Advertising & Marketing
Love in a single day
She's got a spring in her step, a shine in her eye, a rose in her purse and her first Valentine card... Gayatri (20), a student of Delhi's Jesus and Mary College, has joined the envied tribe of `Valentine haves' this year. While she is clueless a
bout the origins of Valentine's Day she is totally clued into the special itinerary her beau is plotting for February 14: ``It's going to be roses, chocolates, cards, a movie followed by dancing and a candlelight dinner.''
Love's legends
According to one version, Valentine's Day was originally a Roman festival, known as the feast of Lupercalia, held in honour of Juno -- the goddess of women, marriage and fertility. Roman priests would sacrifice a goat for fertility and a
dog for purification. Young men would dip strips of goat hide into the sacrificial blood and gently slap women and crops with them. This was believed to increase their fertility. Later, each young man would pick a young woman's name from a collect
ion in an urn. The couple would spend time together throughout the following year and, often, the random pairing led to love and marriage.
Consumer Notes
A different ball game!
At a recent meeting with the Union Finance Minister, a group of consumer activists had reportedly requested him to force manufacturers to print the `gate price' -- the cost price of a product, including the excise duty, at the time of lea
ving the gates of the manufacturing plant -- on their labels. This, it was felt, would prevent manufacturers from overloading their margins to arrive at a high maximum retail price (MRP).
Corporate
Relax, it's an art
For some time lately, I had been feeling a sense of dissatisfaction at the end of my day. I couldn't quite gather why... My day seemed pretty full and I seemed to be doing much the same things I usually do. But then I realised tha
t I was watching more TV in the evenings. And it's not that I got bored while watching TV. I enjoyed it and, yet, at the end of the day there was this sense of dissatisfaction.
In search of the global Indian
At a time when the `dumbing down' of Indian television is worse than ever before, with all the soaps and game-shows being thrust upon us, one person has resolutely stood his ground -- Saeed Naqvi. ``It is a wrong assumption that you have to go d
ownmarket to get TRPs,'' says the man who has been reporting on world affairs from an Indian perspective for the last 25 years.
Fresh for lunch
Fabcafe in the Capital's Greater Kailash area is an ideal meeting place for a lunch-hour tete-a-tete. It comes as a breath of fresh air, literally, in contrast to some other speciality restaurants and gilt-edged five-star hotels. Here you are
promised fresh-from-the-farm wholesome food to complement the selection of soups and salads. The desserts are home-baked which is pretty rare in this era of quick-fix food.
Environment
Let `museum pieces' speak for themselves
When the United Front Government was going full steam on its programme for infrastructure development, a seemingly innocuous legislation -- the Panchayats Extension to Scheduled Areas Act (PESA) -- was passed by Parliament during end-1996. Ther
e was no fanfare, no announcements. Even the media picked up the story a month later.
Information Technology
The marriage shop
The dotcoms have not finished sprouting. At the tailend comes one that understands the Indian psyche and is ready to make most of the Indian citizen's greatest (for that matter also the NRIs) weakness -- weddings. So you have Shaadihai.com, one mor
e online marriage bazaar, that wants to be `the' one-stop marriage shop for all marriage-related products and services. And guess how many categories of products and services are there to make an Indian wedding? Well, Shaadihai.com lists 60
, related to pre-wedding, during wedding and post-wedding activities.
Miscellaneous
Comfortable journey
Many a business venture has banked on technological advances to expand its scope. This is true of even the business of death, or rather, the means of coping with it.
Plantations
For a cup of good coffee...
In an era that combines coffee with even hi-tech pursuits such as Internet browsing and software programming (java is a flavour of coffee), Coffeelabs in Bangalore is given over entirely to that stimulating drink. Located in a quiet residential a
rea, the coffee-tasting lab is the only one of its kind in the country. What makes it even more unique is its interesting interiors.
Travel & Places
The royal shade
Jodhpur claims it has a direct line to the legendary Lord Rama. In what way? This imperial capital of the former Marwar State in Rajasthan was founded by Rao Jodha, chief of the Rathore clan of Rajputs, in 1459 A.D. And the Rathores claim to b
e direct descendants of the epic hero.
Graceful vistas of Haifa
From my perch high up on the slopes of Mount Carmel, the breeze was strong and the view, stunning. The Mediterranean sparkled in the sunshine. Far out to sea it was a flat patch of blue, but closer inshore there was much marine activity, with lar
ge ships steaming in and out of the busy harbour.
