Category Archives: Business & Economy

‘Peter Colaco was a strong and simple man’

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Leaders

Bangalore :

The absence of Bangalore’s chronicler might leave some of the finest memories of the city rudderless. For, the narrative, in this case, is as much about its creator as it is about the city. The chronicler portrayed what he saw — simple and often funny things taken from the daily affairs of the city, unlike ones found in history books – bringing smiles to his readers’ faces.

Peter Colaco, author of bestseller ‘Bangalore, A Century of Tales From City & Cantonment’, passed away at the age of 67 on Friday, following a cardiac arrest. His work is considered one of the finest accounts of the city’s post-Independence era ground realities.

Peter was a versatile personality. A former professor of advertising at IIM-B, he also donned the caps of documentary filmmaker and musician, besides being successful in his advertising career.

“Above all, Peter was a very nice human being. I remember him dragging me to old age homes where he would just take out his guitar and sing. The aged there loved him,” said Sadiqa Peerbhoy, author, advertising professional and a good friend of Peter.

Many were inspired by the man who was known for his unrelenting quest for precision and perfection. But those who grew up with him, particularly his siblings, perhaps knew him better than most. “Peter spent hours trying to work out  rose grafting, and that’s why, perhaps, can still be either prickly as a thorn or soft as a rose petal,” writes Jacqueline Colaco, one of Peter’s siblings, in her work, ‘Growing Up With Brothers’.

The man himself may be gone, like most of the subjects of his best-selling book. Yet, his readers will find him alive in the reminiscences of the old city.

A few weeks before his death, Peter had pledged his body for research to St John’s Hospital. His end, incidentally, came on Good Friday , a day before he was to turn 68.

He wanted small joys

Peter Colaco was perhaps the most multi-faceted people I’ve known. Peter, as a person, was so powerful and yet so fragile, often torn between the strong mind of sheer genius and the simple mind of the good. There was very little he wanted because there was very little he needed. All he really wanted was the joy of enlightened conversation with good friends  and family.

Paul Fernandes | cartoonist and friend of 35 years

An excerpt from Peter’s book

Grandfather bought Oorgaum House in 1920. It was something of a landmark with a pillared portico and battlemented terrace, an imposing bungalow set far back in a very large compound. It had virtually no neighbour on one side, just a playground of St. Jospeh’s ‘Indian’ High School, and then the expanses of Cubbon Park – excerpted from Peter Colaco’s Bangalore – A Century of Tales From City & Cantonment.

source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / Home> City> Bangalore / by Rhik Kundu , TNN / April 02nd, 2013

Shivarathreeshwara media awards presented

Business & Economy, Records, All

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Mysore :

The awards presented by Mutts are more precious than the ones presented by Governments, said Karnataka Media Academy Chairman M.A. Ponnappa.

He was speaking after presenting Shivarathreeswara Media Award to senior journalists Echanur Kumar and H.V. Satyanarayana at a function jointly organised by MDJA, Chamarajanagar District Journalists Association and Suttur Mutt at JSS Law College premises here this morning.

Stating that journalists often complain of suffering from B.P and Diabetes, he advised them to practice yoga to bring down the stress level. He said that with the support of Suttur Mutt, Media Academy would like to conduct a workshop to enlighten journalists about the importance of yoga.

He also expressed his concern over the recent statement made by Press Council of India Chairman Justice Markandey Katju on journalists. He said that every working journalist was efficient and had the capability.

It may be recalled, Justice Markandey Katju had recently said that the absence of a proper eligibility criterion was affecting the quality of reportage in the country. Suttur Seer Sri Shivarathri Deshikendra Swamiji, Upa Lokayukta Subash B. Adi, MDJA President C.K. Mahendra and others were present.

source: http://www.StarofMysore.com / Home> General News / March 26th, 2013

Bangalore emerges as Mecca of startups; engineers, customers transforming city into a hub for new businesses

Business & Economy, World Opinion

Bangalore :

Its well-publicised troubles with basic infrastructure and political instability notwithstanding, Bangalore is proving that it is by far and away India’s startup capital, aided in the assumption of this title by the software companies which first put the city on the global map. A strong community of engineers with global work experience, savvy customers and growing pools of early-stage capital, are transforming the city into a global startup hub, much like the Silicon Valley in the United States.

