Wednesday, 11 April 2012

[www.keralites.net] Old Photos-Various Vintage Photos-Part 92

Two Devadasis - Tamil Nadu South India 1920's

In Hinduism, the devadasi tradition (देवदासी / ದೇವದಾಸಿ; "servant of god") is a religious tradition in which girls are "married" and dedicated to a deity (deva or devi) or to a temple and includes performance aspects such as those that take place in the temple as well as in the courtly and mujuvani [telegu] or home context. Originally, in addition to this and taking care of the temple and performing rituals, these women learned and practiced Sadir, Odissi and other classical Indian artistic traditions and enjoyed a high social status.

Source: Wikipedia

Professor of Astronomy Pandit Bapudeva Sastri teaching a class at Queen's College - Varanasi (Benares) 1870

Photographer: Brajo Gopal Bromochary

Source: British Library

Vintage Photograph of a Telugu Couple

Credit: Reibert, Altona

Hindu Groom and his Child Bride - 19th Century

Credit: Saleni (Armstrong)

Chimnabai II (born Lakshmibai Mohit, 1871-1958), Maharani of Baroda

An Indian Beauty in the Victorian Mughal Costume, circa 1890

Photographer: Raja Deen Dayal

Bengali Hindu Women in Prison in Alipur (Now in West Bengal, Kolkata) - c1856

Credit: Robert

Young Prince and his Courtiers - 1880

Photographer: Raja Deen Dayal

Porters, North Bengal - c1856

Credit: Robert Schlagintweit

Workers of the Nizam of Hyderabad - 1890's

Photographer: Raja Deen Dayal

Rgds

Smitha

www.keralites.net

__._,_.___

Reply to sender | Reply to group | Reply via web post | Start a New Topic

Messages in this topic (1)

Recent Activity:

New Members 75

Visit Your Group

KERALITES - A moderated eGroup exclusively for Keralites...
To subscribe send a mail to Keralites-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.
Send your posts to Keralites@yahoogroups.com.
Send your suggestions to Keralites-owner@yahoogroups.com.

To unsubscribe send a mail to Keralites-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com.

Homepage: www.keralites.net

Switch to: Text-Only, Daily Digest • Unsubscribe • Terms of Use

__,_._,___

§KæJ µÞÜJí ÕßƒÕJßÈí ¯xÕá¢ ¥ÈßÕÞøcÎÞÏ ¥Ø¢ØíµãÄ ÕØíÄáAZ ¯æÄˆÞÎÞæÃKá çºÞÆß‚ÞW æÄVçÎÞçµÞ{á¢ ƒÞØíxV ²ÞËí ÉÞøßØá¢ ®Ká ÎùáÉ¿ß ÉùÏÞX ¥øÈßÎß×¢ çÉÞÜá¢ ºßLßçAIÄßˆ. §LcX ÕßƒÕJßæa ÉÞÄ èºÈàØí ÉÞÄÏÞÏÞÜá¢ æÌÞÙàÎßÏêæÎÞùÞÕßÏ ÉÞÄÏÞÏÞÜá¢ çÎWMùE øIá ØÞÇÈBZ ¿YµÃAßÈá µßGßÏßæˆCßW ÕßƒÕJßæa µÞxá çÉÞµá¢.

dÌÞFí ØçN{È¢ÎáÄW ÉÞVGß çµÞYd·ØíÕæø È¿JáÕÞX çÕI æÄVçÎÞçµÞ{ßæaÏá¢ ƒÞØíxV ²ÞËí ÉÞøßØßæaÏá¢ µãÄcÎÞÏ µÃAá æÕ{ßæM¿áJßÏÞW ØÞÇÞøÃ ¼È¢ æ¾GßçMÞµáæÎKá ÄàV‚ÏÞÃí. §AÃAßÈá çÉÞÏÞW ¨ ØÞÇÈBZAá øÞ¼cJá øâfÎÞÏ fÞÎ¢ çÈøß¿ÞX ØÞÇcÄÏáIí. ¥Ø¢ØíµãÄ ÕØíÄáA{áæ¿ µáùÕá ÎâÜ¢ ÕßƒÕ¢ È¿AÞÄßøßAÞæÄ çÈÞçAIÄí ¯Äá çµÁùßæaÏá¢ µ¿ÎÏÞÃí. ÎùáÈÞGßWÈßKÞÏÞW çÉÞÜá¢ ØÞÇÈ ØÞÎd·ßµZ §ùAáÎÄß æºÏíÄá ÉIµÖÞÜÏßW ØâfßAÃ¢. ÕßƒÕJßæa ÈÞ{á¢ ÈÞÝßµÏá¢ ®çMÞÝÞÃí ²JáÕøßµæÏKá µÃAáµâGßæÏ¿áAáµ ÈÞÁßç¼cÞÄß×AÞVAá çÉÞÜá¢ ¥ØÞÇc¢.

