Tag: mumbai

Categories
Trends

Blow hot, blow cold

After a week of pleasant morning weather and night-time chills, the temperature’s rising in Mumbai. Warm weather will persist awhile.

It’s probably true what they say about Mumbai never really being very cold. However, last week and the beginning of this one brought a welcome respite both from this notion and hot mornings. Mumbai began its mornings in a cool breeze, and went to bed with the mercury dipping to as low as 15 Degrees Celsius.

For the last two days, however, the heat is on. The cold winds from the North that had made Mumbai’s weather such a delight to be in a few days ago, have all but disappeared, and have been replaced by warm easterly winds. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) contends that these warm winds have combined with low humidity levels to make temperatures in the city rise to as much as 35 Degree Celsius. Minimum temperatures recorded have been in the 24 to 22 Degree Celsius range.

What’s more, the temperatures are expected to be in the higher range this weekend, after which, another wave of cold winds may hit the city.

(Picture courtesy sierrasentinel.com)

 

Categories
Big story

Rs 22 lakh worth of drugs seized in three days

10 Nigerian nationals were nabbed at various spots in Mumbai; a roaring trade in amphetamine and cocaine continues in city.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

Mumbai is truly Maximum City. Even the drug peddling happening here assumes mammoth proportions. In five raids conducted by the Mumbai Police’s Anti Narcotics Division on three days recently, over Rs 22 lakh worth of drugs were seized from 10 Nigerian nationals, who were all caught after confirmed tip-offs. In one of the raids, the accused was found to be carrying cocaine, while amphetamine was seized from the other raids.

Interestingly, all the 10 accused had come to bus stops to meet prospective clients.

On November 28, three separate raids were conducted at Reay Road, Masjid Bunder and Worli, in which the police nabbed seven Nigerian nationals after a chase. In all, 625 gram of amphetamine, worth an estimated Rs 12,90,000 were found in their possession. On December 3, the police had arrived at Wadi Bunder on a confirmed tip that drug selling activity was to take place there. Accordingly, one Nigerian arrived at a bus stop and waited for his customer to show up. He was found to carry 105 gm of cocaine, worth an estimated Rs 6,30,000.

Yesterday, the Ghatkopar Unit of the Anti-Narcotics Cell caught two Nigerians at Masjid Bunder; 200 gm of amphetamine, worth Rs 3,00,000 was seized from them.

(Picture courtesy thetelegraph.co.uk)

 

 

Categories
Become

‘Feed your mind as much as possible’

Graphic designer Soumya Mohanty talks about the joys and the perils of working freelance, and how you can follow suit.
by The Diarist | thediarist@themetrognome.in

Soumya Mohanty (27) used to work full time as a graphic designer, before branching out on her own in 2009 and cracking the work-for-yourself code. The Bandra resident has done a wide range of work since then – she’s designed brochures, home pages for websites, company logos and even business cards. The self-taught designer tells The Metrognome about being a freelance graphic designer, and about finding the thing that makes you happy and doing it forever.

What prompted you to take up web designing as a line of work?

I always loved well-designed things ever since I was a kid. When I was in class eight and we got our first computer, I saw an interface related to Disney. I cannot recollect if it was a website or an application, but I thought to myself that whoever has done this, is so lucky to get to do this, it’s so much fun! I thought, I’d love to do this myself!

Of course, I never thought of it seriously then, because Graphic Design as a career was unheard of then. So, I researched and considered other options, never really feeling truly happy about any of those choices. Then finally during my graduation year, I saw an article about Graphic Design and I knew that was what I had been looking for. It turns out, the thing that excited me the most, which I then did not consider seriously, was the only thing that truly made me happy and I now had found a way to do it forever.

Where did you study to be a graphic designer?

In design, I’m self-taught with the help of online resources and books. There are many who benefit from classroom teaching and others, autodidacts like myself, who prefer to study on their own. I think the key is to follow your interest, so it is up to you to decide whether a structured programme can give you what you want or you would rather directly learn by yourself if you have the passion and discipline.

I did not find any programme which would have allowed me to practice the exact skills that I wanted, so I learned by myself. You’ll find many resources online and books as well from other professional designers themselves. It feels like being directly mentored by the people whose work you admire the most.

How long have you been in this industry now?

For about four years.

Have you noticed any differences in the industry now than the way it used to be before?