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“Almost every day a new startup keeps coming up here,” said TV Mohandas Pai, a former director of Infosys and a prominent investor backing new technology ventures. So, despite the potholed roads, patchy power supply and a mostly apathetic government, entrepreneurs flocking to Karnataka’s capital say they are drawn by a unique culture of mentorship and networking that pervades the city.

“In Bangalore you don’t have to boil the ocean yourself,” said Sundi Natarajan, an angel investor, who relocated to the city after a decade-long stint in the US as a technology professional. Next month, Natarajan and a group of overseas investors will launch the city’s first global accelerator programme that will comprise entrepreneurs from Brazil and the US in addition to India-based ventures. The first batch of about 10 companies will be backed by a proposed $50-million (Rs 270-crore ) fund. “There are mentors here willing to meet entrepreneurs on a Sunday evening and brainstorm until midnight ,” said Natarajan, explaining his group’s decision to launch the accelerator in Bangalore. This cultural advantage is now being reflected in hard numbers.

Bangalore accounts for 41% of all new ventures launched in India, according to the World Startup Report, released last week by Bowei Gai, a Silicon Valley entrepreneur who is mapping the startup ecosystem in 29 countries. In response to this definitive change, city stalwarts, including Pai, are nudging a hitherto comatose government into action.

The Karnataka Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Group 2020 last year had asked for a Rs 1,000-crore fund to drive infrastructure development and a further Rs 100 crore to be set apart for incubation of startups and new IT firms. “The fund for startups has been approved; we are in the process of setting it up and finding a fund manager to run it,” said Pai, who is the co-founder of Aarin Capital — a $50-million venture firm. Industry experts are of the opinion that with the city being home to some of the country’s biggest software companies, it is a ripe pool of talent for startups.

“Talent is expensive but a startup can be assured of finding a minimum number of qualified people in Bangalore, rather than in any other Indian city,” said Rishikesha Krishnan, a professor at the Indian Institute of Management-Bangalore, who is part of iSpirit — a think-tank for software product companies. Around 70% of the top venture capital firms have a presence in Bangalore. Now funds such as Canaan Partners, SAIF and Lightspeed Venture Partners based in Delhi are setting up offices here. “A majority of the startup activity in India lies here,” said Nishant Verman, associate at Canaan Partners, which has invested in Bangalore companies such as mobile advertising platform Adnear and software services provider Happiest Minds.

Dave McClure, founding partner at 500 Startups, a US-based seed fund and startup accelerator, who is setting up a seed fund of $10 million for India, is of the view that while companies such as online retailer Flipkart and advertising platoform InMobi have gained size, new ventures in Bangalore such as online ticketing firm red-Bus are “just really impressive”.

A high density of entrepreneurs and investors is also drawing established entrepreneurs to relocate to the city. “If you are a technology firm focusing on the global market and cannot start in Silicon Valley, then Bangalore is the best place,” said Pallavi Nadhani , who moved his venture Fusion Charts from Kolkata two years ago and has since clocked revenues of Rs 40 crore.

As dozens of new companies build products in information technology, healthcare, education and retail, Bangalore’s reputation as a hub for cutting edge technology is being underlined further. Globally, nearly 25 million smartphones and tablets that were sold since April last 2011 use technology built by citybased venture Ittiam Systems to enable high definition video playback and camcorder applications . Mistral Solutions has developed wearable video cameras used by law enforcement agencies across the US.

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source: http://www.articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com / Home> News> Emerging Businesses> Start ups / by Peerzada Abrar, ET Bureau / March 29th, 2013

The solar man on a mission

Business & Economy, Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature, Science & Technology

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By S.N. Venkatnag Sobers

He is no engineer or a scientist or a scholar with great knowledge, but a humble person who is on a mission to create awareness about the need to make environment free from pollution. Meet Syed Sajjad Ahamed, a Bangalorean, who has been travelling across the country with his handmade Solar Car in an effort to create awareness about environmental hazards.

Syed Sajjad Ahamed, born to a poor family in Kolar, is a Class 12 drop-out. During his schooling he even struggled to pass 8th std. His father worked as manager in a transport company in Kolar, where he spent his childhood and later shifted to Bangalore. Sajjad Ahamed after being unsuccessful in his studies, did not stop but was determined enough to come out with innovations by altering some of the vehicles that were already in the market.

