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Launched in 1988, Symphony has survived and thrived over 35 years to become an iconic Gujarat-based global brand. Legend has it that the brand was born of a dinner table conversation between Symphony’s founder-chairman Achal Bakeri and his father, construction magnate Anil Bakeri. The Bakeris had just installed an air cooler in their new house, […]
When the Baroda-based Alembic Glass launched Yera in 1965, glass tableware was still a novelty. Brass was then the material of choice for tumblers and plates in Indian households and it was only gradually being replaced by stainless steel. Glassware was limited to a Westernised elite and was mostly imported. Alembic Glass was originally set […]
In the late 70s, there were intriguing stories built around the closely guarded “secret formula” for Coca Cola. Legend has it that the Janata government of the day demanded the American company reveal its recipe if it wanted to operate in India. Coke refused and was consequently expelled from the country in 1977. Those days, […]
In the first part of a six-part VO! series on the history of Gujarat’s top brands, we feature Rasna: Launched in 1978, Rasna is among the most iconic brands to come out of Gujarat. Through the 80 and 90s, the brand grew to become one of the most popular Indian consumer products ever. Backed by […]
There is something about the New Year. It brings a sense of hope, a feeling of resurgence and a quest for new beginnings. That’s probably why people make New Year resolutions. They seek to change old habits, don new hats and take on the coming year with positivity and optimism. But do New Year resolutions […]
In the year 1908, when Vidyagauri Nilkanth sang Vande Mataram at the annual session of the Indian National Congress in Ahmedabad, she demolished a taboo. At the time, no ordinary woman dared sing on stage in front of a crowd. But then, Vidyaben was no ordinary woman — she was the first woman to graduate […]
In 1994, Japanese designer Kenya Hara asked a group of architects to come up with alternate designs for pasta, keeping in mind a few basic rules: the pasta needed to have an even surface area to allow for uniform heat transfer and a shape that allowed the sauce to stick. The architects came up with […]
Revathi belongs to a nomadic tribal community of Tamil Nadu. Her father passed away before her birth and she lost her mother when she was 10. At present, she lives in a children’s home in Nagapattinam and goes to a nearby government school. She loves the online classes conducted by the Centre for Learning and […]
Today, November 13, 2023, is World Kindness Day. Hmm. Isn’t that a topic for sermons? Or, something moralists love to go on about. Well, perhaps it is. But kindness is also closely linked to mental health. In fact, giving or receiving kindness can help reduce stress levels and ward off depression. Kindness means saying or […]
This lonely little mouse ,Seemed to have a serious grouse,Was scurrying around the house,Hunting for its loving spouse. Pittar patter, pittar patter,Swiftly it climbed up the ladder,Sniffed at every nook and corner,Still the search became harder and harder. With a heavy heart and moist eyes,It stood still for a while,Just trying to reconcile,To being alone […]
This is a short tale,Of two birds nearly the same age,One living in the woods and flying high in the sky,The other dwelling in a golden cage. Unable to meet they felt anguished,What happened next was as the Lord wished,The free bird dived down straight,To where it’s soul mate waited in the cage. Freedom is […]
Six years after selling their Havmor brand to Lotte of South Korea for Rs 1,020 crore, the Chona family has returned to the ice cream business, investing over Rs 100 crore in a new manufacturing plant in Bavla. The plant has the capacity to churn out 50,000 litres of ice cream daily, which will be […]
The Darpana Academy was the scene of some hectic activity over the weekend as French artist Superbab created a new backdrop for the Natrani Amphitheatre. Done in myriad colours, featuring the moon, stars and sitars, the colourful mural is meant to be tribute to the performing arts. “It is a very vibrant piece of work,” […]
Why do people instinctively wince when they get a call from their boss, even if he is a nice guy who has never done them any harm? The explanation lies in how our brains are wired, says Jerome-Pierre Bonnifay, founder CEO of consulting firm SBIC Services, and it has nothing to do with whether your […]
Veteran artist Amrut Patel’s “Abstract Alchemy” exhibition opened to a full house at the Hutheesing Centre on Thursday, with most of Ahmedabad’s art world in attendance. The Ahmedabad-born painter, who graduated from CN Art School, has lived and worked in Delhi for the past 45 years, was felicitated at the inauguration by fellow artists Amit […]
Marcus Samuelsson, chef at Aquavit, a Swedish restaurant in New York, is one of the pioneers of fusion food. In the mid-90s, when he was just 24, Marcus introduced dishes like oysters with mango curry sorbet and caramelised lobster with seaweed pasta, which resulted in The New York Times’ food critic raising Aquavit’s rating from […]
The biggest problem Indian companies are likely to face in the years ahead is not going to be lack of capital or technology or infrastructure. It is going to be lack of effective business leaders. The signs are all there: a boom in head hunting, with everyone chasing a few, select executives considered to be […]
The company matches client requirements with its pool of over 50,000 women giving the latter opportunities to work part-time and remotely How do you give a large, talented and experienced pool of women who take a break from work, usually to raise children, opportunities to re-enter the workforce in a flexible mode? It is to […]
The Crafts Council of Gujarat (CCG) has transported a ten feet high handloom to the tenth-floor ballroom of the ITC Narmada, where it has been placed right next to the stage. This is the newly formed Council’s first big event and it’s making a splash. The Who’s Who of Ahmedabad is in attendance, all dressed […]
The present AI generation gains knowledge from digital sources through search engines, and our generation (those of the 1960s) relied on encyclopaedia and books by visiting the library frequently. For me, post 1985, my ready reckoner, my physical library in a human form was Achyutbhai. Such an encyclopaedic personality! Today, those who gain the spotlight […]