Computer-aided design is now almost a necessity. Of course, there’s a lot more demand for it now and it is increasing as companies slowly realise the importance of design as an approach altogether.

Who have your clients been?

As a freelance designer, I mostly work with small and medium-sized businesses, though I have done a few small projects for Radiocity and Viacom18 amongst the known ones.

What are the biggest challenges as a freelance designer?

Challenges appear phase-wise. For example, while starting out, the biggest challenges are finding clients and maintaining a steady stream of work, not knowing your own working patterns, and deciphering how to appropriately choose, estimate, and price projects.

For finding clients, these three factors help: 1) Applying to listings on job boards like Naukri and TimesJobs (having the ‘Freelance’ keyword) and on specific freelance related sites such as FreelanceSwitch Jobs and Elance or oDesk.

2) Promoting your work through an online portfolio (preferably your own website as that helps in search engine rankings), actively displaying your work samples on other portfolio sites such as Coroflot and Behance, and staying active on Linkedin. Facebook page and Tweeting will also help if you really promote yourself there. So, clients find you.

3) By referrals from your existing clients. You don’t have to do much there other than focusing on making sure your clients have a good experience working with you. Whatever you do, the key is to remember that you’re not just working on a project. You’re building a client relationship. So, the same clients frequently come back with more projects thus adding to the work stream.

Establishing a working pattern is important to estimate scope of project and pricing better. If you don’t know how long and how much effort something’s going to take you, fairly accurately, then you might over-quote or under-quote. If you over-quote, clients run away. If you under-quote, you feel like running away! Also, you might end up working all the time if you don’t draw a line regarding when to stop working, especially if you also have international clients in another time zone. So, keeping a work log helps identify patterns.

Please describe the one project you worked on that made you truly happy.

That’s hard to choose because every project I work on makes me happy. I try my best to create a more than satisfactory solution. However, I recently worked on a Music CD cover for an artist abroad, and I really loved doing the cover artwork for them because of having to convey an abstract emotion through my artwork.

What are clients’ expectations when they entrust a project to you?

Everyone wants something that ‘looks awesome’ and ‘great’ and ‘oooo wowww.’

Do you have a team (other designers, developers) working with you?

No, I usually only collaborate with a couple of developers when clients need the HTML/CSS done too.

What other things do you design, apart from websites?

I design logos, brochures, ad banners, emailers, business cards/stationery, CD cover design, and Power Point presentations.

What are your future plans?

Apart from Graphic Design, I’m interested, rather very excited, by some related disciplines such as Matte Painting, Digital Painting (commercial artwork for book covers, game covers, etc.), Architectural Visualisation, and Concept Art. I’m looking forward to sharpening my skills there. I’m also excited to be working on a couple of personal projects for sales and see myself taking that direction more along with client work.

What are your expectations from the industry for the future? Also, what is the level of competition among your peers?

Graphic Design is an all pervasive field from print to web to now mobile. With growth in the web and mobile sector especially, there’s a growing need for more interface designers. As long as information needs to be communicated through various media, this industry will only grow. I don’t have any expectations other than to just keep doing what I love doing and continue building my skills in Graphic Design as well as Commercial Art.

The design community is driven more by sharing and inspiration than competition. So, you could say it’s a very healthy competition. Designers constantly keep sharing valuable information and techniques on myriad sites such as PSDTUTS+, Smashing Magazine, Noupe, Web Designer Depot, Dribbble, A List Apart and many, many more.

Any tips for others wishing to pursue the same profession as you?

To be a Graphic Designer, I’ll say the clichéd: study, practice and get inspired every day. You need to feed your mental library with as many marvellous images and ideas as possible whether on print, online, TV, your environment, books or music. To be a freelance Graphic Designer, do all that AND set a financial target for yourself every month and plan ahead to fill in projects worth more than your target, as a buffer. The world of design is all about creating new, better, useful, and remarkable things that make life so much better. Have fun!

Check out some of Soumya’s work here:

(Pictures courtesy Soumya Mohanty) 

Categories
Learn

Congress will look after urban affairs

Maharasthra State Congress unit sets up an Urban Affairs Department to address issues arising out of urbanisation in the State.

It is known that Mumbai and Pune are not the only urbanised centres in the State of Maharashtra any more. But while urbanisation is slowly spreading even in hitherto mofussil areas, rising slum areas in the State’s cities are fast becoming a matter of concern. The Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) proposes to address this situation.

