In Hot Blood

His tribute may be sincere, but his manner of expressing it is odd, says ADELINE BERTIN of an exhibition of blood paintings

Retired vice-principal Ravichandran Gupta has an unusual format for artistic expression: he commissions paintings, but they are coloured with his own blood. The former schoolteacher has researched lesser-known martyrs of the freedom struggle and, with the support of painter Gurudarshan Singh Binkal, their story has been illustrated — in his blood.

For the 72-year-old, this is the only way of creating awareness about the sacrifice the martyrs made. Gupta says he was inspired to do this because of the famous quote of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose: “Give me your blood, I will give you freedom.”

Appropriately, the exhibition opened at Delhi’s Red Fort last week. Gupta founded the Shaheed Smriti Chetna Samiti in 1997, and documented more than 500 children who died very young in the freedom struggle (from the ages of 6-20 years). “It is the blood of such martyrs that have given us freedom. So it is apt to have these paintings in blood,” claims Gupta.

Even if somewhat apposite, the use of blood as artistic medium might seem gory to many viewers, however. It’s a moot point, therefore, whether his blood, sweat and tears will lead to any artistic glory.

Eggsacting Success

Suguna Poultry created a new business model, one which has incubated growth, says ADELINE BERTIN

It all began in the late eighties, when brothers B Soundararajan and GB Sundararajan, who ran a small chicken and egg shop in the tiny agrarian village of Udumalpet in Tamil Nadu decided the crash in chicken prices (in 1989-’90) was the right time — to expand their business. Suguna Poultry hatched its new expansion plan by helping indebted poultry farmers: they provided them with feed and health support — in return for eggs.

The success of this initiative gave birth to the Suguna “integrated business model”. In 25 years, this business plan has enabled the company to emerge as the leader in the Indian poultry market, which is highly-fragmented and dominated by small, local players. Suguna Poultry is now a Rs 2,030 crore company, covering over 15,000 farmers in 11 states across the country.

Suguna’s particular business model basically creates a win-win situation for both the farmer and the integrator. Explains Paresh Kumar Shetty, general manager: “The integrator enters into an agreement with the farmer and supplies the day old chicks (DOC), feed and medicines. The farmer also benefits from continuous training on broiler management and technology.”

The Suguna initiative has indeed transformed the lives of lakh of farmers and their families across rural India. “Suguna is a major contributor to growth and a catalyst in rural development. Our mission ultimately aims at providing more job opportunities for the rural population and to help them develop into entrepreneurs,” underlines Shetty.

Harish Garware, from the Indian poultry Equipment Manufacture’s Association (IPEMA), points out: “Suguna’s particular model has been very successful during the last decade and works very well in India. Indeed, many companies in the country have shifted by the time and are now following it.”

Being India’s biggest broiler producer, the company also ranks among the top ten poultry companies worldwide. However, India’s participation in the world poultry trade to date has been negligible. Identifying this as potential for growth, Suguna Poultry is planning to extend its sphere of influence into newer markets — both within the country and globally.

Suguna already exports to Southeast Asia, the Gulf and African countries. However, will the company be able to go pan-India with its current business model? Shetty is confident of success: “Currently, we are a poultry giant in India. Suguna has a healthy business model, which has enabled the company to spread from a small town to Asia’s leading poultry enterprise. So, of course, the company will definitely be able to expand its operations.”

Garware also believes Suguna’s business model can work everywhere in the world. “Just see what the EU and the US markets are doing: they are following us! The only difference is the level of automation, but with Suguna Poultry’s priority to target the global market, we will soon be able to follow their path. So all the opportunities are there, I think, for Suguna to expand and – why not? - conquer the global market.”

In a sector with big potential for further growth, Shetty identifies some of the growth options for Suguna Poultry: “Our ready to eat and ready to cook products are gaining a lot of demand among the people, irrespective of age,” he points out, adding: “Chicken, the most preferred lean meat, continues to increase in demand each day.”

Suguna, in fact, has grown at a very healthy 40 percent annually. Now, he says, the industry envisages growth prospects that would take it to Rs 13,000 crore in the next five years.

With its mastery in contract farming, Suguna has shaped the poultry industry to its current position. But the company wants to achieve more: for Shetty, this success has only egged on Suguna to “emerge as a food company”. With its ability to innovate in business plans, there’s little doubt that as the industry grows, Suguna is poised to be cock of the hoop.

Two Strings to the Bow

ADELINE BERTIN lends an ear to a band with a varied and interesting soupcon of flavours

They might be a doctor and a chef by profession; by passion, however, they are both musicians. The coming together of Parvez Imam and Arun Chanda created an extraordinary two-man band in 2008, called — literally — Dr Chef!