ÉæIÞæA µGXºÞÏ, ÉøßMáÕ¿, ÕÞøßAáL¢ Äá¿BßÏÕ ¦ÕÖcJßÈá µßGßÏÞW ÕßƒÕJßÈá çÕI ¥ÈáØÞøßµ{ÞÏß. µGXºÞÏ µá¿ß‚á ÉøßMáÕ¿ ÖÞMßGÞW ÉßæK ¦VAá¢ ÕÞøßAáLæÎ¿áJá ÎÞV‚í æº‡ÞX çÄÞKá¢. dÌÙíÎÞÕá ÕßºÞøß‚ÞÜá¢ ÕÞøßAáLÇÞøßµæ{ Ä¿áAÞX µÝßÏßˆ. ÉßæK ®LáæµÞIá ÕßƒÕ¢ ÕKßæˆKá ÎÞdÄ¢ çºÞÆßAøáÄí.

¥Õßæ¿ÏÞÃá Ï‚âøß Ø~ÞÕí ÉùÏáK ÕV·ÖdÄáÕßæa µ{ß. ÌÞÜxßÜâæ¿ ÕßƒÕ¢ ÕøÞX ÉÞ¿ßæˆKá Ø~ÞÕßÈá ÈßVÌtæÎÞKáÎßˆ. ÕøáæKCßW ÕçKÞæG ®KÞÃá ØÎàÉÈ¢. ®KÞW ÌÞÜxßÜâæ¿ ÄæK ÕßƒÕ¢ ÕøÃæÎK ÈßVÌtÕá¢ ¥çgÙJßÈßˆ. çÕIßÕKÞW ÕV·ÖdÄáÕßçÈÞ¿í ²øáèµ çÈÞAÞÈá¢ ÄÏÞæù¿áAÃæÎKÞÃí Ï‚âøß Ø~ÞÕßæa ¦ÙbÞÈ¢.
ÕV·ÖdÄáÕßçÈÞ¿í ¯xáÎáGÃæÎCßW µfßæÏ µIÞW Äßøß‚ùßÏÞÈáU ÉøßÖàÜÈ¢ çÈç¿IÄáIí. µáGß‚ÞJÈá¢ dÌÙíÎøfØßÈá¢ ÎçÇcÏÞÃá ÕV·ÖdÄáÕßæa øâÉ¢. ²¿ßÕßÆc ÕÖÎáUÄáæµÞIáÈßKÈßWMßW çÉÞçJÞ µÞ{çÏÞ ¦Ïß øâÉ¢ ÎÞùÞÈá¢ ÕV·ÖdÄáÕßÈá µÝßÏá¢.

ƒÞØíxV ²ÞËí ÉÞøßØá¢ æÄVçÎÞçµÞ{á¢ ÏçÅ×í¿¢ µßGßÏÞW ÕV·ÖdÄáÕßæÈ çÉ¿ßMß‚á ÈÞGßWÈßKá æµGáæµGßAÞ¢. ÎáAßÈá ÎáAßÈá ÕßƒÕµÞøßµ{áæ¿ dÉÄßÎ ©IÞAß ÕÏíAÃ¢. æÜÈßæa ÄÞ¿ßÏáæ¿ Èà{Õá¢ ØíxÞÜßæa ÎàÖÏáæ¿ µGßÏá¢ µâGÞX dÉçÄcµ¢ dÖißAÃ¢.