MPCC head Manikrao Thakre has proposed the setting up of an Urban Affairs Department to study the process of urbanisation in the State, with particular reference to Mumbai. With more people migrating to the cities than ever before, primarily in search of work, the problems of housing the rising numbers of migrants, providing sanitation and transport, apart from job opportunities and a secure life in the city, are coming to the fore on a daily basis.

Says Thakre, “Keeping in mind the rising urbanisation and the issues arising out of it, the MPCC has set up the Department which will be headed by former legal counsel BA Desai. While all of India is rapidly undergoing urbanisation, the State Government needs to revisit the work and ideas put forward by the 10-member committee of experts put together by the late Rajiv Gandhi, on the matter of urbanisation.”

He adds, “About 50 per cent of Mumbai’s population lives in slums, in very bad conditions. This condition exists in the smaller cities of the State also. Hence, the Department we have set up will study the patterns of urbanisation in the State’s cities and suggest ways to make life easier for people. These suggestions will be forwarded to the State Government and followed up for faster decisions.”

The experts appointed to the new Department comprises such luminaries as former State Chief Secretary DM Sukhtankar, World Bank Advisor Vidyadhar Pathak and senior journalist Kumar Ketkar, among many others. Smaller sub-committees will be set up all across the State, Thakre says.

(Pictures courtesy indianexpress.com and web.mit.edu)

 

Categories
Become

She crafts beautiful door handles…

…and hardware that make a home’s interiors go from great to wow! Anagha Dandekar’s work is literally crafted by hand.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

Anagha Dandekar (46) is beautiful, successful, and scion of one of the country’s premier business families – her grandfather, DP Dandekar, founded the Camlin Group of companies, and father Subhash made the brand a household name. Despite being an heir to a powerful business that has impacted generations of Indians, Anagha chose to chart her own route; she runs and manages Hardware Rennaissance, a firm that makes hand crafted hardware for homes.

She started her business at Santa Fe, US, where she resides, but the former Mumbai girl recently started retailing in the city of her birth and in Delhi, too. Anagha spoke to The Metrognome about the business that changed her life, how her early grounding with Camlin helped, and what it takes to be in a position of power in business.

What are your earliest memories of your father when he was with Camlin? 

From when I was a few years old, I remember going with my father to our offices and factory in Andheri. My brother and I loved going there, we would always be excited. My father would show us new machines and how products were being made. I especially loved watching wax crayons being made – the way molten wax was poured into the mould machines, and how the crayon sticks would start coming up like magic.

How far has the presence of Camlin been instrumental in honing your creative instincts? Also, how important has the home atmosphere been? 

Camlin and the home atmosphere have been pivotal in making me the person I am today, in awakening and honing my creative and business instincts. Growing up, my parents would take us to art galleries to see the best of Indian artists and we would often meet and talk to them. My mother is a very creative person and I was just five years old when she got me started on Bharatanatyam. My father encouraged me all the way through my arangetram and till I came to the US.

My guru, the great Sucheta Bhide Chapekar, instilled in me a love and appreciation of dance, movement, form, and expression. I also learned Indian classicial singing for some years, and I was active in school plays. I guess you could say that I was immersed in all forms of the arts while growing up!  But even through all that, I always knew that my career would be in business, and ideally combining it with art.

How did the idea for ‘Hardware Renaissance’ come to you? 

I happened to meet a creative, energetic person named David Coe, who used to make beautiful doors. Together, we explored the

idea of making a line of exceptional hand-crafted hardware as good as his doors, and Hardware Renaissance was born. I learned all the technical aspects of hardware from him. Unfortunately, he passed away from cancer several years ago.

What was your parents’ reaction when you started your own line of work and did not return from your studies in the US to join the family business? 

My parents were certainly disappointed, because that meant I would not be back home, and not be a part of Camlin. But I was always brought up to think independently and be my own person, so I guess that was the downside!  However, as they got to learn more about my plans, and as they saw the unfolding vision and strategy for Hardware Renaissance, they were very supportive and have given me their guidance and support throughout.

What was the initial period of setting up your business in Santa Fe and later, promoting it, like? 

