Tag Archives: Iconowatch India

Crusader brings the world of books to rural India’s doorstep

March 17, 2011 – 8:58 am

by Sumaa Tekur WHAT’S HAPPENING There’s a thirst for knowledge, and for good books, in rural India. Upendra Shetty, who runs a civil service coaching centre, decided to quench this thirst by giving the villagers of Karnataka access to the written word. He started to collect books, and then created libraries in the towns of […]

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Tata Star Bazaar keeps hypermarket open till midnight to help busy employees

March 17, 2011 – 8:48 am

by Kiran Manral WHAT’S HAPPENING Shopaholics in Mumbai’s Andheri suburb now have more time to shop. No, they’re not spending any less time at work. The local hypermaket, Tata Star Bazaar, is staying open till midnight, giving them the option to relax and shop, and not make a dash for the billing counter (Hindustan Times, […]

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Barbecue chefs grill for private parties in Mumbai

March 17, 2011 – 8:43 am

by Kiran Manral WHAT’S HAPPENING American-style barbecuing comes to Indian shores. And Mumbaikars are trying their hand at grilling meats outdoors, over cold beers with friends. Two Mumbai-based chefs, Sankul Ranade and Sarang Joshi, run the barbecue grilling service Grills & Tongs. They arrive at a party with the meats, the barbecue, the marinades and […]

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‘Fit’ students in Kozhikode will get better marks in academics

March 17, 2011 – 8:37 am

by Anindita Sengupta WHAT’S HAPPENING Middle school students in Kozhikode in Kerala will get extra points for healthy living. An initiative in schools, Lifestyle and Efforts for Newer Understandings (LISTEN YOU), is trying to eliminate obesity among youngsters. Conceived by Dr. Meharoof Raj, the project will identify children with a body mass index of 23 and […]

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HAIR-RAISING EXPERIENCE IN A SOUTH INDIAN VILLAGE

March 17, 2011 – 8:30 am

by Sumaa Tekur Inflation has far-reaching consequences on the economy. In South India, it recently reached the barbershops of the sleepy village of Amingad, in the Bagalkot district of Karnataka state. Unable to make ends meet with the modest service rate of Rs 12 for a haircut (charged by all 10 barbershops in this village), […]

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North Indian women shed the veil, speak up against gov’t land acquisition

March 10, 2011 – 11:54 am

by Kiran Manral WHAT’S HAPPENING Village women across north India are shrugging off centuries of cultural norms that dictate they be covered with a veil when in public spaces and not be heard. With the growing movement against government land acquisition in rural India, women are emerging from the shadows — and out of their […]

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Consumers turn to group buying to manage household budgets

March 10, 2011 – 11:51 am

by Priyadarshini Narendra WHAT’S HAPPENING Food inflation has been a bugbear for Indian consumers for the past couple of years. With food and grocery items accounting for as much as 30% of the household budget even in middle-class families, consumers are hard-pressed to manage within their means. As a jugaad (makeshift) solution, consumers are banding together, […]

By Iconoculture | Posted in Consumer Trend, Food/Beverage, India, Money/Spending | Also tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off

Tamarind candies tease the taste buds of domestic air travellers

March 10, 2011 – 11:48 am

by Sumaa Tekur WHAT’S HAPPENING Travellers on Jet Airways and Paramount Airways will most likely remember the tamarind candy they received just before the flight took off. In response to popular demand, the airlines retained the flying experience’s local flavour by serving these tangy-sweet tamarind candies on all their domestic flights. The candies are sold under the brand […]

By Iconoculture | Posted in Consumer Trend, Food/Beverage, India, Travel | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

Travel-junkie moms get on board Momaboard

March 10, 2011 – 11:45 am

by Sumaa Tekur WHAT’S HAPPENING Mothers with toddlers and the desire to travel are packing their bags and doing just that — they’re hitting the road. But questions of diaper availability, child-friendly restaurants and kid activity zones in new places can be difficult to crack. Enter Momaboard. This online resource for “globetrotting babies and their moms” is for […]

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INDIANS PREFER A PRIVATE TAKEOFF

March 10, 2011 – 11:42 am

by Sumaa Tekur When it comes to flying high, Indians prefer to go private. In their choice of airline for domestic travel, Air India, the country’s government-owned official airline, is lowest on the preference list. It’s a seat in one of the private airlines that air travellers want to occupy. In 2010, Air India flew […]

By Iconoculture | Posted in Consumers, India, Transportation, Travel | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

Godrej enrols Pune’s postmen to deliver refrigerators … apart from mail

March 3, 2011 – 10:49 am

by Anindita Sengupta WHAT’S HAPPENING Postmen in Pune region are delivering more than letters and money orders. Leading corporation Godrej has enrolled the postmen to market ChhotuKool, their cheap and small refrigerator for the rural market (DNAIndia.com, 12 February 2011). Postmen are being trained to educate consumers about the features of ChhotuKool. They will demonstrate and promote the product during […]

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Shriram Transport sets up driving schools

March 3, 2011 – 10:25 am

by Kiran Manral WHAT’S HAPPENING One transport financing firm, Shriram Transport Finance, is setting up driving schools across the country. The first school will start in early 2011 in Kolhapur, where an NGO, with IIT alumnus, will help train drivers in order to create employment opportunities for those who have not been able to complete […]

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Exam fever: Helplines ease pressure off students

March 3, 2011 – 10:22 am

by Kiran Manral WHAT’S HAPPENING Exam fever hits not just students but parents, too. Urban parents and students are increasingly making use of exam stress-related helplines to cope. The 24-hour helpline operated by the CBSE Board became functional on 1 February 2011 and gets up to 200 calls a day. The state board helpline for […]

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OF SMART PHONES AND SMARTER CHOICES

March 3, 2011 – 10:17 am

by Sumaa Tekur My mobile handset has served me well for over a year now. But when a nagging software issue prevented me from downloading new apps and the phone protested by hanging up each time I pushed it to perform, I was forced to walk into a service centre. There, my phone was whisked […]

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Northeast festival explores the role of literature in promoting peace

February 17, 2011 – 3:39 pm

by Rohini Haldea WHAT’S HAPPENING Can literature and culture mend rifts to put an end to age-old violence? Organisers of the recently held Culture of Peace: A Festival of the Northeast in New Delhi seem to think it’s possible. The event was organised by Zubaan, a publishing company focusing on writers from the Northeast and other violence-torn […]

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