ÈÞÜá¢ µâ¿áK ØíÅÜB{ßW æº·áçÕæøÄæK çÕÃ¢. dµßØíÄáÕá¢ ·Þtß¼ßÏá¢ ÕßçÕµÞÈwÈáæÎˆÞ¢ ÙÞZÎÞVAí æºÏíÄ ÕßƒÕµÞøßµZ ¦ÏÄßÈÞW ¥ÕæøÏá¢ ÄdLdÉÇÞÈÎÞÏ ØíÅÜB{ßW ÄÏÞùÞAß ÈßVJÃ¢.

ØÞdÎÞ¼cÄbAÝáµX, ÏÞCß æºµáJÞX Äá¿BßÏ ¥ÕÄÞøBæ{ ØíÅÞÉßçAIÄí §¿ÕÝßµ{ßÜÞÃí. ÕßƒÕµÞøßµ{áæ¿ dÉÄßÎÏáæ¿ ÉJßæÜÞKá ÕÜßMçÎ µÝáµÈá¢ æºµáJÞÈáæÎˆÞ¢ ¥ÈáÕÆß‚ßGáUâ. §æÄˆÞ¢ µIá ÖàÜß‚ÞW ¼ÈJßÈá ØÞdÎÞ¼cÄbAÝáµæÈÏá¢ ÏÞCß æºµáJÞæÈÏá¢ çÉ¿ßÏßˆÞÄÞµá¢. ¨ ØÎÏ¢ çÈÞAß çÕÃ¢ ÕV·ÖdÄáÕßæÈ çÈøß¿ÞX. ÎßAÕÞùá¢ ¨ ¸GJßÈá ÎáXÉáÄæK µfß ¥ùÌßA¿ÜßW ®¿áJáºÞ¿ß ¦vÙÄc æºÏíÄßøßAá¢. §æˆCßW µç‡Þæ¿ Éß¿ß‚á æÉÞ¿ßÄâ{ÞAÃ¢.

§ÄßæÈˆÞ¢ ¥ÄcÞÕÖc¢ çÕIÄá æÄVçÎÞçµÞ{ßæaÏá¢ ƒÞØíxV ²ÞËí ÉÞøßØßæaÏá¢ µâxX çÖ~øÎÞÃí. ¥ÄáæµÞIá ÕßƒÕµÞøßµ{áæ¿ dÉÞÅÎßµ µ¿Î ¨ Õµ ØÞÎd·ßµZ ØÎÞÙøßAÜÞÃí. §LcX ÕßƒÕJßæa ÉÞÄ ¯ÄÞæÃKí §ÈßæÏCßÜá¢ µÞøÞGí Ø~ÞÕßçÈÞ¿á¢ Ï‚âøß Ø~ÞÕßçÈÞ¿á¢ µâæ¿Aâæ¿ çºÞÆßAøáÄí. ¦ ÉÞÄ æÄVçÎÞçµÞ{ßçaÄá¢ ƒÞØíxV ²ÞËí ÉÞøßØßçaÄáÎÞæÃKá Äßøß‚ùßÏÞX èÕµßÏÄÞÃí §LcX ÕßƒÕµÞøßµZAá ÉxßÏ ÉßÖµí.

æºçCÞGÏßÜá¢ æºæCÞ¿ß ÈÞGáµ ®KÄÞÃá ÖøÞÖøß §LcX µÎcâÃßØíxßæa ¼àÕßÄJßæÜ ¯xÕá¢ ÕÜßÏ ØbÉíÈ¢. ¦ ØbÉíÈ¢ ¯ÄÞIá ÏÞÅÞV@cÎÞµáKÄßæa ÕAJáÕæø ®JßÏÄÞÃí. ®KÞW µÞøÞGí Ø~ÞÕßæÈçMÞæÜÏáU Îáùß‚ÞW ÎáùßÏÞJ ÕßƒÕµÞøßµZAí ¥Äá ØÙß‚ßˆ. ÌÞÜxßÜâæ¿ ÕßƒÕ¢ ÕKÞW ¥Äá ÕcÞ¼ÕßƒÕ¢ ¦ÏßøßAáæÎKÞÃá ÎáøJ ÎÞVµíØßØíxáµZ ÕÞÆß‚Äí. ®ˆÞÕøá¢ µâ¿ß ç¼cÞÄßÌÞÌáÕßæa dÉÇÞÈÎdLßAçØøÏáæ¿ µÞW ²¿ß‚á. ºøßdÄÉøÎÞÏ ÎIJøæÎK ÕßÖbÕß~cÞÄÎÞÏ µIáÉß¿ßJæÎÞæA È¿KÄá µáæùAÞÜ¢ µÝßE çÖ×ÎÞÃí.