Since our hardware line is so unique, and since it involved working with blacksmiths in India and the USA, it took about two years to develop the initial, small hand-forged iron range. We launched it through four dealer showrooms in Santa Fe and in neighboring Colorado. It was a very exciting time, full of creative energy and business planning. We had to really educate customers about the way the hardware was made, why it was unique and special, because it was totally new to the market.  Architects and interior designers were not familiar with hand-crafted hardware. They had never seen such unique finishes either!

How has the US largely responded to the ‘handmade’ concept that is such a big feature of your work? 

High end customers in the US appreciate hand craftsmanship tremendously. Labour being so expensive there, most items are machine-made. So the response to our hardware has been very enthusiastic. I have had architects and designers as well as high end homeowners tell me many times that they still cannot find hardware with such a high degree of hand craftsmanship anywhere in the world. It is a source of great pride to them to be able to have something made entirely by an artisan adorn their doors. And the fact that it works so precisely too is invaluable.

What were some of the challenges you faced in sourcing material and labour in the US?

We manufacture and distribute our hardware through 80 showrooms in the US, Canada, Mexico, and Bermuda. They are our dealers who display and sell the hardware. The main challenges were in getting the products developed to our satisfaction. Then we needed to hire and train patina artists in the US to develop and perfect our unique hand applied finishes for production. Creating something entirely new, involving a high degree of hand craftsmanship, and across two continents, was a challenge for sure!

Why did you feel the need to retail in India? What is the market like, for products such as yours? 

At this time there are no plans to open our own stores here, because we want to evaluate the best way to sell the hardware. Each market is different in the dynamics of customer tastes, of selling and distribution, and we are working closely with several top Indian architects and designers to ensure that we give the high end Indian market what it wants, and the way it wants it. The Indian market is maturing in the high end, with customers more aware than ever of world class luxury goods. I feel that our hardware offers a compelling choice since there is nothing like it in India. The concept of high end, exclusively manufactured hardware with unique finishes and precision working is exciting and new in India, and with our association with Camlin, the Indian customer has a high trust factor also.

Is Camlin in any way associated with the daily working of Hardware Renaissance?  

In the USA, where Hardware Renaissance is head quartered, there is no linking of working with Camlin. In India however, there is close daily working with Camlin Fine Sciences Ltd., my brother’s company. Manufacturing, as well as marketing and distribution activities for India, are all operated through this Camlin offshoot. That gives us a tremendous position of strength with deep resources and the implicit faith of the Indian customer in the Camlin name and legacy. My father, though retired as Chairman of Camlin, is my advisor and supporter, and my brother is also behind Hardware Renaissance all the way. I am extremely grateful for this family support that I have.

What keeps you motivated and challenged? 

My goal of creating a high end brand that truly stands for hand crafted quality world-wide is what keeps me motivated and challenged. Creating beautiful hardware is energising – it is something that customers touch and use in their homes all day long, it is the jewellery of their home. Yet for hardware to be exceptional, it not only has to look beautiful but it must also work with precision. The marriage of art and engineering is a constant challenge, but very satisfying when the result is a good one!

Where do you see yourself five years from now? 

I see myself working hard to take the brand to greater heights in design and in market reach. My vision is to add line extensions, and to see the brand launched in many countries around the world.

 

Categories
Soft Coroner

Mumbai konachi?

Prashant Shankarnarayan wonders whom to call a son of Mumbai city’s soil, and who can be termed as an outsider. Or are these words just words?

Prashant ShankarnarayanThe situation – A colleague casually retorting to the sons of the soil theory by stating that “Mumbai’s original inhabitants were kolis and East Indians”

The observation:

Last week in office, we were discussing the funeral of ‘those we don’t speak of on the Internet’, when the conversation predictably veered towards “Mumbai konachi?” (Whom does Mumbai belong to?) That is when a colleague wryly mentioned that Mumbai’s original inhabitants were the kolis (fisherfolk) and East Indians. Obviously the sons of the soil would have retorted by landing a punch on his face for not mentioning Marathis. The ones who won’t punch but support the theory would upload on Facebook that the kolis and the East Indians both spoke Marathi, and that Mumbai is the capital of Maharashtra. But what many of us conveniently sweep under the carpet is the vast difference in the Mumbai ruled by indigenous rulers, and the Mumbai that stands today.

Everyone and his uncle stakes claim on Mumbai without admitting that the city as we know today was ‘created’ by the British. In 1784, the Governor of Bombay, William Hornby, officially completed the Hornby Vellard project which united all the seven distinct islands into one landmass. Future reclamations and road and railway projects shaped the Mumbai as we know it today. There were many communities and nationalities that preceded the English but the conjoined map of Mumbai was not created by the ones who claim to be sons of the soil.

