the Temple and other structures there and attack the fort, the entire area around the Fort was cleared and people were resettled to pockets beyond the NSC Bose road, the North Madras of today.

The first photo above shows the Madras Arsenal (1772 – 1931 AD) that contained, as the name says, light firearms and stocks of other weapons. The second photo shows another building, near the first one. Both the buildings were constructed sometime in the middle of 18th Century and the fact that they are still standing is a tribute to their engineers.

I guess this is one of the exits that leads to the Mount Road. Look at the way the Tunnel has been constructed from under the Fort wall!

This is another old building that is almost in ruins. There are many such heritage buildings inside the Fort complex that are in dire need of maintenance and restoration. Although the ASI is doing their best, Government and Army should also take up some responsibility to maintain these Heritage structures.

The Fort Museum inside the Fort complex contains a lot of items belonging to the British Era and is open to the Public. You should visit this museum if you want to get a good idea about the history of British occupation in South India.

Destination Infinity

Photo(s): By Destination8infinity (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.

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Published on August 25, 2014 22:58

Kumki: Tamil Movie on Elephants (Review)

Kumki Trailer:

Kumki is an excellent Tamil movie about Elephants – Forest Elephant coming into village for food, and villagers using Kumki (trained elephant) to fend them off. Even though the love story has been given maximum screen time in this movie, I still liked the way the story has been presented. Must watch.

There is a forest/wild elephant called “Komban” that wrecks havoc where ever it goes, killing people and forest guards alike. At the same time, the Government authorities try to take over the village/forest land by luring them with freebies and coercion through forest rangers. The village elders are fed up and decide to hire a trained Kumki elephant to deal with the wild elephant menace.

But, the Kumki elephant that they end up hiring (without their knowledge) is the tame/domestic elephant owned by the hero that is afraid of even the noise generated by a broken coconut! This elephant (along with the hero) initially comes to the village only as a two-day substitute for the trained Kumki elephant (that is not available at the moment). But the hero falls in love with the village head’s daughter and decides to stay longer.

Will the hero be able to train the tame/domestic elephant to ward off the wild elephant? Will he be able to marry the girl in a community where no one has gotten married to an outsider for more than 200 years? That’s the story.

The story is gripping and the movie has been well-made. The comedy scenes are very good. The songs are nice. The scene picturization in dense jungles is superb. Action, by all the lead actors, is exceptional. There are two (minor) things I didn’t like: The screen-time provided for “love” is more than what it should have been, and the climax could have been more believable.

The movie could have focused more on human-elephant conflict than human relationships and love. But then, knowing Tamil movie industry, this in itself, in spite of these commercial elements, is a good attempt. The story is based on true events and that makes it shine even more.

Here is one different Tamil (folk type) song from Kumki that I liked:

Destination Infinity

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Published on August 25, 2014 22:48

August 23, 2014

Madras Market IV Expo, Chennai

Madras Market is a bi-annual expo in Chennai. I went to the fourth edition of Madras Market held today at YMCA grounds, Old Mahabalipuram Road (OMR), Chennai. The location is near SRP tools, after TIDEL park and NIFT campuses on OMR. The entry fees for this event is Rs. 50/- and there is ample parking space.

A variety of stalls have been put up here by organizations & artists across India. I found many shops focused on (but not restricted to) men’s/women’s clothing, home decor & art. There were eateries, workshop area, music fest & kids adventure areas too.

This post, however, is about some unique and interesting products/services I spotted in this market.

These may look like decorative fridge magnets, but guess what they’ve been made of – Bread!! Of course, bread has been sufficiently hardened. They also sell jar lids, photo frames, etc. all made of bread. Have a look at Pink Feather Facebook page to see some photos of their creations.

The Ultimate Kopie is an interesting venture that makes custom hand-made ceramic replica dolls of people from their photos, which they can send. They ship across the world. Have a look at their Facebook page to see some of their recent creations.

A fellow Blogger and member of CBC, Bhushavali, had put up her stall too. As the board says, she is trying to make Khadi fashionable! She sells a variety of ethnic wear for women and men at her online portal. Go check out!

Future Farms sells gardens for urban spaces utilizing techniques like aquaponics and hydroponics (growing soil-less gardens using garden automation in urban spaces).

Home Serve is a much needed service that offers repairs and maintenance for a range of customer requirements including plumbing, electrical, carpentry, home appliances, etc. They send people on-call and they have yearly plans. Check their website if you want to get any work done at your home but not getting the right workmen.

Chocolate Boy is an interesting service that makes custom chocolate wrappers for events like weddings, birthdays, etc. Of course, they also make chocolates! If you need (at least) 30 chocolates with custom wrappers in Chennai, you can contact them via their website.

CreateTrendz makes custom caricatures (cartoons) based on your photos that you send them. It just costs Rs. 300 for a single caricature of your face and Rs. 500 for full body. So, it’s time for you to become a cartoon! Check their services here.

Love your Liver Foundation is organizing the first night marathon in chennai on Saturday, 27th September ’14 from island grounds. They are conducting 3k, 5k, 10k and 21k marathon races. If you are a runner, check it out: All Info here.

There were many more shops, I have featured only those that were unique/different and caught my instant attention. If you are in Chennai, you can go to this exhibition tomorrow also (Aug. 23-24) or you can follow Madras Market Facebook page to stay updated about their future events. I’ll leave you with the photo of dashing Toyota Etios Cross Car that I found in this expo!

Destination Infinity