²øá ÄÕÃ èµÕßGáçÉÞæÏKáÕ‚á æºçCÞGÏßW æºæCÞ¿ß ÈÞGÞÈáU çÎÞÙ¢ µÞøÞGí Ø~ÞÕí ÎáÄWçÉV ÄàVJá¢ èµÕßGßGßˆ. ÁWÙßÏßæÜ æºçCÞGÏßW ÉxßÏßæˆCßW çµÞÝßçAÞæG æºçCÞGÏßWÄæK ¦ÕæG ®Ká µøáÄßÏÞÃá ÉÞVGß çµÞYd·Øí çÕÆßæÏ æºçCÞGÏáæ¿ ÎGßW ºÎÏßæ‚ÞøáAßÏÄí.

çµÞGÏßæÜ æµÞ¿ßçÏxá çµÞÝßçAÞGá È¿KßæˆCßW ÉßæK µÞøÞGí Ø~ÞÕßæa µÞÜJí §AÞøc¢ È¿AáK ÜfÃÎßæˆKá çÌÞÇcæMGÄáæµÞIá µâ¿ßÏÞÃá çÕÆßÏáæ¿ ÎÞÄãµ ÄàøáÎÞÈß‚æÄKá¢ ÉùÏáKáIí. ¥æÄÞKáÎˆ ØÄc¢. æÉÞÄáØçN{È çÕÆß æµÞç{ÞØßÏJßæa ÎÞÄãµÏßW ¦AßÏÄá çùÞÎÞ ØÞdÎÞ¼c¢ ÉáÈ£ØíÅÞÉßAÞX çÕIßÏÞæÃKá ÉùÏáKÄá çÉÞæÜÏÞÃßÄí.

ºøßdÄ çµÞYd·ØßÈá çÏÞ¼ß‚ ÎÞÄãµµ{ÞÃí §æÄˆÞæÎKá µáxæM¿áJáKÕøáIí. ØçN{È çÕÆß çµÞGÏÞAßæÏKá µøáÄß ÉÞVGß çµÞYd·ØßW ØáWJÞXÎÞøá¢ ÉÞÆá×ÎÞøáæÎÞKá¢ ÉæC¿áAáKáæIKá æÄxßiøßAøáÄí. ÉÞVGßÏßW ÉÞÆá×ÎÞøßæˆKÄá ÉøæA ¥ùßÕáU µÞøcÎÞÃí. ¥ÄßÈµJá çdÉÞÜßçxùßÏxí ÎÞdÄçÎÏáUâ. ¦æøˆÞ¢ ®æLˆÞ¢ ÉùEÞÜá¢ çµÞGÏáæ¿ ÎßÈÞøB{ßÜá¢ æµÞJ{B{ßÜá¢ æºæCÞ¿ßµZ ÉÞùáKÄá µÞÃáçOÞZ ¯Äá µÎcâÃßØíxßæaÏá¢ ÎÈ¢µá{ßVAÞÄßøßAßˆ. ®ˆÞ çµÞGµ{á¢ ÉáøÞÕØíÄáÕÞµáæÎKá µÕß ÉùEÄá ÉÞVGßÏáæ¿ çµÞGæÏAáùß‚æˆKá dÉçÄcµ¢ ØíÎøÃàÏÎÞÃí.

ØíçxÞÉí dÉØí:
ÎdLßØíÅÞÈ¢ ÄÞX ¦ÕÖcæMGßGßæˆKá ÎE{Þ¢µáÝß ¥Üß.