At first, Sajjad Ahamed came out with electrically powered Luna in 2002. The speciality of the vehicle was that it used to operate by charging the batteries without using petrol. In case of batteries going dry, the vehicle would operate through petrol. Speaking to Star of Mysore, Sajjad Ahamed said that though he was a college drop-out, he was very much interested in experimenting with things available in the market and that is how he developed and came out with innovations of his own.

Sajjad Ahamed did not stop with Luna. He later came out with an electrically operated autorickshaw which was a success but unfortunately could not be taken forward as none of the manufacturers or companies came forward to take up further research on the product.

Sajjad said, “None of the companies have come forward to even look at the innovations that I have come out with. They fear that supporting the product I invented would hurt their products which are already in the market.”

However, many organisations have helped Sajjad in his endeavour to come out with solar powered vehicles. Institutions such as Karnataka Renewable Energy Development Limited, Raman Research Institute, Exide, have all been encouraging Sajjad by providing him with necessary materials to conduct his research. He has also been assisting engineering students about the manufacturing of solar powered automobiles for their projects. “I wanted to become a professor, but I couldn’t complete my studies. I am satisfied that at least I have been able to assist engineering students in their projects”, added Sajjad.

Sajjad has till now not patented any of his innovations. When asked about the reason, he said “If I patent there will be a problem for interested people who want to take up similar work in the future. I have left the options open for the people. Anybody can come and take it forward and I will assist them in coming out similar with products.”

Currently, Sajjad has been travelling on Solar Car Mark II, which was innovated by him. He has travelled about 1,000 kms in the car which can travel at a speed of about 15 kms/ hr and can cover 150 kms/per day. The car is enabled with 500 Watt Solar panels compared to 250 watt solar panel in his first Solar Car which he came out previously. Sajjad has travelled to Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Delhi, Haryana and other States in his car. During his journey Sajjad stops by colleges and schools to educate them about the environmental hazards and enlighten them about the need to protect the environment from pollution in order to make the world an ideal place for living.

He not only creates awareness on pollution but also is a volunteer of anti-corruption. He has the posters of Swami Vivekananda, Anna Hazare and other great personalities through which he tries to inspire young minds to take lead in crusade against corruption. He distributes pamphlets to people during his journey regarding need to control pollution and corruption. “I want to ignite young minds to come forward and take up the mantle of leading the country forward. Youngsters should be educated and awarded about their duties”, said Sajjad.

source: http://www.StarofMysore.com / Home> Feature Articles / March 24th, 2013

Uni-, multi-, it’s your choice honey

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature

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An interested visitor at the Honey Festival in Bangalore on Saturday. /  Photo: V. Sreenivasa  Murthy / The Hindu

If you are looking for the rare unifloral honey, head to Lalbagh Botanical Gardens where the two-day Honey Festival is under way. Unifloral honey in lychee, cajanus, clover, acacia and ajwain are among those that are on display, along with multilforal honey that is commonly available in the market.

Unifloral honey, sourced from different parts of the country and processed here, has a distinct flavour that the multifloral honey lacks. Though expensive (some cost double that of normal honey which costs between Rs. 200 and Rs. 250 a kg), these uniflorals are in demand.

Drawing interest

Not only is the festival one of its kind in the city, it will provide you with a glimpse of honey production and processing. The body suit, face mask, hive tools, box stand and migration kit have been displayed to help the public understand all aspects of apiculture.

Also on offer is a combo of honey with bun, fruits, ice-cream, dry fruits, gulkand and tea. “We have tried out various combinations of honey that is tasty and healthy. Those who have tasted them are giving us good feedback,” said J.D. Shivakumar of Prakruthi, which is planning to open an outlet in Kalyan Nagar here to promote the combo brand.

The festival, at M.H. Marigowda Memorial Hall in Lalbagh, has attracted a number of honey producers, processors, traders, co-operative societies, research institutes and universities. Apart from the direct sales of honey and honey-based products, the festival also has an interactive workshop on promotion of apiculture in the State.

Principal Secretary, Department of Horticulture, M.K. Shankarlinge Gowda, said though there is an annual demand for 8,000 tonnes of honey, the State is able to produce just about 4,000 tonnes. “Karnataka has the potential to produce 10,000 tonnes of honey annually and apiculture needs to be promoted among farmers,” he added.

source: http://www.TheHindu.com / Home> News> National> Karnataka / by Staff Reporter / Bangalore, March 24th, 2013

Hariharan to sing at Orion Mall

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy

Fans can look forward to an evening with some of the best musicians in the country at the Orion Mall in Yeshwantpur on Saturday. It will be the penultimate stop in the largest travelling music festival with over 100 artistes across 12 cities for Idea Jalsa.