But their two decades of personal experience in music, as well as their varied careers and experiences has created a band that experiments with genres as varied as folk, rock, blues and experimental music. “I listen to a lot of rock music and like folk, for it connects with everyone,” confides Arun.

Not surprisingly, the unusual duo is marked by a unique style, with songs in Hindi, Gujarati, Himachali and English, influenced by music from north India but also from parts of the world as varied as Scandinavia and South America. On-stage, the band brings together two powerful vocals and acoustic guitars, harps and a range of odd percussion instruments, picked up by Parvez in north Karnataka some years ago.

Appropriately, with laughs and the smell of cigarette smoke, the atmosphere prevalent during rehearsals is always relaxed. That’s because these two musicians are in tune with each other. Once on-stage, Parvez and Arun are happy to embark at any time on improvisations, whether in the music or with a third person. Their lively acoustic music and sharp lyrics generate a positive and vibrant mood.

But their separate journeys are interesting as well. While Arun started playing in college and performed with bands in Kolkata and Orissa, Parvez had perhaps the more untypical and incredible career: “I have done solo performances in cities across India (Bangalore, Delhi) and abroad (South America) besides composing music in studios. But I began as a doctor in psychiatry, though I always remained a musician at heart.”

The psychiatrist then turned award-winning filmmaker (especially known for his short films and documentaries), writer and traveller before going back to his oldest and earliest passion: music. “We only have one plan: to continue tripping, doing music together. We are not really interested in growing fast and bigger, neither are we interested in commercials,” says Parvez, adding, “If you are clean with your music, then people will enjoy what they are listening to and both the band and the audience will spend a very good time together.”

Quite simply, this twosome seems to a band that has no agenda beyond making music together, bonding with each other and their audience. It’s a simple philosophy: clearly, in their passion, they are not divided!

André J Fanthome, photographer

Can you tell me a little about the work of a young photographer you saw recently, or are looking forward to?

I have been watching Chandan Gomes work from the time that he was a second year student at St. Stephen’s college, Delhi. Chandan’s work has been divided between documentary, fine art and experimental photography. He once brought me a photograph of some sound frequency that was mapped by a Cathode Ray Oscilloscope that is invisible to the naked eye! He’s been doing a lot of documentary work for NGO’s to fund his photography too.

What do you know about him and his work? Which photograph of his do you particularly like?
Chandan is un-conventional in his photography and is yet to define his style which has been constantly evolving in the last few years. A photograph he took when he was still in college of the horizon through the wheel of a cycle has been one of my favorites.

How would you qualify his style?
Chandan has still to develop a style, he’s constantly experiment with different styles and will need a few more years for his photography to mature and forge a style of his own.

Which particular details usually hold your attention in his work?
The boldness in his work has been something that I have admired, when most of us begin shooting in-keeping with the usual rules that one associates with photography, ever since I have seen his work I have noticed that he has had the courage to break away from the set norms to create striking images always keen to experiment.

The Royal Butter Chicken

The Anaarkali Butter Chicken is no ordinary dhaba speciality. While five-star hotels usually charge Rs 450 for a traditional butter chicken, a 650gm portion of this Anaarkali luxurious plate cost a princely Rs 6,000 for two grown-ups.

The so-called dish was created by two software professionals, Iran Bhagat Saxena and Padma Prasad, who both share a passion for the kitchen. The recipe launched last month in Hyderabad was a full eight years in the making. “It all started when we were living in Noida. There was a place around the corner from us that did really great butter chicken but when the chef left, the food changed,” explains Iran Bhagat Saxena. “That was when we started experimenting to make it ourselves.”

However, for the price, the ingredients do not seem out of the extraordinary. In addition to the Godrej chicken and Indian spices, the couple uses Hunt’s tomato paste, Filippo Berio extra virgin olive oil, a pack of the Danish Lurpak unsalted butter and Evian natural spring water. Is it worth Rs 6,000? Maybe the little specks of edible gold and silver that the Anaarkali chicken’s creators add to their favourite plate are part of the explanation behind the exorbitant price.

The surprising bit is that there are many takers for this very class dish, which even has its own Facebook group. Considering their success, the young chefs now plan to take it to Delhi and Mumbai by the end of this year, something however Delhi’s restaurateurs seem clearly to dislike. Akash Kalra of the United Coffee House restaurant (Connaught Place) states for instance that the creators of the new recipe are killing the original butter chicken by putting in new ingredients. “This is cosmetic butter chicken and has no connection with the one Kundan Lal Gujral created in the Moti Mahal kitchen,” he explains.

But the young successful entrepreneurs are averaging 10 orders a day and, what’s more, money is not all that they are actually looking for. Indeed, of the Rs 6,000 you pay for the Anaarkali chicken, you get back Rs 800 for a charity of your choice. Maybe the taste of altruism given to the Rs 6,000 butter chicken would convince you to embark on this culinary experience.