çÛÞ! ¨ çµÞYd·ØßæÈæAÞIá çÄÞxá. ¦ÕÖcæM¿ÞJ µÞøc¢ ¥¿ßç‚WMßAáKÄßW Éø¢ ÉÞÉ¢ ÎæxLáIí?

www.keralites.net

__._,_.___

Reply to sender | Reply to group | Reply via web post | Start a New Topic

Messages in this topic (1)

Recent Activity:

New Members 75

Visit Your Group

Switch to: Text-Only, Daily Digest • Unsubscribe • Terms of Use

__,_._,___

അച്ഛന്റെ മര്‍ദ്ദനം: ചികിത്സയില്‍ കഴിഞ്ഞ പിഞ്ചുകുഞ്ഞ് മരിച്ചു

Posted on: 11 Apr 2012

ബാംഗ്ലൂര്‍: ആണ്‍കുട്ടി ജനിക്കാത്തതില്‍ കലിപൂണ്ട പിതാവിന്റെ ആക്രമണത്തില്‍ പരിക്കേറ്റ പിഞ്ചുപെണ്‍കുട്ടി അഫ്രീന്‍ മരിച്ചു. ബാംഗ്ലൂരിലെ വാണിവിലാസ് ആസ്പത്രിയിലെ വെന്റിലേറ്ററില്‍ ചികിത്സയില്‍ ആയിരുന്നു മൂന്നുമാസം പ്രായമായ കുഞ്ഞ്. മര്‍ദനത്തെ തുടര്‍ന്ന് കുട്ടിയുടെ തലച്ചോറിലുണ്ടായ രക്തസ്രാവം നിയന്ത്രിക്കാന്‍ ഡോക്ടര്‍മാര്‍ക്ക് കഴിഞ്ഞിരുന്നു. എന്നാല്‍ ബുധനാഴ്ച ഉച്ചയോടെ കുട്ടി മരിച്ചു. ഹൃദയാഘാതത്തെ തുടര്‍ന്നായിരുന്നു അന്ത്യം.

ബാംഗ്ലൂരിലെ കെ.ജി. ഹള്ളിയിലാണ് മനഃസാക്ഷിയെ നടുക്കിയ സംഭവമുണ്ടായത്. ശിവാജി നഗറിലെ കടയിലെ ജീവനക്കാരനായ ഒമര്‍ ഫറൂഖിന് ആണ്‍കുട്ടി വേണമെന്നായിരുന്നു ആഗ്രഹം. എന്നാല്‍ പ്രതീക്ഷയ്ക്ക് വിരുദ്ധമായി പെണ്‍കുഞ്ഞാണ് ജനിച്ചത്. തുടര്‍ന്ന് ഒമര്‍ ഭാര്യ രേഷ്മാ ബാനുവിനെയും ആഫ്രിന്‍ എന്ന് പേരിട്ട കുഞ്ഞിനെയും മര്‍ദിക്കാന്‍ ആരംഭിക്കുകയായിരുന്നു. ആഫ്രിനെ കൊന്നുകളയുമെന്നും ഇത് ചെയ്യാതിരിക്കണമെങ്കില്‍ ഒരു ലക്ഷം രൂപ നല്‍കണമെന്നും ഇയാള്‍ ഭാര്യയോട് ആവശ്യപ്പെടുകയും ചെയ്തു. എന്നാല്‍, ഇവര്‍ ആവശ്യം നിരസിച്ചു.

തുടര്‍ന്ന് കഴിഞ്ഞ വ്യാഴാഴ്ച കുട്ടിയുടെ ശരീരത്തില്‍ അങ്ങിങ്ങായി മര്‍ദനത്തിന്റെ പാടുകള്‍ കണ്ട രേഷ്മ ഇത് സംബന്ധിച്ച് ഭര്‍ത്താവിനെ ചോദ്യം ചെയ്തു. പ്രാണി കടിച്ചതായിരിക്കുമെന്നായിരുന്നു ഒമറിന്റെ മറുപടി. കുഞ്ഞിന്റെ തലയിലടക്കം ശരീരത്തിന്റെ പലയിടങ്ങളിലും സിഗരറ്റ് ഉപയോഗിച്ച് പൊള്ളിച്ചതായും രേഷ്മ കെ.ജി. ഹള്ളി പോലീസ് സ്‌റ്റേഷനില്‍ നല്‍കിയ പരാതിയില്‍ പറയുന്നു.