The event will feature performances by playback singer Hariharan, followed by a mandolin performance by U. Srinivas.

Idea Jalsa began in 2006 as a concert tour across 39 cities featuring more than 20 regional languages and featuring more than 700 artistes and covering more than 55 genres of music, a press release said. The aim of these concerts is to package and market Indian classical music forms to a younger audience.

Durga Jasraj, founder of Art and Artistes and who currently serves on the board of advisers in the Union Ministry of Culture, said: “Our endeavour is to showcase Indian music across cities by providing a platform for audiences to discover the treasures of Indian music that has a rich legacy.”

The programme will be webcast live on www.youtube.com/indianmusicforsoul and on www.facebook.com /JalsaMusicForTheSouls.

The event is free and passes can be picked up at various Idea Cellular outlets. The concert begins at 7.30 p.m.

source: http://www.TheHindu.com  / Home> News> Cities / by Staff Reporter / Bangalore, March 22nd, 2013

General Body meeting of SIPMA held

Business & Economy

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Seen in the picture are (from left) K. Shankara Krishnan, K.G. Bhat, Abbas S. Vagh, Hariraya Kamath, SIPMA President P.K. Mayan, Moiz Vagh, Siraj Asgarali and Secretary Hitendra J. Kothari at the AGM of SIPMA.

Mysore, Mar. 18

The general body meeting of The South Indian Plywood Manufacturers Association (SIPMA) was held on Mar. 16 at the premises of Hunsur Plywood Works in Hunsur. It was attended by about 100 members in which Moiz Vagh of Hunsur Plywood Works briefed the members about the present raw material scenario and manufacturing conditions and spoke about the history of Hunsur Plywood Works.

Feroz Asger Ali of Mufaddel Timber & Allied Products introduced and spoke about the contribution of the senior members to the industry and the Association.

The following senior members were felicitated for their contribution to the industry and the Association: Abbas S. Vagh of Decorative Laminates (I) Pvt Ltd., Mysore; K.G.Bhat of Indian Plywood Manufacturing Company, Mumbai; Hariraya Kamath of Karnataka Plywoods, Sullia and K.Shankara Krishnan of Kutty Flush Doors & Furniture Co., Chennai. The meeting was presided over by President P.K. Mayan of Western India Plywoods.

Secretary Hitendra J. Kothari of J.K. Industries, Mangalore proposed a vote of thanks.

source: http://www.StarofMysore.com / Home> General News / March 18th, 2013

Encouraging aspiring entrepreneurs

Business & Economy, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features

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Every person aspires to become an entrepreneur, while some succeed others falter. The National Entrepreneurship Network (NEN), which is the leader in entrepreneurship education, has been encouraging engineering colleges to start E-Cells throughout the country to encourage students to grow as entrepreneurs.

One such Entrepreneurship Cell (E-Cell) is Aspera at the Vidya Vardhaka College of Engineering (VVCE), which was started in the year 2005 but was officially launched in 2007 with the name ‘Prerana.’ Later, the name was changed to ‘Aspera’ in 2009. Aspera has been actively taking part in activities conducted by NEN since its inception.

Speaking to Star of Mysore, Aspera Co-ordinator Prof. Manjula Murthy said that NEN had been guiding students in term of starting a new business, connecting the budding entrepreneurs from college to various industries and also to investors.

Aspera has been conducting activities throughout the year. This apart, regular meetings are conducted every Saturday where students come out with their idea of starting a new business. This is where seniors take the lead and guide their juniors to start their own business under the umbrella of Aspera, she said.

There are different concepts under which the meetings are conducted. There is a concept called ‘100 Rupees’ where the budding entrepreneur is given Rs. 100 which he/she has to invest and use the same money to purchase raw materials and come out with a product. They should also market their product and convince the consumers to purchase the product. This apart, members of Aspera also discuss about new business ideas and problems related to the college.

“The idea of starting a business is not to make profit, but to make students understand the functioning of the market and learn about the difficulties that they would have to face once they are out of the college,” said Prof. Manjula Murthy.