Hence to put an end to this question, it is imperative to honestly and neutrally consider:

In terms of race

Kolis, who are of Dravidian origin, are the earliest settlers of the erstwhile seven islands that form present-day Mumbai. Kolis have lived here for thousands of years but as per the Hindu caste system, they are a different community compared to the Marathas, and even though their mother tongue is Marathi, quite a few of them converse in Konkani and English. Yes, Marathi precedes English, but if we were to apply the same logic then the kolis have been eking out an existence even before the reign of the Mauryan emperor Ashoka (around 3rd Century BC), which means that they probably communicated in Prakrit or one of its dialects. The Mauryans were followed by the Satavahanas, who were of Telugu origin and so on. In a nutshell, the kolis existed in Mumbai even before the colloquial Marathi was used as a spoken language.

In terms of religion

My friend was right about the Kolis, but wrong about the ‘East Indian’ bit, because for the Europeans, every Indian was an East Indian. But for us, an East Indian is someone who is a convert to Christianity, incidentally from the western coastal belt. At one point, Mumbai was also ruled by the Gujarat Sultanate, which led to the spread of Islam. However, it is a documented fact that the oldest form of organised religion prevalent in these islands was Buddhism, preceded by Hinduism which again must have been preceded by animism. This means that the original residents of Mumbai were indigenous people who believed in an indigenous religion.

In terms of language

Since ancient times, the seven islands have been ruled by the Mauryans, who communicated in Prakrit, Shatavahanas who communicated in Prakrit or possibly Telugu, Vikatakas who spoke in Maharashtri Prakrit, Kalachauris who were Kannada kings and many other kingdoms including the Marathas (briefly) at a much later stage. Marathi is derived from Maharashtri Prakrit, but so are Konkani and few other dialects. This clearly shows that Mumbai was not necessarily ruled only by Marathi speaking rulers in the past. In fact, Mumbai was already a multi-lingual city even before the Marathas captured parts of Salsette in 1737.

The Mumbai story

So whom does this city belong to? If it belongs to the kolis, then we are only mentioning the ancient seven fishing hamlets and not the present land mass as it exists. And while Mumbai was originally ruled by Hindu and Buddhist rulers, we can’t ignore the contribution of the Muslim royals from Gujarat and European Christians at different junctures.

In a way, Mumbai’s reputation as a land of opportunities enhanced when Parsis, Gujratis, Dawoodi Bohras, Jews, Goans, etc landed here after the British established the first mint in 1670 – four years before Chhatrapati Shivaji’s coronation as the first Maratha emperor. It clearly indicates that Mumbai was a melting pot of communities even before the Maratha Empire came into existence. It’s because the only distinct identity that Mumbai possesses in context to other Indian cities is its fabulous work culture and cosmopolitanism.

Mumbai belongs to the one who works hard and the only indigenous culture is the thriving work culture. It belongs to the Parsee philanthropists who built the city and its great institutions, to the Gujarati and Marwari businessmen who transform first class compartments into a mini share bazaar, to the Marathi housewife who juggles her job and family even as her husband works hard to make ends meet, to the Sindhi and Punjabi refugees who lost their motherland to another country, yet carved out a successful life, to the South Indian educated class who brought in their professionalism and sincerity that defines Mumbai’s rise, to the Shetty hotel owners who have been feeding Mumbai since pre-independence days, and to millions of  migrants from every community, and different nationalities who have equally contributed to Mumbai’s success story in their own way.

Hence, watching an autorickshaw driver from another state refusing to ferry Mumbaikars is as painful as watching a few locals trying to hold a Talibanesque control over the city. We owe a better Mumbai to the martyrs of the Samyukta Maharashtra Movement and to the many unsung heroes of the past. Over hundreds of years, many outsiders worked hard to convert few islands into one of the world’s leading cities and hence, in my humble opinion, the only insider in Mumbai is the outsider.

Prashant Shankarnarayan is a mediaperson who is constantly on the lookout for content and auto rickshaws in Mumbai. ‘Soft Coroner’ tries to dissect situations that look innocuous at the surface but reveal uncomfortable complexities after a thorough post mortem.

(Picture courtesy wikimedia.org)

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