പിറ്റേദിവസം ഇവര്‍ പുറത്തുപോയ സമയത്ത് തൊട്ടിലില്‍ കിടന്ന കുട്ടിയുടെ തല ഭിത്തിയിലിടിച്ച് കൊലപ്പെടുത്താന്‍ ഒമര്‍ ശ്രമിച്ചു. തിരിച്ചെത്തിയ രേഷ്മ കണ്ടത് രക്തം ഛര്‍ദിക്കുന്ന കുഞ്ഞിനെയായിരുന്നു. ഉടന്‍ തന്നെ കുട്ടിയെ ആസ്പത്രിയിലെത്തിച്ചു. പരിശോധനയില്‍ കുട്ടി ക്രൂരമര്‍ദനത്തിനിരയായതായി തെ

അച്ഛന്റെ മര്‍ദ്ദനം: ചികിത്സയില്‍ കഴിഞ്ഞ പിഞ്ചുകുഞ്ഞ് മരിച്ചു

Posted on: 11 Apr 2012

ളിഞ്ഞിട്ടുണ്ട്.

രണ്ടുവര്‍ഷം മുമ്പാണ് കുശാല്‍നഗര്‍ സ്വദേശി ഒമര്‍ രേഷ്മാ ഭാനുവിനെ വിവാഹം കഴിച്ചത്. ഇവരുടെ ആദ്യത്തെ കുഞ്ഞാണിത്. വിവാഹശേഷം ഒമര്‍ മദ്യപിച്ച് തന്നെ പതിവായി മര്‍ദിച്ചിരുന്നതായും രേഷ്മ പരാതിയില്‍ പറയുന്നു. സംഭവത്തിനെതിരെ ബാംഗ്ലൂരിലെ മനുഷ്യാവകാശ സംഘടനകളും രംഗത്തെത്തിയിട്ടുണ്ട്.

Prince

www.keralites.net

__._,_.___

Reply to sender | Reply to group | Reply via web post | Start a New Topic

Messages in this topic (1)

Recent Activity:

New Members 75

Visit Your Group

Switch to: Text-Only, Daily Digest • Unsubscribe • Terms of Use

__,_._,___

[www.keralites.net] A rags to riches story of a roadside fruit vendor ( Natarajan & Chinnaswamy ) -150 crore turnover Must read

A rags to riches story of a roadside fruit vendor

Last updated on: April 11, 2012 11:44 IST

T E Narasimhan in Chennai

Kovai Pazhamudir Nilayam maybe a mouthful for anyone outside Tamil Nadu but after you read about this company's trajectory from roadside vendor of fruits to regional retail king, the name just may stick around in your imagination.

The name means 'Orchard of Fruits' and is the first branded retail chain purely for fresh fruits and vegetables in the country.

While other chains such as Reliance and More have posted large losses (Rs 44 crore or Rs 440 million for Reliance, Rs 423 crore or Rs 4.23 billion for Aditya Birla's More), Kovai says that it posted Rs 3 crore (Rs 30 million) profit on revenues of Rs 150 crore or Rs 1.5 billion in 2011-2012.

This is a world away from the 25 paise per day that founder Natarajan decided to save, along with his three brothers, for a rosier future in 1953.

Natarajan was 10 at the time, his father had died, and education was jettisoned so they could scrape together a living and survive.

Natarajan and his elder brother Chinnaswamy had recently joined a road side fruit shop, while his younger brother Kandaswamy worked at a petrol station.

"Those were really tough days, without any proper food and shelter," recalls Natarajan, who started his career as a cleaner in the fruit shop.