During the E-Week-2013, Aspera conducted workshops, seminars where opportunities available in the neighbourhood were discussed. Many of the students showed their interest to take up agro-based startups such as starting vermicompost enterprise and similar businesses. Aspera was also crowned Champion Runner-Up by NEN during E-Week-2013.

On-campus activities during E-Week included “Startup Mysore” in which students from different disciplines were selected for mentorship to start their own ventures. The crown of this success story has been rewarding. They were declared the Champion Runner-Up by NEN during the current E-Week after a thorough audit by the hosts of the championships, NEN, cutting across more than 600 institutions along the length and breadth of India.

Currently around six companies are being run under the umbrella of Aspera — a) Dil Ke Paas, b) Hidden Reflections, c) Go Tee, d) Tech Ambush, e) Reviewer’s Guild, f) Illusions — which have been guided by NEN, seniors and college.

Tech Ambush: Tech Ambush is a website which was started by Adithya, Saurabh and Nagarjun, all students of VVCE. The website was launched in March, 2013 and it gives information about the latest Android, Windows phones, Blackberry news. The website also provides information about apps, new gadgets, games and other development in the field of technology.

Interested can visit www.techambush.com.

Hidden Reflections: Founded in Nov. 2010, Hidden Reflections is a one-stop printing, designing and media solutions company based in Mysore. It specialises in all types of printing, designing, merchandising and media solutions for events, businesses, organisations, causes and individuals. It provides marketing solutions in all shapes and sizes like billboards, t-shirts, pamphlets, visiting cards, newspaper ads, etc. The company also designs and maintains websites and produce promotional videos.

Hidden Reflections is managed by the students who have the passion to innovate, achieve and explore new trends in media, marketing and advertising. Recently, the company also took up event management and music management assignments. It is being managed by Nikhil Furtado, III year, BE (Mech).

Go Tee Apparel: GoTee Apparel strives to create the perfect t-shirt, hoodie, or other apparel, specialising in both customised and bulk orders. It deals with t-shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies, jerseys, caps and other apparel. Every product is customisable according to the need of the customers and available in any range. The company has also released t-shirts with its own designs. It was founded by Nikhil Furtado, S. Impana and M. Ashwin, all engine- ering students.

Illuzions: Illuzions is a designing company which was started by Niranjan during Feb, 2012. Currently the company has been taking assignment related to web designing, graphic designing and interior designing.

Reviewers’ Guild: Reviewers’ Guild is a website which is being managed by Abhishek Bhat. It was launched a couple of years ago and has been getting good response from the public.

The website basically has reviews about gadgets, movies, books, games and new trends in the market.

Abhishek has also been managing V-Think, an e-newsletter about VVCE. Interested can visit www.reviewersguild.com to get to know about latest books, movies, gadgets and other products in the market.

Dil Ke Paas: Dil Ke Paas is a company started by M. Abhishek during his days in the college. He passed out of the college during 2011 and was working for a company till recently. Later, he quit his job and started his own business. Abhishek creates unique greeting cards which are a combination of his mechanical skills and art works.

Abhishek has also come out with a dehusking machine which works on both manual and electrical mode. He said that he had work on the machine before letting it into the market.

Apna Mess: Apna Mess is a canteen which is being run by Manish Kumar, a 6th semester Computer Science student. Manish Kumar started the mess to cater to the needs of North Indian students who find it difficult to adjust to the South Indian food.

The canteen has been serving around 60 students who visit the place every day to have their breakfast, lunch and dinner. The food is offered at reasonable price and it has been doing well since the day of its inception.

The students said the college had been supporting them in their endeavours. Prof. Manjula said that Aspera was looking out to come out with technology-based products. “We want to come out with technology-based products, materialise the product and also patent it. Further, we are looking forward to come out with software and environment-based products in our future endeavours,” she added.

With Vidya Vardhaka College lending its support to the students, one can expect more number of entrepreneurs emerging out of the institutions.

source: http://www.StarofMysore.com / Home> Feature Articles / by S.N. Venkatnag Sobers / March 17th, 2013

TAFE to train women farmers

Business & Economy, Science & Technology

Pune, MARCH 18:

Close on the heels of the success of its lab-to-land initiative to train the farming community, tractor major TAFE has decided to extend the programme to women peasants.