Twelve years later, in 1965, armed with in-depth knowledge about fruits, "especially procurement" says Natarajan, and fortified by the modest savings that the band of brothers had diligently squirrelled away, Natarajan and his brothers decided to open their own shop -- a 400-square foot establishment in Coimbatore.

"We didn't want to be road side vendors and wanted to do something unique. We wanted to be known as a brand. We knew it was a big risk but we decided to take the plunge," says Natarajan.

Kovai was born.

Being a retail chain that specialises in only fruits or vegetables has its own challenges which are roughly the same today as it was back in the '60s.

One has to compete with carts that come right to your doorstep and sell you products that are invariably cheaper. Indians like to bargain, and Kovai's model back then (and now) was to sell fruits in kilograms (versus in dozens) and that too at a fixed price.

(However, Kovai's large volumes and direct sourcing today actually help keep prices around 10-20 per cent lower than those of hypermarkets and street vendors and where most such chains falter in quality of product, Kovai's is regarded as excellent.)

In this sort of retail model, success hinges on the daily collection -- if the day's business matches the monthly rental, you're in the black.

The brothers, however, were paying Rs 100 as rent, but couldn't make more than Rs 30-35 in sales, which led to further hardship.

"We hardly earned any money and we couldn't support our mother or our younger brother's education, so we decided to join a mill on a shift basis."

Natarajan and his brothers finally realised that their only hope for success was in doing something back then that companies like Airtel have been feverishly pursuing today: Generating 'value added services.'

Besides fruits, the brothers started selling fresh fruit juices as well as sliced fruit in their outlet which allowed them to milk more revenue per kilogram of fruit rather than selling it whole.

The slices and juices were able to garner them a 150 per cent margin.

This proved to be a life-saving strategy and allowed them to slowly consolidate their operations and expand.

Today, Kovai has expanded to 34 outlets, of which 24 are owned and run by Natarajan, while rest are owned and run by his three brothers.

Natarajan has also expanded into vegetables which forms 60 per cent of his business. Saloni Nangia, senior vice president & head, retail & consumer products, Technopak Advisors feels that regional brands like Kovai's are successful because they understand their customer's needs better.

"Also, the needs often change, which regional brands can adapt to faster," he adds.

Kunal Bhaktha, partner, Lastaki Advisors Pvt Ltd, an investment banking company says that another reason for their outsized success is because "the promoters have come from farming community, they know the pulse of the farmers and understand them."

Along the way, Natarajan has also managed to fulfil the quintessential Indian fairy tale -- to educate his son Senthil to the extent that he eventually ended up at Microsoft as a product developer, which he quit six years ago to join the family business.

Now, Senthil is hoping to continue his family's remarkable journey by bringing a little bit of Microsoft to Kovai.
Technology to manage the business's supply chain is one such thing.

His other initiatives: Importing fruits like Apples, strawberries, and oranges from eight countries including the US, Australia, South Africa, Egypt and New Zealand, making them one of the largest fruit importers in retail; converting vegetable and fruit waste into manure or raw material for farmers in Kerala; launching a chain of juice bars (called Season's, with revenues of Rs 15 crore or Rs 150 million) and foraying into textiles (revenues of Rs 3 crore or Rs 30 million).

Senthil was also the brain behind the expansion of the business, adding 21 stores over a period of six years.

"Now we are planning to add another 50 by 2015 with an investment of Rs 50 crore (Rs 500 million).

While the major focus will be in Tamil Nadu, we will also look at Bengaluru, Cochin and Hyderabad," he said.

He is in the process of raising Rs 25 crore (Rs 250 million) of private equity funding for this purpose.

Still, staying a regional king is one thing and expanding onto the national stage something else entirely.

Becoming a national chain requires deep pockets, a branding exercise with a catchy name (that people can pronounce across the country) and a vast distribution, supply chain and cold chain network.

Not having all the pieces in place could spell disaster as now-extinct retail chain Subhiksha found out and something that the heir to this empire will have to internalise if he wants to continue the magical journey charted by his father.

http://www.rediff.com/business/slide-show/slide-show-1-from-roadside-vendor-to-rs-150-cr-regional-giant/20120411.htm

Ravi

www.keralites.net