A pilot project to train women farmers in farm management — soil conservation, pest management, yield improvement, tractor driving and implement usage — will soon be launched, TAFE said.

The company said this during a farmers’ day event called ‘Raithara Dhinachanarane’ organised by the company at Doddaballapur near Bangalore. Over 350 farmers, including women farmers, participated in the day-long programme.

Farm scientists and experts from University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, Indian Institute of Horticulture, Bangalore, and TAFE, deliberated upon improving the output of fruits like mango, grapes, sapota, banana, guava and papaya, and vegetables like cauliflower, cabbage, brinjal and tomato.

source:  http://www.The HinduBusinessLine.com / Home> Industry> Agri-Biz /by Alka Kshirsagar / Pune, March 18th, 2013

This mum can cook

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Travel, World Opinion

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Kate Bracks might be a celebrity chef back in Australia but she was indeed very shocked to find that she had fans in India too. “I didn’t know people watchedMasterchef so seriously over here! When Matthew Cooper, (general manager, Bengaluru Marriott Whitefield ) sent me an email and asked me if I would like to come to Bangalore to do a few activities, I wasn’t too sure. I had never seen India and I had to think over it.

But then we chatted on the phone and I agreed; I am so glad that I did. Bangalore is fantastic — I am loving it. We went out yesterday andI ate at Queens, which I thought was brilliant, cooked naan at the hotel and ate the best butter chicken I have ever had. So yes, it has been a pretty good start,” says Kate, with her signature laugh. In town to launch Whitefield Baking Company at the hotel, Kate has a stuffed schedule over the next few days that she is here.

The story behind the title
That’s the thing about this celebrity cook— she doesn’t like being called a chef; her infectious positivity will force you to believe that you can make quite a lemonade out of lemons. “I am extremely passionate about cooking. When the first edition of Masterchef Australia was announced, my husband asked me to apply. But when I was going through the form, it had a question that asked if I was willing to stay away from my family for three months. My daughter was only one year old at the time. I couldn’t do it. But I watched a few episodes of it. And then when season two happened, I watched every single episode.

At the end of the show, there was an ad on TV inviting applications for the third season and I applied. But I forgot about it until they called me up two months later for the auditions. I was like, “errm.. I am not sure. Let me get back to you. I need to talk to my family”. I never knew I’d do it and I never knew I’d win. Neither did my husband! Every time I passed an elimination test, I’d call and tell him, “I am still in!” says Kate, of her entry into one of the coolest culinary contests to be aired on television.

The Masterchef kitchen was a massive learning process for Kate. “What you see on TV is only a part of it. We shot for seven months, with breaks of course, and the sessions were intense. But we are constantly learning something. We have master classes, training programs and we cook in professional kitchens and most of all, we are constantly discussing food in the ‘house’. So you’re constantly surrounded by these fabulous people and food… it’s life changing,” she says.

Not just yet
So why is there no restaurant from her yet? “It’s because of my family. I can’t do something that will take away all my time and focus from the children. But I do a lot of things when the kids are away at school. I hold cooking demonstrations; I teach kids to cook; I wrote my recipe book The Sweet Life, among other things.

For instance, I do a pop-up kitchen with Chef Michael Manners who’s a very popular chef there. And that gives me the opportunity to actually work in a professional kitchen without having to get involved full time into the operations and logistics. I am also working with chef Shaun Arantz, who has earlier been chosen as the Regional Chef of the Year and is also from Orange, NSW (Kate’s hometown); we’re planning to bring out a range of culinary and food products together….”

So, is there not going to be a restaurant — ever? “No, no. I will perhaps have one when my kids are all grown up. I have one mantra — if I do something, it has to be perfect and I want it to do well. So when I can actually give that much time to a restaurant — I am definitely going to have one!” assures Kate.

Family first, seriously
Her devotion towards her family is quite admirable. For a woman who’s never “got any formal training in cooking like many other celebrity chefs”, it is her innate love for cooking that led her to win the coveted title two years ago. However, she couldn’t quite stop reiterating how much she owes her family for it. “It’s hard to stay away from the kids for so long and I have never done it before. It was their constant support and courage that has led me this far… I would like to be a mum first and everything else after,” she says.

source: http://www.dnaindia.com / Home> Lifestyle> Report / by Priyadarshini Nandy, Place:Bangalore, Agency:DNA / Thursday, March 14th, 2013